Photoshop Elements Actions PC Definitive Guide by Paint the Moon

e v iti n i f e the D

Action Installation and Troubleshooting Guide photoshop elements for pc

paint the moon p h o t o s h o p™ a c t i o n s a n d t e x t u re s

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What’s inside 3.

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click to jump to the page you need and check out the helpful resources and links page for video tutorials, paint the moon communities, training resources and more

Ins t a l l a ti on s te ps - d e tai le d In s t a l l a ti on s te ps - che at s he e t W i n d o ws 7 i ns tall path

(w here t he act i on s g o )

W i n d o ws V i s ta i ns tall path Wi nd o ws XP i ns tall path Un- hi d e thos e folde rs D u m p the s e fi le s

(w here t he a c ti o n s g o )

(w here t he act i o n s g o )

(i f y ou can’ t see Pr o g r a m o r A ppli c a ti o n Da ta )

(med i adat abase.d b3 and th u m b da ta b a s e . db 3 )

F i n d a nd vi e w y our acti ons i n PSE C r e a t e s hortcuts for the future He l l o , ni ce to me e t y ou!

And how to ge t i n contact wi th Annie.

S h o o t ! ?! G ot troub le ? { fi nd y our an sw e r } L a y e r mas k ti ps and troub le s hooti ng T w e a k and cus tom i ze y our acti ons T i ps a nd tri cks for us i ng y our acti on s

Help ful r e s o u r c e s , l i n k s a n d i n f o r mation

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page 3

Installation Steps 1.

Detailed, in depth version ... this list covers every step in great detail. This covers everything from downloading to finding your installed actions in PSE. Be sure to see screenshot pages too!

Download your actions. You will be directed to a page where you can click on the words "Click here" to immediately download your products after the payment goes through. You will also receive an e-mail at your payment address with the link in it.

Locate the downloaded file and open the folder. If it is not unzipped (if it still has the .zip extension at the end), unzip it. Most machines have

2.

pre-installed software that allows you to either double click it or right click and choose Extract. If you do not have unzipping software, you can download free software to do this online. A popular, highly rated FREE one is 7Zip for PC. Select all the action files (they are in their own folder - they all have the extensions .atn, .png and .xml ... each action has one of each of these types of files). Do a "copy" just like you would with copying text (control + c). Do not copy any textures, PDF files, templates, etc. ... only the

3.

.atn, .xml and .png files - if you copy other files it will mess up your Effects palette and we'll need to fix things (see Shoot! Got trouble?!). The files also need to be placed loose into the Photo Effects folder, not within a folder.

Locate the Photo Effects folder. See the pages 5-7 for specific installation paths (Windows 7, Windows XP and Vista) ... installation path is just a fancy way of saying the folders you need to open to get to the one you need). It's different for each system. Also note that the most common

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problem with being unable to find the Photo Effects folder on a PC is not following the step to "un-hide files/folders" (and, therefore, being

5.

Once inside the Photo Effects folder do a "paste" (like you are pasting text again, control + v). This is copying all the files to the Photo Effects

unable to see the Program Data or Application Data folder).

folder where they need to be. NOTHING else is supposed to be copied into the Photo Effects folder - only png, atn and (if included) xml files.

Go back to your Installation Path, locate the version number folder (such as 9.0), open it. Next open the Locale folder. Inside the Locale folder,

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open the en_US folder. Inside you will find the file called mediadatabase.db3. Select it and change the name to anything you want, you can add the word OLD to it or whatever you please.

Restart PSE and leave it alone while it rebuilds the databases (it will give a message saying it's doing this). Leave it alone a good long time and

7.

don't interrupt it even if it seems to have become unresponsive. It will usually just take a few minutes, but can sometimes take up to 20-30 minutes.

After it's all finished, go to your Effects palette and click on the Layer Styles button first (this resets the palette). Then click on the Photo Effects button, which is the third button over with sparkles around it. In the drop down menu to the right you will see the name of the action set you just installed. If your set did not come with xml files you will need to choose Show All to see your new actions in the palette all together (some

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older sets do not have them, but you will be getting a free update from Paint the Moon soon when we send out newly created XML files to all our customers for every PSE set in the shop).

