I’ve recently downloaded Nik software from Google. I had heard of Nik Silver Efex Pro for black and white conversion but I wasn’t aware there is now a suite of software producing different effects to images. From memory Google bought the company producing the software some time ago but I stand to be corrected.
Anyway the software is offered on a fifteen day trial and I’m enjoying experimenting with it. As, I suppose, with most software you can go absolutely crazy and produce images that appear to have little connection to the original photograph or use it to produce subtle changes to enhance the original. I don’t see it playing a particularly relevant part in producing images for stock but I can certainly see advantages in using it to process images for prints.
The problem with software such as this is that the same results can be obtained in Adobe Lightroom or Photoshop or indeed in other image editing software, given sufficient knowledge and time. The Nik software allows me to produce changes with just a few mouse clicks and it works within Lightroom and Photoshop. You can alter the effects to produce exactly the result you want and I can certainly see advantages in it but I’m not sure I need all seven modules in the Nik package. The alternative would be to produce the simpler presets myself in Lightroom or Photoshop and purchase the more complicated ones.
Any views would be very welcome.
The photographs below were all produced in the Nik software package using the available presets without any further adjustment.
Click on an image to enlarge.
