Photoshop Actions: Glossary of Offerings by MCP Actions

Yesterday, I provided 10 tips for deciding which actions to buy, download and use on your photos. Today, I will explain to you a little more about each specific MCP Action set.  I get asked about the differences so often.  I thought this breakdown would help. If I write that something works in “Full Photoshop” I am usually referring to CS2 through Photoshop CS5.  Some will work in older versions like CS, but check the website to be sure. If I wrote that a set is compatible with Elements, usually they will work in Elements 5-8, but again, check to be sure.

• Eye Doctor and Dentist: Are you looking to make enhance eyes in Photoshop? Want to whiten yellow teeth? These actions will sharpen, add a sparkle, and make eyes look more dramatic and exciting. And will make teeth whiter and brighter. Best for closeups, and they can be used on people or animal shots. (Available for full Photoshop and Elements)
• Magic Skin: As a photographer, many of your clients will want smoother, creamier skin. These actions help reduce wrinkles and blemishes and help achieve overall better skin tone and complexion. The actions can find skin for you, or you can paint it on just where you want it. Fully adjustable for a wide range of coverage. (Available for full Photoshop only at this time)
• Bag of Tricks: With this set, you will be able to edit like a professional retoucher. You can add or enhance skies, vanish color casts and color issues, fix skin tones, and create crisp, high contrast, intense color images. Make backgrounds high key white or low key black in seconds. Recover overexposed images and add fill light to shadows. Make your photos stand out! (Available for full Photoshop only at this time)

Photoshop actions for more vibrant color, black and whites, and other fun looks:

• Complete Workflow: These actions will help you build a solid workflow for color, black and white, or basic vintage editing. They take you from a defog, to your adjustable conversion, to a sharpen at the end. Just adjust the layers and save. (Available for full Photoshop and Elements)
• Quickie Collection: Do you like to play and stack effects?  Build the look you want and have more control over your color and black and white images.  Fun urban processing and vintage effects, alongside sharpening and midtone contrast, make this set a must have editing essential. (Available for full Photoshop only at this time)
• All in the Details: Do you photograph full-body shots of seniors, children or engaged couples?  This action set has many conversions from color, to antique, to vintage to rich, toned black and whites. But what makes these actions unique are the way they pull out fine details in the image. Bring natural textures from the environment to life. This set works best on distant shots of things like cars, rust, brick, concrete, and other textured surroundings. (Available for full Photoshop only at this time)
• Coloring Book: Have you been trying to figure out an easy way to do selective color black and whites?  This makes it easy.  Yes, I know this is a fad, and not all photographers love the look.  But when you do it sparingly and quickly, you can offer it to customers if they desire. (Available for full Photoshop only at this time)
• Urban Cover Model: This is our smallest set and creates a magazine, ultra smooth, bright skin look.  Certainly not to be used on all photos, but for the right model-like image, it can make your photo pop. (Available for full Photoshop only at this time)
• Frosted Memories: Our take on hazy, vintage post-processing. While our style is more vivid and bright, certain photos call for a lighten, less contrasty touch.  This action set also has instant, light textures that you can apply to your image in just one click.  You can create scrapbook and background papers using the textures in this set or even layer them over images edited with any MCP set. (Available for full Photoshop only at this time)

Photoshop actions for sharing photos on the web:

• Finish It: Ready to share your photos on your website, blog or even Facebook or Flickr?  This set makes it easy and fun to add color blocks, frames, borders, rounded corners and branding bars to your images.  In seconds your photos will be resized for the web, stylish and sharp. (Available for full Photoshop and Elements)
• Blog It Boards: If you love showing detail shots or storytelling, web sized collage style actions are the way to go.  In seconds, you will have multiple images in template form, ready for web.  The actions even add your logo or watermark if desired. (Available for full Photoshop and Elements)

Photoshop actions for collages, storyboards and printable creations:

• Print It Boards: Similar to the Blog It Boards, in seconds you can build storyboards and collages.  But unlike the “blog version” these are for printing.  Some clients may not want one picture on a huge canvas or print.  But show them a collage, and they feel it is a better value since they get more images for the same price. (Available for full Photoshop and Elements)
• Tell a Storyboards: These storyboard, collage templates allow you to add scrapbooking paper or color backgrounds to your layouts.  They have more spacing than the Print It Boards and a slightly different look and feel. One set even has rounded corners. (Available for full Photoshop only at this time)

And the Free Photoshop actions: Currently 8 Free actions ranging from web and print sharpening actions, an action that applies textures to your image, a free Blog It Board, a black and white action with color overlays, a watermarking action, and so much more. Many of these are available for Elements, all are available for full Photoshop.

