Oh no! We’re on a Tour Track job and we need to be in two places at once to take photographs of twilight/dusk. How can we accomplish this if there is not enough money to make multiple trips and we want to please both our client and Tour Track’s client.
Well, we’ll just have to use Nik Software’s complete package for Aperture, Light Room and Photoshop. For those of you who have a Nikon – they have a Nik Lite version called Nik Effects that can do the same things. No need to deal with masks, layers, brushes, levels, etc in Photoshop. We edited our last tour track direct from Aperture using the Nik Plug-ins.
All the modules basically work the same. You place a dot on the picture, move a few sliders and close up the plug in and you have a non-destructive edit that if using photoshop can be re-edited right from its self made layer and mask. If you use aperture it makes a duplicate with the effect and you can keep coming back for more.
Using their patented U-Point technology, we began experimenting with the Color Efex plug-in, which includes more than 50 different filters. For this project, we selected the “Midnight” filter — and yes, it sounds exactly as dark and dramatic as it looks. We initially applied the filter globally across the entire image. Rather than choosing black or purple tones, we selected Midnight Blue because we felt it complemented the pool area and overall scene much more naturally. Instantly, the entire image took on a rich twilight appearance.
Next, we used negative control points to selectively remove the effect from areas where we wanted the viewer’s attention focused. By adjusting the brightness sliders carefully, we were able to create gradual transitions between lighter and darker portions of the image, giving the photo a much more natural dusk-like atmosphere.
At that point the image finally resembled a convincing twilight scene — but something still felt missing. Since the original photo had been taken during the daytime, the lamp posts were not illuminated. Thankfully, Nik Software’s Viveza 2 module gave us another powerful set of tools to work with.
First, we used positive control points to enhance saturation, contrast, and texture within the sky and pool areas. Then, using a very small control point, we isolated the individual light bulb inside one of the lamp posts. We pushed the brightness slider to 100%, which immediately illuminated the bulb. However, the light appeared white, and we wanted a warmer yellow glow instead. Using the RGB controls, we carefully adjusted the color balance until the tone looked realistic.
Even then, the lamp still did not cast enough visible light into the surrounding scene. So once again — slide, slide, slide — we adjusted the brightness controls until the lamp created a soft yellow glow that appeared brightest at the center and gradually faded outward, naturally illuminating the surrounding area.
Techniques like these demonstrate how advanced editing workflows combined with professional virtual tour software and architectural photography tools can dramatically transform ordinary daytime images into visually striking marketing assets.
RTV virtual tour providers who are having trouble with either shooting twilight photos or editing twilight into the photos.
