If you are used to editing your images by making discrete selections and then applying effects or adjustments, then working in this new environment is quite a change. Nik® Software Viveza® 2, powered by U Point technology, uses control points to select areas of the image for adjustment.
Nik Software Viveza 2 Interface
To start with, instead of reaching for Photoshop's pen, polygon or magic wand tools to create an area in which to work, in Viveza a control point does the work based on similar color and density regions. This makes sense to me, as most of the time an area I wish to adjust is composed of similar hues within a selection.
So, grabbing a control point instead of a Photoshop tool, you begin by placing it on a area of the image you want to adjust. The initial action is to change the diameter of an on-screen circle to encompass regions of similar hues for adjustment. Even though you may have unwanted colors and textures inside the circle, where you initially placed the control point determines Viveza's targets.
Figure 2: Viveza 2 Control Point (Placement Point at Bottom – Below Hue)
When you place a control point, Viveza shows a root-like menu. While unusual looking, at first, it is really quite intuitive. Off a vertical drop down are controls relating to the size of the selection area, brightness, contrast, saturation, structure, and shadow recovery. All of these adjust the selected area, but there are also controls which affect the image globally (separate from the control point's variables).
I have many years of Photoshop experience, along with other image editing software. All of these, for the most part, use the same method of making selections, tools you manipulate with the mouse or tablet to surround a region to edit. Viveza 2 is not only a change, but a leap into a new paradigm. While it doesn't require a complete undoing of old methods, it does require you to think in different terms. Not so different that it requires hours and hours of learning, but once you start understanding what you can do with comtrol points, you can pretty much skip Photoshop's selection tools.
Figure 3: Beach Sand Adjusted For Brightness and Detail (Structure)
Viveza 2 is not a substitute for what you can do with Photoshop, it's another tool you use to make regional adjustments, as I mentioned previously. You still need an image editing application, such as Photoshop, to clone, patch and generally work on discrete areas of your image. As Viveza 2 works as a non-destructive smart filter, you always have the original image. While you work with a control point, the results are live, giving you immediate feedback.
You can use multiple control points (even overlapping previous editing areas) and you can copy control points to apply the same adjustments to different regions. It's easy to become accustomed to Viveza's workflow and quite quick to grasp most of the details of the plugin. Like most programs and plugins, experience is the best teacher for learning the fine points.
Figure 4: Arrows Show Control Points – Compare w/ Figure1
Nik Software's Viveza 2 is an Adobe Photoshop (7 through CS4), Photoshop Elements (2.0 through 8.0) and Lightroom (2.3 or later) plugin. The target users are professional photographers, prosumers and maybe hobbyists. The $199.95 MSRP ($99.95 Upgrade) price may be a little high for the occasional photographer.
Nik Software has a 15-day free trial and I would recommend downloading it and taking a good look at it. Viveza 2 does have a definite place in an editing arsenal, especially if you frequently make color and tonal adjustments to image regions.
Disclaimer: As a member or the Press, I acquired an advanced NFR copy of Viveza 2 at PhotoPlus Expo East (October 2009). Nik Software has not asked for any consideration for this review and I have been offered no compensation. I am free to come to my own conclusions regarding the efficacy of Nik Software Viveza 2
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