March 11, 2010
Before & After…the Action Series
Some people feel that using actions is cheating when it comes to editing. However, many of us have busy lives and rather than spend hours upon end editing a series f photos, we can use an action to speed up the process. I’ll be honest, if I had Photoshop, I’d probably write my own actions…but I use Photoshop Elements 7, so I use any freebie actions I can get my hands on. 

You’ll often see me using CoffeeShop’s Little Perk (that I often call “just a perk”).  It’s great for adding that little burst of color, contrast and sharpening without much effort. In most cases, this is all you need to make a SOOC photo pop. In the example to the left (middle), after a closer crop, I applied Little Perk to give you an idea of what that effect with nothing more adds to a photo. 

Another action that I’m becoming a fan of is Amy McMaster’s Apricot Cream. I used this action after my crop in the example to the left (bottom) following Little Perk. I love vintage-looking photos and this action has that vibe without any sepia. 

If you haven’t tried actions before or you’re looking for a great source of freebies (either PS or PSE), check out CoffeeShop and Amy McMaster. You’ll find some cool stuff and tutorials for how to install these actions. 

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