Silver Efex Pro 3

The Silver Efex Pro 3 module lets you discover (or rediscover) black & white photography thanks to numerous presets, global and selective correction tools, copious filters and colorization effects, tone curves, analog film simulations, and finishing tools (including vignetting, burnt edges, and image contours).

Although the carefully designed, ready-to-use renderings might be more than enough to meet your needs, you can modify them as you like or create new renderings from scratch. You can also share them with other Silver Efex Pro 3 users.

Preferences and help

Silver Efex Pro 3 lets you make a number of adjustments to its display modes and gives you access to the online user guide.

Preferences

To access Settings:

• Mac: click on the Silver Efex Pro 3 menu at the top left, then select Preferences.
• PC: go the File menu then select Settings.

The Settings window comprises a single tab named General. It offers the following options (from top to bottom):

• Default preview mode*: Allows you to choose how images will be displayed when you open the app, either Display single image, or Split preview (the image is separated by a line, with Before corrections on the left, After corrections on the right), or Preview side by side (the two versions of the image, before and after corrections, are displayed next to each other).
• Background colour*: You can select the level of gray for the background appearance: white, gray, dark gray, black.
• Zoom status*: sets the zoom value to be applied when the app is opened, from Fit (adapted to screen) to 3: 1 (300 %).
• Graphics processor**: Check this box if you want Silver Efex Pro to take advantage of the computing power of your graphics card.
• TIFF compression: Choose between LZW compression, which reduces file size, or no compression.
• JPEG Quality: Adjusts the compression and quality of JPEG files generated when saving your work in Silver Efex Pro. The default setting is 80%, a good compromise between file size and quality.
• Language**: the Nik Collection offers a choice of 17 languages.
• Reset: Click the Reset button to reset the settings to the default values and choices.

* By default, if you do not change this option, the previously used setting will be applied.
**Changes are applied the next time you launch the app.
General options and settings changed in one module will apply to all Nik Collection plug-ins.

Save

• On Mac: click on the red button at the top left of the screen to exit the Settings window (the changes are automatically saved, some are applied the next time you launch the app – see list above).
• On PC, click Save to save the changes
• (some are applied the next time you launch the app – see above). You can exit the window without saving the changes – either click on Cancel or on the red button in the top right.

Help

To access the online help links, go the the Help menu (Internet connection required):

• User Guide*: consult online or download the PDF file. Frequently Asked Questions*.
• Online support*: report problems and ask questions, after creating a support ticket.
• DxO Academy*: tutorials, videos, webinars
• Check for updates*: if an update is available, you can download and install it. When you install the update, you will be prompted to close Nik Collection and its host programs.
• About Silver Efex Pro 3 (PC): Displays the home screen with the installed version number.

* Requires an internet connection.

Interface

Silver Efex Pro 3 consists of the following components:

1. The menu bar
2. The upper toolbar
3. The image display area
4. The left panel (presets)
5. The right panel (tools)
6. The lower toolbar

The menu bar

Mac:

The menu bar at the top of the Silver Efex Pro 3 window includes the following menus:

1. Silver Efex Pro 3: gives access to the Preferences.
2. Edit: contains the Undo and Redo commands, to undo or redo previous actions one by one, as well as the Apply Last Change command, which lets you apply the corrections made to another image during a previous session with Silver Efex Pro 3 to a new image.
3. Help: contains links to the user guide, DxO support, etc. (see the Preferences page).

PC:

The menu bar at the top of the Silver Efex Pro 3 window includes the following menus:

1. File: gives access to the Preferences.
2. Edit: contains the Undo and Redo commands, to undo or redo previous actions one by one, as well as the Apply Last Change command, which lets you apply the corrections made to another image during a previous session with Silver Efex Pro 3 to a new image.
3. Help: contains links to the user guide, DxO support, etc. (see the Preferences and help page).

The upper toolbar

The upper toolbar includes the display, comparison, and zoom tools.

