CEP contains 55 filters that are designed to adjust an image's contrast, color, style, or a combination of all three. However, the real power of CEP comes from stacking multiple individual filters together to create more compelling images than what Aperture's basic controls offer on their own. CEP is not difficult to use, but there is a learning curve associated with simply becoming familiar with what all of the filters do.
At the very top of the left column, there are a series of subcategories (landscape, color, stylizing, portrait, detail, etc) that serve as one-click toggles to select a smaller subset of filters. For example, in the screenshot above, I've toggled the 'Favorites' button, which shows just my favorite filters. (These are the filters where I have selected the gold star to the left of each filter's name.)
Color Efex Pro 4 For Photoshop Mac Os
The best way to demonstrate the basic functionality of CEP is by applying a few filters to an example image (shown above). For this image, I want to draw the viewer's eye up along the building's perspective lines. To do this, I'm going to build a CEP filter stack that helps encourage this progression by modifying the image's color and contrast.
Every filter comes with a unique set of controls that are tailored to the specific filter's effect. In this case, Graduated Filter adds a color gradient to the image. The gradient can be adjusted in different ways, and all of the sliders in this filter allow for those adjustments. Specifically, the user can set the color (Color Set drop down), opacity, blend (determines how quickly the gradient fades), vertical shift (the offset from the edge of the image), and the rotation angle (180 degrees puts the gradient at the top of the image, 0 degrees at the bottom).
My goal in using this filter is to bring back some of the sky's blue that I lost on the initial capture. To do this, I will set the Color Set to Blue 3, opacity to 50%, blend to 25%, vertical shift to 40%, and the rotation to 172 degrees. Once these adjustments are made, I can use the P key to toggle between a before and after view. Using this filter has achieved the goal of returning some color to the sky.
Now that I have a filter stack that's achieved my goal of boosting color and contrast to direct the viewer's attention, I can click OK in the lower right corner to save the image and return to the launching application (either Aperture or Photoshop). However, before doing this, I could save this stack in case I want to use it again in the future. To do this, click on the Save Recipe button, give the recipe a name, and click OK (see below). This stack will now be saved as a preset under the Recipes tab in the left panel.
Log in or register to post comments COMMENTS I've always had trouble Submitted by sandraxxx on March 5, 2013 - 12:47am I've always had trouble creating color filters, they're just so complex. That's why I'm really excited for this one, I can't wait to try it out. - Steven C. Wyer
The Polaroid Transfer filter emulates the effect of using Polaroid color peel-apart films and transferring the nascent image to paper before it's fully developed, resulting in low-contrast, low-saturation, with subtle shifts to the colors throughout the image. 2006, Joe Farace, All Rights Reserved
Wrapping Up Performance of the plug-in on my Mac Pro powered by twin 2.66GHz Dual-Core Xeon processors was perfect. Big surprise there. The plug-in is fully compatible with OS 10.4.11 (see Sidebar "System Requirements") but this version of Color Efex Pro 3.0 is not yet compatible with the newer Mac OS Leopard. It should be by the time you read this but be sure to check the company's website (www.niksoftware.com) for updates. A Windows version is available as well. As before, Color Efex Pro 3.0 is available in three versions: The Standard Edition ($99.95) includes 15 filters that are suitable for a variety of photographic styles. The Select Edition ($159.95) includes all filters in the Standard Edition and adds a set of tools, giving you control over light, color, tonality, and detail. With over 250 effects in 52 filters, the Complete Edition ($299.95) includes the whole magilla for color correction, retouching, and creative enhancements and is the version I tested. You can see which specific filters are included in each package on Nik's website.
Image after coloring with Efex Pro 4 Color plugin As you can see in above image, we have colored only certain areas of our image using Efex Pro 4 Color plugin. + You can experiment with different colors and brush sizes to get your desired result.
The histogram can also be used to display the clipped values in the image, shown as masks whose color corresponds to the RGB channel and/or the complementary colour affected. This is especially important as Color Efex Pro provides tools that can significantly impact brightness and contrast.
