38 4 April 2020I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113Technique SILVER EFEX PROBuyingand
usingSilver
EfexPro
TheNikCollection2.3
collectioncomeswithsix
otherusefultoolsforediting
andsharpeningyourimages,
butSilverEfexProis theonly
dedicatedblack& white
editingprogram.Youalsoget
a fullcopyofDxOPhotolab 2
(Essential),a cut-downbut
effectivegeneral-purpose
photoeditorwhichalsoworks
seamlesslywiththeNik
programs.Thewholesuite
retailsat£125andcanbe
downloadeddirectlyfromthe
DxOwebsite(MacandPC).
Forthecollectiontowork
withAdobe,youwillneed:
Website:See
nikcollection.dxo.com/
whereyoucanalsofindout
aboutthesystem
requirementsforMacandPC.
Systemrequirements:
AdobePhotoshopCS5
(64bits)throughCC2020.
AdobePhotoshopElements
12 through 2020 (apartfrom
HDREfexPro2, whichis not
compatiblewithPhotoshop
Elements).
AdobePhotoshopLightroom 3
through Classic CC 2020.Levelsand
curves
Youmightfinda lotof the
FilmTypesarequitehigh
contrastandwhileyoucan
adjustthisusingGlobal
Adjustment,it’salsowise
toopentheLevelsand
Curvesgraph,underFilm
Types.AswiththeLevels
andCurvestoolsin
Photoshop,youcaneasily
movethepointsaroundto
getexactlythelookyou
want,orseehowthegraph
changesforeachparticular
film.Youcanalsoaccessa
LoupeandHistogram,
whichis rightat thebottom
of thescreen,justabove
the Save option.
Globaladjustments
Aswithanyeditingprogram,thereis a widerangeof
toolsfortweakingyourblack& whiteimagein its
entirety.EssentialfunctionssuchasBrightnessand
Contrastarelistedunder‘GlobalAdjustments’(theyare
called‘global’astheyaffectallof theimage).‘Structure’
is aninterestingtool,andis oneof SilverEfexPro’s
secretweapons:essentially,it givesimagesmore‘bite’by
exaggeratingthecontrastaroundedges,outlinesand
details.It needstobeusedsparingly,however,in order
toavoidhalosandotherartefacts,andworksbestwith
highlydetailedareasorsubjects.UseTonalityProtection,
meanwhile,tokeepdetailin shadowsandhighlights,but
thesekindof issuesarebestfixedwheneditingthe
originalrawfile in LightroomorPhotoshop.Finishing
Adjustments,rightdownthebottomof thepanel,enables
you to add vignettes, borders and other fi nal touches.Globaladjustmentsareallverywellbutfor
fine-tuningspecific partsof yourblack&
whiteimage,SilverEfexProusesControl
Points,anotherof itskeyweapons.It’san
ingeniousdesignbuttakesa bitof getting
usedto.Withyourimageopen,goto
SelectiveAdjustments,clickonControl
Point and then drag it to the part of theimageyouwantto workon– thegirl’sface
in ourscreenshot(belowleft).Youcan
thenadjusta rangeof parameters,suchas
contrast,brightness,structureandsoon.
Dragtheminisliderstoreduceor
increasetheeffect,asrequired.
Afterusingbrushesandotherlocal
selectiontoolsin Adobeprograms,
ControlPointscanfeela bitweirdbut
youdogetusedtothem.It’seasy
enoughtoduplicateControlPointsby
holdingdowntheOption(Alt)keyand
draggingit toa newdestination.Lastbut
notleast,whilethenewFilmTypesare
greatdon’tforgetalltheexistingPresets
in thelibrary,topleftof themainscreen.
EnVogueandClassicareourfavourites,
and all can be fi ne-tuned as shown.Using Control Points and a last word on Presets