When I first saw Viveza I wasn't sure why I needed it. After a decade of using layers & layer masks for image enhancement learning how to use U-Points instead seemed un-necessary. But once I started using Smart Objects more often in Photoshop I wanted a Smart Filter plug-in to allow me to do image adjustments while retaining all the power of Smart Objects. Viveza fit the bill perfectly. And to my surprise I found that I got quite quick with U-Points and they worked out very well. So now nik has upgraded Viveza... [img_assist|nid=464|title=Gray Hooded Kingfisher Enhanced with Viveza 2|desc=|link=popup|align=center|width=427|height=640]This Gray Hooded Kingfisher image was enhanced using only Viveza 2Viveza 2.0 extends the power of Viveza in a number of helpful ways. New Features in Viveza 2 include: NEW: Global Image
Adjustments – Now go straight to Viveza and
apply any color, light, or structure enhancement image-wide with the ability to
refine any global adjustment selectively using control points. Also includes
levels & curves for even more control over contrast and tonality. NEW:
Structure Adjustment – Enhance or reduce fine
details in your images for the ultimate look.NEW: Shadow Adjustments
– Never lose shadow detail again. Easily recover details hidden in
shadows selectively with a control point or apply image-wide. NEW: Interactive Help System
– Informative, lesson-based Help system will get you up and running
with Viveza 2 in no time. I used all of these new features to create the enhanced Kingfisher image above. First I used a Global adjustment to decrease the overall brightness to help reduce visual effect of the distracting bright background. Second I added a Control point to over-ride the global adjustment on the bird itself. Since the bird is an oblong shape I duplicated the control point I placed on the head onto one I placed on the body. Then I used the new Group feature to group the two control points so I could edit them at once. I was then able to easily tweak the Structure slider to provide a little sharper image (the image above has had no traditional sharpening applied at all--clearly you would before printing it but I wanted to show what the structure slider can do by itself) and the Shadow slider to provide a little more detail in the dark feathers. All done in a minute or two with just the one tool, Viveza 2.Best yet, by making the Viveza corrections a Smart Filter to my original image (which I opened from DigitalPro using Adobe Camera Raw as a Smart Object) I can easily modify the settings in any way I need to by double-clicking on the filter in the Layer window of Photoshop.Now as excited as I am about the new Viveza and using control points to modify images, I won't try and say it's for everyone. Layers and Masks are still immensely powerful, as are all the Adjustment layers built in to Photoshop. So fortunately nik offers a 15-day free trial download for Viveza online, so you can check it out and decide if it will improve your productivity and your results. Happy New Year and Happy Image Editing--David [img_assist|nid=465|title=Original Gray Hooded Kingfisher Image|desc=|link=popup|align=center|width=427|height=640]