Photo Art
McKaso
TM
Photography By: Steve Sullivan
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Every now and then there comes along an ingenious product that really for a lack of a better term, just blows you away. I absolutely love black and white photography. There is just something about their timeless beauty and many shades of gray that just really draw me in. They are simply classic and stand the test of time, but converting a color photo to a black and white did not always yield the best results. Over the last several years some great strides have been taken to improve this, such as Power Retouche’s Black and White Studio , Alien Skin Software’s Exposure, the Plug-n Site’s B/W Styler and Adobe taking the plunge in PS3 to create a tool to adjust a photo’s color channels, which finally give a photographer full control. I have used three of the four mentioned products with very good success but the one software/plug-in maker that really stands alone in this category is Nik Software inc. Their plug-in Silver Efex Pro has really opened to door to putting ultimate control into the photographers hands in the digital darkroom. Not that this control will allow you to rule the world, :-) but you sure feel like you can with this plug-in. The plug-in is very easy to use and contains endless possibilities.
Upon opening the plug-in you will have the choice of viewing your photo in three different ways while you convert it. You can view the changes on the photo itself, view the changes on a split photo or view the changes as a side by side comparison. These options are chosen by the view buttons. My preferred viewing is the single view.
Upon opening the plug-in you will have the choice of viewing your photo in three different ways while you convert it. You can view the changes on the photo itself, view the changes on a split photo or view the changes as a side by side comparison. These options are chosen by the view buttons. My preferred viewing is the single view.
Single
Split Image
Side by Side
View Options Buttons
On the left side of the screen you can have the option of using presets to choose from to change your photo. By clicking on the button a image style menu appears and there are numerous choices. After installing the plug-in itself, many of the presets must be downloaded from Nik’s site, but that is a simple task. In the screen shot below I chose the High Structure preset, which adjusts the entire photo, but the fun is just beginning.
Preset Button
Preset Selections
At the top right side of the screen you have the option of using three controls that will affect the entire photo. The sliders are brightness, contrast and structure. By moving the the sliders right or left you adjust the overall characteristics of the entire photo.
Sliders
Although up to now many adjustment options are available, things are about ready to explode into a new realm of infinite control. Are you ready to rule the world? Hopefully you said yes, cause this is the part that allows you total control over your photos destination. Located directly under the sliders is Nik’s secret weapon U-Point technology. By clicking the Add Control Point you can place a control point or as many control points on the photo and adjust the brightness, contrast or structure of each of these individual areas on the photo. Want a little more contrast in the sky without adjusting the foreground or for instance the grain bins in the screen shot? Place a control point on the part of the sky you want adjusted, adjust the size of the control point and now you can adjust just that area. This control can be used at any time even if you used a preset or made universal changes with the sliders. How great is that?
Add Control Point Button
Single Control Point
First Control Point
Second Control point
Third Control Point
But wait there’s more. Even though the U-Point Technology is the big highlight it does not stop there. Now you also have choices of color filters, film types and stylizing. Hope your head isn’t spinning yet. Sounds like a lot of options and there are, but its all pretty straight forward and easy to use. The color filters allow you to chose which color channel you want to enhance. The film types selection allows you to choose from several different film simulations that are applied to the entire photo. Some film types include; Ilford Pan F Plus 50, Kodak 100 TMax Pro, Agfa APX 400, Kodak Tri-X 400TX Pro and Fuji Neopan Pro1600 to name a few. The last choice is the stylizing option , which allows you to adjust the tone of the photo, vignette or burning. At this point all I can say is WOW!
Color Filters
Film Types
Stylizing
Color Filters Controls
Stylizing Controls
The last two features of the plug-in include a small Loupe screen and a zone identification stripe. The Loupe displays whatever area your mouse pointer is over on the photo and as you click the zone numbers on the strip that zone is highlighted in the photo.
Loupe
Zone 2 activated
Zone 2 areas highlighted
Well, I’m not sure what else there is to say other than this is one awesome piece of software that blows the doors off of anything else I have tried in black and white conversion software. I certainly have used and will continue to use the other plug-ins for black and white conversion as they all have their strong points, but if you can afford the $199.95 then in my opinion it is well worth the money. Keep in mind that this is just one humble photographer’s opinion, so the best thing to do is download any free trials of software you can and do some hands-on experimenting to determine what best fits your needs.
Original Photo - PS3
Photo in Silver Efex Pro
Black & White Conversion Complete
* Note after you have processed your photo in Silver Efex Pro it is applied as a layer in Photoshop.
* Note after you have processed your photo in Silver Efex Pro it is applied as a layer in Photoshop.
