Nik Software does it again – Color Efex 3.0 Complete Lightroom Add-in ROCKS!

 

NOTE: A 15% discount on Nik Software for readers of this blog by entering the code rmartinsen when you order online or call to place an order. This offer excludes 3rd party software, bundles and upgrades, but even if you buy an excluded product please include the code when ordering.

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NOTE: This article is obsolete. Please see my Color Efex Pro 4 review instead.

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While it is true that you could do in Photoshop on your own what nearly every add-in on the market does, the reality is that some add-ins just save you a ton of time. Nik Software’s products consistently achieve that objective and seriously kick ass! Since I first reviewed Nik Color Efex Pro 3.0 Complete, I’ve come to love this product to the point that I can’t process a photo without it. This is seriously fantastic stuff! It’s U-Point technology works wonders making complex masking a breeze in seconds, as shown in the image below where I’ve used 4 U-Points to have precise control of where I added and subtracted the super awesome Sunshine filter:

 

Why do I like it so much? Well, the first is that the 52 filters that come with Color Efex 3.0 Complete rock! You can see for yourself on their website, or you can look at some of the cool photos I’ve created in this article which owe most of their coolness to the fantastic filters that this product offers. For example, my shot below of Audrey was done using the Bleach Bypass filter. In fact, all of the shots in this article were done in Lightroom without going to Photoshop!

 

Well the good news here is that the good just got great because this add-in is SMOKING FAST and a blast to use via Lightroom. During the writing of this article, I tried out nearly all 52 filters (including many of the variations of some of those filters) on a dozen photos in about 45 minutes. It was great to see how fast Color Efex works when running directly from Lightroom without Photoshop hogging all of the memory. Here’s an example of the awesome Solarization filter applied to a fall photo that’s currently the wallpaper on my desktop. Talk about a new refreshing change!

It was SO FUN playing around with this product and getting cool effects like this (using one of my favorites, Color Stylizer):

I had a blast using this product and feel like I’ve found a new reason to use my favorite third party add-in directly from Photoshop. It was such a joy to use that I can’t recommend it enough. If you already own Color Efex the good news is that this plug-in is free, but if you are only a Lightroom user then this is a MUST HAVE addition to your Lightroom workflow. Don’t believe me? Try it out for 15 days and I’ll bet you can’t live without it. This product cost me $250 when I bought it and I’ve never once regretted purchasing it. It is really that good and this upgrade makes it even better – period!

NOTE: A 15% discount on Nik Software for readers of this blog by entering the code rmartinsen when you order online or call to place an order. This offer excludes 3rd party software, bundles and upgrades, but even if you buy an excluded product please include the code when ordering.