Imagine capturing the perfect shot. Now, let’s take it to the next level. Photoshop actions for photographers – it’s like having a magic wand for your images. It’s not just about snapping a moment; it’s about polishing it into a masterpiece.
In the vast sea of digital post-processing, Photoshop actions are the unsung heroes, saving time and sprinkling creativity with a single click. This isn’t just for the pros. Whether a seasoned photographer or an enthusiast starting to play with layers and masks, understanding these tiny powerhouses can revolutionize your workflow efficiency.
In this dive, we’ll unfold the secrets behind automating your photo editing with custom Photoshop filters and photo editing presets. By the end, expect to be armed with a toolkit of batch processing techniques, ready to finesse your portfolio while sparing those precious hours.
What’s in store? We’ll dive into:
- Crafting your own Photoshop actions
- Perfecting images with skin smoothing and color correction
- Sifting through the noise to find those time-saving Photoshop scripts and action sets
Get set to transform your imagery with a click, a tweak, and a dash of creativity.
Actions are small plugin files for Photoshop. They’re preconfigured recordings of a sequence of manipulations that are automatically applied to your own images with just a single mouse click. So explore these free Photoshop actions now.
If you want to enhance your photos or give them a charming vibe, download free Photoshop frame actions to enhance them with a variety of black and white effects.
80 free Photoshop actions for photographers to check out
The first of these free Photoshop effects will apply a simple, warm matte effect to your photos. It works very well with a lot of portraits, as well as landscape and nature photos.
Bonus video: How To Use Photoshop Actions
450+ Lightroom Presets and Photoshop Actions (Premium)
Give your photos a professional touch with this Ultimate Photographer’s Bundle from Photonify. If you’re looking to add a wide variety of effects, styles and a real finishing touch to your work, this is one of the best Photoshop actions for you. With this bundle of Lightroom Presets and Photoshop Actions, you can speed up your work, increase your productivity and save some serious post-production time.
Cold Nightmare: Free Photoshop Action
This free Photoshop action will give your photos a dark nightmare effect with just one click. It works in Photoshop CS3 and newer versions (not compatible with Photoshop Elements). Try these Photoshop effects for yourself today!
Mixed Media Photoshop Action (Premium)
The video tutorial link is included in the ‘Readme.txt’ file in the download. The video tutorial covers how to set up your Photoshop file as well as in-depth effect customization techniques.
The Action has been tested and working on Photoshop CS4,CS5,CS6,CC,CC 2015.5,CC 2017+
The free action will ONLY WORK IN THE ENGLISH VERSION OF PHOTOSHOP. For instructions on how to revert your Photoshop to English to run the Action and the revert back to your native language, visit the link provided in the readme file included in the download.
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If you are having difficulties with the Action, first ensure you have watched the video tutorial. If you are still stuck, please visit the support page link included in the readme file in the download.
Free Summer Haze Photoshop Action
This Photoshop action download, Turquoise Haze, is a free sample from our set of Summer Haze Photoshop Actions.
The full set includes 10 different actions that will add fun summer haze effects to your photos. It works best with outdoor photos, especially portraits taken in natural light. This action is compatible with Photoshop CS4+. You can see a before and after sample photo below.
These free actions for Photoshop create colors similar to the 2-strip Technicolor process popular in the film during the 20’s and 30’s.
- Not destructive (creates layers).
- Works on layered documents!
- Works with any language of Photoshop (i hope!).
Tested with CS4 and CS5 but should be compatible with future versions and back to CS2.
Note: it does not add effects like film grain, vignetting, distortion, dust, and scratches to age the image. This is up to the user.
Photoshop Actions to Turn Night Photos into Twilight Photos
The lite version is a fully functioning Photoshop action that will turn your night time photo into a twilight photo. Choose this for an excellent Photoshop photography effect.
Cross-Processing ATN
Cross-processing, briefly, is a photographic technique where (usually) slide film (E6) is processed in the set of chemicals usually used to process print film (C41). (Less common is cross-processing in the other direction — print film processed in slide film chemicals) The result images with oddly skewed colors and increased contrast and saturation. Use this photoshop color filter for dramatic effect.