Compare and Zoom buttons :

The Compare and Zoom buttons let you compare your image before and after correction:

1. Alternate: click on the button to display the image before correction, release to display the corrected image.
2. Split vertically or horizontally: divide the image in two with a vertical line that can be moved left or right, and switch to horizontal mode by clicking on the arrow in the center of the line, with the possibility to move it freely up or down. The left half (or top half) represents the image before correction, as it was opened in the plug-in, the right half (or bottom half) represents the processed and corrected image. You can zoom and move synchronously in both halves of the image, either with the Navigator or with the Hand tool, by pressing the Space bar.
3. One above the other or side-by-side preview: the pre-processed version is shown at the top, the post-processed version at the bottom. You can also display both versions of the image side by side by clicking on the button between the two. You can also zoom and move synchronously in the two images, either with the Browser or with the Hand tool, by pressing the spacebar.
4. Fit: displays the entire image in the display area.
5. Fill: displays the image so that it fills the entire display area (image will therefore be cropped).
6. 1.1: standard zoom value equivalent to 100% (1 pixel of the image = 1 pixel of the screen).
7. 2.1: zoom value equivalent to 200%.
8. Other zoom values: click on the arrows to select other zoom values from the menu. When you select one of these values, it is displayed in the button (7).

Whenever you zoom in on an image (including in Fill mode), a floating window is displayed to the top right of the image display zone. You can move around the image by grabbing the tile or by clicking in the floating navigation window.

The image display area

This is where the image is displayed, on a medium gray background, which you can change in the Settings.

Below the image you will find the following information:

1. If you have opened several images, a floating scrollbar lets you switch between them.
2. File name and extension If the image has EXIF metadata, the shooting and material settings will also be displayed.
3. You will also see the checkbox to select non-destructive mode.

The left panel (presets)

The left panel contains all the filters and effects grouped into 6 categories (All, Classic, Modern, 25th Anniversary, En Vogue, Retro) under the Presets section, as well as Custom, to create your own presets, Imported, to load effects shared by other users and, finally, a History section, which compiles all the corrections and adjustments applied to the selected image (see below).

You can hide or reveal the left panel either by clicking on its right edge or by pressing the L key.

The presets are presented as preview thumbnails of the image opened in the plug-in. If the image is framed horizontally, the thumbnails are arranged in a single-image column. If the image is cropped vertically, the thumbnails are grouped in pairs. To hide or reveal a section, click on the arrow on the right. The number indicates the number of presets in each section, and the double arrow lets you save and export a preset. In each section, you can filter the presets by favorites or recently used. Finally, to hide or reveal the left panel, click on the right edge.

For detailed information about these sections, refer to the chapter on Using and Managing Presets.

The History section shows all the processing and correction steps of your image, from top (oldest) to bottom (most recent). To view the image at a particular stage, click on that stage in the list. The selected step is displayed in yellow, all previous (top) steps are white, and all subsequent (bottom) steps are grayed out: if you make a correction at this time, the grayed out steps will be removed. In split or side-by-side display mode, you can apply a step to the left view from the history by moving the history selector (the yellow arrow on the left edge of the section).

The right panel (tools)

The right panel contains all the global and selective correction sections, as well as a loupe (magnifying glass) and a histogram, arranged from top to bottom:

• Loupe (see below)
• Histogram and Zone system (see below)
• Global settings*: global tone and color correction sliders, and selective tone sliders.
• Selective settings*: creation and management of control points. Activating them displays sliders equivalent to global settings, selective tonality, as well as a color picker and color selectivity sliders.
• ClearView*: atmospheric haze correction tool
• Color filter*: selection of color filters, imitating optical filters
• Film types*: silver halide film simulations inherited from the Nik Collection
• Film grains*: simulations of silver emulsion films made by DxO, and associated grain adjustment tools
• Finishing adjustments*: (Toning, Vignette, Burn Edges, Image Borders)
• Save preset* button: lets you save the settings as presets

You can hide or reveal the right panel by clicking on its left edge or with the R key. Each section can be hidden or expanded using the top-right arrows.

