<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7992288574/" title="street-photography-presets1 by ramboorider1, on Flickr">
"578" height="434" alt="street-photography-presets1"></a>
As a longtime user of Silver Efex Pro B&W processing plug-in and a huge admirer of Streetshooter’s (Don Springer’s) street photography, I was excited when he asked me to try out some street presets he’d created for the program and to share my impressions of them. Don’s presets can be seen and purchased here:
Street Photography Presets | Lightroom & Nik | Street Presets
These specific Nik presets are found here:
Street Photography Presets | Lightroom & Nik | Street Presets
There’s also another set of several Lightroom presets available on the site, but this discussion is limited to the Nik presets, which I’ve had a chance to preview.
I tend to use a handful of presets of my own when I work with SEP2, mostly as jumping off points for further processing. I have a handful of presets that have evolved out of my own work and survived the test of time - when I have a new shot to process, I’ll usually try a few of the presets and see which one grabs me and then I’ll use that as a basis for whatever additional processing I feel the shot needs. To check out Don’s presets, I decided to do a bunch of my existing shot using ONLY these new street presets.
So I grabbed a folder full of shots, imported Don’s presets into Silver Efex Pro 2, and got to work. He has five presets in his collection, a “clean” preset which the others are mostly based on, and then four others that add various other effects to varying degrees. All of the presets create the same sort of feel and personality of B&W film, with a good deal of grain, mostly with some degree of vignetting, and have a very very nice film-like feel to them. I worked a lot with Tri-X in my college days, generally pushed it to 800 or more, and the results that come from these presets are generally what I was trying for in those days, but rarely achieved. All are fairly grainy, but beyond that, there are a number of other changes to other parameters such as exposure, structure, color channel manipulation, some toning, vignetting, etc. All five of these presets are somewhat similar, but each is unique, with its own mix of grain, structure, color channel manipulation, vignette, etc, giving each its own distinctive feel. I can’t really describe the differences in words, so the best approach is just to show some before and after examples of each. For each shot, I pulled the shot into SEP2, and tried applying all five of the presets to it, usually one or two would jump out as most appropriate for that photo, and so then I’d fine-tune it with the one that worked best.
To start, here are a couple of before and after photos processed with the “clean” preset:
This is a slightly out of focus shot that I’d initially processed in a manner pretty similar to this preset – I find grain works well with shots that aren’t quite perfectly in focus.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7986995121/" title="P1000778 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230712 "1024" height="683" alt="P1000778"></a>
This version uses the preset with a slight reduction in “soft contrast”, a couple of control point manipulations, and both vignette and borders added:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7986995799/" title="Clean Preset by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230713 "1024" height="683" alt="Clean Preset"></a>
This shot worked best with the clean preset and preset #4 – this is the clean version:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987002958/" title="untitled-299-Edit by ramboorider1, on Flickr">
"800" height="800" alt="untitled-299-Edit"></a>
This adds nothing to the preset except for a control point on the face and the borders:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987004686/" title="Clean Preset (1) by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230714 "800" height="800" alt="Clean Preset (1)"></a>
The next two photographs are processed using Preset #1:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987004524/" title="DSCF3440 by ramboorider1, on Flickr">
"1024" height="769" alt="DSCF3440"></a>
For this I reduced soft contrast (this is one of my most often used controls in SEP2), reduced the yellow color channel, and added control points on the face and fabrics:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987003606/" title="Preset 1 (1) by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230715 "1024" height="769" alt="Preset 1 (1)"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987003888/" title="P4270071 by ramboorider1, on Flickr">
"800" height="799" alt="P4270071"></a>
This process just adds a few control points (faces, sky, coat) and borders:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987003556/" title="Preset 1 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230716 "800" height="799" alt="Preset 1"></a>
The next photograph uses Prest #2:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7986994851/" title="PB051898 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230717 "800" height="800" alt="PB051898"></a>
For this photo, I reduced soft contrast, added control points on the faces, reduced the red and yellow channels, and added the border. I also reduced the grain size somewhat, but probably should have used even finer grain than this:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987003446/" title="Preset 2 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230718 "800" height="800" alt="Preset 2"></a>
