Try it, you'll like it. <g>
Thanks for the kind words. I confess I do resort to plug-ins these days, mostly
because I don't want to take the time to learn every nook and cranny of
photoshop. But that said, I often try to reverse engineer what the plug-ins do,
to see how the effect was reached. All of them have presets, many of which give
adequate results, and that's probably what you're seeing in the things that
don't particularly appeal to you. The nice thing about Nik plugs is that there
is a considerable level of user control over the effect.
I usually start by scrolling through the presets that come close to what I
like, and if I find one that pops the image the way I like it, I tuck in and
start working the controls. With Silver Effex Pro, this means converting the
original file to a smart object so that after I get it the way I like it in
Sfx, I can come back and make alterations if I don't like the print. If you
don't render it a smart object, you're stuck with what you get when you hit
APPLY. onOne plugs are a little less involved. Lots of effects, and ways to
adjust them, but I haven't found a way to go back in a modify afterwards,
except by applying the modifications to the work I've already done. But they do
have a lot of options in, say, Photo Tools, that I love to mess around with.
One of the paths I've been following is applying some portrait effects to
landscapes. Subtle glows and such. Sometimes it works very well. Sometimes it
turns the image to crap. <g>
--Bob
On Aug 11, 2011, at 5:49 PM, Marc Lawrence wrote:
> No, I realise it's not HDR. I meant by "obvious" just that "It's obvious
> that there's some artistic interpretation there"...and that I liked your
> particular interpretation with that photo (though also I'm not always fond
> of others' interpretations *with* HDR, but I think that's a consequence of
> feeling like I'm seeing it so often used in "push-the-button" form on every
> image).
>
> And my proclivities may have me looking at Silver Effex. :)
--
_________________________________________________________________
Options: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/listinfo/olympus
Archives: http://lists.thomasclausen.net/mailman/private/olympus/
Themed Olympus Photo Exhibition: http://www.tope.nl/
|