B&W processing - which plugin?

Steelfish

Steelfish

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Name
Joe
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Hi all,

I've recently enjoyed the free trial of Nik's Silver Efex 2, but as money is a little tight I'm wondering if there are any cheaper alternatives that the forum could recommend, please?

I'm using both LR4 and Aperture 3, so need something that's accessible from both. As an aside I've also tried a few presets for both applications, but try as I might I just can't get the same results as I do from the simple Silver Efex 2 presets.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 
As Robert says, keep practising. LR can produce excellent B&W images, especially if you use the adjustment brush for local enhancement. Silver Efex Pro does a great job quickly, but if budget is a consideration, then learn to use the built-in functionality of LR and Aperture.
 
Ok thanks guys. I will persevere with the LR and aperture adjustments.

I must admit, if I can avoid spending the 200 quid on silver efex I'd be a happy bunny. I need that 200 to buy yet more shiny kit!
 
Ok, before I butcher someone else's photo in the PP game, what do we think to this one? In Aperture, applied the B&W higher contrast (grade 2), knocked down the exposure -0.24.


Interloper by steelfish, on Flickr

Compared to the following picture, I can't seem to suss out how to get that slightly silvery effect I got using the uber expensive plugin.


Woods by steelfish, on Flickr

Any ideas?

PS: Excuse dodgy composition, the Porsche shot was just a random one in my library I picked to experiment on!
 
Some reasonable Lightroom Presets here for free.

Click me

Install a few and try them. If there are any that particularly grab you, have a look and see exactly what the preset is doing.
 
Ploddles said:
Some reasonable Lightroom Presets here for free.

Click me

Install a few and try them. If there are any that particularly grab you, have a look and see exactly what the preset is doing.
Click to expand...

Thanks - there's a fair few there to give me ideas (and not just the simple B&W ones).
 
Joe

OnOne also do a pack of free presets that will help you see how they build them

Ther is also a pack on the Adobe site by a giy called Bryan Wheeler that may be of use but I think they are only guaranteed to work in LR3. They may well work in 4 but the sliders are different so may not work the same if that makes sense?
 
Robbi said:
Use the power of Lightroom.

Use your own imagination not what a "Plug-In" thinks it should look like.

If the Plug-in can do it, why can't you...
Click to expand...

I can only assume you've never actually used Silver Efex or the other software mentioned, because they're not just collections of presets, they're full software processing suites. Your insinuation is rather akin to suggesting that a painter's paintbrush does his work for him.

To the OP, I agree with what others have said. Save your money for when you can afford Silver Efex, and stick to LR or PS for now. As much as I love Silver Efex, it doesn't really allow you to do anything that can't somehow also be accomplished in LR or PS, it's just a slightly more involved process in these two apps.
 
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