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page 4

Install cheat sheet 1.

Download actions.

the condensed version ... for experienced users and smarty pants

First time action user? click HERE for tips, tricks and a short video with editing basics

2.

Unzip and open folder.

3.

Select action files (png, atn and xml files) and “copy.”

4.

Locate the Photo Effects folder (see your installation path for your system) and “paste” files.

5.

Delete or rename mediadatabase.db3 and thumbdatabase.db3 files (see page 9,“Dump these files”).

6.

Restart PSE and leave it alone while it rebuilds the databases. It could take up to 20-30 minutes, although usually only a few. Do not interrupt it, even if it seems to be unresponsive

7.

Find actions in Effects palette within Elements.

8.

Have lots of fun creating while saving time!

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click HERE to see the installation video for Elements

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page 5

Windows 7 path

Installation path is a fancy way of saying the folders you need to open to get to the one you need to place your action files in

• Go to your Start Menu • Open Computer

• Open your C: drive

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3.

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• programdata NOTE: programdata is NOT the same as Program Files. If you don’t see program DATA, it’s most likely hidden. See also screen shots on “Un-hide folders.” Go to Start and enter “folder options” in the “search programs and files” box. Click the view tab of the Folder Options dialog box. Click on the radio button “show hidden files, folders, drives.” Click Apply.

• Adobe • Photoshop Elements • 9.0 (or your version number) • Photo Creations • Photo Effects

This is the folder where you will copy your action files to.

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Windows vista path

Installation path is a fancy way of saying the folders you need to open to get to the one you need to place your action files in

• Go to your Start Menu • Open Computer

• Open your C: drive

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3.

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• Program Data NOTE: Program Data is NOT the same as Program Files. If you don’t see Program DATA, it’s most likely hidden. See also screen shots on “Un-hide folders.” Go to Start and enter “folder options” in the “search programs and files” box. Click the view tab of the Folder Options dialog box. Click on the radio button “show hidden files, folders, drives.” Click Apply.

• Adobe • Photoshop Elements • 9.0 (or your version number) • Photo Creations • Photo Effects

This is the folder where you will copy your action files to.

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Windows XP path

Installation path is a fancy way of saying the folders you need to open to get to the one you need to place your action files in

• Start Menu • My Computer • Local Disk (C:) • Documents and Settings • All Users • Application Data

If you don’t see Application Data, it’s most likely hidden. See also screen shots on “Un-hide Folders!”

Go to Start/Control Panel > Classic View > Folder Options > View and select Show Hidden Files and Folders)

• Adobe • Photoshop Elements • 9.0 (or your version number) • Photo Creations • Photo Effects This is the folder where you will copy your action files to.

Note: In Windows XP in the Control Panel – the left hand side that says “Switch to Classic View” or “Switch to Category View” can sometimes be missing. To re-enable this you need to click Tools, then Folder Options and under the General tab ensure that “Show common tasks in folders” is selected then click OK. You can then elect to switch between the user friendly Category View or the more advanced Classic View.

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page 8

Un-hide folders

If you cannot locate the Program DATA or Application Data folders, you’ll need to do this step before you can install your actions.

How to Un-hide files/folders. (shown on Windows 7) Go to Start.

Enter “folder options here.”

Click the view tab of the Folder Options dialog box.

Click on the radio button “show hidden files, folders, drives.”

Click Apply. You will now be able to see the programdata (Program Data) folder and continue on to the Photo Effects folder to copy your action files to.

XP us ers : Go to Start/Control Panel > Classic View > Folder Options > View and then select Show Hidden Files and Folders.

In Windows XP in the Control Panel – the left hand side that says “Switch to Classic View” or “Switch to Category View” can sometimes be missing. To re-enable this you need to click Tools, then Folder Options and under the General tab ensure that “Show common tasks in folders” is selected then click OK. You can then switch between the user friendly Category View or the more advanced Classic View.