To reset a setting, double-click the slider concerned. To reset the settings for each section, click on the rounded arrow.

The checkbox in front of each section name allows you to temporarily deactivate and reactivate the corrections for the sections concerned.

Loupe (Magnifier)

The magnifying glass section is available regardless of the tools used:

• The magnification loupe permanently displays an enlarged preview of the image area hovered over by the mouse.
• The magnification loupe can be locked at any point in the image by clicking on the pin and then in the image (tilted pin: inactive, vertical pin: active).
• When you activate one of the zoom modes, the magnifier is centered by default.

Histogram

The histogram shows the distribution of the brightness levels of the pixels in the selected image, with dark tones on the left, medium tones in the center, and light tones on the right, with the peaks corresponding to the number of pixels per brightness range. You can view the histogram in different ways by clicking on the buttons:

• RGB: default indication, covering the 3 channels Red, Green, Blue as well as the complementary colors Cyan, Magenta and Yellow, according to the additive color principle.
• R: displays the red channel only.
• G: displays the greenchannel only.
• B: displays the blue channel only.
• L: displays the global luminosity values.

Thanks to the possibility of displaying the brightness values per channel, you will be able to act more precisely on your tonality (exposure, contrast) and color settings. Note that the histogram is also present in the Levels & Curves tool [LINK].

Zone system

Above the histogram are blocks numbered from 0 to 10. This is the “Zone system”: when you click on one of the blocks, the parts of the image that correspond to that level of brightness are highlighted by a colored, hatched mask. Zone 0 is deep black, and Zone 10 is pure white, which can help you adjust the tonality of your image so that it doesn’t have clipped tones and therefore loses detail.

The Zone system is enabled by default, and you can disable and re-enable it by clicking in the first box on the left. It can be used regardless of the histogram display mode (RGB, R, G, B or L).

The bottom toolbar

The bottom bar includes the following information and functions:

1. File source: indicates the name of the host application.
2. Cancel: Cancels the current processing and corrections and closes the plugin. The image in the host application is not modified.
3. Apply: saves the processing and corrections and closes the plug-in. The image in the host application is modified.

Keyboard shortcuts

Action	Windows	Macintosh
Cancel	Ctrl + Z	Cmd + Z
Redo	Ctrl + Y	Cmd + Y
Full Screen	F	F
Preview	P	P
Show / Hide the left and/or right panels	Tab (both), L (left), R (right)	Tab (both), L (left), R (right)
Apply the preset	Enter	Backspace
Cancel the preset	Esc	Esc
Zoom	SpaceBar	SpaceBar
Select several control points in the image	Ctrl + A	Cmd + A
Select several control points in the list	Ctrl + click	Cmd + click
Delete Control Point	Del	Del
Duplicate a Control Point	Ctrl + D, Alt + drag & drop	Cmd + D, Alt + drag & drop
Group Control Points	Ctrl + G	Cmd + G
Ungroup Control Points	Ctrl + Shift + G	Cmd + Shift + G

Using and managing presets

The left panel is dedicated to presets and consists of the following sections:

• Presets
• Custom
• Imported

Each section can be hidden or expanded using the arrow to the right of the section name. The figure indicates the number of presets in each section.

Presets

Presets consist of adjustments and corrections whose effect is represented by thumbnails, using the active image. Presets are a quick way to learn how to use Silver Efex, while providing a starting point for creating custom presets, which you can then apply to your images with a single click.

At the top of the Presets section, the presets are organized by category (All, Classic, Modern, 25th Anniversary, En Vogue and Retro). If you click on any of the categories, the associated presets are displayed in a scrolling list of thumbnails.

To apply a preset, click on its thumbnail in the left pane. The corrections are immediately applied to the image, and a dialog box tells you that the previous settings and corrections will be replaced. Click Yes to confirm or No to cancel (if you don’t want to see the dialog again, check the Don’t show again box).