2-Strip Technicolor
This photoshop action creates colors similar to the 2-strip Technicolor process popular in the film during the 20’s and 30’.
• Not destructive (creates layers).
• Works on layered documents!
• Works with any language of Photoshop (i hope!).
Tested with CS4 and CS5 but should be compatible with future versions and back to CS2.
10 Free Retro Style Photo Effect Photoshop Actions
This latest set of filters for Photoshop, named RetroFilters contains 10 preconfigured Action files that will dramatically transform your photos with retro style effects inspired by classic 35mm film and processing techniques.
Polanoid Generator V3
The Mini Collection – Free Photoshop Actions
The FilterGrade Mini Collection is a sweet little pack of action downloads we made to give everyone a sample of our products. It has some amazing free retro Photoshop actions, a free kit of light leaks and some free vintage Photoshop brushes.
It is great for adding vintage effects to your photos and designs, creating light leaks on the fly, and touching up some vintage designs with scratchy brushes.
The Mini Collection includes:
- 10 Retro Photoshop Actions.
- 5 Light Leak Photoshop Actions.
- A cool pack of vintage scratchy brushes.
With the Mini Collection, you can quickly add beautiful vintage effects to your photos. We take all the work out of adding realistic light leaks to your work in seconds.
To top it all off, we’ve included some vintage textures you can add to your photos with our scratchy brush set. You’re sure to have a good time editing your photos with the Mini Collection!
Free Matte Lightroom Preset and Photoshop Action
With the basic matte preset/action, you will be able to easily add a subtle but beautiful matte effect to your photos. You will love the results of these free actions!
If you want a stronger matte effect please use our Deep Matte Preset and Action. Like all of our presets and actions, it works with Lightroom 4, 5, 6, and CC as well as with Photoshop CC, CC 2014, and CC 2015. A great set of Photoshop actions for photographers.
Unspoken action
HipstaRev – Actions Pack 1
Gum Bichromate Print
Black And White Photoshop Action
LITHPRINT hard boiled
Photoshop action no.7 HIGH KEY
5 Skin Retouching Actions
Retouch skin like a pro with these Photoshop actions for portraits that will let you heal, mattify, and airbrush skin with one click.
It also includes retouching actions for brightening eyes and increasing contrast; the former reduces redness and increases brightness in the eyes while the latter increases contrast without clipping highlights/shadows. Simply play the action then paint over the areas that you want to retouch.
The Actions:
– Mattifier
– Skin Airbrushing
– Brighten Eyes
– Redness Reducer
– Clipping Free Contrast
Free High Definition Sharpening Photoshop Actions
If you’re looking for photoshop image effects to finish of your photos, look no further. The final step in transforming your images into a piece of art is sharpening. And when it comes to sharpening, it’s important to get it right—not too much and not too little.
That’s where the free High Definition Sharpening Photoshop Actions comes in.
Whether preparing images for print or web, you can have just the right amount of sharpening every time! High Definition Sharpening sharpens images for print.
Simply apply this Photoshop action and then view at 100% to see the results. From there, you may adjust by masking or using the opacity slider.
Removing a White Background with Photoshop Actions
There are a ton of textures available on the internet like spray paint drips that have a white background. Usually, you will want to remove the background and then bring it to your design.
I created a Photoshop effects download that uses alpha channels to remove the white background. These actions are very handy for all types of textures. There are 3 separate actions included in this set.
Free Deep Matte Lightroom Preset and Photoshop Action
These cool photoshop actions will give your photos a strong, deep matte effect. It is similar to our Basic Matte Preset and Action, but it uses a stronger matte effect. Like all of our presets and actions, it works with Lightroom 4, 5, 6, and CC as well as with Photoshop CC, CC 2014, and CC 2015.
