Choose the first filter you want to use.

Start CEP by going to Filter / Nik Collection / Color Efex Pro.

To do this, -click to select all your layers, then right-click and choose “Convert to a Smart Object”.

You will inevitably find something you want to clone out, change your mind on color balance, or some other tweak that will be so much easier to do with this non-destructive workflow. This way you can change any of the work you previously did and everything will automatically update when you’re done. This gives you the freedom to come back and make changes to any settings you choose in Nik (filters, slider settings, control points, etc), as well as perfectly preserving all the layers you already created.

Smart Objects are much better than working with flattened layers.

You can get a free demo of CEP and the whole collection, which also includes tools for black and white (Silver Efex Pro), sharpening, noise reduction (Dfine), precise color adjustment (Viveza), distortion correction (Perspective Efex), and more. If you don’t already have CEP, it is part of the recently updated Nik Collection 3 from DXO.

In this this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use CEP, which filters you should use, and how to optimize them to their full potential. And you can use it on Smart Objects to work non-destructively to keep your options wide open. It has a handful of extremely useful and easy to use filters to help get exactly the right enhancements.

Want to take a good landscape image and give it a couple of finishing touches that will make it perfect? I love using Nik Color Efex Pro ( CEP) to make my images pop in Photoshop. Note: Nik/DXO is currently running 50% off Black Friday sale on the entire Nik Collection, which includes Color Efex Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, and more.

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