Nik Collection by Google is now FREE

CLICK HERE to learn how to get the Nik Collection by Google for Free

At one time, the Nik Software Suite (later renamed the Nik Collection by Google after its acquisition) was the industry leading tools for photo editing. Despite having $295 per product price points, they were a bargain for the functionality they offered compared to anything else on the market. What's more their industry leading "u-point" controls made applying effects to a specific area trivial by creating complex masks under the covers simply by putting a point on the color you wanted to make a change to. It was brilliant and it had no competition. Simply put, Nik software had the world of photo editing under its grasp and their products made photographers of any level able to create post-processing results that looked as good as the best Photoshop gurus.

Fast-forward to today, and now all of these glorious products are free to anyone:

• Analog Efex Pro
• Nik Software Color Efex 4 Video Tutorial (Review)
  • TUTORIAL: Nik Software Color Efex Reflector Effect Video–NOW WITH Audio
  • TUTORIAL: Using Nik Software Color Efex Pro 4 & Special Offer
• Nik Software Dfine 2.0
• Nik Software HDR Efex Pro 2.0
• Nik Software Sharpener Pro 3.0
• Nik Software Silver Efex Pro 2.0
• Nik Software Viveza 2.0
• Nik Software Viveza for Lightroom

At first this may sound wonderful, but I do have serious concerns about Google's commitment to these tools now that it is free. Simply put, free means that they don't have to make any investments in it, so if it is a critical part of your workflow and it stops working because of some breaking change by OS X or Adobe (which does happen regularly), then they could in theory choose to do nothing. I'm not sure if that is the motivation behind this, and it is pure speculation on my part, but it is certainly a serious concern that I have.

In the meantime, do rejoice and go get your free copy today if you are one of the handful of people who hasn't bought it yet. If you have bought it, then don't feel too bad as you had one of the best products on the market for a dirt cheap price.

Alternatives

If you are looking for new places to invest your funds now that you don't have to pay for the Nik Collection, or if you are a working pro that needs a company that has a financial incentive to issue updates and take support calls when you are trying trying to meet tight deadlines, then I'd suggest considering on1 Photo Suite, Macphun Aurora or one of these products by Topaz Labs:

• Topaz Adjust 5.0
• Topaz Labs B&W Effects 2 (B&W Products Comparison)
• Topaz Labs DeNoise 3.0
• Topaz Labs Glow 1.0
• Topaz Labs InFocus
• Topaz Labs Lens Effects
• Topaz Labs ReMask 5.0
• Topaz Labs Restyle 1.0
• Topaz Labs Simplify 4
• Topaz Labs Star Effects
• Topaz Labs Texture Effects

Don't forget about my Discount Coupon Codes page too where you can get discounts on these products and more

CLICK HERE to learn how to get the Nik Collection by Google for Free

What Plug-ins should I buy? [Updated Dec 10, 2015]

Ron Martinsen’s December 2015 Best of the Best Ranking of the top Photography Plug-ins

Imagine that you were as rich as Bill Gates and retired. Even if you were and you have all the time on your hands to learn new things, I still doubt that any one normal human could use all of the great plug-ins available for Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom. There are just so many choices and so much overlap that it can make your head explode trying to figure out which ones you really need! What’s more, there are a lot of very good ones available that do save you lots of time, but you may waste a lot of time tinkering around with all of the options they offer!

I’ve tried to be selective about what I review on this blog based on my own research. The products I focus on are mainly what I determine are the best products and what I’m hearing my Top Photographers and other industry experts are telling me that they use.

I have found an awesome collection of products that do really make my editing process quite enjoyable, but I must admit that as much as I love most of the products I have it is hard to find time to use them all. As a result I’ve decided to finally throw down the gauntlet and rank the products that I have on my machine in order of importance to my personal workflow. What this means is that if I could only use X (i.e., 5) then you could look at numbers 1 through X (i.e., 5) to see which ones I’d keep.

With this information available to you, you can then look at your budget and make your selections based on either your own research.  You can compare that with my advice to come up with the best plug-ins on the market to help make you more productive.

This list is only about plug-ins, even though some may run stand-alone in addition to being a plug-in. This means that some programs that I can’t live without (i.e., ImagePrint) will not appear on the list. I also will just flat out say that Lightroom is my #1 photo editing and asset management product but I’d have a hell of a hard time living without Photoshop. I’m not a fan of Aperture, but it is a nice product that will be perfect for some – just not me. As a Canon shooter I also find Canon Digital Photo Professional has a horrible user interface, but it is still a critical part of my workflow for certain RAW processing tasks. I know there are Nikon shooters who feel the same way about Capture NX2, which is actually a decent product that can serve as an end-to-end solution if you are on the Nikon platform.

Recommended Plug-ins as of Dec 10, 2015

Previously this was a stacked ranked list of what I’ve reviewed but with my Dec 2015 update, I’ve decided to trim it down to just what I’d recommend to a family member or close friend. Yes, there are a lot of other products on the market, but this boils it down to what I’d get if I had to start all over from scratch today.

• Topaz Labs Adjust – I used to think of this as the secret sauce for HDR images, but now I use it for so much more. In fact, Topaz has so many strong offerings that I’m often telling people that this product is just as valuable as Color Efex, so if you only buy one bundle then go for the Topaz bundle and trust this. Yes, some effects are hideous until you learn how to use them, but watch my one of my webinars and you’ll see that they don’t have to be.
  
• Imagenomic Noiseware - Noiseware won my Noise Reduction Roundup and I find myself using it the most out of all the products I’ve tested (including some not featured on the blog).
   
