if you are willing to work with them as plugins in Aperture/Lightroom it's a lot cheaper than the Photoshop versions. I agree with jon2512 though, that buying the whole set is a good idea. As I said, note when you play with ColorEFX that each module is different with different adjustments, whereas in SilverEFX the presets are all just different settings of the same controls. It also has stuff like skin smoothers (that works really well), custom color changes (like washing out colors) and many other interesting things.īoth can be downloaded as a demo, so you can try them out and see what you think. It does have B&W conversion modules as well, though they are more limited in adjustment than SilverEFX. SilverEFX has a lot of fine grained control over B&W conversions for images.ĬolorEFX is like a super-general toolbox, good for all sorts of things. I know that this is not part of the question, but if you're after another plug-in from Nik I would highly recommend Viveza. It's a fantastic bit of software for your toolbox. In summary, I cannot recommend Color Efex enough. This is another photo that I edited in Color Efex to bring out the autumn colours while leaving the subject (the lady pushing the pram) untouched. While eye enhancements and skin softening can be done in Lightroom/Photoshop, I've found that Color Efex produces the most pleasing effects (i.e. The skin was softened, eyes were enhanced and some touch ups were done to the exposure.

This is an example that was processed using Color Efex. I do lots of portraits, and I've found it an invaluable tool. As such, Silver Efex Pro is rarely used.Ĭolor Efex Pro on the other hand, has loads of useful filters that produce effects that cannot be done using Lightroom alone.

Silver Efex Pro provides some nice templates for B/W conversions, but I've found that the B/W conversion in Lightroom coupled with the channel mixer to provide me with enough control over the B/W conversion process. I have the Nik Software Complete Collection for Lightroom, and I've found that I use Color Efex Pro a lot more than Silver Efex Pro.

Nik software silver efex pro