This technique is taken from my eBook Pushing Light. Extending Dynamic Range with HDR and Other Techniques, published by Craft & Vision.
If you're a regular reader of this blog or my books (English link, Dutch link), you know that I'm big fan of the Nik Collection by Google in general and the Black & White plug-in Silver Efex Pro 2 in particular. I already endorsed these plug-ins when they still cost an arm and a leg (well, € 500 to be precise), and now that Google has made them completely free, that hasn't changed. If I can't get the job done with one of my own Lightroom Black & White presets, Silver Efex is where I turn to.
But, did you know that you can also use Silver Efex Pro to bring more life to your colour images? And that you can use Silver Efex Pro's Control Points to easily Dodge & Burn those same images? I'll show you how in the following video. You'll also pick up a thing or two on how to use Lightroom and Photoshop together and on the advantages of Smart Objects and Smart Filters. At the end of the video, you'll see me automate the workflow with an action that I created. Being the generous fellow that I am, this action is available as a free download below. But make sure to watch the video first so you can make the most out of it.
If you liked this tip, make sure to subscribe to my newsletter: there's more where this came from. You'll also receive my free '10 tips for better travel photographs' eBook absolutely free! The subscription form is in the sidebar to the right, under the 'Dutch or English' header because, guess what, I have a Dutch and an English one!
* Some users report that the .atn (Photoshop action) extension gets removed when downloading the file and that the action does not work. In that case, simply add .atn to the filename. Sorry for the inconvenience.