• Athentech Perfectly Clear / Lucid – I tried this product out a couple years ago and hated it, but now I find myself constantly using it both on my computer and my phone. I’ve edited more photos this year with this product than any of the others – combined (especially on my phone) – and I didn’t even start using it regularly until March! While I hate the skin softening results, I do find that it does make images look great – often by default – so I’ve poured countless images through Perfectly Clear. If you haven’t seen or tried this one out yet – you MUST – it’s pretty good with no hassle. [Note: Lucid is the stand-alone version with some reduced features so check out my review for more info.]
  
• Imagenomic Portraiture – I process a lot of portraits every year so I’m always re-exploring skin softening products to try to make this process easier. While many products have come a long way, there is still nothing better than Portraiture.
  
• Topaz Labs B&W Effects – There’s lots of great products in this space, but if I’m going to advise a friend to spend their hard earned money on only one then I have to go with this one. Topaz Labs has emerged as the industry leader in innovation with an active community to support it. Yes, Silver Efex Pro is good, but I’ve yet to find myself unable to get the same or better results with B&W Effects, so I’ve finally given up on it in favor of B&W Effects.
  
• Topaz Software’s ReMask –  This is the fastest and easiest tool to create complex masks fast. onOne Software’s Perfect Photo Suite has the potential to be greater, but I’ve just had a much harder time mastering the masking features. I find ReMask to be much easier to use and very powerful. It can save you a hell of a lot of time separating your subject from a complex background or doing complex masks that can’t be adequately handled using Nik Software’s U-Point control technology or the vastly improved Refine Edge feature of recent versions of Photoshop. 
  
• MacPhun Aurora HDR [Mac only] or HDRSoft Photomatix (esp with Trey Ratcliff’s Photomatix Presets) – If HDR is important to you then one of these has to be in the top 5. For as good as built-in HDR processing is in Photoshop and Lightroom, I still prefer stand alone applications. Aurora HDR is simply the best product on the market for HDR – bar none – but currently it’s only available on the Mac, so PC users will have to use the long-time industry standard Photomatix. Photomatix can create great results, but it’s cryptic controls can be difficult to master – especially if you want realistic results (and white clouds). Yes, you can go to Photoshop and work around its shortcomings, but Aurora HDR makes that easy to do in its UI without the need for Photoshop (or anything else).
  
• Topaz Labs Texture Effects, Glow and Impression – These are the hottest new plug-ins on the market for a reason – they create amazingly original looking work from the most boring of images. I really, really, love these products, but I do wish that they were all just merged into one product.
  
• Topaz Labs Restyle (alt review) – This is another one of those one click editing solutions that I love, but I don’t use it as much as I’d like to because it has so many choices! Seriously, I love choices but I sometimes find myself spending 20 minutes just pouring through all of the awesome choices it offers!
  
  It is very usefully for coming with up a “look” or “theme” for a project and leveraging favorites help reduce the time spent in the app. I adore this product and STRONGLY recommend you to check it out as this product is a game changer for those who want to focus on their photography, and not photo editing – yet still have professional results that don’t look like it was processed on Instagram.
  
• on1 Perfect Resize – There was a time where this would have been in the top 3, but resizing in Adobe products and printer drivers have gotten pretty good so this is more useful when you need the best possible results or when other methods just don’t do a good job. Generally speaking if you are going to increase an image by 200% or more, then this is the best game in town. Sadly it’s a hidden feature that is an optional install for the latest version of the on1 Photo bundle. My review covers an older version, but nothing has really changed in this product for quite some time. Sadly you can only get this with the entire on1 Bundle.
  
• Topaz Labs Simplify (review) – Great for turning your images into cartoons or drawings. It’s a cool app that I didn’t used to use that much, but I’ve learned that with the right scenes (especially leafy landscapes) it can create some exciting images that people want to buy. I also like to use it on busy backgrounds sometimes to remove distractions. This isn’t a product that most photographers would use every day, but when I pair it with the right image I often get a big grin on my face. Topaz Clean also is capable of doing this and more, so check it out while you are at it to see which works better for you. Personally, I tend to favor Simplify.

There’s of course a lot more that isn’t included here, so check out the Software Reviews section to the right or on my recommendations page to see if I’ve reviewed your favorite product. If you’d like my opinion one one not featured on my site then contact me.

What Happened to the Nik Collection by Google?

For as long as this blog has existed, I’ve been singing the praises of what used to be called the Nik Software Collection. They were the defacto standard by which all others were judged, and myself and so many others couldn’t live without it. However, my personal opinion of Google’s purchase of Nik Software, is that it seemed to be more of a patent grab than anything else as the innovation that Team Nik brought vanished after the acquisition (as well as many of the Nik employees).

If my calculations are correct, we are approaching 4 years since the last update of Color Efex and 2 years since the last update of anything (Analog Efex). As a result, it’s appears that these products are in sustained engineering mode. Given Google’s history of cutting products and services that aren’t part of their core business, I can’t escape the fear that one day an operating system change will come and we’ll hear that the Nik Collection will not be updated to support it.

With this in mind, I’ve been trying hard to wean myself off my favorite products like Color Efex, Silver Efex Pro, and Viveza for fear that I’d be up a creek without a paddle if I had an important job and they stopped working – with no plans to fix them.

