Silver Efex Pro 2: How bad can something good be?

  • Orinagally converted to HDR using virtual copies in LR, then Edited with Silver Efex Pro 2.Orinagally converted to HDR using virtual copies in LR, then Edited with Silver Efex Pro 2.
  • Edited with Silver Efex Pro 2 to bring attention to the texture on her shirt.Edited with Silver Efex Pro 2 to bring attention to the texture on her shirt.
  • Converted to B&W using Silver Efex Pro 2 to strengthen the highlights on her hair.Converted to B&W using Silver Efex Pro 2 to strengthen the highlights on her hair.

The internet is loaded with great black and white photography, I drool over images with incredible rich, tonal range that just pops on screen because they seem so poetic and tangible. After a few months learning how to work with Adobe Lightroom,  I began to notice that knowing how to make good B&W conversions really pushes me to another level; but getting those black rich tones I like and keeping detail on the shadows is quite a challenge.

As I looked at some tutorials on post processing, I came across with Google's Nik Collection. I must admit I was not all that impressed simply because  I'm just not keen towards Instagram-like presets; but I do admit that Silver Efex Pro 2 immediately caught my eye, so I decided to install it and give it a try.

I  liked the results I got on these three portraits, I just couldn't be more excited when I noticed how the texture on her shirt began to come forward with just adjusting a slider; but is that ok? I guess I'm not used to the idea of not dealing with a struggle because it's terribly hard for me to embrace a tool when is convenient and helps me save time; so to justify myself using Silver Efex Pro 2, I decided it to analyze how those presets work and apply those principles when making B&W conversions using Adobe Lightroom. It's only fun if it's hard.