Each time you apply a preset, the settings and sliders change in the right pane, reflecting the preset’s corrections.

You can mark presets as favorites by clicking on the gray star to the left of each thumbnail. Favorite presets are indicated by a gold star. To remove the favorite status, click on the gold star and it will return to gray.

The Presets section also allows you to filter and display presets according to the following statuses (you can add the filters):

• Favorite presets: click on the Favorites button.
• Recently used presets: click the Recent… button.

Active filters are represented by their respective light gray buttons and the brighter name. To revert to a single filter or to disable filters completely, click on the relevant button(s).

Custom

The Custom section stores presets that you create, and also has tagging and filtering by favorites or recently used.

Creating a custom preset

To create a custom preset:

1. Make the desired corrections with the tools in the right pane, both global and selective settings (control points).
2. At the bottom of the right pane, click the Save preset* button.
3. In the Custom type dialog box, enter a detailed name (e.g., Soft Contrast + Cyanotype, Color and Contrast +, Desaturation, Structure ++, etc.).
4. If you want to save the Control Points and the associated selective corrections, make sure that the Save with Control Points box is checked (it is checked by default).
5. Click Save to confirm.
6. The custom preset appears in the Custom section in the left pane.

Managing custom presets

You can take advantage of your custom presets with the following features:

1. Rename*: click on the name of the preset under the thumbnail to activate the input field. After entering the new name, validate with the Enter key.
2. Mark as favorite: Click on the star to the left of the preset (the star turns gold). Click again to cancel (the star turns black again).
3. Export*: Hover over the preset to display the buttons to the right in the thumbnail. Clicking the top button will allow you to export the preset, for the purpose of sharing it. A system dialog allows you to choose the save location, before clicking Open.
4. Update*: After editing or adding corrections from a custom preset, hover over the thumbnail to display the buttons on the right. Click on the curved arrow to update the preset with the modified or added corrections.
5. Delete*: Hover over the preset to display the buttons to the right in the thumbnail. Click on the trash can to delete it.

To export all your custom presets:

1. Click the double arrow to the right of the preset number.
2. From the pop-up menu, select Export all.
3. A system dialog box allows you to choose the save location and confirm.

Imported

This section allows you to import presets shared by other users, and with a few exceptions, its operation is similar to that of the Custom section. Importing presets

To import presets:

1. Click on the double arrow to the right of the number of imported presets.
2. From the pop-up menu, select Import preset.
3. A system dialog box will open. Locate the presets you want to import.
4. Select the presets to import.
5. Click Open.
6. The imported presets are displayed in the Imported section.

Managing imported presets

You have tools and controls for renaming, bookmarking, exporting, and deleting your imported presets:

1. Rename*: click on the name of the preset under the thumbnail to activate the input field. After entering the new name, validate with the Enter key.
2. Mark as favorite: Click on the star to the left of the preset (the star turns gold). Click again to cancel (the star turns black again).
3. Export*: Hover over the preset to display the buttons to the right in the thumbnail. Clicking the top button will allow you to export the preset, for the purpose of sharing it. A system dialog allows you to choose the save location before clicking Open.
4. Delete*: Hover over the preset to display the buttons to the right in the thumbnail. Click on the trash can to delete it.

While it is not possible to edit and update imported presets in the Imported section, you can do so by creating a new preset from an imported preset:

1. Apply the preset to edit.
2. Make the desired corrections with the tools in the right pane, both global and selective settings (control points).
3. At the bottom of the right panel, click the Save preset button.
4. In the Custom type dialog box, enter a detailed name (e.g., Soft Contrast + Cyanotype, Color and Contrast +, Desaturation, Structure ++, etc.).
5. If you want to save the Control Points and the associated selective corrections, make sure that the Save with Control Points box is checked (it is checked by default).
6. Click Save to confirm.
7. The modified imported preset appears in the Custom section in the left panel.