I’ll be clear and state that these are still phenomenally good products, but if I’m going to advise my readers to spend their hard earned money then I want to point them to software solutions built by people with a ton of passion to make their products better (i.e., companies like Topaz Labs with their Complete Collection and MacPhun with their beautifully designed Creative Kit).  Sure, if you have bought the other recommended products and have an extra $149 to spare, then by all means pick these up as they are still quite good. However, I don’t recommend that people with limited funds make this their first purchase for the aforementioned reasons.

A Word About Bundles

One thing that is very clear is if you think you’ll ever want to own more than 2 or 3 products from a given company then you should just bit the bullet and get their largest bundled version. While it might be painful in the short-term buying such an expensive product, you’ll spend exponentially more if you find yourself buying all the products over time. The bundles are a great deal and the only way to go if you can make that happen. With that said, I do a quick run down of my favorite bundles here in priority stack ranked order:

1. Topaz Labs Plug-In Bundle – It has taken some time, but Topaz Labs has gone from the bottom to the top thanks to so many creative and game changing products. I find myself using Adjust and B&W Effects quite a bit now. Texture Effects, Glow, Impression, ReStyle and Simplify highlight the amazing innovation coming out of this new industry leader in photo editing.
   
   These products can give your photos that wow with minimal effort allowing you to focus on photography instead of photo editing, and save shots that would otherwise be duds. I’m also a huge fan of ReMask when I have to do masking because it is much more accurate than Refine Edge in Photoshop. As a result, these 8 products easily justify the cost of the bundle (which is available at a discount on my blog).
   
   While many people swear by them, I don’t really use Clean, Detail, Lens Effects,or Star Effects that much, but the other products still make the bundle worth it. I don’t care for  DeNoise , so I always use Noiseware when I need to do digital noise reduction (from using higher ISO’s).
   
   This is my new “if you could only have one” bundle choice because it offers so much to help create new art from your photography, that I think it really deserves the top spot.
   
2. Imagenomic Pro Plug-in Suite – Noiseware is the winner of my noise reduction series and as of now, nothing has changed that. I also have become obsessed with Portraiture as my preferred skin softening product for both photos and videos, so you may as well get the bundle. You’ll effectively get Real Grain for free, so it’s worth getting the bundle.
   
3. MacPhun Creative Kit – This company has some of my friends from the once brilliant Nik Software, and its beautifully built user interface is the one by which all other products should aspire to mimic. While it lacks the brilliant U-Point controls that are the secret sauce of the Nik Collection, it has everything else and so much more. This is really a great solution for Mac users, but sadly isn’t on Windows yet so I can’t give it a better rating.
   
4. Google Nik Collection – As I previously mentioned, this had been my favorite for many years. However, the product seems to be in maintenance mode with all of my Nik contacts leaving Google without any apparent replacements. Google has no meaningful financial interest in the product anymore, so I have concerns about its future. As a result, I’m reluctant to recommend it anymore, despite the brilliant software that remains.
   
   Yes, this is still a great product and I adore it, but I’m lost as to what Google is really doing for its future. As a result, IF you’ve got the other suites and a an extra $149 lying around then it’s a worthwhile investment – just make sure you have a plan B if it stops working unexpectedly in the future.
   
5. on1 Photo 10 – I used to be a big fan of onOne Software, but this suite has been dumbed down so much with its confusing user interface that it’s left nothing really compelling to me anymore. I’m also tired of it coming out with new names and releases before they get the bugs out of the current one, so I really can’t get excited about this one anymore. Yes, Matt Klosowski makes it look pretty cool, but unless you’ve got his gift for photo editing, I think you’ll find yourself frustrated with the results you get with your own photos.
    
6. Alien Skin Bundle – Alien Skin makes decent products, but with so much goodness offered these days I just don’t find myself saying “I need that” over the other products in my workflow.

You really can save a bundle by getting bundles, so before you make that stand alone purchase ask yourself – will I want to buy any of these other products in the future? If you say yes to at least 3 products offered in the bundle then pony up now to save big later – get the bundle!

Topaz Labs Photoshop Bundle – The Best Place to Spend Your Money

Adjust is a mainstay in many great photographers digital workflow because it’s a product that is so unique that really nothing competes with it. Topaz created this same kind of magic with Glow, Impression and ReStyle all of which are super hot sellers that I love. With ReMask still being the best manual masking solution and the strength of Simplify and B&W Effects, you really have a true artist toolkit with this bundle. Lens Effects, Clean, Detail. Star Effects  and InFocus add value but I just have so many plug-ins that I don’t have a need for them. I’m still not a fan of Denoise even though some readers swear by it.

Imagenomic

Imagenomic makes three popular products which can only be purchased separately. The first two mentioned below are staples in my regular work, so I couldn’t live without them.

Based on my extensive testing during my Noise Reduction Roundup, nobody out performed Noiseware.  It’s a great product that I go to for my most important jobs because I know it will do the best job to preserve the detail. It’s only disadvantage is the lack of Nik’s U-Point controls, but most of the time I will just create a layer mask and roughly sketch out where I want selective noise reduction, so I’ll just use Noiseware in both those and global noise reduction scenarios.

I’ve stopped using my long-time beloved Nik Software’s Dynamic Skin Softener (filter found in Color Efex) in favor of Portraiture which does the best skin enhancements I’ve ever seen. I turned my mentor on to this product after his copy of Color Efex wouldn’t work on his upgraded version of the Mac OS, and he loves Portraiture more than anything now! 

Real Grain isn’t my cup of tea, but most people probably don't realize that it simulates a lot of films which could be handy to some. It also has nice grains which can prove useful in printing or dramatic stylistic effects like reproducing the artificial grain found in the movie Saving Private Ryan.