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page 9

Dump these files Get rid of these files with any one of these three methods:

1.

delete (the method I prefer, but some like to be “safer”),

2.

move to desktop; then delete later,

3.

O�

rename these two files.

You can either delete these files, move them to the desktop until your actions are safely loaded and then delete it from the desktop, or rename the file to anything you want (add OLD to the name, the date or whatever you wish).

You will find the mediadatabase.db3 along with the same installation path ... then stop at the version number folder (for instance, 10.0), and then navigate to Locale > en_US. Find the file mediadatabase.db3 and delete or rename this file.

Go back to the version number folder (10.0, etc.) and find the thumbdatabase.db3 and do the same thing (rename or delete).

As long as you’ve copied all your action files to the Photo Effects folder properly, you are ready to restart PSE and start using your actions (be sure to leave it alone while it rebuilds, even if it seems to have become unresponsive).

MediaDatabase.db3 file inside the 10.0 (or your version number) > Locale > en_US folder.

No t e :

missing this step is probably the main reason users will not be able to see their new actions when restarting Elements

ThumbDatabase.db3 file inside the 10.0 (or your version number) folder.

This needs to be done every time you make changes or add new actions to your Photo Effects folder.

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page 10

Find your actions

2. Photo Effects

Follow these steps to find your actions once Elements is finished rebuilding contents and effects. Leave it alone during this process, this may take a *long* time - up to 20-30 minutes in extreme cases (most of the time it will take only a few). Interrupting it can cause problems and it will appear that you have NO actions if it doesn’t finish.

3. Select Action Set or Show All

1. Click on the 2nd button over (Layer Styles) to reset your Effects palette.

2. Click the third button over with sparkles

around it (Photo Effects).

3. Then select your action set in the drop down menu or Show All to

see all your actions (if your action set did not come with XML files, you will need to Show All to see that set).

1. Layer Styles

(to reset)

View your actions Click on the little arrow and three lines in the upper right corner to change the view ... you can view different thumbnail sizes, as well as see the names of actions below the thumbnails in the palette (you can also just hover over the icon with your mouse to view the title in the palette). If you’d like to group your most used actions into an easily accessible Favorites tab, see our YouTube video tutorial on Organizing Elements Actions.

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Change the view

page 11

Shortcuts for the future

make it easier to add actions in the future with shortcuts to the PSE folders needed for changes to your action collection

I highly recommend making shortcuts for the folders needed to install actions to make adding new actions in the future easier and faster. Go to each folder you will need to add actions ... Photo Effects (to copy your action files to), en_US (to delete/rename mediadatabase.db3) and your version number (9.0, etc. - to delete/rename thumbdatabase.db3).

When you get to the folder you need, right click on the folder and choose Create Shortcut, then drag the shortcut to your sidebar as shown or your desktop if you wish. Now you don’t need to hunt for them every time you make changes to your actions!

Adding shortcuts for your PSE folders make adding new actions a breeze!

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page 12

Hi. I’m Annie.

So nice to meet you!

I w a n t to th a n k you f or your sup p ort and b usiness. I truly ho p e y o u a r e t hr i l l ed w i t h y o ur Pa i nt t he M o o n pro d ucts . Y ou r s a ti s f a c tion is my numb er one p riority, and I t a k e p r i d e i n p r o v i d i ng ex c el l ent c us t o m er s er v i c e.

I f yo u fin d, a fte r look i ng ov er the installation g uid e, troub l es ho o t i ng g ui d e a nd t ut o r i a l v i d eo s a v a i l a b l e, t ha t yo u a re s ti ll i n n e e d of assistanc e, p lease feel free to e-ma i l m e a t a nna b el l e@ p a i nt t hem o o n.net a nd I ’ m m o r e t h a n h a ppy to h e lp.

