Mastering the Nik Collection

Post Processing can either be one of the most frustrating or one of the most rewarding parts of photography.  If you don't understand how to use a piece of editing software, it's likely your images will always be left lacking visual appeal. However, if you do have great software and know how to use it well, you can give your images a look that will set them apart. The Nik Collection contains some of the best editing tools available to photographers and in this tutorial, we will teach you how to use the software to it's fullest potential. Whether you're a beginner or already familiar with the apps, these lessons will help you become an expert in the Nik Collection. 

Your Instructor

Mark Wallace is an incredible photographer and an even better educator with a long resume under his belt. He has been shooting street photography, portraiture, and travel photography for over 30 years. He created Adorama TV, has contributed regularly to Creative Live, and has created hundreds of educational videos on YouTube. Mark has been an avid user of the Nik Collection for most of his career and is the perfect person to show you, at whatever level you are, how to become an expert in the software. 

The Nik Collection

The Nik Collection is a complete suite of editing tools that help address any editing need you have. There are eight different apps that give you the ability to create your own unique style and apply that look to your body of work in a way no other software does. The software is useful in all genres of photography; it doesn't matter if you're a portrait photographer, architectural photographer, fine art photographer, or scenic photographer, there are tools that will help you take your images to the next level. 

What's Covered in the Tutorial

This tutorial covers every part of the Nik Collection in depth. We start out with an overview of the software including navigating the interface for each app, locating every tool and preset, and creating a workflow. We also cover how to use each app as a standalone program or, more commonly, in conjunction with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. 

Nik Color Efex

In Nik Color Efex we'll explore how to combine up to 58 different filters to create your own unique style. Mark will demonstrate the application of filters, presets, and show how to make selective adjustments using control points. You'll learn how to create presets and apply them to another image. We'll also cover how to bring out the most detail in you image using the ClearView tool.

Nik Silver Efex

In Nik Silver Efex we'll dive into black and white photography the way it used to be in the dark room. Mark will teach cover a variety of black and white conversion options with both portraits and landscapes. You will learn how to use adjustments and control lines as well as how to work with color channels within a black and white image. 

Nik Analog Efex

In Nik Analog Efex you'll journey back in time to analog cameras which had light leaks, distortion problems, grain, and photo plates. Mark will walk through how to create different camera looks of the past that will bring new life to your old photos.

Nik Viveza

In Nik Viveza Mark will show you how to realize your creative vision by changing the color and tonality of your images. He will demonstrate how to create presets and apply those presets within the software or through Photoshop. He will also do a full edit on a landscape image.

Nik Dfine

In Nik Dfine you'll learn to denoise your images in an intelligent way by only fixing the problem areas. Mark will teach automatic noise reduction as well as manually selecting areas that need work. 

Nik PreSharpener and Post Sharpener

Many people aren't aware that images go through two sharpening stages, one in the camera and the other in post processing. In Nik PreSharpener and Post Sharpener, you'll learn how to optimize each stage of your image workflow to get the most detail out of your images.

Nik HDR Efex

Some files seem completely unrecoverable because they were under or over exposed. In Nik HDR Efex, you'll learn to bring back some of your most contrasty images by controlling your brightest highlights and darkest darks. Mark will show you how to optimize edits with a single image or by stacking multiple images to create a well defined scene. 

Nik Perspective 

Nik Perspective excels in correcting any geometric distortion you may run across. Mark will show you how to use vertical and horizontal adjustments as well as the reshape tool to re align an architectural shot. In additional, he'll also demonstrate how to create a miniature effect that will give a surreal look to your images.

DxO PureRaw

Mark claims DxO PureRAW is the single best piece of software on the market for getting noise out of your images. In this lesson he'll show you how to get the most out of your raw files by correcting optical distortion, sharpen your images, and denoising your images before editing them.

Follow Along with Mark

As part of the tutorial we are including every file that Mark works on. Every time Mark opens a piece of software on camera, you'll be able to access the same file and match his edits click for click. In addition, Mark has included a variety of presets that he uses in the tutorial.

Our goal with this tutorial was not only to teach you how to use the Nik Collection to it's fullest potential but also to teach you how to become a better editor. If you're not completely satisfied with your purchase, we offer a full money back guarantee.