The Rest

There are thousands of Photoshop & Lightroom plug-ins, and many of them are fantastic. However, I don’t have the bandwidth to test everything, nor can I use everything, so what you see in this article represents my reality. Don’t assume that if  product isn’t mentioned here that I don’t like it, but rather assume I probably haven’t used it very much – if at all.

I will say that I’m no fan of Portrait Professional and Focus Magic as I feel both offer mediocre solutions for which there are much better options.

If you’ve got a great product that you think I must know about then feel free to leave a comment with your suggestion(s). Do not link as spam comments will not be approved.

Special Offers

Visit my Discount Coupon Code page for specials on plug-ins and a wide variety of products – many of which aren’t available any where else on the web!

Other articles you may enjoy

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy these too:

• KelbyOne Review & Discount 
• Discount Coupon Codes 
• Printing Series 
• NEC PA322UHD 4k for Pro Photo & Video Editing Review
• Wacom Intuos Pro Review
• Wacom Cintiq 13 HD Review
• Ron’s Recommendations 

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this.

What Photoshop Books Should I Read? (UPDATED: Jan 30, 2014)

One of my top blog posts was my article entitled "Which Books Should I Read?" lacked a detailed discussion about Photoshop books because of the time of its writing I was still getting up to speed on Photoshop. I've now had time to read a big stack of Photoshop books and have some concrete recommendations to go along with that article now.

If you are like me you find Photoshop to be both poorly laid out and daunting to learn. It's easy to buy a stack of books and never get anywhere beyond cropping then clicking Auto Levels, Auto Contrast, and Auto Color (and possibly Variations if you've discovered that one) and calling it a day. In essence you've spend a fortune on a product that doesn't really do much to help you with your photos. Fear not, you aren't alone!

Starting with the Basics

One of the problems with most Photoshop books is that they've forgotten that there are still people on this planet who don't know the fundamentals of Photoshop. If you don't know how to add or subtract from a selection or even what all of the selection tools do, then it will drive you insane when the book simply says "select the girl in the photo" who inevitably has wispy hair going everywhere!

If you are a Photoshop novice (and it is okay to admit that you are) then I highly recommend you start with Teach Yourself VISUALLY Photoshop CC (My old CS3 version review). However, the important thing to remember when reading Photoshop books is that you MUST apply what you've read on the computer. If you simply read it and move on then you'll forget it, so practical application is essential.

Okay, I know the basics now just show me how to do cool stuff

Now there are a handful of really great Photoshop books, but there comes a point where you just want to get on with it and start doing some cool stuff. Once you see that you can do cool stuff yourself, then you have the motivation to read all of those other good Photoshop books. For this I've found that there is one definitive MUST READ Photoshop book for anyone who as ever wanted to create pro looking photos and its called Scott Kelby's 7 Point System for Photoshop CS3. Yep, that's right - it's the same Scott Kelby that wrote The Digital Photography Book - Volume 1 (2nd Edition) which is #1 on my list of recommended Photography books. While it may seem like I'm becoming a bit of a Kelby fan boy, the reality is that the guy just knows how to write great books in a way that gets down to business so you can get your work done. This book has helped me tremendously and I know it will do the same for you. Once again I'll repeat , the important thing to remember when reading Photoshop books is that you MUST apply what you've read on the computer and in this case you must also WORK WITH THE SAMPLE FILES!!!!

Just cut to the chase, what's your recommend reading list?

Okay, here in order of importance (always read #1 first) are the books I recommend you read if you want to master Photoshop:

1. Teach Yourself VISUALLY Photoshop CC  (see my Teach Yourself Visually Adobe Photoshop CS3 book review which still applies to newer editions)
2. Scott Kelby's 7-Point System for Adobe Photoshop CS3 (Review) - no CS4 or CS5 version but it is still applicable and a MUST OWN book)
3. The Adobe Photoshop Book for Digital Photographers (or the version that applies to your installed version of Photoshop – here’s my last reviewed version)
4. The Photoshop Channels Book is the magic resource that will teach you how to create complex selections that you find impossible to do right now (WAY better than Photoshop Masking & Compositing)

But wait, 3 of those 4 books are Kelby books. What the heck?

Yes, it's true Scott Kelby writes some great books and I highly recommend them. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't other great books out there. In fact, there are. However, I've found that great books like Photoshop LAB Color: The Canyon Conundrum and Other Adventures in the Most Powerful Colorspace  don't appeal to the masses and quite simple are too advanced for someone reading an article like this. At some point I may do an advanced Photoshop book list, but for now I'm catering to those who are getting started and Kelby is the man right now.

Extra Reading Recommendations

If you’ve finished my recommended books and want more, then you’ve gotta try these:

• Professional Portrait Retouching Techniques for Photographers using Photoshop – the bible for portrait editing
• Photoshop Compositing Secrets – If you ever need to do a composite, this will help you do one that looks natural and not like cheesy stickers on a photo
• Welcome to Oz 2 – Helpful for learning how to control the viewer’s eye / attention
• The Digital Negative – If you want more depth on RAW 
• Layers – Helps to understand blending modes & “blend if” feature (current version is better than the one I reviewed)

A word about Photoshop CS5

As of the time I wrote this article the selection of Adobe Photoshop CS5 books was getting better, but still some key books haven’t been updated for CS5. Photoshop CS5 has some drastic changes to its user-interface and performance improvements. In addition, most cameras released after June 2010 that create RAW image files can't be opened in Photoshop CS4 or Lightroom 2.x because the newer version of Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) is only integrated into Lightroom 3.x and Photoshop CS5 and up. If you can afford it, then it is a worthwhile upgrade, however you should always get the books for your specific version of Photoshop so look for CS4 updates to the books listed in this article.