The next two photos were done with Preset #3:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987003740/" title="PB051883 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230719 "800" height="800" alt="PB051883"></a>
This has reduced red channel, addusted vignette, and added borders:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7986994671/" title="Preset 3 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230720 "800" height="800" alt="Preset 3"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987004560/" title="DSC01807 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230721 "1024" height="681" alt="DSC01807"></a>
This processing only adds a couple of control points, slight increase in vignette, and the border:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7986994563/" title="Preset 3 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230722 "1024" height="681" alt="Preset 3"></a>
Finally, a couple with Preset #4:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987004004/" title="P1000524 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230723 "1024" height="576" alt="P1000524"></a>
Here I reduced soft contrast, red and yellow channels, added a couple of control points on faces, and borders:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7986994421/" title="Preset 4 (2) by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230724 "1024" height="576" alt="Preset 4 (2)"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7986994231/" title="R0011609 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230725 "1024" height="680" alt="R0011609"></a>
This shot has one added control point (face) and borders – otherwise a pure representation of the preset:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987003276/" title="Preset 4 (1) by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230726 "1024" height="680" alt="Preset 4 (1)"></a>
I like these presets a lot. My own style tends to use a bit less grain, a bit more structure, and a bit less vignette most of the time. I usually end up with a cleaner shot, but that’s partially because I always struggle finding just the right balance with the grittier look. I've always liked it - I just haven't been as good at it. But these new presets give me a MUCH better starting point for the grittier look than I’ve ever gotten on my own. Don really gets the balance between the various elements he manipulates in these presets just right and they create a MUCH better starting point for this kind of work than I've ever gotten to on my own. As a result, I’ll probably incorporate more gritty shots into my repertoire in the future as a result of these presets. I like this grainy look and Don seems to have dialed in JUST the right combination of grain, vignette, exposure, and structure to give anyone a good jump-start in this type of processing.
If you’ve admired Don’s work, as I have, and sometime wondered how he does it, this will get you a great jump on his processing skills. They EYE, on the other hand, we each have to provide for ourselves, and that’s where his magic mostly happens! But these presets will definitely become part of my workflow – I strongly recommend that anyone interested in this type of B&W photography check them out!
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
As a longtime user of Silver Efex Pro B&W processing plug-in and a huge admirer of Streetshooter’s (Don Springer’s) street photography, I was excited when he asked me to try out some street presets he’d created for the program and to share my impressions of them. Don’s presets can be seen and purchased here:
Street Photography Presets | Lightroom & Nik | Street Presets
These specific Nik presets are found here:
Street Photography Presets | Lightroom & Nik | Street Presets
There’s also another set of several Lightroom presets available on the site, but this discussion is limited to the Nik presets, which I’ve had a chance to preview.
I tend to use a handful of presets of my own when I work with SEP2, mostly as jumping off points for further processing. I have a handful of presets that have evolved out of my own work and survived the test of time - when I have a new shot to process, I’ll usually try a few of the presets and see which one grabs me and then I’ll use that as a basis for whatever additional processing I feel the shot needs. To check out Don’s presets, I decided to do a bunch of my existing shot using ONLY these new street presets.
So I grabbed a folder full of shots, imported Don’s presets into Silver Efex Pro 2, and got to work. He has five presets in his collection, a “clean” preset which the others are mostly based on, and then four others that add various other effects to varying degrees. All of the presets create the same sort of feel and personality of B&W film, with a good deal of grain, mostly with some degree of vignetting, and have a very very nice film-like feel to them. I worked a lot with Tri-X in my college days, generally pushed it to 800 or more, and the results that come from these presets are generally what I was trying for in those days, but rarely achieved. All are fairly grainy, but beyond that, there are a number of other changes to other parameters such as exposure, structure, color channel manipulation, some toning, vignetting, etc. All five of these presets are somewhat similar, but each is unique, with its own mix of grain, structure, color channel manipulation, vignette, etc, giving each its own distinctive feel. I can’t really describe the differences in words, so the best approach is just to show some before and after examples of each. For each shot, I pulled the shot into SEP2, and tried applying all five of the presets to it, usually one or two would jump out as most appropriate for that photo, and so then I’d fine-tune it with the one that worked best.