I w i l l n e e d to h a ve th e following information in ord er to g et y o u t a k en c a r e o f a s q ui c k a s p o s s i b l e: • Pa i nt th e Moon produc t you are using • Y o ur com pu te r’s operating system • Y o ur ve rs i on of Ele ments • W h a t e xa ctly you r i s sue is, or where in the installation p r o c es s y o u a r e r unni ng i nt o a hi c c up . T he m o r e de t a i le d i n f orm a ti on I g et up front, the b etter and faster I c a n g et y o u t a k en c a r e o f a nd s t a r t ed us i ng a nd e n j o y i n g you r n e w a ctions.

T h a n k you !

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page 13

! # @ ? # @!

?@#!!?@!#

Shoot! Got trouble? !?@?@#!#

t r o u b l e s h o o t i n g :

p s e

First make sure you are running Photoshop Elements versions 6 or up.

I can't find where to copy my action files to!

This usually happens at the "Program Data" (or Application Data if you are in Windows XP) step. Do NOT select Program FILES this is not the right folder. Not seeing the Program Data (or Application Data) folder is usually because you have not followed the step for un-hiding your files/folders. Please see the install guide on page eight for screen shots and directions on doing this.

After you un-hide files/folders you should be able to see the correct folders and breeze right through the rest of you installation.

I'm not seeing my new actions after copying them to the correct Photo Effects folder!

Usually this is because the user has not renamed or deleted the database files (mediadatabase.db3 and thumbdatabase.db3).

Please see page nine for screen shots and directions on doing this.

I've done everything right and after restarting PSE ALL my actions are GONE! This usually happens when PSE has been interrupted while rebuilding the contents and effects files. It can take a very long time for this to happen (it's usually just a few minutes, but can be up to around 20-30 minutes in rare instances), and many times it will look like it's finished or unresponsive, when it's actually still working in the background. Interrupting it by messing around in PSE in anyway will stop the process and it will appear as if you have no actions at all in your Effects palette. You'll need to rename/delete those database files once again and restart PSE (see page nine) ... this time you’ll want to be sure to leave it alone while it does it's thing. If you have PSE open with the Effects palette visible before shutting down, then you can keep an eye on the palette while it's rebuilding upon restarting PSE ... once you see all the effects pop back up there then you'll know it's close to being finished.

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page 14

! # @ ? # @!

!?@?@#!#

?@#!!?@!#

t r o u b l e s h o o t i n g :

p s e

I ran the action and it doesn't appear that anything has changed?

Most likely you are using an action that has a layer mask that requires you to paint where you want the effects visible. Please see Layer Mask Basics for help (page 17), as well as the video tutorial on Layer Masks to understand how they work better. You'll need to use your white brush with the layer mask selected (the black box on the right of the layer) and then paint where you want the effect to appear.

I've installed my new actions and now every time I open Elements it crashes on me!

Try opening PSE from the Start/All Programs instead of going through a desktop shortcut or you can try resetting your preferences. To reset your preferences see the instructions in the next step.

The effect is too strong for my image or it’s too bright!

Adjust the layer opacity on the action’s layers, turn lightening and brightening or darkening layers on or off ... tweak the action until you get the right look for your image.

The action was running, a message popped up and I hit stop ... everything went back to the way it was before the action started.

NEVER hit stop on a message within Elements unless you want to completely undo the action's effects and start over.

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page 15

! # @ ? # @!

!?@?@#!#

?@#!!?@!#

t r o u b l e s h o o t i n g :

p s e

Everything is acting all wonky on me!

I frequently get emails from customers who tell me that Photoshop/Elements seems to be acting up and giving them strange errors or just doing oddball things. Sometimes this will look like an action isn’t working properly. The random things that can go wrong and errors that pop up with a corrupt preferences file are extensive but include freezes and crashes, tools acting weird or missing from toolbox, menu commands all of a sudden not available, unusual errors or results while running actions, crashing upon start up and more. I have found that almost 95% of the time when customers are running actions and experience strange problems or error messages, the issue is easily fixed by deleting the preferences file. It’s super easy and usually clears up the problem immediately. Be sure not to let go of the keys until you see the message about deleting the settings or preference file – click yes and then you may let go of the keys. Here is how to do it: To dump your corrupt preferences file and give it a fresh start: For a PC, when you restart Photoshop make sure you hit the Control, Alt and Shift keys at the same time. When it asks if you want to delete the settings file, click yes. It will go ahead and delete the settings and then automatically restart. Getting the timing right can be a bit sensitive, so be sure to hold down those keys immediately after launching the Editor, but before the program actually opens completely.

