Practical Photography - UK (2019-09)

(Antfer) #1

THEEDIT


114 PRACTICALPHOTOGRAPHY


1


Darken your background
Open your image into Photoshop
and open the Silver Efex Pro
plug-in with Filter>Nik Collection>Silver
Efex Pro. Once the Nik window opens,
head to the right-hand side to Global
Adjustments. Move the Brightness slider
left to darken the entire image. Repeatby
moving the Contrast and Structure sliders
slightly to the right for added punch.

2


Lighten selectively
Once your background isdark,
open the Selective Adjustments
tab and click on the Control Point icon.
Now click on any area you want to lighten.
When the Control Point menu appearson
your image, drag the first slider to increase
or decrease the affected area. Nowusethe
B slider to increase the brightness,andC
slider to add contrast for impact.

3


Add finishingtouches
To add a little extra flourish, head
to the Finishing Adjustments tab.
Open the Toning menu and choose the
Selenium option to give your image a silver
tone. Next, add a Vignette and choose
Lens Falloff 1, followed by All Edges (Soft)
1 in the Burn Edges menu to further darken
the background. Once happy, click OK to
return to Photoshop.

O


FTEN CONSIDERED THE


jewel in Nik’s crown, Silver Efex
Pro is a fully comprehensive
black & white conversion plug-in with an
emphasis on simplicity and power. This
darkroom-inspired software is widely
used today by photographers across many
different genres.
Silver Efex Pro offers a range of presets,
each aimed at giving you striking results
in a single click, while the U-Point RAW
technology allows you to define specific
areas and make localised adjustments.
It’s a very powerful approach to editing,
letting you fine-tune until you’re happy.
You can also use presets, including the
40 new additions for the updated version,
which are a great way to get classic looks
in an instant, including high contrast or
filmic looks. If you want to take it a step
further, you can add control points –
a common feature within the Nik Collection



  • letting you refine and edit every inch of
    your shot to your liking. This method gives
    you the freedom to be as precise as you need
    to create the edit that you want.


Silver Efex Pro

Three steps to high

contrast excellence

Above In three simple steps,
we’ve taken a standard flower
shot and transformed it into
a selenium silver-toned,
contrasty fine art image.

Left Our original image is
rather unassuming, and low
on contrast. The background
also blends into the stem
and leaves.
BEFORE

AFTER

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