To start, here are a couple of before and after photos processed with the “clean” preset:
This is a slightly out of focus shot that I’d initially processed in a manner pretty similar to this preset – I find grain works well with shots that aren’t quite perfectly in focus.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7986995121/" title="P1000778 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230712 "1024" height="683" alt="P1000778"></a>
This version uses the preset with a slight reduction in “soft contrast”, a couple of control point manipulations, and both vignette and borders added:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7986995799/" title="Clean Preset by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230713 "1024" height="683" alt="Clean Preset"></a>
This shot worked best with the clean preset and preset #4 – this is the clean version:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987002958/" title="untitled-299-Edit by ramboorider1, on Flickr">
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
This adds nothing to the preset except for a control point on the face and the borders:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987004686/" title="Clean Preset (1) by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230714 "800" height="800" alt="Clean Preset (1)"></a>
The next two photographs are processed using Preset #1:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987004524/" title="DSCF3440 by ramboorider1, on Flickr">
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
For this I reduced soft contrast (this is one of my most often used controls in SEP2), reduced the yellow color channel, and added control points on the face and fabrics:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987003606/" title="Preset 1 (1) by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230715 "1024" height="769" alt="Preset 1 (1)"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987003888/" title="P4270071 by ramboorider1, on Flickr">
Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)
This process just adds a few control points (faces, sky, coat) and borders:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987003556/" title="Preset 1 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230716 "800" height="799" alt="Preset 1"></a>
The next photograph uses Prest #2:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7986994851/" title="PB051898 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230717 "800" height="800" alt="PB051898"></a>
For this photo, I reduced soft contrast, added control points on the faces, reduced the red and yellow channels, and added the border. I also reduced the grain size somewhat, but probably should have used even finer grain than this:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987003446/" title="Preset 2 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230718 "800" height="800" alt="Preset 2"></a>
The next two photos were done with Preset #3:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987003740/" title="PB051883 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230719 "800" height="800" alt="PB051883"></a>
This has reduced red channel, addusted vignette, and added borders:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7986994671/" title="Preset 3 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230720 "800" height="800" alt="Preset 3"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987004560/" title="DSC01807 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230721 "1024" height="681" alt="DSC01807"></a>
This processing only adds a couple of control points, slight increase in vignette, and the border:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7986994563/" title="Preset 3 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230722 "1024" height="681" alt="Preset 3"></a>
Finally, a couple with Preset #4:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987004004/" title="P1000524 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230723 "1024" height="576" alt="P1000524"></a>
Here I reduced soft contrast, red and yellow channels, added a couple of control points on faces, and borders:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7986994421/" title="Preset 4 (2) by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230724 "1024" height="576" alt="Preset 4 (2)"></a>
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7986994231/" title="R0011609 by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230725 "1024" height="680" alt="R0011609"></a>
This shot has one added control point (face) and borders – otherwise a pure representation of the preset:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/20889767@N05/7987003276/" title="Preset 4 (1) by ramboorider1, on Flickr"> View attachment 230726 "1024" height="680" alt="Preset 4 (1)"></a>
I like these presets a lot. My own style tends to use a bit less grain, a bit more structure, and a bit less vignette most of the time. I usually end up with a cleaner shot, but that’s partially because I always struggle finding just the right balance with the grittier look. I've always liked it - I just haven't been as good at it. But these new presets give me a MUCH better starting point for the grittier look than I’ve ever gotten on my own. Don really gets the balance between the various elements he manipulates in these presets just right and they create a MUCH better starting point for this kind of work than I've ever gotten to on my own. As a result, I’ll probably incorporate more gritty shots into my repertoire in the future as a result of these presets. I like this grainy look and Don seems to have dialed in JUST the right combination of grain, vignette, exposure, and structure to give anyone a good jump-start in this type of processing.
If you’ve admired Don’s work, as I have, and sometime wondered how he does it, this will get you a great jump on his processing skills. They EYE, on the other hand, we each have to provide for ourselves, and that’s where his magic mostly happens! But these presets will definitely become part of my workflow – I strongly recommend that anyone interested in this type of B&W photography check them out!
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