Noise reduction can be found with Dfine 2, while creating high dynamic range images is a breeze with HDR Efex Pro 2. Need presets for color? Color Efex Pro 4 has you covered. For stunning film emulation, there’s Analog Efex Pro 2. Nik Collection 4 is a dynamic, streamlined update that works cleaner and faster with your Adobe programs.įor only $100 (through the end of December before returning to its usual price of $149), you get eight fantastic plugins. Nik now belongs to DxO, who has thrown its solid reputation behind it along with some real development. Through multiple changes in ownership, Nik’s products have remained consistent in their excellence and reliability. No problem, because the price of the entire collection here is still less than if you bought two individual plugins on the list.įor many photographers, the Nik name has a history behind it they know they can trust.

We had originally sought to include Nik’s Silver Efex Pro on the list as the best plugin for black and white photography, but with the recent update to 3, it is no longer available as a standalone. Honestly, it could almost function as an entire list of the best plugins all on its own.

These packs are worth investigating in full, but among them, Nik Collection 4 stands above the crowd.

While most of the creative tools on this list are meant to aid you with specific tasks in your image editing process, many also exist as components within larger collections.

Best Plugin for Photoshop and Lightroom for One-Click Presets: Exposure X7īest Overall Plugin for Photoshop and Lightroom: Nik Collection 4.3.

Best Plugin for SFX and Composite Photographers: Boris FX Optics.

Best Plugin for Photoshop and Lightroom for HDR: Skylum Aurora HDR.

Best Plugin for General AI-Powered Editing: Skylum Luminar AI.

Best Plugin for AI Portrait Retouching: Retouch4Me.

Best Plugin for Photoshop and Lightroom for Portraiture: Imagenomic Portraiture 3.

Best Plugin for Photoshop and Lightroom for Noise Reduction: DxO PureRAW.

Best Plugin for Photoshop and Lightroom for Upscaling: Topaz Gigapixel AI.

Best Overall Plugin for Photoshop and Lightroom: Nik Collection 4.3.

Lightroom for photoshop