Is This the Best Nik Collection Filter for Photo Editing?

There’s one filter in the Nik Collection that I use for almost every photo I process. I call it my essential Nik filter, and in this video, I’ll share what it is and how to use it.
The Nik Collection is like a Swiss Army knife plugin for Photoshop. It’s packed with useful features you can use when processing all kinds of photography. This range and choice of filters can make it confusing to use, but there’s one filter that stands out from the others. When you learn to use this filter properly, you will find it can improve most images.
If you have 8 minutes to spare, I’ll tell you what it is, explain how its controls work and share an example of using it properly.
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[@rgarlinyc]

And thanks for the reminder that adding the same filter multiple times is perfectly possible!

[@RobinWhalley]

You're welcome. It's an easy thing to overlook.

[@trevorburton4429]

Great tutorial as always Robin. Thanks for your time showing this to us.

[@RobinWhalley]

My pleasure! It's good to know you liked it.

[@petermaddern6653]

Brilliant as usual Robin. Thank you.

[@RobinWhalley]

My pleasure! Thank you

[@stuartbraithwaite1297]

Great Tutorial, thanks Robin.

[@RobinWhalley]

You're welcome! Thank you.

[@Balchre]

Great Instruction video. Thanks Robin.

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad it was helpful! Tjank you

[@davidroby8493]

What an excellent tutorial. Thank you.

[@RobinWhalley]

You're very welcome! Thank you

[@chrisbartlett8146]

Thanks for this lesson. I had never really investigated the filters in colour efex pro and have just now processed a photo using your method and are amazed at the effect.

[@RobinWhalley]

Color Efex Pro is full of useful filters. Some you will probably never use but some of the others can be helpful in lots of situations. It's worth experimenting.

[@johnfalloon596]

Great tutorial Robin

[@RobinWhalley]

Thank you. That's great to hear.

[@nickshepherd8377]

Very useful video. Thanks 👍

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you.

[@danbuchman7497]

As usual, excellent tutorial. 2 things occurred while watching. I never use the loop and I’m going to start now. The second is how you teach the tool. I’m advanced enough (in large part due to your videos and books) to intentionally push thing to make my images as art. Thank you for sharing your knowledge.

[@RobinWhalley]

Wow! That's great feedback and also great to know that I've been able to help.

[@timpindar]

Very good, thanks!

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad you liked it! Thank you.

[@kenalexander8714]

Thanks for this video Robin. Very enlightening. I have the Nik collection, but have only used Silver Effects Pro and Perspective Efex as uncertain of the use of the other parts of this collection.

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad it was helpful! Thank you

[@stevejacob7158]

Thank you for your tutorial, a bit involved but very worthwhile, will defiantly be giving this a try and keeping your tutorial for reference .

[@RobinWhalley]

Glad it was helpful! Yes, it does take a little bit more effort to use the filters like this but the results are better. I have another one coming up in a few weeks about getting the most from the Control Points in Color Efex Pro. I think you will find it interesting.

[@stevejacob7158]

@@RobinWhalley thank you I will look forward to that

[@gossedejong9248]

thank you!!

[@RobinWhalley]

You're welcome! Thank you.

[@ianbrowne9304]

As usual ; well and simply explained How much has Nik improved or changed since the original/free version when Google stopped supporting it . Every effect has it's uses but midnight was a favourite of mine and I'm hoping to make similar within your Frequency separation Orton effect macro in Affinity Photo

[@RobinWhalley]

Thanks. Nik has developed quite a lot since the free version. You will still find the core features, but there is a new user interface, improved selection tools and a few new adjustments. I also find the image quality is better maintained, whereas in the old version of Nik, you could get a lot of artefacts.

[@byoregon1]

Thx Robin. I always get something out of your Nik videos. For me, it’s Pro Contrast and Tonal Contrast. If you’re looking for video ideas, I could use some guidance on how to use those two filters together in a coherent way. My current approach is pretty scattershot with the two - just keep fiddling with sliders til I think it looks right. Thx again for this one.

[@RobinWhalley]

Thanks. Tonal Contrast is another very useful filter, especially for opening shadows. I'll add it to my list of potential videos.

[@dennisskinner4457]

Great tutorial Robin. I wonder if Nik will eliminate the negative control point in future updates with Color effects Pro. I hope not.

[@RobinWhalley]

Thanks. I don't know what the next version of Nik will be but given DxO changed the interface for Viveza and Silver Efex (including Control Points) I can imagine they will try to standardise the other tools to some degree.

[@AlexanderFischer]

My guess is "Tonal Contrast". Edit: Oh, Pro-Contrast was my second guess. As always, it's nice to hear your thoughts and intentions on the image and then see how you implement it in your workflow

[@RobinWhalley]

Yes, Tonal Contrast is another great filter that's under estimated. I'm not surprised that you thought about it. There's a follow up video on using Control Points in Color Efex that you might like in a couple of weeks. Keep an eye open.

[@ianwatson3393]

Very impressive - but oh what a lot of things to do - so much easier to use masking in Affinity Photo and then paint in or out the areas you want to affect

[@RobinWhalley]

Once you become used to the Nik Collection it becomes much easier to work with. The results are also different towhat you achieve when painting in effects using Affinity Photo layers, unless you are using Luminosity Masking/Blending. I guess it depends on what you're used to as to which you prefer. For me the Nik Collection is by far the quickest and easiest.

[@ianwatson3393]

@@RobinWhalley Thanks. Yes - I suppose it is a matter of one's own practice. i must try more with NIK.

[@JFW5358]

I use the Correct Colour Cast filter and the Pro Contrast filter together to achieve the same result.

[@RobinWhalley]

Is the Correct Colour Cast filter the Remove Colour Cast? That one is much more powerful but does take a little more effort to identify what the colour cast is. There are some great options in Color Efex Pro.

[@JFW5358]

@@RobinWhalley Yes, that's it.

[@nancybray4588]

Now that Photoshop has updated itself to the 2023 version, my NIK filters are gone! How can I get them back?

[@RobinWhalley]

You probably need to reinstall them if they weren't copied over in the Photoshop installation.

[@aaz148a]

It is unfortunately impossible to follow your video with these unnecessary huge banners all over the screen!

[@RobinWhalley]

Sorry, what banners all over the screen?

[@aaz148a]

@@RobinWhalley It is transcript banners of what you are saying in huge letters that cover the entire screen. Maybe its a hidden setting by KZbin, I'll ask about it

[@aaz148a]

@@RobinWhalley ok, took some time to figure this out but its on the wheel, bottom right, that one has to disable subtitles! now I can enjoy your video :-)

[@RobinWhalley]

I’m glad you found it. Sorry, I’ve only just seen your message. Im always clicking the Captions link in error. I wish I’d seen it earlier I could have saved you some time.

[@aaz148a]

@@RobinWhalley no worries, I was happy to find out the options on the wheel :-)