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Photoshop, Lightroom and Nik Software

ZoranC

New member
I have Photoshop Elements 10 and number of plugins, like Topaz Labs ones. I have also just acquired Lightroom. I do want to get CS5 eventually but that is not in the near future.

I am thinking of getting Nik Software's Complete Collection. It does not support Elements 10, but it does support Lightroom. So solution seems easy, just use it in Lightroom. That solution could also result in $200 saving as edition that includes support for Photoshop and Lightroom is right now $399 while one that supports just Lightroom (and Aperture but that is not of relevance to me as I am a Windows user) is $199.

However, I do not want to lose benefits of other plugins I have so going with solely Lightroom edition means increased going back and forth between Photoshop and Lightroom.

So question for those experienced with 3 of these together: Do you foresee issues with getting edition that just supports Lightroom? What things I might feel are missing / might frustrate me with this approach?
 

weinschela

Subscriber Member
Zoran: I am not sure I understand your question. The Nik suite is excellent, but are you asking whether there is less capability in the LR only suite? I do use the tools in CS5, (especially Viveza and Silverefex) but not in LR. The tools are well thought out and so far have behaved but it seems to me you know that already and are asking something different.
 

mathomas

Active member
I took a similar approach when I bought the Nik Complete Collection for Aperture only. It hasn't bothered me to work (almost) exclusively in Aperture and Silver Efex, but to be honest, I don't like using PS (Elements) all that much anyway.

Now there is one thing to keep in mind. In Aperture, when you launch to Nik's tools, make edits, and return, you have a new "version" of the file with all the edits applied. You can't undo/redo the edits or manage them in any way. I believe the PS-based versions make their changes on layers in the PSD. I don't know if Lightroom will have the same limitation as Aperture (I suspect so), but it's something to check for, or at least know about.
 

fotografz

Well-known member
You are correct. If you use Nik as a plug-in for Lightroom, it is one dimensional .... meaning it is a straight conversion with no layer, so once you hit save, it goes back into the LR Library as a Tiff (next to the original if you chose to), and can't be undone.

I have selected both PS-5 and Nik Silver Efex as my "Open In" plug-ins for Lightroom. That way I have a choice. I can either go directly to Silver Efex to make a B&W conversion ... or if there is other retouching or adjustments I need to do in PS, I open the file in PS-5 and once retouched can do a B&W conversion using the Nik Silver Efex option located under filters in PS.

The difference is that in PS, Nik produces a separate layer for the conversion, and you can create as many layers as you want from the base file using the Nik software to do special effects, or to use the layers pallet to blend multiple B&W layers for increased dynamic range. I also use Nik Define-2 in PS to deal with noise issues, and that also can be done by selecting only parts of an image, layering it, and manually applying Nik Define-2 to those areas only.

That finial file is then saved back to the LR Library next to the original as a Tiff to keep the library intact with all corrected files along with the original RAW files, and as far as I know can't be undone either. BUT, you can save the layered file separately in a separate place before saving it back to LR.

Without being able to use layers, my workflow speed and creative choices would be severely crippled, so IMO PS with layering ability is a must have companion to Lightroom .... BTW, Nik programs are placed in both LR (or aperture) and Photoshop processing programs when uploading.

-Marc
 

rga

Member
Also using Nik for creating layers in CS, you can adjust the intensity of each layer created by using the opacity slider. Extremely useful for fine tuning...
 

Jan Brittenson

Senior Subscriber Member
What Marc says. You lose the ability to combine Nik tools directly with PS tools. Like, you can't apply Nik effects with a mask, or to a layer. I got the collection for Aperture/LR, but later when I upgraded Silver Efex 1 to 2 I went with the full version. I don't use PS much anymore, but it does have its uses and it's convenient to use the Nik plugins directly from it.
 
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