With the use of AI in photography being a continued discussion, DxO announces that Nik Collection 9 introduces a new generation of AI-enhanced tools designed to make complex selections faster and more intuitive, adding an important note at the end: “while keeping photographers firmly in control of their edits.”
According to DxO, the new version of the legendary image editing software combines powerful new AI-enhanced masking tools with a fresh approach to color grading and a range of bold new filters. Depth Masks and AI Masks make precise local adjustments faster and more intuitive, while the new Color Grading tool introduces a streamlined way to shape color across shadows, midtones, and highlights. Alongside these major additions, new effects including Halation, Chromatic Shift, and Glass Effect expand the suite’s expressive range, supported by workflow improvements designed to make editing smoother and more flexible than ever.
“For more than 30 years, Nik Collection has been a favorite tool for photographers because it puts so much creativity instantly at your fingertips,” said Boris Oliviero, Product Director at DxO. “What might require ten layers in Photoshop can be achieved in just a few clicks in Nik Collection. With version 9, we’re expanding those possibilities even further, introducing powerful new tools and effects while continuing to refine the speed and intuitive workflow that photographers and designers rely on.”
Here is the information shared by DxO regarding the updated Nik Collection 9:
AI-enhanced tools: Powerful local adjustments, reinvented
Nik Collection 9 introduces a new generation of AI-enhanced tools designed to make complex selections faster and more intuitive, while keeping photographers firmly in control of their edits.
Depth Masks
Depth Masks analyze the image and generate a detailed depth map, allowing creators to target adjustments based on distance from the camera, without requiring embedded depth data. After applying a filter or tool, users can create a Depth Mask to precisely control where the effect appears within the scene.
A set of intuitive sliders with adjustable feathering handles makes it easy to refine the exact depth range, from foreground to background. The result is natural, highly controllable transitions that would otherwise require time-consuming manual masking.
AI Masks
AI Masks offer pixel-precise subject selection in just seconds. Once a tool or filter has been applied, photographers can create an AI Mask to target specific elements within the frame. Subjects can be selected simply by clicking on them, or by drawing a bounding box to define the area of interest.
Fast and accurate, AI Masks streamline complex selections while preserving the flexibility and precision that advanced workflows demand.
Available throughout the entire Nik Collection suite
These AI-enhanced tools sit alongside an extensive range of existing selection options, such as Nik Collection’s renowned U Point technology.
A long-awaited addition, the new Color Grading tool in Nik Color Efex delivers exceptional control in an intuitive, streamlined interface. Instead of juggling multiple color wheels, photographers work with a single wheel that provides independent control over shadows, midtones, highlights, and global color. These tonal ranges can be adjusted individually or, in a feature that’s unique to Nik Collection, selected colors can be locked together for synchronized changes. This means that users can choose colors for the Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights, and rotate all three together, maintaining the relative relationship between each point.
Fine-tuning is handled via dedicated Hue, Saturation, and Luminance sliders, alongside opacity and tonal balance controls. Unique to Nik Color Efex, the entire tool can also be combined with Blending Modes for creative results not possible elsewhere. Looks can be saved as reusable mini-presets, and local adjustments — powered by U Point technology or the new AI Masks — allow precise placement of color grades within an image.
New creative filters
Version 9 represents the most significant evolution yet for Nik Color Efex and Nik Analog Efex.
Alongside the powerful new Color Grading tool, three additional innovations — Halation, Chromatic Shift, and Glass Effect — bring bold new creative possibilities to both color and analog-inspired workflows.
Halation
The new Halation tool in Nik Color Efex faithfully recreates the glow seen in older analog film stocks, where bright highlights bleed softly into surrounding darker areas, often with a subtle reddish halo. This organic, cinematic effect is fully controllable, with adjustments for brightness, radius, intensity, hue, saturation, and overall opacity. As with all tools in Nik Color Efex, Halation can also be applied locally for precise creative control.
Chromatic Shift
Inspired by traditional offset printing, the Chromatic Shift tool in Nik Analog Efex recreates subtle ink misalignment for an authentic analog feel. Individual color layers are shifted to produce characteristic imperfections, with a choice of three palettes — red/cyan, magenta/green, or yellow/blue. Users can control the angle, offset strength, and scale to achieve anything from delicate textures to bold graphic effects.
Glass Effect
Building on the Paper Textures introduced in version 8, the Glass Effect tool in Nik Analog Efex adds an extensive collection of glass-based distortion effects. A range of glass types can be selected, with controls for scale, distortion, and smoothness enabling highly customized results.
Nik Color Efex and Nik Analog Efex now introduce Blending Modes, giving photographers new ways to control how tools and filters interact with an image. Similar to the approach familiar from Photoshop, Blending Modes change the mathematical relationship between the effect being applied and the image being edited, producing dramatically different visual results.
Photographers can choose from 18 modes, including Darken, Multiply, Difference, and Color. Each mode blends brightness and color in a distinct way, enabling everything from subtle tonal integration to bold stylistic transformations.
This new feature dramatically expands the creative potential of existing filters. For example, Nik Analog Efex already includes 30 Paper Textures, which can now be combined with these modes to produce up to 540 unique variations, opening the door to deeper experimentation and more expressive results.
Workflow upgrades
A range of thoughtful refinements further improves everyday usability.
- Mask Overlays provide a clear view of local adjustments without obscuring the image
- Preset Hover Preview offers instant, real-time previews when browsing presets, eliminating the need for constant clicking
- A new local adjustments palette consolidates all of the new tools and provides easier navigation
- Local adjustments can now be copied and pasted between images using a simple keyboard shortcut.
Together, these enhancements reflect an ongoing commitment to a faster, smoother, and more enjoyable editing experience.
Nik Collection 9 is available from the DxO website for macOS and Windows computers:
- New license $179.99 / 169.99 € / £149.99
- Upgrade from Nik Collection 7 or 8 $99.99 / 89.99 € / £79.99
A 30-day free trial is available from nikcollection.dxo.com/download.