How to prepare an image before running actions

Our actions are designed to be finishing touches. That is, they should only be run on images that are already dodged, burned, and color corrected, having good contrast, brightness and tonal range. If your images are muddy, dark or otherwise imperfect, the action may not yield the results you are expecting.

Take a look at the two sets of images to the right. Image 1 is straight out of the camera with no corrections made. When the action "Fine Art Grain" is run, the resulting image is rather bland and dark. Image 2 shows the same image, but with the necessary adjustments made before the action is run. The effect of Image 2 is much more pleasing, yielding the result that the action was intended to create.

Before running an action, make sure that your image is adjusted using either levels, curves, brightness/contrast, or any possible combination of Photoshop tools to get it to your liking. There are volumes of programs on the market now that will automate these tasks without the need for several steps in Photoshop.

If you run an action and do not get the effect you were hoping for, go back and try some adjustments and run the action again. Most of our actions will make a "snapshot" of your image, which will enable you to return to your original in the History pallette should you decide that the effect is not to your liking.