Wow! This is something quite amazing. For those who don’t know, NIK Photo Editing Software is a plugin suite once under a 3rd party company but later purchased by Google. The suite is composed of seven plugin/programs which integrate direction with Lightroom & Photoshop (Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro and Dfine). Starting March 24, 2016, the entire Nik Collection was made freely available to download: https://www.google.com/nikcollection/ .
So do you want to bother? Hell yea… When this suite was first hit the market I bought it from NIK for hundreds of dollars. The exact amount escapes me, but if I remember correctly it was near $500 for the entire suite (for both LR and PS versions). While it was wildly expensive I never regretted paying the money. It is still to date my favorite photo editing plugin and I use it on photos from nearly every shoot I do. Once Google took over the software they reduced the price to $150 but never seemed to put much energy into growing the software and I guess they have decided to give up and just use it as a marketing tool… So….. Now you get it free… lucky you.
So what if you’ve already paid? Well, if you are like me and bought the suite years ago then tough cookies. But if you made your purchase in 2016 then guess what? Hooray you are getting a full refund… That’s sweet.
So what do you get in the NIK Photo Editing Software Suite?
- Analog Efex Pro: Reproduce the look and styles of old films, cameras, lenses and processing.
- Color Efex Pro: A comprehensive set of filters for color correction, retouching, and creative effects.
- Silver Efex Pro: In my opinion the best black and white plugin ever made. And now it’s free,, just can’t believe it.
- Viveza: Selectively adjust the color and tonality of your images without complicated masks or selections.
- HDR Efex Pro: In my opinion the easiest to use HDR software while still being amazingly good (I still prefer it to all others and feel it gives the most natural look when desired).
- Sharpener Pro: Bring out hidden details consistently with the professional’s choice for image sharpening.
- Dfine: Hands down the easiest to use (and one of the best) noise reduction softwares out there.
Want to learn to work these programs better? Try going to KelbyOne Training and watch their 2 hr FREE tutorial. You don’t even have to sign up, though I highly recommend giving their free trial account a try while you’re at it because KelbyOne Training is the best online training you are going to find on any photographic topic be it software, cameras, skills, etc).
#niksoftware #photoeditings #google #freesoftware
