I have recently become a very big fan of the Nik Software product range. Apart from a great suite of filters and tools in their product range the one aspect of their toolset that I find most appealing is the U-Point technology. With U-Point and Nik tools I have been able to achieve retouching in Photoshop that I would never have attempted before. Retouching in Photoshop is an art and can be quite difficult depending how far you wish to go. However Nik and U-Point have taken this black-art and turned it into childs-play.U-Point control points were designed to allow photographers to make various adjustments directly on their images without ever having to create complex selections, masks or layers. The degree to which an image can be manipulated is now only superceded by the simplicity with which this can be achieved with U-Point. U-Point isn't revolutionary but more an evolutionary step as one could undoubtedly recreate the effects of U-Point in Photoshop; albeit with complex masks, layers and creative selections which naturally take much longer to achieve and more prone to error.
With U-Point powered Control Points, there is no need to ever create these complex selections, masks, or layers. With simple click and drag functionality, photographers can work directly on their image to control virtually any aspect of their photographic edits. Depending on the toolset the control point is being applied to, you can for the first time control specific elements of an image (such as the sky, skin, grass etc) independently of the rest of the image without the use of masks, layers or other complex procedures. With a control point you can adjust a specific area of object very accurately and by adding more control points to the image the U-Point blending technology works it's magic considering all enhancements and subtely merging these adjustments together. What used to be beyond my ability as a Photoshop user is now simplicity itself. The adjustments made are so visual that your post-processing speeds up dramatically allowing you to adjust colour and light as easily as capturing the original photograph or adjusting exposure. The end result is an image that better suits your intentions or desires.
So, what exactly is U-Point and how does it work then to make your life so much simpler?
With traditional post-processing performing retouching usually involves adjusting pixels at the RGB level or by using complicated and fancy selection tools to mask off objects or aspects of an image. Once these accurate selections are made (which is a very laborious and time consuming process) you then need to apply one or more appropiate filters such as levels, curves, color-balance etc. You also need to manage the interaction between these filters as they applied so that they blend seamlessly and you don't introduce artifacts or banding.
U-Point however changes this process as adjustments are made using a single method that is simple to use and extend. With a Control Point simply click on an area (or object or region) of an image that you wish to enhance in some way. Then by simply adjusting sliders left or right with the mouse you can effect control over your image depending on the underlying filter.
Currently the following Nik Tools allow for U-Point Control point adjustments:
· Nik Viveza: Brightness, Contrast, Saturation, Hue, Red, Green, Blue, Warmth
· Nik Sharpener 3.0: Sharpening Strength, Structure, Local Contrast and Focus
· Nik DFine 2.0: Contrast Noise and Colour Noise
· Nik Color Efex 3.0: Opacity Slider to localise filter effect
· Nik Silver Efex Pro: Brightness, Contrast and Structure
Once a Control Point is placed, the Control Point automatically:
· Reads RGB and location values for each Control Point that is placed on the image.
· Calculates additional values of hue, saturation, brightness (lightness), and image detail to create the complete and unique set of U-Point pixel characteristics.
· Incorporates the U-Point pixel characteristics into a central intelligent blending function. U-Point technology’s central blending function enables the user to adjust the entire range of parameters to control color and light (including, Red, Green, Blue, hue, saturation, brightness, contrast, and warmth, as well as the size of area to be controlled) using a set of sliders associated with each Control Point.
When an additional control point is placed on the image, U-Point pixel characteristics for that specific control point are calculated and are then factored into the central blending function. As more control points are placed on the image, the central blending function becomes more intelligent, enabling even more refined and precise changes in the image. The user controls color, light, contrast, and tonality by placing more control points on the image at specific locations. The control points are interdependent and communicate to combine and blend enhancements naturally, which can be easily adjusted or undone at any time, regardless of the order in which the change was made. The important thing is that the overall adjustment is seamless and professional.
Most of the U-Point properties are quite obvious although the size slider may need a bit more explanation. When the size slider is at 100% the Control Point effects all the pixels on your image. Lower values than 100% restrict the effect to smaller areas around that Control Point. By clicking on the 'Show Mask' icon at any stage you can visibly see the exact area that is to be affected by your Control-Point and refine it accordingly.Once your Control point adjustments are in place and your filter settings have been applied most of the Nik product line now allows you to apply those changes as a Smart Object in Photoshop. If you haven't experiemented with Smart Objects in Photoshop I strongly recommending doing so as in this particular instance it's a great way of being able to modify the respective Nik Adjustments at any stage during the editing process if you change your mind. Of course you can also apply the effect of the Nik adjustment layer and brush in the changes on a seperate mask if needed.
U-Point is already available in Nikons CaptureNX, Apple Aperture and of course Photoshop. As an image retoucher I would really enjoy it if Adobe would introduce this U-Point technology into Lightroom as soon as possible. However it does seem unlikely that they will do so given the way they are forging ahead with their own selective adjustment tools in Lightroom 2.0? It isn't as powerful as the Nik technology however in my opinion.If you haven't had the chance to try out the Nik Software range of products I strongly urge you to do so. The software unfortunately isn't cheap but the results are certainly impressive. The results may not always be perfect but Nik does a far better job far quicker than I could do with my current knowledge of Photoshop, layers, blending-modes and masks.
Be advised that in no way am I affiliated with NikSoftware, Nikon, Adobe or any of the other products mentioned here.
Have you backed up your computer lately? Have you backed up all your important and precious photographs to another hard drive; a CD or DVD? If not, stop reading this right now and go and do it. I'm serious. What are you still doing here? Stop reading and go make copies of all the data that is important to you? Use whatever mechanism you have available to you but go and do it now.
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