Getting Started COLOR EFEX PRO 4 ™ The Photographer’s Choice for Photographic Filters for Photoshop®, Lightroom®, and Aperture®
Getting Started COLOR EFEX PRO 4 Table of contents What’s New Installation and Access User Interface Lesson 1 - Applying a Filter Lesson 2 - Applying Filters Selectively Using Control Points Lesson 3 - Adding Multiple Filters Online Resources Contact and Support Register your Software Keyboard Shortcuts ™
Welcome to Color Efex Pro 4, the most powerful, fun and creative set of photographic filters available to amateur and pro photographers. Color Efex Pro will let you quickly solve image challenges, retouch portraits with ease, and extend your creativity in never-imagined directions. With unmatched versatility, quality and time savings, it offers something for everyone. Color Efex Pro is an absolutely essential part of any serious photographer’s toolkit.
Installing Color Efex Pro 4 Windows: Macintosh: 1. Close all open applications. 2. Insert the Color Efex Pro 4 CD, or locate and double-click on the downloaded installer. 3. Select the appropriate language to continue. 4. When the installer window appears, click the Next button within the installer interface. 5. Accept the license agreement. 6. Click the Next button to accept the installation path.
Filters Categories Highlight & Shadow Protection Filters List Control Points Add Filter Loupe & Histogram Recipes History Browser Photograph © 2011 Bill Pekala 4 COLOR EFEX PRO 4 User Interface
LESSON 1 Applying a Filter Color Efex Pro 4 provides an unprecedented range of control contained within 55 unique filters. Each filter is designed to provide you a multitude of possibilities to enhance your photos. With the new presets found within Color Efex Pro 4, it’s now easier than ever to experiment and find the perfect look for your photo. In this image, the new Dark Contrasts filter can be used to add depth and interest into this image, drawing even more attention to the bride.
Step 1. Immediately after opening the image in Color Efex Pro 4, ensure the filter list is displayed after clicking on the FILTERLIST header on the left-hand side. Step 2. To help you find a filter more quickly, Color Efex Pro 4 has eight different filter categories based on photographic style. Select a category to display filters recommended for that particular photographic style. You can add filters into the Favorites category by clicking on the star next to your favorite filter’s name.
Step 5. After selecting a preset, adjust the sliders to your preference. For this particular image, a high Dark Detail Extractor value was used to enhance the details as much as possible. The Dark Detail Extractor control within Dark Contrasts not only enhances details throughout the image, but also amplifies the dark contrasts. Lesson 1 Step 6. After you’ve created the result that you want, click OK or SAVE to process your image and return to your image editor.
LESSON 2 Applying Filters Selectively Using Control Points Applying a filter selectively ensures that you can balance the right color, light, and texture within an image to draw the eye exactly where you want it to go. With Color Efex Pro 4, these powerful edits are easy to perform using control points powered by U Point technology. U Point makes it possible for you to click on an object or area and automatically create a powerful and precise selection, almost instantly.
Step 1. Select the filter to be applied to your photo. In this photo, the updated Tonal Contrast filter was used to bring out the details in the sky, shoreline, and water. Step 2. To achieve this effect, the Balanced Contrast Type was used with a high level of the effect applied to the Highlights and Midtones, and a medium amount of the effect applied to the Shadows. Step 3.
LESSON 3 Adding Multiple Filters One of the biggest improvements to Color Efex Pro 4 is the ability to add multiple filters to an image. Many times, an image can benefit from a series of filters being applied to it, and doing this within a single filter session not only provides a more efficient workflow, but also provides more control and experimentation possibilities. In this image, three separate filters were applied to draw attention to the dewdrops on the flower and stylize the image.
Step 1. To accentuate the dewdrops on the flower, the Detail Extractor filter was used. Step 2. To ensure that the eye goes straight to the flower, some control points were used to apply the Detail Extractor filter’s effect only to the flower. Since only the flower should be affected, + Control Points were used to add the effect only to the flower. Step 3. To make it possible to add another filter, you need to click on the Add Filter button.
In this image, the Low Key filter is added next which will be used to darken the background and further draw the eye to the flower. Lesson 3 Step 5. To prevent the Low Key filter from darkening the flower, some control points are used to remove the effect from the flower. In this case, - Control Points are used to remove the Low Key effect just from the flower.
Step 6. To finish off the image, a third filter is added. The Image Borders filter, first popularized in Silver Efex Pro 2, is now available in Color Efex Pro 4 for use on all images. Lesson 3 Step 7. If you want to save the stack of filters to be used on a later photo, click on the Save Recipe button to create a new custom Recipe. All of the filters and slider values will be saved. Due to their image-specific nature, control points are not saved within a recipe. Step 8.
Online Resources Getting Additional Help Before and after examples of all of the filters as well as additional lessons and videos can be found online in the Color Efex Pro 4 help section. To view the Color Efex Pro 4 online help, visit: www.niksoftware.com/CEPHelp Getting Additional Recipes Color Efex Pro 4 utilizes both Presets and Recipes. Presets are created by Nik Software and make it possible to access a variety of results of the same filter quickly and easily.
Contact and Support United States Germany Contact Nik Software, Inc. by phone at (619) 725-3150 Monday - Friday from 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM (PST) or online at www.niksoftware.com/support In Europe, contact Nik Software, GmbH at +49-40-47-11-35-0 Monday - Friday from 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM (CET) or online at www.niksoftware.com/support Nik Software, Inc.
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