Then restart PSE. Try again and hopefully Elements will begin to play nice. :) Note: If it doesn’t work the first try, hold the keys this way … Hold down the Ctrl + Alt keys, then restart PS, and immediately press the Shift key. In that order.

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page 16

! # @ ? # @!

!?@?@#!#

?@#!!?@!#

t r o u b l e s h o o t i n g :

p s e

When I click on my actions I get messages like "Could not complete your request because the file is not compatible with this version of Photoshop." and "Could not complete your request because there is not enough memory (RAM)."

This happens if you have copied over a file that does not belong in your Photo Effects folder. The ONLY files you should be copying to your Photo Effects folder are the files that end in ATN, PNG and XML (if included). There will also be files ending in thumbnail.jpg (these are created by PSE, not something you copy in there). Anything else should be removed and then delete/rename your two database files and restart PSE again. Also, you should have no folders within the Photo Effects folder ... you will want to copy ONLY the loose atn, png and xml files over - not the folder they are in. These messages can also happen when your atn file and your png file have different names (see below under the black boxes question for the solution, if this is the case).

There are blank, black boxes inside my Photo Effects palette.

This happens for several different reasons. These only apply to actions created by designers other than Paint the Moon - these reasons being the action was meant to be installed in the Action Player (all Paint the Moon actions are recommended to be installed via the Photo Effects method only), or the action designer didn't create the matching PNG file thumbnail for the action (in which case it should still run okay, but will just not have a thumbnail icon. It also happens if your atn and png files do not have exactly the same name - in which case you can make changes to one of the files so they match EXACTLY (even a space can wreak havoc if the titles don't match).

I keep getting a message saying "The object "layer "Background" is not available."

Flatten your image prior to running actions, so that you only see the "Background" layer. If you need to do this, just right click on one of your layers and select "Flatten Image."

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page 17

! # @ ? # @!

?@#!!?@!#

!?@?@#!# t r o u b l e s h o o t i n g :

l a y e r

m a s k s

i n

p s e

I'm painting on my layer mask but nothing is changing!

See next page for things to look for when your layer masks don’t appear to be working correctly.

Layer masks are a perfect way to achieve targeted results when running actions. They allow you to have the action’s effect appear on part of the photo, but not the entire image. Using them is also essential for most of the actions in the Miracle Makeover action set ... such as the Sparkle Eyes actions, which requires you to paint on the layer masks to make the effect appear where you need it. Here I will teach you the very basics on layer masking.

First you need to know that white reveals and black conceals. This is your layer mask - the black or white box next to your layer thumbnails: If the eyeball to the left is on, it means this layer is visible. If the layer mask is white (as it is here), it means the layer effects are visible. To mask (or hide) any specific areas of this layer or group, simply paint on the layer mask (make sure it is selected as it is here) with a black brush. The opposite is also true. If you have a black layer mask, it means everything on that layer is masked (or hidden) and to reveal anything you need to paint with a white brush. This is important to remember when using actions such as the Makeover series because when the action finishes running you won’t see any difference until you start painting (i.e., revealing) on your layer masks.

You can always switch back and forth between a black and white brush if you paint too much and need to correct it. You can also use a lower opacity or harder/softer brush to really control the effect to the greatest possibility.

However, most of the time you’ll want to use a soft airbrush at 0% hardness

C L I C K

for layer mask video © a l l

for best results (unless purposely needing a hard edge for detail work).

REMEMBER ...

Black Conceals - White Reveals

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page 18

! # @ ? # @!