What about Lightroom?

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Book for Digital Photographers (my old review) is the bible for Lightroom and has stuff you won’t find anywhere on Adobe’s web site or manuals. I love it! It also includes an adaptation of the 7 Point System for Lightroom so it’s a great resource! If you want more depth, then check out The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5 Book: The Complete Guide for Photographers.

What about HDR?

This is one place where I say skip the book and go to the video and there’s nothing better out there than HDR Workshop DVD by Trey Ratcliff of StuckInCustoms.com. It’s a great resource that is easy to follow and worth every penny – especially for those who own Photomatix and don’t know how the hell to get good results out of it (which is where I was until watching this DVD series).Trey does have a book called A World in HDR which is a decent resource, but I got a lot more out of the DVD’s. However, the best place to go these days is flatbooks.com and search for Trey’s latest eBooks.

I want more info about Printing from Photoshop?

Printing is a whole beast in and of itself which is why I created my printing series and even my own Printing 101 eBook, but if you really want to get into printing then again I say watch The Perfect Print DVD Series by Randy Hufford first. It’s also useful to read The Digital Print if you want more depth than what my book offers.

But Ron, I REALLY hate reading books - what other choices do I have?

If you are the ADD type like me, it may be hard to focus long enough to finish a book unless you have a lot of uninterrupted time (I read many of my books when I was on bed rest due to back pain). Now that I'm back on my feet again, I'm finding it difficult to read books again. As a result, I've found my Kelby Training membership be a valuable resource due to the great detailed videos the have on their site that simply "get to the point" of the thing I'd like to do. I also like their magazine because it allows me to review short articles that solve specific common problems.

I struggle to find time to read books and magazines, how do you do it?

I have this problem too, but I've found a few things that work well for me. First, if I'm home sick I'll try to read for as long as I can before I eventually fall asleep (if your eyes get heavy then stop reading - its pointless). Next, is when I'm on the airplane (which isn't that often for me). Planes are a great place because it makes the flight go quicker. Next is anytime I find myself waiting. I keep my book or magazine handy with me when I go to appointments or I am waiting for my kids (it's great when they are playing on the McDonalds play structure that I'm too big to fit in). Lastly, and perhaps the funniest, is when I'm in the restroom at home. You laugh, but I've found that if you simply read a couple pages each time you are perched on your porcelain throne that you can finish a book in a month or less. In fact, it usually causes you to get so interested in a chapter that you follow up with it afterwards so you can at least finish a chapter. Sure this might gross some people out and make them think twice about borrowing a book from me, but it's the truth and it works. Try it out!

I also always try to pick long flights when I travel and take my books with me. It’s forced time that I can dedicate to reading, and often I can finish at least one book each way of my trip. Get the Kindle version of the books to do this without having to carry a bunch of extra weight, but personally still prefer the printed or PDF eBooks over Kindle books since you sometimes loose the integration of photos and text together.

Okay, what if I'm too lazy to do any of the things you've suggested - what now?

I understand where you are coming from. When I started with Photoshop I got so frustrated that I just decided to throw money at the problem and pick up some plug-ins. While these work very well and I use them frequently today, despite my strong Photoshop skills, the key thing to realize is that being strong in Photoshop will teach you how to get the most out of your plug-ins by being able to control their impact on your photo using things like masks. With that said, I do have some favorite plug-ins and I would recommend that you get them even if you become great in Photoshop. My recommend list can be found in my What Plug-Ins Should I Buy? article.

I also teach and do contract work, so contact me if you want to pay me to get you up to speed or edit a photo on your behalf.

These are expensive, do you have any discounts?

See the Discount Coupon Code page for the latest versions and discounts.

Other articles you may enjoy

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy these:

• ** My FAVORITE Lightroom Presets - Discount Code **
• B&W Software Editing Comparison - Nik vs onOne vs Topaz
• Choosing The Right Display Calibration Device
• HDR Software Comparison
• Photographers Gift Guide / Recommendations
• Things You Need AFTER You Buy Your New Camera - Must Have Photography Accessories
• What plug-ins should I buy? (for Photoshop & Lightroom)
• Where should I display and/or sell my pictures online? (Updated 2012)
• Which Photography books should I read?

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this.

My Nik Collection Digital Workflow (Videos)

On July 31st, 2013 my longest running discount and partnership on my blog expired, so I decided I’d show my appreciation for all they have done for me by giving you a couple new videos that shows why I like the Nik Collection by Google.

Conclusion

This is one of many examples of what you can do, but this is often the secret sauce of many well respected photographers.

Goodbye Special Offers

If you didn’t read this in time, I’m sorry to say that you’ve missed the boat. The lowest price I was ever able to get for the best Photoshop plugins on the market has expired.

Other articles you may enjoy

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy these:

• Nik Software Color Efex 4 Video Tutorial (Review)

  • TUTORIAL: Nik Software Color Efex Reflector Effect Video–NOW WITH Audio
  • TUTORIAL: Using Nik Software Color Efex Pro 4 & Special Offer
• Nik Software Dfine 2.0
• Nik Software HDR Efex Pro 2.0
• Nik Software Sharpener Pro 3.0
• Nik Software Silver Efex Pro 2.0
• Nik Software Viveza 2.0
• Nik Software Viveza for Lightroom

• Discount Coupon Code Page
• B&W Comparison - Nik vs onOne vs Topaz
• HDR Software Comparison
• Things You Need AFTER You Buy Your New Camera - Must Have Photography Accessories
• Kelby Training Review & Discount
• National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP Discount)
• The Perfect Picture School of Photography (PPSOP) by Bryan Peterson
• Photoshop Elements User - (Discount) Tutorials and more

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this.

