There are 2 types of actions that I use - "workflow" actions and "stylistic" actions.  I consider workflow actions to be tools that help speed up the workflow process.  An example would be Kevin Kubota's Magic Sharp action, which gets run on practically every single one of my images. Other examples are actions that I've created to resize images, add my watermark, etc.

Then there's the stylistic actions.  These are actions used to add a mood, a feeling, a "look". That's what this post is about.

If there's one thing that drives me nuts is the overuse of these actions. I've seen lots of weddings and portrait sessions posted on blogs with a seemingly random use of stylistic actions running full blast on every image. It's getting ridiculous. If aliens are out there monitoring our blogs they'd think our planet is full of orange people.

If you were this bride and groom, for example, which image would you want to look at for the next 50 years? The natural processing or the heavily action-ized one?

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not anti-action.  In fact, I've been invited by Kevin Kubota to be an affiliate of his and I also recommend the Totally Rad Actions.  

What I'm saying is this: Don't use a stylistic action randomly - use it to enhance a stylistic feeling you're trying to achieve for that particular image. And please tone it down - there's no law saying you have to run an action at full strength!

Here's an example of how I use stylistic actions. I'm running Kubota KevX Process Combo at 50% opacity on the right hand image. It adds pop and color to the image and enhances the blues without going over the top. I'm showing it to you @ 50% so you clearly see the effect of the action but in real life I'd probably run it closer to 30%.

Here's another example of how I might use a stylistic action. The action here is Technicolor Dream World from TRA1. The image on the left is the original, center is TDW @100% and the right image is TDW @ 40%. More isn't always better. By all means use your actions, but use as little as you can to get the desired result.

Think of these actions as you would your makeup (for you gals).  A little makeup - expertly applied - can enhance your looks while too much could make you look like a rodeo clown.

I'll be doing a lot more posts in the future on what actions I use and how I use them. But the message for today is this: go easy on them there actions!

Laurence Kim Workshops