Google just made the entire Nik Collection of Photo Processing Software Plugins Free.

Published on March 24, 2016 By DrJBHL In Personal Computing

This software is truly excellent…it is a full suite you can read about here: https://www.google.com/intl/en-GB/nikcollection/

If you need help, it’s here: https://support.google.com/nikcollection/?hl=en-GB#topic=2991541

You will need Ps to use it.

“Today we’re making the Nik Collection available to everyone, for free.
Photo enthusiasts all over the world use the Nik Collection to get the best out of their images every day. As we continue to focus our long-term investments in building incredible photo editing tools for mobile, including Google Photos and Snapseed, we’ve decided to make the Nik Collection desktop suite available for free, so that now anyone can use it.
The Nik Collection is comprised of seven desktop plug-ins that provide a powerful range of photo editing capabilities -- from filter applications that improve color correction, to retouching and creative effects, to image sharpening that brings out all the hidden details, to the ability to make adjustments to the color and tonality of images.

Starting March 24, 2016, the latest Nik Collection will be freely available to download: Analog Efex Pro, Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro and Dfine. If you purchased the Nik Collection in 2016, you will receive a full refund, which we’ll automatically issue back to you in the coming days.

We’re excited to bring the powerful photo editing tools once only used by professionals to even more people now.” – Google

What is the recommended workflow when using the Nik Collection?

The recommended workflow for the Nik Collection is as follows:

1. If desired, apply Raw Presharpener using Sharpener Pro 3.
2. Apply noise reduction using Dfine 2.
3. Control color and light using Viveza 2.
4. Apply filter enhancements using Color Efex Pro 4.
5. Convert to black and white using Silver Efex Pro 2.
6. Apply output sharpening using Sharpener Pro 3.

Note: Analog Efex Pro 2 can be utilized at any point after Dfine 2. HDR Efex Pro 2 is best used immediately after Dfine 2.

If you would like to learn more about the products and how to use them, there are online learning resources available. Please click to view our training videos."
Plugin compatibility:
Windows: Vista, 7, 8
Adobe Photoshop: CS4 through CC 2015
Adobe Photoshop Elements: 9 through 13 (apart from HDR Efex Pro 2, which is not compatible with Photoshop Elements)
Adobe Lightroom: 3 through 6/CC

You KNOW I’m downloading it as I’m typing this.

Comments

Hankers

on Mar 24, 2016

Excellent collection of photo editing apps.

teddybearcholla

on Mar 24, 2016

Uvah

on Mar 24, 2016

Wow!

ElanaAhova

on Apr 01, 2016

Do these 'plugins' requre Adobe Photoshop /lightroom, or are they stand aloe and usable with the free/inexpensive software one line?

DrJBHL

on Apr 01, 2016

Elana:

In computing, a plug-in (or plugin, add-in, addin, add-on, addon, or extension) is a software component that adds a specific feature to an existing computer program.

The Nik collection is not a stand alone program.

The Nik collection is a group of plugins designed (in Windows) to work with these programs:

Windows Vista®, Windows 7, Windows 8 (and Windows 10)
Adobe Photoshop CS4 through CC 2015
Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 through 13 (apart from HDR Efex Pro 2, which is not compatible with Photoshop Elements)
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 through 6/CC

Ok?

moshi

on Apr 01, 2016

DrJBHL

reply 5

Elana:

In computing, a plug-in (or plugin, add-in, addin, add-on, addon, or extension) is a software component that adds a specific feature to an existing computer program.

The Nik collection is not a stand alone program.

The Nik collection is a group of plugins designed (in Windows) to work with these programs:

Windows Vista®, Windows 7, Windows 8 (and Windows 10)

Adobe Photoshop CS4 through CC 2015

Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 through 13 (apart from HDR Efex Pro 2, which is not compatible with Photoshop Elements)

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 through 6/CC

Ok?

theoretically this is correct.

they do run as stand-alones in reality though. there are executables in each of the folders in %programfiles%\Google\Nik Collection

in Windows 10 they have a File menu. maybe you'll need to drag&drop images onto the program's icon if you use an other os.

this is actually not uncommon for Photoshop plugins.

ElanaAhova

on Apr 01, 2016

Thanks Seth, you confirmed my initial understanding. i asked because i know a few plugins that actually work on (with) programs in addition to the prescribed ones.

gevansmd

on Apr 01, 2016

Thanks for sharing this link! I've also passed it on to two photographer friends of mine. I'm curious how plug-ins work if you're running the cloud version of Photoshop.

DrJBHL

on Apr 01, 2016

PsCC is installed on the computer. It communicates, updates, etc. with the Adobe Cloud server. Also, if payments lapse for 3 months, it deactivates.

However, the Adobe apps ARE installed on your computer (for me, PsCC and LrCC). Therefore, like plugins with Chrome...it and they are installed on your computer.

Welcome Guest! Please take the time to register with us.
There are many great features available to you once you register, including:

Richer content, access to many features that are disabled for guests like commenting on the forums.
Access to a great community, with a massive database of many, many areas of interest.
Access to contests & subscription offers like exclusive emails.
It's simple, and FREE!