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DPChallenge Forums >> Hardware and Software >> PP and usage of digital filters question
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03/04/2013 11:32:40 PM · #1
Just out of curiosity what folks here on DPC use.

I myself recently started to use LR. Before was PS Camera RAW and occasionally Canon DPP or Oly Master, the PS.

Reading recently through the forums I had a feeling that Topaz, Nik and others are quite standard for PP be it B&W or colored.

I do my BW sometime in LR (recently) and mostly in PS with Channel Mixer.

Is it worth trying these ? Is it that if you try there is no way back? Are my pics missing anything because of not using them?

Thanks,

Tibi


03/04/2013 11:37:40 PM · #2
I use all the NIK plug-ins on the photos I sell for fine art prints.

Silver Efex Pro 2 is all I use when doing Black and Whites lately.



Message edited by author 2013-03-04 23:41:11.
03/04/2013 11:39:08 PM · #3
Silver Efex, Topaz Denoise, Topaz Re-Mask, and Topaz Adjust are all critical to me.
03/04/2013 11:43:28 PM · #4
Hmmm. I'm waiting for more answers before I conclude.

I would appreciate if some examples of what can not be achieved in LR and PS could be posted. Or is it that is just easier and few clicks away?

Thnx
03/04/2013 11:45:00 PM · #5
For me, Nik Silver Efex, HDR Efex and Color Efex all get a workout. I use Topaz DeNoise by choice when I need it, but that's not so often with the 5D's I have. I use Topaz Simplify and Topaz Clean fpor certain effects, especially to cut down on too much detail at 800 pixel size, but doubt I'd use them much for printing.
03/04/2013 11:46:42 PM · #6
Have you looked over their on-demand webinars? They really go in depth and have guest speaker/photographers doing demos and workflows.

Nik On-Demand Webinars

Watching might help you decide. Hope this helps.

Message edited by author 2013-03-04 23:47:13.
03/04/2013 11:47:47 PM · #7
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

For me, Nik Silver Efex, HDR Efex and Color Efex all get a workout. I use Topaz DeNoise by choice when I need it, but that's not so often with the 5D's I have. I use Topaz Simplify and Topaz Clean fpor certain effects, especially to cut down on too much detail at 800 pixel size, but doubt I'd use them much for printing.


How the hell did Topaz Adjust not make your list Mr. Tonemap-it-to-death? ;)

Do you really just use the HDR Efex package?

Message edited by author 2013-03-04 23:48:24.
03/04/2013 11:48:45 PM · #8
Originally posted by Tiberius:

Hmmm. I'm waiting for more answers before I conclude.

I would appreciate if some examples of what can not be achieved in LR and PS could be posted. Or is it that is just easier and few clicks away?

Thnx

No, there are very real differences. One of the major, major differences is how you can handle "structure", local area contrast. It's almost miraculous. Download a trial of Silver Efex and note that you can manipulate the structure independently in the highlights, midtones, and shadows. This is entirely separate from the also-provided contrast adjustments. When you have the structure where you want it, process the image (it will be B/W) and then set the layer to "luminosity" mode in PS, thereby adjusting the luminance only but leaving the color as it is.

The control point technology is wonderful also; you can process different areas of the image very locally and rapidly.
03/04/2013 11:50:14 PM · #9
Originally posted by Bear_Music:

Originally posted by Tiberius:

Hmmm. I'm waiting for more answers before I conclude.

I would appreciate if some examples of what can not be achieved in LR and PS could be posted. Or is it that is just easier and few clicks away?

Thnx

No, there are very real differences. One of the major, major differences is how you can handle "structure", local area contrast. It's almost miraculous. Download a trial of Silver Efex and note that you can manipulate the structure independently in the highlights, midtones, and shadows. This is entirely separate from the also-provided contrast adjustments. When you have the structure where you want it, process the image (it will be B/W) and then set the layer to "luminosity" mode in PS, thereby adjusting the luminance only but leaving the color as it is.

The control point technology is wonderful also; you can process different areas of the image very locally and rapidly.


Agreed. The control points are what really do the magic.
03/04/2013 11:51:12 PM · #10
Originally posted by Cory:

How the hell did Topaz Adjust not make your list Mr. Tonemap-it-to-death? ;)

Do you really just use the HDR Efex package?

I use Silver Efex Pro set as a luminosity layer now, best amount of control I have found. Plus of course certain effects can be accomplished wonderfully in Color Efex Pro. I haven't used Topaz Adjust for some time; when they came out with Topaz Detail that was my go-to, largely because the way it used color channels to adjust balance in the image. I still use it from time to time, actually.
03/05/2013 12:02:00 AM · #11
It seems like I live in middle ages.