10 Free Retro Style Photo Effect Photoshop Actions
Another one of these best Adobe Photoshop actions is named RetroFilters and contains 10 preconfigured free Photoshop filters that will dramatically transform your photos with retro style effects inspired by classic 35mm film and processing techniques.
Photoshop Action – Bright Eyes
This latest example of the free photoshop cc actions in this article has different settings that can be disabled/modified in the layers palette. A rainbow appears on some of the free Photoshop presets and has a blur applied. If the rainbow looks too blurred or not blurred enough, you can easily modify it.
In history, go back one spot to undo the blur (the blur is the last to be applied). Then redo the blur with the setting that best suits your photo. You can also change the intensity of the rainbow or how it is applied by modifying the top layer.
12 Free Photoshop Actions for Fashion Bloggers
12 Fashion Photoshop Actions are exclusive to IFB readers by Symufa. You can use them in any projects you want as commercial usage is allowed. These are good for fashion photographers and also they work perfectly on baby photography. If you promote your blog on social media, this is a great Instagram photoshop action to choose.
Photoshop Crimson shimmer Action
Free Haze Photoshop Action
The download includes two different versions of the Soft Haze ps actions. One version is for Photoshop users and the other is for Photoshop Elements users (requires PSE 11 or newer). All of the actions in the Haze Photoshop Actions set also come with versions for both PS and PSE.
Mystical light Photoshop action
Photoshop Copper Actions
Free Lomo Lightroom Preset and Photoshop Action
This lomo preset/action makes it easy to give your photos a similar look and feel to those taken with a Lomography camera. This filter for photoshop is great for giving photos a fun retro vintage look.
Instant Hipster – 10 Retro Actions
10 Instagram Photoshop actions (19 for premium download)! Give your photos a retro look similar to those found in Instagram with this great action freeware.
Free Light and Bright Lightroom Preset and Photoshop Action
The Light and Bright preset/action is ideal for use with photos that are on the darker side. These photo actions will lighten the photo and give it a nice, bright look.
Free Intense Lightroom Preset and Photoshop Action
When you want a bold and dramatic effect for your photos you can use this free Photoshop photo filter to make your photos stand out.
Free High Definition Sharpening Photoshop Actions
The final step in transforming your images into a piece of art is sharpening. And when it comes to sharpening, it’s important to get it right—not too much and not too little. That’s where the free High Definition Sharpening Photoshop Actions comes in.
Whether preparing images for print or web, you can have just the right amount of sharpening every time! High Definition Sharpening sharpens images for print. Simply apply this Photoshop action and then view at 100% to see the results. From there, you may adjust by masking or using the opacity slider. Sharpen your images effectively with this action photo editor.
Let’s move on to the next Photoshop presets from this article.
Free Aesthetic Vintage Wedding PS Action
This Wedding Photoshop Actions Workflow gives you everything you need to professionally process your images. This premium bundle of Photoshop actions designed for wedding photographers.
Features:
-15 Professionally designed Vintage Photoshop Actions
-Easy to use & Install
-PDF Installation Instructions are included
-Compatible with Photoshop CS1 and above
-Can be easily adjusted to fit your image
-Efficient & Fast editing tools
-Realistic grain Vintage effects
-The file type: .atn
This is photoshop actions which work with only photoshop, this files will not work with Lightroom.
This Photoshop Actions Collection contains professional, elegant, color-enhancing actions that are specialized for wedding photography. These actions enhance and adds more beautiful colors to pictures and make the photo look stunning.
With this excellent free Photoshop actions wedding selection, amateur and professional photographers can make their wedding and portrait photos unique and look gorgeous. With this photoshop color workflow actions you will be able to quickly and easily add a professional finish to your images.
This simple yet productive set of 12 free Photoshop actions for portraits will help you create several common portrait effects, and particularly wedding portraits. The set consists of 11 free Photoshop effects, plus an action with some brief instructions and pointers. Another great choice from a selection of wedding photoshop actions.
This is another one of the free photoshop actions for photographers that you can find in this article, this is one of our portrait photoshop actions choices.
