actions for Photoshop速 ELEMENTS 9-11
paraphernalia for the artistic photographer...
table of contents
Installation for PSE 6-10
3
Installation for PSE 11 and Up
6
UNDERSTANDING LAYERS
8
Using the Actions in PSE 6-10
9
Using the Actions in PSE 11 and Up
10
Place/Blend/Remove
11
Light & Shadows
12
Vintage Tones and Quick B&W
13
Extras & Workflow Tools
14
HELPFUL HINTS
15
TUTORIALS
15
Installation for PSE 6-10 *make sure PSE is closed and not running prior to beginning FIRST- copy all 69 items located in the folder labeled “FTT Seaside” and paste them hereWindows users will have to make sure "Show Hidden Files and Folders" is set in Windows Explorer. WINDOWS-PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS Vista/Windows 7 C:\ProgramData\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\9.0\Photo Creations\photo effects Windows XP C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe \Photoshop Elements\9.0\Photo Creations\Photo Effects ** replace the “9.0” with your version of elementselements 6= 6.0 elements 7= 7.0 elements 8= 8.0 elements 9= 9.0 elements 10= 10.0
MAC-PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS Finder\Library\Application Support\Adobe\Photoshop Elements \9.0\Photo Creations\Photo Effects ** replace the “9.0� with your version of elementselements 6= 6.0 elements 7= 7.0 elements 8= 8.0 elements 9= 9.0 elements 10= 10.0
SECOND-locate and rename the Mediadatabse.db3 file to MediadatabseOLD.db3. Vista/Windows 7: C:\Program Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\x.0\Locale\en_US Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Adobe \Photoshop Elements\x.0\Locale\en_US Mac: Finder\Library\Application Support\Adobe\Photoshop Elements \x.0\Locale\en_US
After these steps are complete, open Elements. It will take awhile to rebuild the media date base file, so don’t worry if it’s slower to boot up than usual. Open Photo Effects and select “FTT Artist’s Workflow” from the drop down menu. This is what you should see.
Installation for PSE 11 and Up 1. Open Elements Editor and select “Expert” mode from the top menu.
2. At the bottom right hand corner locate the “more” tab and click on the “actions” option.
3.You should see a panel that looks like this. Select the drop down menu by clicking the upper right hand corner, then click on the “load actions” command. This will prompt you to select a file for loading. It is helpful to have your actions stored in a pre-determined folder for easier access.
4.In the Elements 11 version, you only need to load one file. Your action file ends in .atn and looks like this. Double click to load.
5. Once loaded you should see a folder with the action name beside it, as in the example on the right.
6. Your actions are located in this folder and you will see each action name when opened. To play an action, simply highlight the name and click on the “play� button located top right.
UNDERSTANDING LAYERS Just as painting a portrait involves the use of color, layers and blending, so does the artistic manipulation of a digital image.
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.
Using the Actions in PSE 6-10
FTT actions give you full control and adjustability. Look for the “master adjustment layer” marked by the red “eye” icon. This layer allows you to change the opacity of all the action layers as well as paint on the layer mask for desired effects. In addition, all layers in the action can also be fine tuned for complete customization.
Using the Actions in PSE 11 and Up
FTT actions give you full control and adjustability. Look for the “ADJUST” or “PAINT” layers. These layers allow you to change the opacity of all the action layers as well as paint on the layer mask for desired effects. In addition, all layers in the action can also be fine tuned for complete customization.
*Important tip- when an action has a “stop or continue” pop up, always press “continue”, “stop” will undo the whole action.
Place/Blend/Remove
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
turn your blend modes on and off by pressing the “eye” icon next to the layer.
Light & Shadows LIGHT & SHADOWScreates adjustment layer masks to help you edit and adjust your image & texture-paint on the black layer mask with a soft white brush and adjust the layer opacity to taste.
actions with a “red leaf� are those that should be played on a flattened file only.
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. 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 FLATTENFlattens 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