I’m all for keeping things as simple as possible when it comes to photo editing and photoshop actions are such a great tool for this very reason. With the click of a button you can apply a set of edits to a given photo or group of photos, making the editing process quick and easy. I don’t like to take a lot of time with editing – creating the memories and taking the photos is where I find the most joy, so the less time I can spend editing at the computer the better!
Let me take you through the steps I used to edit this photo from my post yesterday, using the Simple Fixes: Actions for Photoshop and Addy Lane’s Story Teller Actions. From start to finish this whole process took me approximately 30 seconds.
So, here we have the original photo. Love the photo, but I could tell that with a few edits it could really stand out. At first glance you can see the dark shadow on the subject caused by the backlighting in the photo.
I selected the Simply Dark/Light action from the Simple Fixes: Action set and selecting the LIGHTEN layer I used a soft round brush to paint over the subjects skin tones.
You can see in the image below how the skin tones are brighter now. After using my brush to paint the skin I found it was a bit too bright, so I tweaked the effect by adjusting the opacity of that layer down to 80%.
With the above image as my based I selected the ETTA action from Addy Lane’s Story Teller Collection and pressed play. Depending on your image you may be able to just press play and leave as is, but to customize the effect of this action there are a number of adjustment layers you can tweak and play with. I just love the dreamy, vintage feel of the image after applying this action as with so many in the Story Teller and Spiced Chai sets.
So that’s all I did for this image. When you start with a well exposed, sharp image and throw in a few of your favourite photoshop/photoshop elements actions the results can be so fun and you won’t spend hours at the computer editing!
For more photo tips + ideas check out my eBooks and the Simple Fixes action set for PS or PSE from Ella Publishing Co:
Rebecca Cooper is a 42-year-old wife and mother of four from Alberta, Canada. As a photographer, crafter, author, and blogger, she finds joy and fulfillment in celebrating everyday moments. She loves to read and eat chocolate, and is a firm believer in afternoon naps. Rebecca shares her family’s adventures, photo tips, simple craft projects + more right here at Simple as That.
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I really like that between the SOOC and the finished photo there isn’t a huge difference, it still has a very authentic feel like it isn’t really edited…and instead of the editing standing out the picture of your girl does. I cannot wait to get these actions! Thanks for sharing!
Now I just need photoshop. Picasa is not going to cut it.
First off, this is a fantastic photo; I just love it! I love to see how others edit too; it’s very helpful and gives me ideas :o) Thanks for sharing!
Some great tips – I LOVE that photo of the sweet little girl on the dock – precious!!!
Thank you so much for those gorgeous editing tips! But may i have another question: Where do you got that sweet ballerina swimsuit from? Would LOVE that for my girl! 🙂
Absolutely beautiful Rebecca. I love that deep expression. Makes me wonder what she’s thinking.