Use this filter to convert a color image into a black and white version, and control shadows, highlights, and relationships between the original colors. Three black and white conversion modes are available in the filter displayed in the right panel:
Simulates the technique used on color films where the bleaching process has been skipped. The result is high contrast and low saturation. Both set photographers and animated filmmakers use this effect to create striking, stylized images.
Simulates the use of a daylight film under artificial tungsten-type light, or a tungsten color film in daylight. Use this filter to warm up your photos with an orange color or cool them down with a bluish effect.
Provides a variety of different options for C41 to E6 processing (color negative film processing in slide film chemicals) and E6 to C41 processing (slide film processing in color negative film chemicals).
Simulates color and black & white infrared films. This filter simulates different methods of capturing the infrared portion of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum, as well as the effects produced by films capable of capturing these wavelengths.
Simulates the effect of Polaroid Instant Processing color film and the transfer of the rough image to paper before it is fully developed. The result is a version of the image with low saturation and contrast, with subtle shades of color throughout the image.
Provides advanced options that change the color and contrast of images by analyzing each one and making improvements based on their specifics. Use this filter if you want to increase contrast levels while maintaining detail throughout the image.
Removes color dominants from light-colored objects, such as a white wall or a wedding dress. Use this filter to clean up images and create bright, vivid whites without changing other colors in the photo.
Color Efex Pro 4 is Windows and Mac compatible and installs as a 32-bit and 64-bit plug-in for Adobe Photoshop CS4 or later, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.6 or later, Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 or later, Apple Aperture 2.1.4 or later and is available in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish language. For more information about Color Efex Pro 4, including video tutorials, feature lists, and special live online preview sessions, please visit: www.niksoftware.com/colorefexpro.
Ricardo, that's odd. The only thing I can think of is to first, make sure you are opening the photo in photoshop first, and then open the photo in Nik from Photoshop. If that doesn't allow the setting to show up, perhaps try updating the Nik software first to the current version. Hope that helps!
Silver Efex Pro is for creating superb monochrome images as it brings a touch of Cartier-Bresson and Ansel Adams to your photography. Viveza helps you get the exact colors you want and use it in any project to achieve a new world of professionalism. Analog Efex Pro injects an incredible vintage atmosphere into your image and enables you to recreate the look and feel of old photos while mimicking the effect of vintage cameras and lenses. Similarly, other plugins help digital artists to bring new life to photos without destroying the quality or originality.
The Nik Collection is a legendary suite of photo editing software and many people revere both its black-and-white and color film looks. It has been around since the 90s and, although ownership has changed hands over the years, the collection of image editing tools continue to impress. That's particularly true of Silver Efex Pro, which benefitted from a major update last year. The latest version of the suite, Nik Collection 5 by DxO ($149 for new customers, $79 as an upgrade), modernizes the interface across several of the creative apps and introduces new capabilities to the Analog Efex Pro and Color Efex Pro tools.
DxO has made some changes to the way U-Point controls work. A hallmark of the Nik Collection, U-Points make selective adjustments to color, exposure, contrast, and other settings possible. These localized adjustments are useful when you want to restrict edits to just one area of your image.
The updated U-Point system is easier to manage. For example, you can now rename U-Points; create more accurate masks based on luminance or color value; or even save them as part of a preset. The new functions are available in the four creative apps: Analog Efex, Color Efex, Silver Efex, and Viveza. The technical side of the suite uses the old system, so you can't rename U-Points or use them in presets when you work with Dfine, HDR Efex, Perspective Efex, or Sharpener Pro.
We discuss each app in more detail below. Each has its strengths: Analog Efex is for unique toy camera, motion, and similar creative filters; Color Efex offers color and black-and-white filter looks; Silver Efex mimics the style of many classic film emulsions, including Kodak Tri-X and Ilford Delta; HDR Efex helps you tone map images to get more shadow and highlight detail than you can from a single exposure; Dfine and Sharpener Pro include pre-print tools to enhance clarity; and Perspective Efex offers technical adjustments for correcting geometry as well as creating the artistic miniature effect. 2ff7e9595c
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