1. Newborn Essentials

Seeds:2 Leech:0 23.19 Kb MCP Newborn Necessities Photoshop Actions. A photographer friend recommended this program and I was curious to see if anyone else has used this and what your opinion was?

As a photographer I am asked what I think about Photoshop. I think of Photoshop as my digital where I develop my images on the computer rather than from a negative film strip that is processed by dodging various lights on photographic paper. Granted, there are many cool treatments and techniques that can be performed using, or that you can't quite do with film and a darkroom. But the premise is very similar.

So, that being said, I have to share some amazing Photoshop tools from my new acquaintance, Jodi, over. She has made my life SO much easier as a photographer. I stumbled upon her work when I was searching the internet for some help with Photoshop.

Jodi came to the rescue with her which are thorough, educational and accessible whenever I need a refresher. She also has some of the best actions out there for Photoshop and Elements. Including the one I'm using below called. (Believe me, if you're a photographer this is WELL worth it.) Newborn babies often have a reddish skin tone when they are just a few weeks old. In many cases this red hue disappears as they put on a few pounds and add a little bit of baby fat. But those first few newborn shots often have that red hue and MCP Actions has just the tool (or two) to help you dust it away. In the Before photo you see, the top image is the photo I took straight out of the camera (SOOC), no touch ups were done at all.

I loved the composition but the coloring was a bit too red. I used the 'Hush the Reds' from MCP Actions which got rid of the red beautifully. But I also added a little tiny bit of MCP's 'Dusting of Baby Powder' to develop the effect I wanted.

You can see the results in the bottom photo. Before (top), After (bottom).

Newborn Essentials

I have not used it, but I recently watched a Creative Live webinar with Doug Gordon, and he uses many Photoshop actions, very similar to these, and it speeds up his workflow quite a bit. It's all about SPEED, and about creating images with differentiation from the way they come out of the camera. I am going to say 'Yes,' it's worth $150. $150 is three tanks of gas for my car. That's a VERY small expense for something that can radically change your photography. This is not about learning how to do tedious,repetitive Photoshop work on a file-by-file, one-at-a-time basis, using old-fashioned working methods.

This is about workflow, and speeding things up,and about burning through images FAST, and efficiently, and not about learning how to carefully hand-work every minute detail. There are many other similar action packs that have been developed by successful people. Click to expand.Actions written for Photoshop can only be written by using Photoshop, and perform steps that Photoshop can already do. All an action is is a recorded sequence of Some people buy actions and try to run the action in Elements, and discover the action doesn't work because the action uses a tool or edit that Elements cannot do. IIRC you have Elements 9 and while Elements can run some actions, Elements doesn't have the capability that would let you write your own. I have many actions that I recorded for my own use. You won't learn Ps and Lr inside and out in a month or 2 of watching videos at lynda.com.

Lynda.com is $25 a month, or $250 for a 1 yr subscription. You can join NAPP for $99 a year. Click on Benefits to see what $99 gets you.

I have not used it, but I recently watched a Creative Live webinar with Doug Gordon, and he uses many Photoshop actions, very similar to these, and it speeds up his workflow quite a bit. It's all about SPEED, and about creating images with differentiation from the way they come out of the camera. I am going to say 'Yes,' it's worth $150. $150 is three tanks of gas for my car. That's a VERY small expense for something that can radically change your photography.

This is not about learning how to do tedious,repetitive Photoshop work on a file-by-file, one-at-a-time basis, using old-fashioned working methods. This is about workflow, and speeding things up,and about burning through images FAST, and efficiently, and not about learning how to carefully hand-work every minute detail. There are many other similar action packs that have been developed by successful people. Click to expand.Oh Derrel, no you didn't!

Doug Gordon uses actions that speed up his workflow BUT he knows EXACTLY what that action is doing to his image. That is the key. If you don't know exactly what the action is doing to your image then you will NEVER have consistency with your images.

Doug Gordon can do those series of steps in PS forward and backwards in his sleep and most likely created those actions himself. A new photographer that has not yet developed his or her style yet should stay clear of actions because it will deter them from learning the fundamental steps of editing before jumping into the pot of gold. I love Doug Gordon! Oh Derrel, no you didn't!

Doug Gordon uses actions that speed up his workflow BUT he knows EXACTLY what that action is doing to his image. That is the key. If you don't know exactly what the action is doing to your image then you will NEVER have consistency with your images. Doug Gordon can do those series of steps in PS forward and backwards in his sleep and most likely created those actions himself.

A new photographer that has not yet developed his or her style yet should stay clear of actions because it will deter them from learning the fundamental steps of editing before jumping into the pot of gold. I love Doug Gordon! Oh Derrel, no you didn't! Doug Gordon uses actions that speed up his workflow BUT he knows EXACTLY what that action is doing to his image. That is the key. If you don't know exactly what the action is doing to your image then you will NEVER have consistency with your images.

Doug Gordon can do those series of steps in PS forward and backwards in his sleep and most likely created those actions himself. A new photographer that has not yet developed his or her style yet should stay clear of actions because it will deter them from learning the fundamental steps of editing before jumping into the pot of gold. I love Doug Gordon! Lots of resistance to speeding up workflow without learning how to tediously, laboriously waste 10 to 45 minutes per image using manual, outdated methods people learned years ago.must learn everything about everything before moving on to speedy,efficient, workflow-boosting shortcuts.must,must,must!!! Must learn with one light and a reflector. Must learn photography with FILM.

MUST learn in manual exposure modes ONLY. MUST earn degree in English Literature before watching Shakespeare's plays at the Ashland Shakespearean Festival.must direct one full-length Hollywood-produced feature film before offering opinions on movies or screeplays (no Bollywood movies or indie-cinema chit need apply).must have been opener at the Los Angeles Comedy Club before evaluating stand-up comedians seen on TV.must have written at least ONE best-selling novel before being allowed to say, 'That book is good,and it's well-written'. See where this is going.you MUST LEARN TO WORK EXACTLY THE WAY EVERY OTHER shooter has learned.you MUST learn the most mundane chit before using shortcuts!!! MUST COOK all food from raw ingredients grown in back-yard garden.otherwise you are a weenie and a wanna-be!

Must raise, then must kill own beef and slaughter it, then cut and wrap it before enjoying steaks. There is only one, true path. We all know this. There is ONLY ONE WAY to arrive at good photos.