My favorite part of learning photoshop was discovering the wonderful world of actions. When I did, I cut my post processing time in half! Actions are specific sequence of photoshop layers/commands, etc. that are automated. Lets say that your normal post process is to curves layer, soft light layer, reduce noise filter, then sharpen - you could create an action so that instead of doing those steps independantly, you can do them all at once saving time. Actions can also be used to create certain effects, like black and white, vignette, lomo, HDR, etc.
There are some phenomenal FREE actions out there. My ultimate favorite free action website is COFFEESHOP! Most will run both on Elements and CS, CS2, CS3, CS4. Pioneer Woman has a great action set and great photography information. Click on the photography tab on the bottom of the screen and take a look around. While you are looking - Texas Chicks is also the site you want to check out. There are a couple free actions and they also have a subscription that you can join for future actions. (The subscription has a fee, but well worth it - they have some great stuff!!!) I found these other links as well:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/10/20/the-ultimate-collection-of-useful-photoshop-actions/
http://designm.ag/resources/photoshop-actions-touchups/
http://naldzgraphics.net/freebies/60-useful-photoshop-actions-to-enhance-your-photos-for-free/ Great Touchup actions
http://www.atncentral.com/download.htm this is the quick download page – no pictures
At first I was obsessed with downloading EVERY free action I could find. My action file was bogged down and it took me forever to find the one I wanted, actually making the process less efficient. I would forget which one was which! Then I started to sort through. I would download and keep the ones that I don't use on a regular basis in a file with others on my external hard drive, labeling with a description. Then I could just add as needed.
HANDY TIP: What I did was create a file where I actually had a picture I took with the action. My first photo was the Original and then I ran an action and that was file #2. I then went back to the original and ran another action this would be another file. I have an option to print with my document which allows me to print a contact sheet so I put the images all on one sheet and printed so I could quickly reference what action effect I was looking for.
Personally - I keep it simple - I have a photo retouching/eye pop (Coffeeshop glamour glow), I have a sharpen - MCP Crystal Clear, I have a black and white with optional vignette, I have a vintage, I have a color pop, and I have a resize for web/sharpen for web for my blog. These are the ones that I use 95% of the time when proofing for clients. Those I will keep handy in the Action folder in Photoshop. The rest I have stored away for a rainy day when I feel like playing:) I am sure when you ask different pro's, they will have different ways of doing it - this is how I like to stay organized and keep things simple - my new mantra.
The most important thing is to have fun and play around with the actions and see if you can fit them into your workflow. I will have a future Tutorial Tuesday article on Workflow and how to make your own actions so stay tuned!
There are some phenomenal FREE actions out there. My ultimate favorite free action website is COFFEESHOP! Most will run both on Elements and CS, CS2, CS3, CS4. Pioneer Woman has a great action set and great photography information. Click on the photography tab on the bottom of the screen and take a look around. While you are looking - Texas Chicks is also the site you want to check out. There are a couple free actions and they also have a subscription that you can join for future actions. (The subscription has a fee, but well worth it - they have some great stuff!!!) I found these other links as well:
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/10/20/the-ultimate-collection-of-useful-photoshop-actions/
http://designm.ag/resources/photoshop-actions-touchups/
http://naldzgraphics.net/freebies/60-useful-photoshop-actions-to-enhance-your-photos-for-free/ Great Touchup actions
http://www.atncentral.com/download.htm this is the quick download page – no pictures
At first I was obsessed with downloading EVERY free action I could find. My action file was bogged down and it took me forever to find the one I wanted, actually making the process less efficient. I would forget which one was which! Then I started to sort through. I would download and keep the ones that I don't use on a regular basis in a file with others on my external hard drive, labeling with a description. Then I could just add as needed.
HANDY TIP: What I did was create a file where I actually had a picture I took with the action. My first photo was the Original and then I ran an action and that was file #2. I then went back to the original and ran another action this would be another file. I have an option to print with my document which allows me to print a contact sheet so I put the images all on one sheet and printed so I could quickly reference what action effect I was looking for.
Personally - I keep it simple - I have a photo retouching/eye pop (Coffeeshop glamour glow), I have a sharpen - MCP Crystal Clear, I have a black and white with optional vignette, I have a vintage, I have a color pop, and I have a resize for web/sharpen for web for my blog. These are the ones that I use 95% of the time when proofing for clients. Those I will keep handy in the Action folder in Photoshop. The rest I have stored away for a rainy day when I feel like playing:) I am sure when you ask different pro's, they will have different ways of doing it - this is how I like to stay organized and keep things simple - my new mantra.
The most important thing is to have fun and play around with the actions and see if you can fit them into your workflow. I will have a future Tutorial Tuesday article on Workflow and how to make your own actions so stay tuned!
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