Finally, just as with custom presets, you have the possibility of exporting all your imported presets: This can be useful if, for example, you deleted the downloaded presets or the message from the user who shared them:

1. Click the double arrow to the right of the number of imported presets.
2. From the pop-up menu, select Export all.
3. A system dialog allows you to choose and confirm the save location.

Correction tools

On this page you will find a description of all the tools available in the right pane of Silver Efex Pro 3, both for global image correction and for selective adjustments with Control Points.

All of these tools can be used based on the default preset applied when you open the image (type 000 Neutral), or based on one of the presets you choose in the left pane.

• Global Adjustments
• Selective Adjustments
• ClearView
• Color Filter
• Film Types
• Film Grain
• Finishing Adjustments

Global Adjustments

The Global Adjustments section allows you to correct and adjust image tone, brightness, contrast, detail and texture using the following 4 groups of sliders:

1. Brightness Adjustments :
   • Brightness: changes the luminosity of the image. Moving this slider to the left darkens the image while moving it to the right increases the brightness of the image.
   • Highlights: adjusts the brightness of light areas in the image.
   • Midtones: adjusts the brightness of the midtone areas in the entire image.
   • Shadows: adjusts the brightness of dark areas in the image.
   • Dynamic Brightness: uses a unique algorithm that automatically adjusts to different areas of the image. This slider allows for finer changes in brightness, ensuring that the image retains a good range of detail, preserves contrast and intelligently applies brightness values to different areas of the image. Move the slider to the left to darken the image while retaining detail in the highlights. Moving the slider to the right will lighten the image while retaining detail in the shadows.
2. Contrast Adjustments :
   • Contrast: controls the overall contrast of the image, i.e. the difference between the density of the dark areas and the brightness of the light areas.
   • Amplify Whites: The slider uses an algorithm that provides unique control over the highlights of the image. By moving this slider to the right, the highlights in each area of the image become brighter. Because of the adaptive nature of the algorithm, each area is treated differently, taking into account its particular characteristics.
   • Amplify Blacks: Similar to the Amplify Whites slider, this slider uses a unique algorithm to control the tone of the image. Move this slider to the right to make the darker tones in each area of the image even denser. Because the algorithm is adaptive, each area is treated differently, taking into account its particular characteristics.
   • Soft Contrast: the purpose of the slider is to provide a different approach to contrast, less harsh and with much more diffuse transitions.
3. Structure Adjustments :
   • Structure: controls the overall structure of the image. Increasing the setting emphasizes detail and texture, while decreasing softens fine detail for smoother surfaces.
   • Highlights: selectively adjusts the structure of light areas in the image.
   • Midtones: selectively adjusts the structure of midtones in the image.
   • Shadows: selectively adjusts the structure of darker areas in the image.
   • Fine Structure: similar to the Structure slider, adjusts the finest details in the image.
4. Tonality Protection: these sliders allow you to recover details in shadows and highlights that were lost during brightness and/or contrast adjustments.
   • Shadows: moved to the right, the slider will lighten only the shadows and recover the details hidden in the dense areas.
   • Highlights: moved to the right, the slider will darken only the lightest areas and recover the details hidden in them.

Selective Adjustments

Selective adjustments allow only certain parts of the image to be changed. Add a control point, and when setting the corresponding sliders, it will affect only the objects or areas covered by the control point.

Add a Control Point

To place and use a control point:

1. In the Selective Adjustments section, click the button to the right of Control points.
2. As you roll over the image, the mouse cursor changes to a control point.
3. Click where you want in the image to place the control point.
4. The control point appears as a yellow (active control point) or white (inactive control point) dot.
5. When it is active, the control point has a slider for adjusting the radius of effectiveness, represented by a circle.
6. When the control point is inactive, you can move the mouse over it to see the slider and the radius (but to adjust them, you must first activate the control point by clicking on it).
7. If desired, you can move a control point (active or inactive) by holding down the mouse button and moving the mouse.
8. You can add as many control points as you want by repeating steps 1 to 3.
9. To delete a control point, click on it to activate it and press the Delete key on your keyboard. A dialog box will prompt you to confirm (check the Don’t show again box to stop displaying the dialog box).

