http://michellekanephotography.com/photoshop-actions-2/heart-soul/

i think they're all presets to be used with PS. I was just wondering if anyone have feedback on this or a similar type of product?

thanks!

The only action I would consider is an action with my wife .

Robin Usagani wrote:
The only action I would consider is an action with my wife .

!

c'mon now, let's keep it clean here. hehe

there is another thousand just like these on the webs, make your own, that way you'll have your Own style and not someone else's

jofoto photo wrote:
there is another thousand just like these on the webs, make your own, that way you'll have your Own style and not someone else's

that's what i figured. any tips on how to create my own? ill google them obviously but if you have resources (links) at your fingertips, it'd be much appreciated!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dTI2VigBP3o&feature=related

I didn't see anything on that site that impressed me. I also didn't see anything on there you can't do in LR much easier and faster.

hmm i see i have much to learn.
did ya'll take classes for PS? I want to keep learning but would be great to have a starter book to read through.

Books, internet videos, just do stuff in PS, etc.

Sounds like you need to learn the basics of PS and probably LR.

Go here

gnod wrote:
hmm i see i have much to learn.
did ya'll take classes for PS? I want to keep learning but would be great to have a starter book to read through.

You should be looking at Lightroom first.

I often wonder if there's litigation in these kind of adverts, because the overwhelming majority seem to imply that this is a "one click" before and after style thing when it's fairly obvious most of the time that they've increased contrast a lot, whilst doing local exposure adjustments on the subject or the thing they want to pop to prevent horrendous subject panda eye.

Maybe I'm just shit with lightroom, but I've never managed to find a "one size fits all" way of making something dramatically contrasty whilst making sure that the problem areas, and it's always faces with humans, don't crunch to black, so it just comes across as more photographers trying to make a quick buck from the revolving door of "hey you with the 600D, you can be a pro too dintcha know?"

Chris Beaumont wrote:
the overwhelming majority seem to imply that this is a "one click" before and after style thing when it's fairly obvious most of the time that they've increased contrast a lot, whilst doing local exposure adjustments on the subject or the thing they want to pop to prevent horrendous subject panda eye.



I was thinking the same things. Look at, for instance, their example of a sharpening preset. There is so much more than just a sharpening going on in the after pic that is obviously not going to be part of a sharpening preset. Then look at the bokeh brush or whatever it's called. All of them are like that. How about just showing people what the actual preset does?!

brad

DigMeTX wrote:
How about just showing people what the actual preset does?!


Because no-one would buy that and they might realise that you need more than a big camera and a cheap set of presets (and David Jay's 10 step plan.....) to be a pro :-D

"Set 8" on that link is a prime example, the background is a lot darker, a lot warmer and a LOT more contrasty (to the point where the plant on the RHS has lost all detail) yet the subject is brighter and roughly the same colour temp.

Preset did all that did? Detected what the subject was and which bits to darken?

Damned clever preset.

so obviously you guys aren't really recommending this product.. do you have some helpful recommendations on how i can begin to notice that things that you guys noticed by just looking at the photos, learn the basics, intermediate, and advanced skills?

amonline wrote:
gnod wrote:
hmm i see i have much to learn.
did ya'll take classes for PS? I want to keep learning but would be great to have a starter book to read through.

You should be looking at Lightroom first.

lol thanks for the repetitive post. it would be great if you can share your experiences why you keep referring to lightroom. thanks

lightroom will allow you to create (or import) presets that will give you a foundation for a certain look. you then have the ability to tweak everything, plus do local adjustments with a brush. all this can be done in photoshop, but much of it no longer needs to be done in photoshop because it can be done easily in lightroom with better workflow integration. i think you'll find a lot of photographers can do 90% of what they need in lightroom.

another benefit of lightroom is that it's non-destructive, meaning you can always undo what you've done. you can save "snapshots" of images at different stages of progress so you never have to worry about going too far and not being able to get back to a point you were previously.

if you get lightroom i recommend the tutorials found here: http://mulita.com/blog/

they're inexpensive and will help you out quite a bit. i am not affiliated with the site in any way. check out some free tutorials here: http://mulita.com/blog/?page_id=1962

lightroom is a fantastic program and, imo, is much more intuitive than photoshop. i say start with lightroom and if you bump up against its limitations then decide what additional software (ie photoshop, nik software, etc.) you need

nicely put goosemang! I like your explanation a lot. thanks very much.