Nik Software Captured

Learn all the features and functionality of the complete Nik
family of products

Styled in such a way as to resemble the way photographers think,
Nik Software Captured aims to help you learn to apply all the
features and functionality of the Nik software products. With Nik
Software Captured, authors and Nik Software, Inc. insiders Tony
Corbell and Josh Haftel help you use after-capture software
products easier and more creatively. Their sole aim is to ensure
that you can apply the techniques discussed in the book while
gaining a thorough understanding of the capabilities of programs
such as Dfine 2.0, Viveza 2, Color Efex Pro 4.0, Silver Efex
Pro 2, Sharpener Pro 3.0, and HDR Efex Pro.

• Helps you learn all the features and functionality of the Nik
  family of products

• Shares tips and techniques on retouching and exposure

• Offers a solid understanding of the importance of light

• Explores ways to save time in the digital workflow

• Answers the demand from readers to compile a variety of
  techniques conceived to help when using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe
  Photoshop Lightroom, and Apple's Aperture

With Nik Software Captured, you'll quickly benefit from
the array of helpful techniques featured in this single
resource.

Auteur

Tony L. Corbell has been a professional photographer for
over 30 years. He has photographed three U.S. presidents, 185 world
leaders, sports celebrities, hundreds of brides and grooms, and an
occasional astronaut, and has lectured in more than 20 countries.
Tony created the award-winning Nik Software educational department
and teaches workflow and photographic techniques.

Joshua A. Haftel has been hooked on photography since he
was yearbook photographer in high school. With a degree from the
Rochester Institute of Photography, he has traveled the world
photographing famous sites. When he's not taking pictures, Josh
manages the entire product line of photographic tools for Nik
Software.

Résumé
Learn all the features and functionality of the complete Nik family of products Styled in such a way as to resemble the way photographers think, Nik Software Captured aims to help you learn to apply all the features and functionality of the Nik software products. With Nik Software Captured, authors and Nik Software, Inc. insiders Tony Corbell and Josh Haftel help you use after-capture software products easier and more creatively. Their sole aim is to ensure that you can apply the techniques discussed in the book while gaining a thorough understanding of the capabilities of programs such as Dfine 2.0, Viveza 2, Color Efex Pro 4.0, Silver Efex Pro 2, Sharpener Pro 3.0, and HDR Efex Pro.

• Helps you learn all the features and functionality of the Nik family of products
• Shares tips and techniques on retouching and exposure
• Offers a solid understanding of the importance of light
• Explores ways to save time in the digital workflow
• Answers the demand from readers to compile a variety of techniques conceived to help when using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, and Apple's Aperture
  With Nik Software Captured, you'll quickly benefit from the array of helpful techniques featured in this single resource.

Contenu
About the Authors vii Introduction xvi

About This Book xvii

Two Points of View xvii

Why This Book and Why Now xviii

Conventions Used in This Book xviii

Chapter 1: Editing Basics 2

Fundamental Editing Techniques 3

Evaluating an image before editing 3

Planning your edits based on the human visual system 5

Editing Terminology 10

Chapter 2: The Digital Workflow 18

A Basic Workflow 19

Use the correct settings 19

Organize your images 19

Identify images to edit 21

Apply any RAW-based adjustments 22

Apply lens-based enhancements 23

Crop the image 23

Apply noise reduction 25

Do panorama stitching or HDR merging and tone mapping 25

Retouch dust or other imperfections 25

Use Viveza 2 to balance light and color 25

Stylize with Color Efex Pro or Silver Efex Pro 27

Make a final round of clean-up 27

For Photoshop only: Save a master version 27

For Photoshop only: Resize based on output 28

Sharpen based on output 29

For Photoshop only: Save your sharpened working file 29

Print or upload your masterpiece 29

Creating a Custom Workflow 31

Noise reduction 31

Resizing 32

Cropping 32

RAW presharpening versus sharpening 32

Output sharpening 33

Living in the land of 2 percent versus the real world 34

Your Personal Workflow 35

Chapter 3: The Nik Software Editing Environment 36

Differences in Host Applications 37

Adobe Photoshop 37

Adobe Photoshop Elements 39

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 42

Aperture 43

Standalone Nik Software plug-ins 44

Other Host Applications 45

Which Host Application to Use? 46

Standardized user interface 47

Left pane 47

Top toolbar 48

Right pane 48

Bottom toolbar 48

Image area 50

Batch Processing in Photoshop 50

Chapter 4: UPoint 54

U Point Technology Explained 55

How U Point Technology Works 58

Using Anchor Control Points 61

The Different Uses of U Point Technology 61

What Is Noise? 67

Chapter 5: Dfine 2.0 68

How Dfine 2.0 Works 70

Step 1: Measuring Noise 71

Step 2: Reducing Noise 72

Reducing noise globally and selectively with control points 74

Reducing noise globally and selectively with color ranges 77

Using the Advanced Noise Reduction tools77

Using the Modes Popup Menu to Review the Noise and Selection Masks 82

When to Use Dfine 2.0 to Reduce Noise85

Chapter 6: Viveza 2 88

The Viveza 2 Interface 90

Adding control points 90

Grouping and ungrouping 90

Global and selective indicators 91

Expand and Collapse buttons 92

Enhancement sliders 92

Color picker and Eyedropper tool 94

Control Point List 95

Levels and Curves control 96

Applying Viveza 2 to Your Photographs 97

Working with landscape images98

Working with portrait images103

Chapter 7: HDR Efex Pro 3.0 110

HDR Imaging Explained 111

The two stages of HDR image processing 112 **How to Capture and Process the Image Series for...