PHOTOSHOP ACTION FAQ
Q: WHAT IS A PHOTOSHOP ACTION?
A Photoshop action is essentially a series of recorded ‘tasks’ added to an image during the retouching process. Think of it as a pre-recorded photo filter that has a lot of versatility & options!
When you ‘play’ a Photoshop action on your own software - the action will add all of my toning adjustments to your own file - replicating my process! This makes batch editing and color processing efficient, while opening your mind to new color and toning options you may not have considered before.
Q: HOW DO I INSTALL THEM?
When you receive the actions - download them to your computer and unzip/extract the files. The action files are those with the “.atn” extension.
In Adobe Photoshop - simply click WINDOW > ACTIONS. When the ACTION window tab pops up, click the icon that looks like 4 horizontal lines (top right), then click LOAD ACTIONS. All you have to do now is find where you saved the actions and load them in! They are ready use as soon as you have added them to your actions tab. All you have to do is select the action you want by clicking on the name, then clicking PLAY at the bottom of the actions tab. It’s that simple!
Tip: Save to a safe/memorable place on your computer or hard drive - just in case you have to re-install Photoshop at any point!
Q: ARE THE COMPATIBLE WITH MAC & PC?
Yes, all of our Photoshop Actions are compatible with both Mac & PC.
Q: WHICH VERSION OF PHOTOSHOP DO I NEED? DO THEY WORK WITH ADOBE LIGHTROOM?
Our Photoshop Actions are compatible with Adobe Photoshop CS4, CS5, CS6, and all the latest versions of Photoshop CC. Unfortunately, these actions do not work in Photoshop Elements or Lightroom.
Q: HOW DO I RECIEVED THE ACTIONS ONCE I’VE PURCHASED THEM?
Once you have made your purchase, you will be re-directed to a download link that is available for 24 hours. We’ve created a digital download so you are able to access your product(s) as soon as you order them, versus waiting for someone to email you! If you do have any issues with your download, please contact us right away and we will assist you.
Q: DOES THE DIGITAL DOWNLOAD COME WITH INSTRUCTIONS?
Of course! We want to make this easy for you. Once you unzip/extract the downloaded file - you will find the INSTALLATION GUIDE PDF. This has a guide on installation, as well as how to use the actions. It is extremely easy to install actions in Photoshop and you can start using them right away with the click of a button! However, if you do have any issues while installing/using them - feel free to email us!
Q: DO YOU HAVE A RECIPE GUIDE / GUIDE ON HOW TO USE THE PHOTOSHOP ACTIONS?
Yes, you will find all of this information in the ACTION GUIDE PDF (sent to you in the digital download). This document is an explanation of what each action does as well as some of my favorite / preferred combinations & tips! Feel free to save this and refer back to it any time!
Q: ARE THESE PHOTOSHOP ACTIONS EDITABLE? WILL IT FLATTEN MY IMAGE?
These actions are designed with you in mind & help your retouching process get a little easier! All of the actions live in a layer ‘group’ folder (compete with a mask option) and all adjustment layers feature a mask too. This gives you more control over your toning choice. For example - if you loved what one action did to the background of the image, but you thought it was too strong on your subject’s skin - you are able to easily mask out any part of the action to suit what you see in your image.
Q: CAN I USE MORE THAN ONCE ACTION AT ONE TIME?
Each action is designed to work beautifully as a standalone adjustment but we do encourage you to play with the opacities of the adjustment layers. Feel free to have fun mixing and matching your favorite actions too! If you own the set - take a peek at the ACTION GUIDE PDF (included in your download) to find out some of my favorite action combinations & try them out for yourself! Sometimes you can create magic with 3-4 actions on low opacities & some masking control. Have fun with them!
I also highly recommend that you watch the tutorial videos that relate to each individual action set. These are found at the bottom of each product page.
Q: WHICH IMAGE FORMAT DO THE ACTIONS WORK BEST ON?
While all of our actions work on both RAW, TIFF and JPEG formats - we highly recommend you use them on on a RAW or TIFF file format.
When you are shooting RAW - you get the highest level of quality and information in a file as opposed to shooting in JPEG. A JPEG is a ‘lossy’ file format and loses quality every time you open or work on the image. When retouching a RAW image, you can push the tonality of an image a lot more and access more detailed information.
You can also use these Photoshop Actions after you have cleaned up your image (for example - skin retouch). Often photographers like to do color toning as the last part of their workflow.
Q: DO THESE PHOTOSHOP ACTIONS WORK ON EVERY IMAGE?
Please bear in mind that it is almost impossible to have one Photoshop Action that works perfectly on every image out there. There are many variables (exposure, white balance etc that effect the final look). While the Photoshop Actions are click and apply - you may need to adjust some of the layer adjustments within the Actions Group Folder. For example - your image is 2-3 stops underexposed and you apply one of the presets & wonder why the image is still dark (or on the opposite end of the scale - with your image being too overexposed and wondering why it’s now too bright). I would highly recommend adjusting your exposure and any local adjustments first before applying the actions.
All of our sets have been tested on a wide variety of images but for best results we advise using them on images that have a near perfect exposure or a more neutral toned overall (with an even tone in the highlights, mid-tones & shadows).
If you are unsure of whether these action sets may work best for your images or style, feel free to email us. We’d prefer you contact us to ask questions before making a purchase. We are happy to assist you and want you to be happy with your order!
Q: WHAT IS YOUR RETURN POLICY?
Due to the product being digital & a non-returnable item, we do not accept refunds once you have purchased the product. Please read through all of the FAQ and ask questions if you are not sure whether these Photoshop Actions will work for your version of Photoshop, or if you have any questions about our products!
We are happy to assist you and want you to be happy with your purchase!