Color Efex

Color Efex is a software plug in that’s part of the DxO Nik collection. It offers a huge variety of preset image effects you can browse through and apply to your photos with a single click, but you can also adjust the filters manually and even stack them to create custom ‘recipes’. Color Efex also offers powerful localised adjustments via ‘control points’, ‘control lines’, polygon selections and more.

Reviews

DxO Nik Collection 8 review
ByRod Lawton May 10, 2025May 11, 2025

Verdict: 4.6 stars Nik Collection 8 has some interesting new features for existing users, but mostly for those who use Photoshop as their main ‘host’ application for launching the plug-ins. Silver Efex gets a major interface overhaul, however. This is very welcome, though its actual capabilities are little changed. Otherwise, apart from some workflow tweaks, it’s business as usual for this epic plug-in suite. Frankly, the Nik Collection is already such a wide-ranging, powerful and inspiring set of photo-enhancement tools that it’s always a bit of a surprise to find DxO has found anything to improve.

Read More DxO Nik Collection 8 review
Ideas | Tips | Tutorials

Nik Collection 6 Control Lines: what they are, how they work
ByRod Lawton May 19, 2023August 22, 2025

These Control Lines can already be found in DxO PhotoLab 6, but they are new to the Nik Collection 6. Control Lines are a special kind of selective masking tool. They work like a linear gradient tool, but with an eyedropper which can be moved around to select the tones or areas you want the mask to be applied to.

Read More Nik Collection 6 Control Lines: what they are, how they work
News

DxO Nik Collection 6 announced: local adjustments improved, new features
ByRod Lawton May 16, 2023May 8, 2025

There are no new plug-ins in the Nik Collection 6 this time around, but significant feature additions to some and improved local adjustment tools across the board.

Read More DxO Nik Collection 6 announced: local adjustments improved, new features
Ideas | Tips | Tutorials

Color Efex Pro’s B/W Conversion filter is surprisingly good
ByLife after Photoshop April 17, 2022August 22, 2025

Color Efex Pro might not be your first choice for black and white conversions when the Nik Collection also has Silver Efex Pro and Analog Efex Pro, but if you want strong results fast, it might be just what you need.

Read More Color Efex Pro’s B/W Conversion filter is surprisingly good
Ideas | Tutorials

Nik Collection presets: Even on a Cloudy Day (Color Efex Pro)
ByRod Lawton June 20, 2020August 22, 2025

You can learn a lot from experimenting with manual adjustments and individual filters in a program like Color Efex Pro, but you can learn even more by dismantling a preset to see how its individual parts work together.

Read More Nik Collection presets: Even on a Cloudy Day (Color Efex Pro)
Tutorials

Improve autumn colours with Color Efex Pro’s Contrast Colour Range filter
ByRod Lawton September 12, 2016May 8, 2025

It’s that time of year when autumn leaves produce a riot of colour, and you’ve only got a short window of time to get out there and get pictures. But the results don’t always match your expectations, and this shot is a prime example. The reds and yellows of the leaves were striking, but they…

Read More Improve autumn colours with Color Efex Pro’s Contrast Colour Range filter
Tutorials

Try Color Efex Pro 4’s Photo Styliser for a rich, warm landscape
ByRod Lawton January 20, 2016May 8, 2025

Color Efex Pro, part of the DxO Nik Collection, is a terrific plug-in with an amazing array of filter effects, each of which has its own controls. Some of them have uses which are obvious straight away, but some… well, not so much. So now and again I have a trawl through the list to…

Read More Try Color Efex Pro 4’s Photo Styliser for a rich, warm landscape
Tutorials

Add some sunlight with Color Efex Pro!
ByRod Lawton December 15, 2013May 8, 2025

I’ve got to be honest. I’m compiling a list of my top ten worst Color Efex Pro filters (yes, there are some duds in amongst the great ones), and the Sunlight filter was on it. But in a spirit of fair play I thought I’d better find out for sure what it actually does and…

Read More Add some sunlight with Color Efex Pro!
Tutorials

Do more with Color Efex Pro’s Old Photo effect
ByLife after Photoshop November 21, 2013May 8, 2025

Normally, if you want to create any kind of black and white effect with the DxO Nik Collection, you’d go straight to Silver Efex Pro. However, Color Efex Pro has some black and white effects of its own. The effects are different to Silver Efex Pro’s, so although the tools aren’t quite as sophisticated, you…

Read More Do more with Color Efex Pro’s Old Photo effect
Tutorials

Pimp your pictures with the Color Efex Pro Bi-Colour filter
ByRod Lawton November 14, 2013May 8, 2025

Color Efex Pro‘s Bi-Colour filter adds a colour gradient to your pictures, adding a subtle wash of one colour to the base and one to the top. It’s not an effect you’ll use every day, but don’t dismiss it straight away because there is a type of shot where it really comes to life, and…

Read More Pimp your pictures with the Color Efex Pro Bi-Colour filter