Lake Superior shoreline
It seems there are endless options for black and white processing these days. One might argue there are too many to choose from, resulting in just sticking to one or two that work best for you and leave it at that. Afterall, with tonality controls in Lightroom, numerous presets to get you started, and then further control with luminosity masks in Photoshop – you pretty much have more control than you could ever want.
Still, I keep reading things about Nik Silver Efex and how much people like it, so I am going through the trial period now. I have been processing a series of images for a Shoreline themed project. I like what I am seeing in the tonality of some of the presets, and it seems there are ample customization options. However, what I haven’t figured out yet is can I do most of this stuff with the tools I already have? Lightroom presets already give me a pretty good starting point, but I have to say I am seeing something a bit different with Silver Efex (that I like) that I just can’t place my finger on yet.
If there are any Silver Efex fans, I’d appreciate your feedback on your favorite aspects of it.
Wonderful textures in this image. I am a Silver fx fan, but I can’t articulately explain why. I don’t use lightroom and I know the effects can be done in PS, but there is something wonderful about Silver fx.
I like the myriad of options I get with Silver Efex and that I can put together my own preset if I want. Of course, the important thing is whether the image you produce is right for you.
If you haven’t seen it, you might want to check this tutorial by Justin Balog of Light as Magic. http://www.lightasmagic.com/vidorials/ (the first tutorial on the page). He shows how to very effectively add texture to a color photo using Silver Efex. It’s great when a black & white tool can also be used for color images.
Thanks for the link to the tutorial Dennis. I have liked playing with the structure option – although I am not quite certain how it differs from using Clarity in LR.
I still use film…particularly for b&w….the grainier the but I have heard things about silver efex. But when I do shoot digital I do find that playing around on Photoshop gives me pretty much the results I need.
Hey, Mark. I’ve not tried NIK Silver Efex, but I find that I get a lot of mileage out of some free Lightroom presets found here. I’ve been using these for a couple of years. With a small amount of tweaking, sometimes, I get just what I want.
Thanks Paul – I am a big fan of presetsheaven also.
Hey, Mark. I’ve not tried NIK Silver Efex, but I find that I get a lot of mileage out of some free Lightroom presets found here. I’ve been using these for a couple of years. With a small amount of tweaking, sometimes, I get just what I want.
I hear a lot of good things about Silver Efex but have not used it myself. Chris Klug is a big fan, so you may check out his blog. I’ve seen some nice images on the internet but wonder what prints look like. I’ll be interested in what you find.
That’s exactly what I need, more decisions in my life Mark, thanks for peaking my interest 😉
I know nothing about Silver Efex, but I do know I love this shoreline abstract. Beautiful.
Hey, Mark –
I’ve just started playing with Silver Efex Pro myself, so I don’t have any killer tips for it. I don’t “see” shots in black & white as a rule, so I find it very handy for experimenting with different presets & settings without having any great skill in converting using Photoshop without the help of plugins…
I also use Lightroom 3, and it has some nice B&W conversions, too. I like having the option to convert at different stages of my workflow, though, and Silver Efex Pro helps with that.
– Jack