Adobe Photoshop offers endless possibilities, which is why photographers and designers alike consider it one of the most important software programs. However, with endless possibilities comes an abundance of confusing settings and tools. There are few “quick” fixes, and many techniques require multiple steps, which can be quite time-consuming.
That’s why it’s important to understand Photoshop Action.
Implementing them into your processing workflow will save you time and frustration. They take little effort to set up and will revolutionize how you edit your photos.
Keep reading, and you’ll learn what Photoshop Actions are, why and how to make them, what actions you should create, and much more.
What are Photoshop Actions and Why Should You Use Them?
Similarly to Lightroom Presets, Photoshop Actions are pre-made selections or adjustments you can apply with one click.
Many of the techniques used in Photoshop require multiple small adjustments. Needless to say, this can take a lot of time to repeat for each image.
Instead of doing the same steps every time you process a photo, you can create a Photoshop Action that does it in one click. The actions are fully adjustable, so you can fine-tune the settings at any point.
Just like with Lightroom Presets, you can either make the adjustments yourself or purchase actions others make.
They are easy to make, but I strongly recommend panels such as Raya Pro. Personally, I use it for the majority of my images.
How to Make Photoshop Actions
Photoshop Actions can be looked on as recordings of your adjustments. Basically, it records all your actions from when you tell it to start and stop. When you’ve saved the action, you can then use it again at anytime by pressing play. This will tell Photoshop to play the recorded adjustments and apply them again.
Let me show you how:
First of all, locate the play icon button and click on it. Normally, this button can be found in the right side tools panel. If it’s not visible there, you can unhide it by going to Window -> Actions.
You should now see an window similar to this:
This is where all your actions are stored, both the ones you’ve made yourself and the ones you’ve purchased.
Click on the folder icon (New Set) to create a new folder containing your Actions. Give it a name such as “My Actions.” I prefer organizing them a little further and having different folders for different adjustments or techniques.
Making the Action
Now, let’s create a Photoshop Action:
- Click on the sheet icon (Create new Action)
- Name the action “Global Contrast” and place it in the desired folder
- Press the record button
- Open a curves adjustment layer and create a basic S-curve. If you don’t know what an S-curve is, click the drop-down menu next to “Preset” and select “Medium Contrast.”
- Name the layer Global Contrast.
- End the recording by pressing the stop button.
The Action is now saved and stored inside your selected folder.
This is a very basic example, but you can create much more complex Photoshop Actions. Photoshop will keep recording until you hit Stop, which means one action can include multiple layers and masks.
Note: Photoshop can only record commands, which means brushstrokes, etc., won’t get recorded.
How to Use Photoshop Actions
Now that you know how to make them, let’s learn how to use Photoshop Actions.
To run an action, find the one you want to use, select it, and click the Play icon.
When the new adjustments have been applied, you can open any layer and adjust the settings as needed.
Let’s use our Global Contrast action as an example. In this case, I found the adjustment too strong. To reduce it, I can either select the Global Contrast Layer and reduce its Opacity or adjust its S-curve to be less dramatic.
Since you can fine-tune the adjustments afterward, I always recommend renaming the layer as part of the action. This makes it much easier to know which layers you need to adjust later.
For example, if your action includes five layers (Layer 1, Layer 2, Layer 3, etc.), it’s difficult to know which layer affects which aspect of your adjustment. It’s more manageable to work with layers named Contrast, Blue Color Cast, Orton Effect, etc.
How to Install Photoshop Actions
One of the great things about Photoshop Actions is that you don’t have to make them yourself. Many companies and photographers offer them for free or a few bucks.
Installing Photoshop Actions is quick and easy and takes only a couple of steps:
- Open the Actions Panel
- Click on the Hamburger Menu icon
- Select Load Actions from the dropdown menu
- Locate the folder on your computer containing the Photoshop Actions (.atn file)
- Select the file and click Open
The newly installed Photoshop Action will now be visible in the Actions Panel. You can click and drag the action into any Action Set (folder) you like.
How to Export Photoshop Actions
While they are supposed to stay in Photoshop once they’ve been created or installed, I strongly suggest exporting and saving your Photoshop Actions!
Take this from someone who learned it the hard way: Technology isn’t perfect, and suddenly, you’re left without any of the dozens of actions you’ve created.
So, whether you want to save them for yourself or share them with others, follow these steps to export Photoshop Actions:
- Open the Actions Panel
- Click on the Hamburger Menu icon
- Select Save Actions
- Locate the folder you want to save them in
- Click Save
Now, if you should be so unlucky to lose the actions in Photoshop, you still have them on your hard drive and can re-install them at any point.
How to Update Photoshop Actions
From time to time, you’ll want to update or change your Photoshop Actions. This could be because your editing style has changed, or your downloaded actions don’t perfectly fit your workflow.
Regardless of the reason, updating or changing an action is quick and easy:
- Start by duplicating the original action (you can delete it later if desired)
- Select the Action and the Step you want to change
- Double-click on the Step
- Adjust the settings as desired and click OK
- The action has been updated
The above method works great when you want to change an adjustment that involves a dialogue box. However, there are times when you’d like to delete or create new steps within an action as well:
- To delete a step from an action, select the step and hit the trashcan icon.
- To add a step, click record and make the adjustment you want. You can also drag and drop to reorganize the order of the steps. Click Stop when you’re done
Make it Easy with ‘Button Mode’
Organizing Photoshop Actions can be overwhelming, especially as the library grows. ‘Button Mode’ is a neat feature that presents the actions slightly better.
You can access this mode by clicking the Hamburger Menu at the top right of the Action Panel and selecting ‘Button Mode’.
You can add a color label to the Photoshop Action when you create it, or by selecting it, going to the menu, and clicking Action Options…
In Button Mode, an action will automatically play once you click its button.
Examples of Photoshop Actions to Create
Honestly, the options are endless when it comes to creating Photoshop Actions. You could create an action for all adjustments you make, but that isn’t necessary and will probably be more time-consuming than making the adjustment manually.
It’s better to make Actions for more challenging adjustments that require multiple layers and tools.
Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Dodge/Burn Layer
- Orton Effect
- Sharpening for web
- Sharpening for print
- Highlight painting
- Luminosity Masks
- Adding watermark
- Adding border
Conclusion
Photoshop Actions are great for speeding up and simplifying the more time-consuming parts of your post-processing workflow. Whether creating a range of Luminosity Masks or applying your finishing matte look, actions make editing a lot more enjoyable.
Any step you repeat for every image can benefit from being made into an action. Not sure if it works for you? Then, it doesn’t hurt to give it a try.
Have you made your own Photoshop Actions? What Action would you find helpful to speed up your workflow? Let us know!
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