Managing control points

The Selective adjustments section allows you to manage the different control points applied to the image, presented here as a numbered list. The active control points are indicated in yellow.

1. Create a control point: see previous paragraph (Adding a control point).
2. Size: indicates in % the size of the radius of effectiveness of the control point.
3. Switch on/off effect for all Control Points: This button displays the monochrome masks for all control points. To display the mask of only one control point at a time, check the box on the right side of the list. In the monochrome mask, white indicates the areas of the file where 100% of the correction is applied, black indicates no correction and the gray variations indicate the areas more or less affected by the correction.
4. Control point list: control points indicated by the yellow icon and white text are selected and active, grayed out control points are inactive.
5. Enable/Disable effect for all control points: the checkbox disables and re-enables all control points applied to the image, as well as the associated corrections and settings.
6. Show/Hide control point effect: The checkbox allows you to temporarily disable and re-enable the display of the control point in question, as well as the associated corrections and settings..
7. Show/Hide control point selection: this button allows you to display the monochrome mask of the control point concerned (see point 3).
8. Duplicate: by clicking on this button, you duplicate the currently selected control point(s). You can also duplicate a control point by clicking on it while pressing the Alt/Option key, then dragging the mouse to reposition the duplicated control point.
9. Group: You can group multiple control points by first selecting them in the list, holding down the Ctrl (PC) or Cmd (Mac) key and then clicking on this button. In the list, the Control Points are organized into groups named Group 1, Group 2, etc. In the image, the first control point selected to form the group is indicated by the normal dot, and all other control points in the group are indicated by a small yellow dot. When you apply a correction to one of the control points, the correction will be applied to the other control points in the group. However, you can use the size slider to adjust the size of each control point in a group independently. You can also select multiple control points by clicking in the image and then, while holding down the left mouse button, draw a selection rectangle encompassing the desired control points (then you can group them by clicking the Group button).
10. Ungroup: to remove the grouping of control points, select the group from the list and press this button. All control points will be displayed as ungrouped, allowing you to delete, modify, or create new groups from individual control points.
11. Delete: Click the Delete button to delete the currently selected control points.
12. Reset: Resets all sliders and settings associated with the active control point.

Renaming control points and groups

To help you manage and keep track of your control points and/or control point groups, which can grow quickly, you can rename them as you wish:

1. In the list of control points, double-click on the name of the control point or group to rename.
2. The name is highlighted: enter the new name directly. The old name is deleted as soon as you start typing.
3. If you just want to change the name, move the flashing input cursor using the left or right arrows on your keyboard.
4. Confirm by clicking outside the list or by pressing Enter.

Adjusting the Color Selectivity

When using control points, the Selective Adjustments section displays below the list of control points with the associated sliders for the active control point.

1. Color Selectivity* :
   • Luminance.
   • Chrominance.
2. Standard selective settings sliders*:
   • Brightness.
   • Contrast.
   • Structure
   • Amplify Whites.
   • Amplify Blacks.
   • Fine Structure.
   • Selectve Colorization.
3. Selective Tones :
   • Highlights: moved to the left, this slider recovers information and details in the brightest parts of the image, especially those close to the clipping (right end of the histogram). Moved to the right, it allows you to give more brightness to the lightest tones.
   • Midtones: this slider acts on the midtones (shown in the central section of the histogram).
   • Shadows: this slider allows you to lighten the shadows and dark parts of an image.
   • Blacks: moving the slider to the right lets you set the “black point” (left end of the histogram) and thus avoid clipping the darkest parts of the image. Conversely, moving the slider to the left, you will make the darkest areas of the image even more dense.

