actions for Photoshop速 CS 2-6
paraphernalia for the artistic photographer...
table of contents
Understanding Layers
3
Place/Blend/Remove
4
Light & Shadows
4
Vintage Tones and Quick B&W
5
Extras & Workflow Tools
6
HELPFUL HINTS
7
TUTORIALS
7
Understanding Layers Just as painting a portrait involves the use of color, layers and blending, so does the artistic manipulation of a digital image with texture. This action series will simplify the process and transform your work into art! First you must understand the basics of layers-
A layer mask allows you to paint on or erase off desired areas of the image or folder it is masking. By using layer masks you can achieve custom edits that would otherwise be impossible. A black layer mask CONCEALS, while a white REVEALS.
Use a soft brush to paint on layer masks. Use a white brush on a black mask, and a black brush on a white mask.
Be sure to have the layer mask-not your image or folder-selected when painting on a mask layer.
Place/Blend/Remove Light & Shadows PLACE/BLEND/REMOVE• places your desired texture on the image. • allows resizing • creates quick blend modes • creates a texture removal layer • creates a texture tone & color replacement layer
LIGHT & SHADOWScreates adjustment layer masks to help you edit and adjust your image & texture-
Vintage Tones and Quick B&W
Quick B&W does just that- converts your image to a rich B&W in one click. Try pairing it with one of the gorgeous vintage tone for beautiful effects. Vintage tones can be used alone of layered together.
Extras & Workflow Tools PINCHED CHEEKSAdd a hint of color to lips and cheeks to create the perfect skin tone. Forget having to warm the whole face, once you try this action you will use it on every portrait! OFF WITH THEIR REDS!Remove unwanted red tones from skin. CAST OFF THE BLUES!Remove blue cast from whites. ADD DEPTHAdd depth and contrast-slightly desaturates. GLOWUse on your final flattened file, creates a sharp, but dreamy glow. ADD DETAILUse on your final flattened file, adds sharpness to shadows. SHARPENSharpens and defogs image. CREATE SNAPSHOTSaves a snapshot of your current layers palette, so that you may experiment with more blend modes, tones or textures. DUPLICATE IMAGECreates a duplicate of your current image so that you may experiment with more blend modes, tones or textures. DELETE HIDDEN LAYERSDeletes layers that are turned off, such as unused blend modes. START OVERReverts your image to the original FLATTEN-
Flattens all layers.
HELPFUL HINTS • work on files that are exposure and color corrected • make sure the image background layer is named “background” and is selected when playing an action • when an action has a “stop or continue” pop up, always press “continue”. “Stop” will undo the whole action. • combine actions for custom effects • every image is different so all actions have various adjustment levels, tweak the opacities to suit your image
TUTORIALS
You can find in depth tutorials by visiting us athttp://site.fromthetreetop.com/store/?page/56507/tutorials problems or questions? email tamara@fromthetreetop.com
all text and images are ©Tamara Burross/From the Treetop