Photoshop Actions – Love Them Or Hate Them

Love them or hate them, there is no denying their value.

Photographers are often split down the middle with Photoshop, but use it well and it can be a fantastic tool. I use a number of actions that really add to the images I take.

Over the past few years I have built up quite a collection of actions, but find that I only use a select few.

Here are a few recommendations:

Nicole Van. She has some excellent actions, my favorites are the ‘colour pop’ which work well in both natural and studio light. It adds a real kick to the image, great for that modern high key look.

Childish David. He has a beautiful collection of sepia actions, and an awesome colour punch action.

Martas Actions. Her ‘eyes like marbles’ action is a must for all portrait images. Use it subtly and you can transform the eyes in an image. She also has some excellent B&W actions.

It can also be an excellent time saver when processing a large batch. Imagine processing 300+ images from a wedding shoot and applying a custom finish to each one. It can be extremely time consuming, and as a result make your photography less profitable.

You don’t even have to use pre-package actions that other photographs have released and selling, like the ones detailed above. Use Photoshop actions to record your own macros, you may have come up with a beautiful effect and what to apply it again.

Photoshop can be easily overused, use it correctly and you will add so much to your work. It can also save you time and make your business more profitable.