The control points in Silver Efex Pro 3 no longer have their own sliders, as the number of sliders can get in the way of image visibility. This means you will need to make your corrections using the sliders that appear in the Selective Adjustments section of the right pane after you have created a control point. Do not confuse them with the sliders in the Global Settings section.

You can reset a slider to its default setting by double-clicking on it; to reset all the sliders in the Selective Adjustments section, click on the curved arrow to the right of the name of the active control point.

Selective adjustments allow only certain parts of the image to be changed. Add a control point, and when setting the corresponding sliders, it will affect only the objects or areas covered by the control point.

You can group several control points together to apply the same correction to all of them. To do this, drag a rectangle with the mouse over the desired control points.

Color Selectivity

The Color Selectivity sliders allow you to extend or reduce the range

of color tolerance covered by a control point This will allow you to include in your correction variations in the hue and its brightness level (such as in order to take into account variations in skin tones; see example below).

• Luminance: determines the range of brightness of the color (default setting 50%).
• Chrominance: determines the range of hues for a color (default setting 50%).

The effect of the Color Selectivity sliders is subtle, so use the black/white mask display of the control point, as shown below:

Selectve Colorization

The Selective Colorization slider restores the colors of the portion of the image on which the control point was placed on a black and white image. This allows you, for example, to highlight an element or detail in a photo.

Of course, you can refine the effect by combining multiple control points, the monochrome mask of control point effects, and the Color Selectivity sliders.

ClearView

ClearView allows you to correct the effects of atmospheric haze and fog, which significantly alter the image, especially in distant shots. By restoring black levels, the tool will restore contrast, microcontrast, and saturation to your images. You can also use it to enhance the impact of images taken on a clear day.

The Intensity slider, set to 0 by default, allows you to adjust the effect of DxO ClearView Plus on a scale of 0 to 100.

Color Filter

The Color Filter section allows you to simulate the look of the color filters that phoographers used to screw onto the lens to alter the contrast of their black and white film, depending on the subject being photographed (making the sky denser, clouds brighter, skin more radiant, etc.).

1. Color Filters: click on one of the color filters (red, orange, yellow, green, blue) to quickly select a simulated color filter to apply when converting to black and white. Each selected filter automatically sets the values for the Hue and Strength (see below). The first filter is neutral (sliders set to 0), so you can freely define its hue and strength.
2. Hue*: adjusts the color of the simulated filter and controls the relationship of the colors in the image. Objects with the same hue as the selected value will become brighter, while objects with a complementary hue will become darker.
3. Strength*: slide to the left for less contrast between colors or to the right for more contrast between colors.

Film types

Silver Efex Pro 3 offers a collection of black and white films that simulate all their characteristics such as grain, contrast, and color response. You can also modify the characteristics as you wish using the tools available in this section.

You can give a specific rendering to your image, or use grain to mask certain problems inherent in the lack of sharpness or excessive smoothing of noise (and details), or quite simply, to get away from the sometimes too-perfect rendering of digital

images.

1. Neutral drop-down menu: allows you to choose from simulated black and white films, grouped by ISO speed. For a quick, real-time preview of the rendering, move the mouse over the list and then click on the film of your choice to apply the rendering.
2. Original Grain section: groups the sliders that let you modify the film grain look (the sliders are preset according to the chosen film):
   • Grain per pixel: changes the look of the grain applied to the image. Slide to the left for coarser grain or to the right for finer grain.
   • Grain Hardness: adjusts the separation and visibility of the grain structure. Towards the left (SOFT), the grain has a softer appearance, and a harder appearance towards the right (HARD).
3. Sensitivity section: lets you change the sensitivity of the selected film to the different colors of the image, with the sliders preset according to the chosen film. In each of the 6 color channels, adjust the slider to the left to make the corresponding colors denser, and to the right to lighten them.
4. Levels & Curves: lets you alter the contrast and tonal response of the selected film, with the curve preset according to the chosen film. Click to add anchor points to the curve to change the brightness, contrast and tonal relationship of the image. Level adjustments are located below the curve, allowing you to control the tonality of the dark, medium and light values. To reset an anchor point, double-click the point you want to remove.

