Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

The interface for this program is deceptively simple, but once you start using it, you get a chance to see just how powerful a tool it is. You can use it to selectively increase contrast, brighten your foreground and darken the background, and saturate or desaturate colors. I use it to help highlight the subjects in my photos, as well as to apply a cooling filter-like effect to skies to emphasize the blue. I made the mistake of buying this and other NIK products separately because I bought them piecemeal. I highly recommend buying the whole suite and save yourself several hundred dollars. If you cannot afford that, though, this is a wonderful standalone utility. Make sure you watch the training videos on NIK Software's homepage to get you started.

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

I use the product directly inside Lightroom 2. It's fantastic! I still use photoshop CS4 for certain adjustment but with the addition of Viveza I'm having to make that move less and less all the time. If you've used other Nik products then you already know how well developed and easy to use they are; Viveza is no different.

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

So far I cannot find anything negative-I am an amateur Photographer & have problems retaining all the intricacy's of photoshop plus the time it consumes. With Viveza & it's u-point technology I am comfortable performing the type of photo editing I do.
Don Davis

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

As advertised, Viveza can localize your corrections to great extent. It has problems identifying closely similar or identical tones or hues if there separated by other strong hues or tones. I find I use the paint mode more and more to control the area/s effected. The more complex the image the more work I need to do, even with Viveza. Overall, I'm growing very fond of using it. Did I hope it would be the be all and end all? Of course I did. Is it that? No, of course it isn't; nothing could be. Do I have more to learn about the program? Absolutely. Is it worth learning more about? Yes. Only "objective" complaint:I can't change the size of the control points (not the area they cover, which is controllable). Is it overpriced? Yes, but I'm glad I purchased it.

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

Viveza is another hit from Nik! It allows quick "shoot from the hip" edits that look wonderful and save a lot of time.

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

Vivenza speeds up most masking and localized corrections to the point that it will actually pay for its cost in a very short time due to time saved and will change the way your edit work flow progresses. If you are a Nikon user the Capture NX2 is considerably more powerful and has the same technology but probably four times the usefulness in that the U-Point technology extends to unsharp mask and many other attributes but Capture is a standalone program instead of a Photoshop plug-in and does not open Canon raw files but does handle JPG and TIF files. I believe in the increased speed and flexability enough that I bought both programs.

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

Excellent product, as advertised. Somewhat overpriced. Absolutely non-existent technical support from Nik.

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

Using the U-point technology is a breeze and so easy to use. It's so amazing to click on one small area of the photo and control only the selected color of the pixels and enhance only the portion of the photo you need to correct.

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

As a working professional photographer, Viveza is now essential to my CS3 work flow. I evaluated it first via free download, and based on 5 minutes of use, I made the decision to buy it. It is true that is it possible to do anything in CS3 that you can do in Viveza -- the catch is that it will take hours in CS3 vs. minutes in Viveza, with virtually no learning curve. My test was to re-process images that I felt were good, but would take far too long to process to be at a standard I liked. I was able to get great results with Viveza in under 15 minutes. Viveza saves enormous amounts of time, and it will salvage old images (recovering lost shooting time). This plug-in provides an unprecedented combination of power and simplicity of use. Totally intuitive. I use it on every single image I process to fine tune local color, brightness, and contrast. Absolutely the most powerful photo editing tool I have ever seen. It works with layers, and layer masks. You can also have multiple Viveza layers. There are no practical limits on its usefulness. I even edit HDRs with it. Buy it, you will not regret it. I bought it from B&H for the best price, [...]

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

Easy and fun to use. Cuts post processing work in half.

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

It's hard to describe in a few words what Viveza does in Photoshop. So I won't. Go to the mfr's site and download the demo. You'll be impressed. Then, come back here to buy.

I rarely buy Photoshop plugins. Most do things that Photoshop already does, but in slightly different ways. Viveza, however, is a Photoshop plugin that every serious user should own. Viveza does what curves and selections do, but in a very different, quicker, and more intuitive way.

P.S. If you're not already hooked on Photoshop for editing your photos, look at Nikon Capture NX, which is cheaper and has Viveza controls built in.

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

I love this software. I don't need it for every shot, but I find I want to try it out on nearly every one anyway. Sometimes it just isn't possible to get the perfect exposure and balance thru the full spectrum in camera, but with Viveza I can make small adjustments that result in a big improvement in the final product.

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

a great new product for selective control of color, contrast & brightness. eliminates most of the need for complicated & time-consuming masking in photoshop. short learning curve.

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

Overall good product but I would like some way of being able to adjust the tolerance it uses to pick areas.

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

I have been around Photoshop a long time but never took a class. I've been able to get what I wanted from it without layers. This product creates the layers and it is easy to use. The tutorials on their website are a quick and easy way to learn the product. Only had it a short time and it has paid for itself in my time savings.

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

Exceptionally user friendly. Very intuitive to use. Takes a lot of "computer work" out of digital photography! Another great product from Nik!

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

Very intuitive, easy to understand and it does exactly what Nik says it will do. Very much worth the cost.

Comments about Nik Software Viveza Color Control Plug-in for Photoshop:

Translated from the Spanish, 'Viveza' as a noun means:
liveliness, sparkle, smartness and quickness.
All of these words are an apt description of Viveza.
It could not be any easier to use and is an asset to any workflow that involves the use of Adobe Photoshop.
It would take multiple layers, masking and painting to accomplish what you can do in minutes with this product.