Tip of the day - photography basics - Using NIK Collection
Photo Editing Software – Using NIK Collection
A new (or familiar) tool but it takes practise to become skilful with it
The bad news is this is not a quick one-click solution to photo editing. I’m actually pleased it’s not that way otherwise it’s no different to clicking one of those ready-made presets on your phone before you post to Instagram. I can’t think of a worse way to go about editing than using a manufactured look designed by someone else. For me, photography is about your own personal interpretation, way of presenting your image and vision and rightly or wrongly however uneffective your own attempts may look in comparison, at least they are yours! Everyone wants to see their photos in a good light, and there is the ignorance of thinking there is some short-cut to popularity and adoration from social media.
I ask this simple question to you if we all use the same ready-made preset, how do our images look or say anything different other than the technical execution and equipment we used to capture the data. I don’t care much for the obvious images where the recipes and presets of various software apps have been applied without much thought and sensitivity of the editor. The WOW impact is merely a social media/competition minded trap that ultimately results in you creating output for the purposes of a reaction/response/success and failure of this external, subjective judgement.
The good news is that apps like NIK offer a much easier way of editing images and adding effects that would be beyond most people (without years of/or training of how to use it) using photoshop and more to the point is ten times quicker than it ever was using layers, masks, blending modes and various other techniques in Photoshop.
The NIK collection offers an easy and quick way to really enhance your photograph and once you learn what each filter does it won’t be long before you start to create saved recipes (NIK’s way of saving a preset for reuse) that will act as great starting point and way of presenting your own personal style to all your images. The remainder of this 60-second read aims to give you some pointers to get you started and I will follow up in due course with further advanced use via another post and webinar at some point. However, the following references are good and will give you many hours of guidance if you can create the time to learn what’s what and how to use them.
Color Effex Pro 4 Filter Descriptions
Color Effex Pro 4 – YouTube Tutorials
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLp5lYDsQi4glLx9jteJDNOBMSHw0iE3wn
Color Effex Pro Guide
https://help-nikcollection3.dxo.com/article-copy
https://www.academia.edu/35589170/The_Photographers_Guide_to_Color_Efex_Pro_4_The_complete_reference_to_Nik_Softwares_Color_Efex_Pro_photo_filter_suite
https://manualsbrain.com/en/manuals/232579/download/
If you want to support my business and invest something for when we return to normal working ways you can buy yourself a digital gift voucher. You can redeem the voucher at any time against any event or service. You’ll be spending a little bit now for future use and I will have a little bit of cash flowing in, a win-win. Thanks