PhotoThoughts: Contemplation

Contemplation – Copyright Ron Martinsen – All Rights Reserved (500px link)
Model – QaioQaio Jade

This shot was taken back in 2011 with a Canon 5D Mark II at 1/100 sec at f/2.8, ISO 1600 at 70mm (70-200mm f/2.8L IS II) on a Manhattan rooftop. The model is also an incredible wedding photographer based out of New Mexico who happened to be in town at the conference we were both attending. She was kind enough to nearly freeze to death (this was late October) on the breezy rooftop while we rattled off a number of shots.

What I love about this shot is the expression of the model’s face along with the light that grabs your attention to her face and incredible stomach. This model has no major skin flaws and there’s no digital diet going on here, so editing was pretty simple. Here’s the before (from in-camera RAW) and after:

Here’s my layers that show what I did here:

Here’s each layer explained:

1. Noiseware Default – Noise reduction using Noiseware using the Default setting.
2. Hairs – Content aware healing of stray hairs
3. Portraiture – Skin Softening using the Medium Preset to help tone down the goose bumps
4. Brilliance / Warmth – Color Efex 4 effect to warm the skin tones and background lights
5. HPF Eyes and Teeth – An overlay layer with High Pass Filter set to 3 to make the eyes and teeth shine a bit more
6. Fix Background – Remove lines and spots from the railing
7. Darken Background – I used Viveza to darken the background and then selected the railing areas using the blue channel to create a a simple mask that only got the areas I wanted. I applied the mask to the image to avoid making my file overly large since I didn’t need that extra Viveza data. I also noticed that I missed a little underwear imprint on the belly so I removed that on that layer.
8. Only apply Tonal Contrast to the skin above the waist and the city lights. I could have applied the layer, but I was done so I just stopped there.
9. Not shown here, but I did output sharpening using Sharpener Pro on the image uploaded to the web.

Conclusion

This editing could have been done in Photoshop Elements, but I used CS6 just because that is what I’m used to. This is a pretty basic edit that took about an hour with most of the time spent on the Hairs layer.

The lighting was one Westcott Apollo triggered using a Pocket Wizard Mini TT1, Flex TT5 and AC7 with a 580 EX II flash. I’d like to thank Clifford Pickett for getting me access to the roof and providing the lighting gear, as well as assisting. Kaethe Mari was also an awesome assistant on this shoot who also doubled as a model (see Travel Photography: Photographing People At Night In New York City (Manhattan)).

Other articles you may enjoy

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy these:

• Nik Collection for $126 USD “RONMART” 75% Off – Worldwide
• Nik Software Color Efex 4 Video Tutorial (Review)
• Nik Software Sharpener Pro 3.0
• Nik Software Viveza 2.0
• Imagenomic Noiseware 4.1.1 Professional (Latest Version)
• Imagenomic Portraiture 2.x (Latest Version Tutorial)
• What plug-ins should I buy? (for Photoshop & Lightroom)

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this.

Nik Collection Upgrade & onOne Special Offer

My partnership and special offers with Nik Software have ended. Here’s where you can learn more about the Nik Products that I have reviewed and learn how you can get a great deal on onOne Software just by being a Nik Collection owner.

Click here to learn more and see the articles below to see my thoughts on each of these products:

• Nik Software Color Efex 4 Video Tutorial (Review)
  • TUTORIAL: Nik Software Color Efex Reflector Effect Video–NOW WITH Audio
  • TUTORIAL: Using Nik Software Color Efex Pro 4 & Special Offer
• Nik Software Dfine 2.0
• Nik Software HDR Efex Pro 2.0
• Nik Software Sharpener Pro 3.0
• Nik Software Silver Efex Pro 2.0
• Nik Software Viveza 2.0
• Nik Software Viveza for Lightroom

 

Save 50% Off ALL onOne Software products if you own the Nik Collection by Google

Save 50% on the Perfect Photo Suite 7 (with a FREE upgrade to 7.5) if you own the Nik Collection by Google

Frequently Asked Questions

The following is my understanding based on my conversation with my Nik Software marketing contact and what I’ve read on the Google website. I’m not responsible for any errors or change in policy that is beyond my control. Buyer beware.

What happened to your discount?

It’s gone. My partnership with the Nik Team (now acquired by Google) has ended. I’d like to thank Kevin, Josh & Laurie for their support and wish them the best in the future.

I already owned the collection, but I didn't get the free upgrade email. What do I do now?

Start by checking your junk mail folder. If you can't find it there, check your deleted items. If that doesn't work, then try to think if you had a different email account that you used to register or purchase your Nik software. If none of that works, then send an email to supportus@niksoftware.com to request a new email.

I clicked on the link but it wasn't a exe. What do I do with this file?

Odds are you are using Internet Explorer. Instead of clicking, choose right click Save As... and save it as a exe on your desktop. If that doesn't work, download the file and RENAME it to have a .exe extension, then run it. Alternatively you can use Chrome as shown in my videos and this won't happen as it lacks this security feature to prevent you from downloading malicious exe's off the web.

I just bought the complete collection - how do I get a refund?

