NIK HDR Pro 2 and Topaz Clarity Together?
Just thought I would add a photo I took several years ago in the countryside of Belarus outside of Minsk. It was a good image to begin with so it was pretty hard to mess it up, but this time I tried something I had not done before. First I processed this image quite a bit in Lightroom – doing the basic sliders and then sharpening up the road and the foreground plants a little. Then once in Photoshop, I applied Nik’s HDR Pro 2 using the Deep 1 preset – no changes. I wondered how Topaz (see sidebar for website link) Clarity would stack up against the HDR program, so I duplicated the image and added Clarity. A preset I had created called Very Vivid Sharp was selected. (Settings if you want them are as follows: Clarity: Dynamics – Micro Contrast 0.84, Low Contrast 0.56, Medium Contrast -0.31, and High Contrast -0.09; Tone Level – all set to 0; and HSL Filter: Hue – no changes; Sat – Red 0.25, Orange 0.13, Yellow, Green, Aqua, Purple and Magenta all 0, Blue 0.06, and Overall 0.17; and Lum – Red -0.81, Orange -0.01, Yellow 0, Green -0.08, Aqua 0, Blue 0.23, Purple 0, Magenta 0.33, and Overall -0.12) Wow – it really popped the image! So now what to do, what to do?
I decided to move the Clarity layer on top and add a black layer mask. Then I selectively painted back areas that needed the extra boost that Clarity added. The results are quite spectacular I believe. Next time you get stuck, try applying a couple different filters to the original image – even ones that do not come together – and stack and mask them to get the best of both. The results can be quite incredible!…..Digital Lady Syd
Digital Lady Syd Related Blogs:
More Clarity on Topaz Clarity
Digital Lady Syd Reviews Topaz Clarity
Digital Lady Syd Reviews Nik HDR Efex Pro 2
Make an Ordinary Image Interesting
This image was one I did not think I would ever use. but once I was able to straighten it correctly in Lightroom with the Lens Correction Upright feature, it started looking pretty nice. So here is the Parliament building and the Thames River. The reason I love this image is the beautiful sky and the way it points to the building towers. After processing in Lightroom, a couple things really contributed to this interesting look. The Background layer was duplicated and then Nik’s HDR Pro 2 was opened (this was not an HDR image) and my favorite preset, Grannys Attic, was applied – no changes. Next the layer was duplicated and Nik’s Silver Efex Pro 2 was opened up in a Smart Object to save the settings. I am not sure which preset I used as a starting point but these are the settings I ended up with (Global Adjustments: Brightness 7%, Highlights -32%, Midtones 11%, Shadows 9%, and Dynamic Brightness 25%; Contrast 15%, Amplify Whites 0%, Amplify Blacks 0%, and Soft Contrast 8%; Structure 10%, Highlights -58%, Midtones 8%, Shadows 53%, and Fine Structure 62%; Selective Adjustments: 6 Control Points were added to add the color back in certain areas; Color Filter: Hue 43 degrees and Strength 114%; Film Types: Custom, Grain – Grain per pixel 500 and Soft to Hard center; Levels and Curves: Just a little contrast with curve lifted up; and Finishing Adjustments Toning was set to 3, Strength 59%, Silver Hue 215 degrees, Silver Toning 59%, Balance 57%, Paper Hue 50 degrees, and Paper Toning 22%. A clean up layer was created, but I just did not like the rough river look. So…. I decided to add Flaming Pear’s Flood Filter, but just to the water. (Here are the settings I used: Horizon 76, Offset 0, Perspective 35, Attitude 84, Waviness 6, Complexity 21, Brilliance 33, Blur 12, Size 12, Height 33, Undulation 40 and Glue Normal.) The building side was masked out so just the water was selected. The Layer was set to 84% opacity. The last step was to match the graininess to the Flood Filter water – Photoshop’s Add Noise set to 8 pixels, Gaussian Blur, and Monochromatic checked. Once again a layer mask was applied so just the water was affected. That was it – I really like what the flood filter did to the water. It added just a bit of the painterly look that the sky already contributed. Hope you enjoy!…..Digital Lady Syd
Digital Lady Syd Related Blogs:
Lightroom 5′s New Upright Adjustment Feature
Hyacinths Deep in Reflection
The Flood Look
Nik HDR Efex Pro Example