Photoshop Actions: Which Actions are Best for Your Photos?

So imagine this… You sit down at your computer to edit in Photoshop or Elements. And you want your editing to go faster and more smoothly.  You decide that you want to buy some Photoshop actions. But how do you decide which ones to purchase? And which should you use once they are loaded in your actions palette?

I frequently get emails asking, “how do I know which set to buy (or use)?”  Remember there are hundreds of companies making actions now. You need to find and use products that educate you with their use and help you achieve the look you want. We hope that you love what you see at MCP Actions, but for certain looks, you may need to stray a bit too. Do your homework, and make sure you buy from a company that has excellent customer service and fully supports their products, with help and tutorials.

Here are 10 tips: A guide to help you choose the best actions for your specific photos.

1. Try before you buy: MCP Actions has an assortment of single Free Photoshop actions so you can get to know our style.
2. Look through before and after examples on each individual product page to see the types of looks you can achieve. If you start stacking your edits, and mixing in more than one set, you can create a wider variety of looks.
3. Experiment: Try things and write down your steps on an index card.  For looks that you like, keep a little card box with your “Blueprints.”
4. Blueprints: Most Fridays I share Blueprints sent in by customers, or occasionally ones that I make into before and afters, with step-by-step instructions.
5. MCP Facebook Page: Join MCP on Facebook and post your questions and answers to the “wall.” Ask other photographers, what they would use or how to get the look you want. Feel free to share your images using MCP’s Photoshop actions. Look through older “wall” posts and photos uploaded by other photographers.
6. Search the Blog: Search for Photoshop tutorials, look under specific categories for lessons, and check out past Photoshop video tutorials.
7. Search the Website: Search for products in the top drop down sections (under “actions” and “training”) – you can organize by the version of Photoshop you have (for example, you could click on Shop By Photoshop “Version” and select “Photoshop CS5” or “Elements 8“). You can also search by “Category” and even “Keywords.”
8. Educate Yourself: When deciding what actions you want to use, take the time to watch the Photoshop actions video tutorials and Elements actions video tutorials that come with each product.  You can find these 2 places, through the links on the product pages and under “Training.”
9. Take Notes: As you start using the Photoshop actions, write down which are your favorites and what looks you get with them.
10. Organize Your Actions: After you use certain action sets for a while, you may find that you use some all the time, and others rarely. Learn to organize your Photoshop actions in this video tutorial for a faster, more efficient workflow.

Elements users, your wishes are coming true.  We are working on converting more actions for Adobe’s Photoshop Elements. Our newest release for Elements are the Magic Blog It Board Collage Actions and Magic Print It Board Storyboards.  For two years these collage and storyboard Photoshop actions have helped professional and hobbyist photographers with the full versions of Photoshop prepare their images for the web and turn photos into print collages in seconds.  They will save you time and can make you money. My favorite use of the Blog It Boards is to share vacation pictures.  They are amazing for showing off detail shots at weddings… And the list goes on. You will love how fast and easy they are to use.

Want to try before you buy?   Download the FREE Photoshop Action: Try Me Blog It Board for both Elememts and Photoshop.

In honor of the new releases, here are a few customer shares of Blog It Boards.  Thank you to all who shared with me on Facebook.  I loved all of the collages, but Ellie and Jenna picked the ones for this post. Always remember you are welcome to share your creations using MCP’s actions on my “wall.”  I love seeing all of my customers’ works of art.

Photos taken by Kirsty Larmour

Photos taken by Shana of Florabella Collection

Photos taken by Amanda Williams

Photos taken by Megan Evans

Photos taken by Brenda Sandhouse

Photos taken by stacsiegal (did not provide actual company name)

Photos taken by The Pace Family