It is my understanding that those who purchased within the last 30 days will get a email (check your junk mail folder) within the next couple days that will get an automatic refund of the purchase price different (i.e., you get it for $149 - max). The exact cutoff date is 30 days prior to today's announcement. They can't go back forever, so if you go back 31 days then you are out of luck.

What happen to my product ID's?

They've been eliminated - your email address that you used to register your product is your new product id. Your email from Google (check your junk mail) has details on how to install the new Nik Collection by Google upgrade.

What's new in the upgrade?

Branding, Windows 8 support, Single Installer and a new licensing model that doesn't require PID's. I'm not aware of any fundamental changes to any of the Nik products.

If I only own one Nik Software product what happens?

You are very lucky because you get a FREE upgrade to the entire collection. Count your lucky stars! ;-)

What about upgrades?

All Nik customers who get the email will be upgraded to the latest version at no charge. I've also been told that in the future upgrades will be free, so it sounds like it's pay one price to play.

Is Google using this as a trick to force us to all pay for an upgrade to a new or replacement product here in 6 months?

Not from what I understand. It sounds like they plan to carry the product forward and just wanted to simplify the distribution, licensing and upgrade process.

Wait Ron, I asked for your advice and you told me X and now this happens. You suck!

Hey, I'm very sorry as I just found out at 8:36 AM this morning like the rest of the world. I had no clue this was happening and it's financial impact on me is going to be significant, so I feel your pain.

Does this mean Nik is now in maintenance mode and we won't see any real upgrades?

It's my understanding that the product group still exists and is working on new products, so I don't think that is the case. I have no facts though so this is pure speculation based on rumors.

Now that you don’t make a commission off Nik products, which program would you get? This or a competing product?

Click here to read my advice on which plug-ins to buy. Nik still makes the best products in the business, so my advice doesn't change based on this. This will impact the business model of this blog, so I will lose money over the long haul. If you find this blog useful, donations will become more important over the long haul to sustain this blog now that one of my top partners has changed the game.

I didn't get the email, what do I do?

Start by checking your junk mail folder. If you can't find it there, check your deleted items. If that doesn't work, then try to think if you had a different email account that you used to register or purchase your Nik software. If none of that works, then send an email to supportus@niksoftware.com to request a new email.

Upgrade Video

Here’s a little video I did on my Windows system that shows how you can upgrade quickly and easily for both Photoshop and Lightroom:

Mac Users Video

Here’s a little video I did on my Mac OS X 10.8.2 system that shows how you can upgrade quickly and easily for both Photoshop and Lightroom:

 

Other articles you may enjoy

• Nik Software Owners: Get onOne Perfect Photo Suite 7 for 50% off
• Discount Coupon Code Page
• B&W Comparison - Nik vs onOne vs Topaz
• HDR Software Comparison
• Things You Need AFTER You Buy Your New Camera - Must Have Photography Accessories
• Kelby Training Review & Discount
• National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP Discount)
• The Perfect Picture School of Photography (PPSOP) by Bryan Peterson
• Photoshop Elements User - (Discount) Tutorials and more
• Zenfolio - The Ultimate place to host your photos on the web

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. All information is provided to the best of my ability based on reliable sources, but my sources and I do not make future policy so changes are possible without notice.

Nik Software Owners: Get onOne Perfect Photo Suite 7 for 50% off

This offer has moved - CLICK HERE to see the latest offer

For a limited time only, owners of Nik plug-ins including the Complete Collection, ColorEfex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, or Dfine, can get 50% off onOne Software's Perfect Photo Suite 7 Premium Edition!
Perfect Photo Suite 7 Premium Edition includes seven integrated products that give you more capabilities and more power and than any plug-in collection available. It seamlessly integrates with Photoshop, Lightroom, and Aperture, and unlike other plug-ins, you can also use it as a standalone application with full photo editing capabilities including layers.
When you become an onOne Software owner, you'll have peace of mind knowing that your software 
investment will continue to reap rewards from our ongoing development of new and ground-breaking technologies today and into the distant future.

Ordering Info

Your cart should look like this if you clicked the correct link 

Just click here and order the upgrade of Perfect Photo Suite 7 – no other discounts can be applied (including my coupon code). You can get my thoughts on this great suite at http://www.ronmartblog.com/2012/11/coupon-codereview-onone-perfect-photo.html. This is a great deal that I definitely recommend!

Don’t have a Nik Software Product? Get it here at a discount!

Click here to learn more about how you can get a special deal on the Nik Collection by Google and get both suites for the less than the full price for Perfect Photo Suite!

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission.

Ask Ron: Do I need anything besides the Nik Collection to edit my photos?

Gyeongbokgung Palace HDR in Nothing But Nik Collection

Gyeongbokgung Palace HDR using multiple plug-ins

With the great deal on the Nik Collection (click here) that’s everybody has been taking advantage of, I have been getting questions about the collection and where other products fit in. One of the most common questions is:

Can I do everything with just the Nik Collection?

The answer that is yes and no.

Here’s the thing – we all know that in theory you can do anything a third party add-in does in Photoshop by itself, so “technically” you don’t need any plug-ins. However, the reality is that many effects are hard to create and some are just so easy using plug-ins that it doesn’t make sense to roll your own. As a result we buy plugins to both make our lives easier and to add new tricks to our toolbox. 

What I’ve found is that the more tools that I have in that toolbox, the more I tend to use them which varies the outcome of how I edit a photo. Honestly if I used the same software and edited the same photo twice I’d probably have some variation (just like if you have two photographers photograph the same exact subject at the same time),  but I tend to vary more when I add more editing tools into my workflow.