Are they legal too? (of course relative to the rule sets)
03/05/2013 05:28:43 AM · #12
Bump for the crowds

03/05/2013 05:39:28 AM · #13
Ooh, here's an idea. If I give somebody one of my pics from a previous challenge would they PP it in one of these packages so I can see what the difference actually is? I am currently limited to GIMP 2.8 (through a combination of tghtness and lack of better information).
03/05/2013 06:04:40 AM · #14
I do most adjustments in LR and (for advanced and expert) selective adjustments in PS. Sometimes I use NikViveza, but only when there's not enough microcontrast in the subject mostly due to the lighting situation or the surface of the subject (liquids and brushed metal for example). No other software here because you can spot it in most images - I like to keep my images as close to reality as possible.
03/05/2013 06:04:58 AM · #15
Originally posted by mikeee:

Ooh, here's an idea. If I give somebody one of my pics from a previous challenge would they PP it in one of these packages so I can see what the difference actually is? I am currently limited to GIMP 2.8 (through a combination of tghtness and lack of better information).


I'd give that a go, although I'm also a GIMP user I do my RAW processing using other free-ware, Photivo, which has many adjustments with similar effects.

Kevin
03/05/2013 06:10:59 AM · #16
Sincerely I am quite confident with my PS / LR skills and I am sure that the images that I produce could not be majorly improved with the software mentioned in this thread. I might be wrong though.

Not that they are good, but they are what they are... I am more concerned about the ideas, composition. I will give a try though and see if I like it firstly and if there will be any change to the images I present here. Or any change in style (... If there is any :P)

But I am still curios what others use. I would like for example to know how jagar gets his BWs

Message edited by author 2013-03-05 06:12:14.
03/05/2013 06:13:43 AM · #17
Originally posted by h2:

I do most adjustments in LR and (for advanced and expert) selective adjustments in PS. Sometimes I use NikViveza, but only when there's not enough microcontrast in the subject mostly due to the lighting situation or the surface of the subject (liquids and brushed metal for example). No other software here because you can spot it in most images - I like to keep my images as close to reality as possible.


I like it!
03/05/2013 06:55:56 AM · #18
Originally posted by paynekj:

Originally posted by mikeee:

Ooh, here's an idea. If I give somebody one of my pics from a previous challenge would they PP it in one of these packages so I can see what the difference actually is? I am currently limited to GIMP 2.8 (through a combination of tghtness and lack of better information).


I'd give that a go, although I'm also a GIMP user I do my RAW processing using other free-ware, Photivo, which has many adjustments with similar effects.

Kevin


Hi Kevin

I'll take you up on that offer. PM sent.

It will be very interesting to see how you interpret and process the photo and how it differs from mine.

Rgds

Mike

Message edited by author 2013-03-05 07:39:52.
03/05/2013 07:35:26 AM · #19
Originally posted by Tiberius:



But I am still curios what others use. I would like for example to know how jagar gets his BWs


AFAIK NikSilverEfex (but what he does with it is beyond my knowledge)
03/05/2013 07:49:45 AM · #20
I start off in Lightroom 4 and do a lot of post there. Then i export to PS which these days is mostly only used for cloning and such (although i'm getting used to using LR for that now) and i have the Nik software plugins such as Silver Efex and Colour Efex Pro, Define and Viveza. Don't really use Viveza much nor Silver Efex really but that may change.
03/05/2013 08:20:25 AM · #21
light room and Photoshop for me. i have no use for the others, especially topaz. if i did lots of B/W i might look into nik, but the little i do i get by just fine without.
03/05/2013 09:54:51 AM · #22
I use LR for my RAW conversion (I need to learn the program better), then move it to PSE10, In there the filters that I use the most are

Topaz InFocus
Topaz DeNoise
Topaz Detail
Topaz Adjust
Topaz Clean
SEP2 (wonderful pkg, I want the other segments of this pkg...soon)

I also use my High Pass Filter A LOT!!!
03/05/2013 10:38:32 AM · #23
Originally posted by h2:

Originally posted by Tiberius:



But I am still curios what others use. I would like for example to know how jagar gets his BWs

AFAIK NikSilverEfex (but what he does with it is beyond my knowledge)

He uses Nik Silver Efex Pro, and he uses Nik Color Efex Pro to put some "glamour glow" (just a little bit) in the B/W image.
03/05/2013 10:43:47 AM · #24
Topaz Adjust was the best ever discovery for me. I am sure I would like the Nik software too but bit too pricey at the moment.
03/05/2013 10:46:38 AM · #25
Here's the difference between "structure" and "no structure", people:

From this: you get to this:

This one was done with the tone mapping function of Photomatix HDR processing. Nik and/or Topaz are not required. If you have an HDR program, you can do the tone mapping on a single image and accomplish a lot. I have just settled on my Nik workflow because it seems to me the most *evolved* of the current software. Particularly in its ability to isolate certain areas of the image for customized adjustment. In the past I was tone mapping two or three different layers of the same image; one for the sky, one for the landscape, and one for the dark details, then masking them by hand to reveal sub-layers as desired, and this was laborious. With Nik I can mostly do this all in one pass.

I'd be happy to do some sample processing on others' images, time permitting.
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