Nik 7 Color Efex - Gloabl Adjustment filter - control points ... question

Nik Collection
1

I am really new to the Nik Collection.

From Photoshop I launch the Color Efex plugin for a landscape image. I placed a control line across the bottom of the image and adjusted the saturation, structure, and contrast. I placed a control point in the upper area and noticed that it picked up the values I had set in the control line. That’s weird I said to myself. So I reset the value for the control point and the values of the control line are now also reset.

What’s up? Are the control points ( and lines, polygons, and luminosity masks) all linked? This is different from Viveza, I think.

Peter

2

If I understood correctly, you used one filter in CEP 7 with 2 local adjustments,
the control line at the bottom and the control point at the top.

While you can customize individually the opacity and spread of each local adjustment, you are still applying one filter.

graphic
graphic1920×1076 141 KB

If you want to use this filter with other correction settings, simply add a second instance,
just like when you add another filter from CEP.

3

Wolfgang, thanks for you comments.

I see now that with Color Efex, while version 7 brings control points (and neutral or cancelling control points by holding the ALT key), each application of a filter is limit to only one alteration. And multiple instances of various kinds of control points within one instance of a filter share the filter settings. Therefore to affect two or more changes (different filter settings) with a filter, additional instances of that filter must be successively applied - one for each designated change. This behavior is not what I had expected after playing a bit with Viveza.

In addition to your comments I had to revisit some tutorial videos from Dave Kelly (and others). I guess when I first viewed these videos my mind was clouded with how I thought control points behave, and together with the fact that I generally did not understand what filters are all about. I am still trying to distinguish filters from presets (in my mind). And I find it a bit confusing that the word filter is used is several different contexts.

BTW, is there any limit to the number of successive filters that can be applied? I can see needing many depending on the complexity of the adjustments. Somewhere I saw the word “unlimited” and in another case “15”.

Thanks again, I will endeavor to stumble along,
Peter

4

Well, Viveza is one filter and has a bit different concept. You have global adjustments and can add local adjustments separately. When to apply the same settings locally, you duplicate the masking tool (CP, CL, Polygon) using the duplicate symbol or by selecting the tool and then holding down the ALT key + dragging away … [ but holding the Alt key and then clicking deducts from the selection … ]

Color Efex is a container for several filters. Activating one filter adds it globally and then using one of the local adjustments restricts the selection … [ but holding the Alt key and then clicking deducts from the (local) selection … ]

Btw, presets can be thought of as a set of settings, and in the case of Color Efex, a collection of different filters (with settings).

There are quite a few options and to explore just play around.
have fun, Wolfgang