Here’s the example images I used to test this theory using these three exposures:

Original 3 Images (-2, 0, +2 EV) Metered off the sky for the 0 Ev exposure
Canon 1D X, f/10 @ 28 mm, ISO 1000, No Flash

Since I wasn’t happy with any of the bracketed exposures I decided to do an HDR which was prefect for this test since the Nik Collection includes HDR Efex Pro 2 which did well in my HDR Comparison article. I also had noise since this required ISO 1000, so it also gave me a chance to use Dfine in one and my favorite product – Noiseware in the other. 

My restricted to Nik only workflow

Here’s how my layers palette ended up for the mostly Nik only version after using HDR Efex Pro (on the Background layer – after tone mapping):

Nik Collection by Google ONLY*

I have an asterisk here because I allowed myself to use Photoshop features like masking and the Photo Filter (for the dull sky to give it some nice blue color), but beyond that and standard healing brush stuff to clean sensor spots – this was an all Nik workflow for the first image in this article.

The workflow was basically HDR Efex, followed by noise removal with Dfine, then clean up some sensor spots. I then did some pre-sharpening on my clean base image using Sharpener Pro followed by some selective adjustments with Viveza. I warmed up the image with Brilliance / Warmth and then made some contrast adjustments using Pro Contrast – both from Color Efex. I then did a little more corrective work with Viveza and then used Silver Efex to create a low opacity layer to just give my midtones some more oomph (I do this quite often). Finally I didn’t like the sky color compared to the non-Nik only one so I used the same photo filter as below from Photoshop. I finished up with Sharpener Pro for the final creative sharpening.

Using whatever I wanted (my natural workflow)

Without any limitations, here’s how I processed this particular photo with all my plug-ins at my disposal. I did forget to try out Topaz Adjust which I use quite often, but it was getting late and I just forgot. That said, I’m satisfied with the results, so here’s how I got there:

Mixed Plugins starting with Photomatix

The big differences here was that I started by using Photomatix to do my HDR, then I brought that into Photoshop where I used Noiseware – my favorite noise reduction product. I was a little unhappy with the color cast so I used a white balance technique I learned in Welcome to Oz 2.

I made a little curves adjustment and then went to the Color Efex Skylight filter to give my image some warmth, but I used U-Point controls to remove the effect from the sky. I had forgot to clean my sensor spots, so I just did that here.

I then made the sky blue using the Photo Cooling Filter #82 that comes with Photoshop and then I worked on the sky issues I got from Photomatix. I then used my favorite filter, Tonal Contrast to give the image some nice color and detail. I warmed it up a bit more with the Brilliance and Warmth Filter. I then went to Perfect Photo Suite and used the Red Enhancer filter in Perfect Effects to give it that extra pop that makes it stand out from the Nik only version.

I finished up with some sharpening using PhotoKit just to mix things up.

Conclusion

The net result here is that I used different products and got different results. There’s so many variables involved that I don’t think this proves that one method is better than the other – they are just different. I’m satisfied with both versions, but I like the mixed products version better (and it was the one I did first).

To answer the question head on, I don’t think that you necessarily NEED any additional plugins after you have the Nik Collection. It’s a great group of products and you can see that I used some in both workflows. In fact, on any given image I might have used more Nik products (especially Viveza). However, I like the ability to use my favorite noise reduction software and explore different plug-ins. In this example I didn’t use too many, but very often I’ll use Portraiture with people and Topaz Adjust with pretty much any shot that doesn’t feature people.

Other articles you may enjoy

If you enjoyed this article, you may also enjoy these:

• Click here and choose BUY NOW to get my 15% discount on the Nik Collection, or go read my FAQ article about the discount and collection here
• Photo Editing Tips Page
• Discount Coupon Code Page – Discounts on Photomatix, Noiseware, Adjust and more 
• What Photoshop books should I read?
• What’s Hot in Photography and Photo Editing Books
• Kelby Training (includes discount)
• NAPP (includes discount)
• Topaz Treehouse Webinar
• Nik Software Color Efex 4 Video Tutorial
• ronmartblog.com YouTube Videos Page – more video tutorials
• My HDR comparison article

Disclosure

If you make a purchase using links found in this article, I may make a commission. It doesn’t cost you a penny more, but it does help to support future articles like this.

Nik Software 20% Off Holiday Sale–11/23 to 11/28/11

RMARTINSEN coupon code saves 20% off Nik Software from 11/23/11 at 9:00 am PST to 11/28/11 12:00 am PST.

• 20% off individual Nik Software products (excludes Snapseed)
• $100 off Complete Collection for Lightroom and Aperture
• $200 of Complete Collection Ultimate Edition

See my reviews of the Nik Software products using the links below:

• Color Efex 4 – I use this with EVERY photo I edit
• Silver Efex Pro 2 – Made me love Black & White after hating it for years
• Viveza 2 – I use this on 90% of the photos I edit and it saves me hours
• Sharpener Pro – Forget Unsharp Mask and Smart Sharpen – this makes sharpening nearly fool proof (especially for printing)
• Dfine – Say good by to high ISO noise with this bad boy
• HDR Efex Pro – The alternative to Photomatix that has everybody talking

You may also enjoy my What Plug-ins Should I Buy? article to see where the Nik Suite stack ranks against the myriad of photo editing products.

Here’s where you you enter the code in the shopping cart (15% discount shown below, but this code will be 20% beginning Wednesday November 23rd at 9:00 AM):

If you’ve followed my blog and Nik Software sales in the past, you know that this is usually a once a year deal. If you’ve been holding out, now is the time to get the biggest savings of the year.