?@#!!?@!#

!?@?@#!# t r o u b l e s h o o t i n g :

Painting basics for layer masks.

l a y e r

m a s k s

i n

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If you can’t see your anything happening when painting, check these settings:

Blend mode: Normal

Opacity: 100%

Make sure you have the layer mask selected before painting: Layer mask selected and ready to paint on.

Select your top brush tool

Layer mask not selected - NOT ready to paint on.

Click small boxes for default black and white colors, click the little arrows to swap foreground and background. To quickly go back to default black & white hit “D”

The top color is your brush color.

Black conceals, white reveals.

To quickly switch colors, hit “X”

Make sure you have selected the default brush on top

I’ve checked all the above and everything is set correctly!

Is, if your effects aren’t appearing when painting on layer masks, and you’ve checked all the above settings, there are two more rare things to check for. Number one would be your brush "flow" (how much is "flowing" from your brush). Setting the brush flow is an available option in full Photoshop, but isn't shown in the options bar for Elements users. However, the function is still present and be called up with shortcut keys (the brush tool + alt (or opt) + number key). If you somehow clicked this shortcut on accident it will set your brush flow to that number and stay that way as a default for all brushes as a preference unless you reset it. To reset it select the brush tool then press and hold the alt key (opt if on mac). While you have the alt (opt) key held down, press the 0 (zero) key. Your brush flow should now be re-set to 100% flow. :) The second thing to try would be resetting your preferences ... see page 15 for instructions.

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page 19

Customize your look

Three Ways To “Tweak” Your Actions To Get an Individualized, Custom Look Adjust layer opacity and use layer masks to adjust the effects of actions. For information on using your layer masks and painting on layer masks see the pages on layer masks.

Many of the newer sets for PSE by Paint the Moon will include a bottom “Adjust All Here” layer that you can select, and changing the opacity on that layer will change the opacity of the entire group of the action’s layers at once.

Op a c ity of L aye rs

Ad j u st u p or d ow n to va ry inten sity of t h a t layer ’s effec t

L aye r Ma s k Whi te Reveals

Black Con cea ls

(read more about l ayer masks in the l ayer mask basic s)

Vis ibil ity (eye ba l l )

Turns Layer On and O ff

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page 20

Things you should know.

Tips and tricks to get the most out of your actions.

Fix color casts and exposure issues first.

Always get your color right using the color correcting actions first (Picture Perfect and Miracle Makeover), then fix exposure issues (too dark or light) next ... leaving room for a little more lightening depending on which action you will be running. If you are using one of the all in one workflow actions, there will be lightening and darkening layers to work with, as well as basic warming and cooling layers and other adjustments al built in. If you run a skin smoothing or artistic action on an image with obvious color issues (too cyan, red, magenta, green, yellow or blue), it will tend to exaggerate the color problems. So, fix color and exposure problems first, then move on to the rest of your edits. Remember that the artistic actions play with the color in each individual image, shifting the colors and these actions may look different on different images depending on what colors are prominent in your photo.

Make sure you understand your layer masks.

Also remember when working with layer masks that white reveals what is underneath a mask on the layer and black conceals the effects.

If there is a black box on a layer, you will need to paint on that layer mask to make the effect visible where you want it. See the layer mask basics in the Install Guides for more help, as well as our video tutorials on layers and layer masks. You can also adjust the opacity and the softness or hardness of your brush while painting on layer masks - this can help achieve a more natural look as you paint and build up the effect gradually (I especially recommend doing this on skin smoothing and darkening/lightening layers.

Play with layer opacity.

Don’t forget to adjust your opacity on your layers - either by selecting the “Adjust All” layer or by selecting individual layers as desired if your set does not have the Adjust All bottom layers. This is a must to get the best results much of the time since every image is unique.

When an action is first finished running, many times the opacity of the action layers or group will be at 100% opacity ... and you may think, "Whoa - not what I was going for," at first glance. However, I most likely it will need just to a 5 second tweak to the action (see page 19) to get just the right look depending on the photo.

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