Film Grain

In the Grain section, you can choose analog film simulations created by DxO, renowned for their fidelity, behavior, and realistic appearance:

1. Original menu: select a type of film from the list sorted by brand and alphabetical order.
2. Intensity: lets you reduce or increase the presence of grain in the image.
3. Grain Size: sets the fineness of the grain (finer to the left, coarser to the right).

Finishing Adjustments

The Finishing Adjustments section is purely creative, and lets you apply toning, vignetting, burnt edges and framing effects to your images.

1. Toning section: the tools in this section (click the arrow on the left to show or hide them all) allow you to tint black and white images, using darkroom toning techniques:
   • Toning drop-down menu: set by default to Neutral (no tinting). Hover your mouse over the list to see the effect in real time on your image. To select an effect and apply it, click on it.
   • Strength: This slider sets the overall intensity of the tone applied to the image and also affects the setting of the Silver Hue and Paper Hue sliders (see below).
   • Silver Hue: sets the replacement shade for the darker tones, represented by the silver grains in the film.
   • Silver Toning: sets the intensity of the dark tones.
   • Balance: determines the balance in the combination of tints applied to the dark tones (Silver) and the light tones (Paper). When this slider is set to 0%, the Silver and Paper tones are mixed with the midtones in a balanced way, and to the left you give more importance to the tint of the dark tones, and to the right, more importance to the tint of the light tones.
   • Paper Hue: determines the replacement shade of the light tones, associated with the white of the paper.
   • Paper Toning: defines the intensity of the light tones.
2. Vignetting section: these tools (click the arrow on the left to show or hide them all) let you apply a darkening or lightening effect to the edges of the image to give it a retro effect or to draw attention to the subject.
   • Vignette drop-down menu: set to Off by default (no vignetting); mouse through the list to see the effect in real time on your image. To select an effect and apply it, click on it.
   • Amount: controls the intensity of the vignetting. Moving this slider to the left darkens the edges of the image, and moving it to the right lightens them.
   • Shape: controls the general shape of the vignetting, between CIRCLE and RECTANGLE. Size: sets the extent of the vignetting effect in the image.
   • Place center: click on the button to position an off-center vignetting effect. The mouse pointer will change to a “+” that you then click to place in the image. If you want to change the positioning, click the button again and start over.
3. Burn Edges section: these tools (click on the arrow on the left to show them all or hide them), also inspired by darkroom techniques, will allow you to create denser image edges than with the tools in the Vignetting section. Unlike the latter, you can work side by side, and even combine the effect with vignetting.
   • Burn Edges drop-down menu: Off by default, offers a roll-over preview and the application of 4 possible effects.
   • Edge selector: select the edge that you wish to adjust in your image.
   • Strength: darkens the burned edge effect on the selected side.
   • Size: adjusts the extent of the burned edge.
   • Transition: controls the blending of the darkening effect with the image.
4. Image Borders section: click on the arrow on the left to display or hide all the tools. The borders offered in this section derive from enlarger techniques used in the lab.
   • Image Borders drop-down menu: set to Off by default, the menu contains a list of borders that you can preview in real time by rolling-over with the mouse, and applying it by clicking.
   • Size*: adjusts the thickness of the border added to the image.
   • Spread: by moving this slider to the right, the border detail extends further into the image.
   • Roughness: controls the random detail around the image. Moving the slider to the right (from CLEAN to ROUGH) creates more random detail in the border.
   • Vary Border button: lets you create random borders from one image to the next. By clicking the button, a random border number will be created. To recreate the exact same border later, note the number, as well as the settings for size, spread, and clean/coarse finish. To get a similar but different border for each image, use the same values for size, spacing, and roughness, but choose a different border number.