There is a file included that says how the action should be used, but it isn’t completely correct, so here is the full how-to.
- Open an image in Photoshop
- Run Part 1 of the action
- Select a sharpness that you think looks good
- Click on the layer mask on the layer between the Levels layer and the Brightness/Contrast layer (if you have opened an image straight into Photoshop this should be called Layer 1)
- Select a black round brush big enough to cover all of the images but the corners at around 20% opacity
- Click on the center of the image. Repeat until you are happy with the saturation
- Click on the very top layer
- Press cmd+alt+shift+e (Mac) or ctrl+alt+shift+e (PC)
- Rename the layer ‘Layer 7’
- Run part two of the action
- Done
Lara Jade Actions- Free Sample
This neat Photoshop action for portraits will help you deliver great looking photos. Great photoshop presets for photographers and amateurs alike.
Ghost Stories Photoshop Action
A neat example of vintage Photoshop actions is this one. Let me know after you’ve tried these cool Photoshop filters. You can tweet me with the result and I’ll gladly share it.
Retro Effects & Polaroid Frame Generator Actions
Generate retro effects, Lomography effects, and Polaroid/Square frames with one click using these free Photoshop actions! These Photoshop actions work with photos of any size (even 100-megapixel photos!) and do not resize your image. All layers are fully-editable and nondestructive with these photoshop filter actions.
‘Marshmallow’ Photoshop Action
Premium Looks Photoshop Actions
A good photo effect can completely transform and add character to your photos. These premium Photoshop actions are the perfect way to make your photos look more emotional and nostalgic. The free download contains five looks and two light leaks. Use these Photoshop filters effects to make your images stand out!
FAQ on PS actions for photographers
What exactly are Photoshop actions?
An action in Photoshop is like your personal edit assistant. It records your steps as you edit a photo, then reproduces them in a snap on any other image. Super handy for keeping a consistent style or just saving time.
How do I install Photoshop actions?
Find your action file, usually ending with .atn
. Open Photoshop, hit the ‘Actions’ panel, click the menu in the top-right corner, and choose ‘Load Actions.’ Navigate to where your action lives and load it up. Bam! Ready to roll.
Can I create my own Photoshop actions?
Absolutely! Open the Actions panel, hit the ‘New Action’ button, and give it a name. From there, every edit you make gets recorded. Hit ‘Stop’ when done, and there you go—a custom action that’s all you.
Are there free Photoshop actions available?
Yes, indeed! The internet is chock-full of free actions. A quick search will serve up sites with downloads for every kind of photo op. Just be sure to check that they’re safe and from a reputable source.
Where can I find the best Photoshop actions for photography?
That’s like asking where to find the tastiest pizza—it’s subjective. But for starters, Adobe Marketplace and creative forums are goldmines for high-quality actions catering to every photography genre.
How do I use Photoshop actions effectively?
Get to know them; play around. Each action can be a surprise box of edits. Some are one-click wonders while others are starters for your own tweak fest. And remember, actions work best on the right type of image they’re designed for.
Do professional photographers use Photoshop actions?
For certain, they do. Pros love efficiency and consistency, and actions bring both to the editing table. Whether it’s batch processing event photos or fine-tuning portraits, actions help pros keep their work top-notch in less time.
Can Photoshop actions be edited after running them?
Sure they can. Run an action, then simply jump into the layer stack or adjustment options. Tweaking’s part of the fun; you’re the artist and the action is just your first brushstroke.
Are Photoshop actions compatible with all versions of Photoshop?
Most actions play nice with recent versions, but hey, not all. If you’re running a vintage Photoshop edition, check the action’s compatibility. Sometimes, it’s the new tricks that don’t jive with the old dogs.
Will Photoshop actions work the same on every photo?
Wish it were that easy, right? But nope. Actions are not one-size-fits-all. They’ll act differently depending on the image’s characteristics—lighting, colors, contrast. It’s all about the base you’re starting with, so expect to make some manual adjustments.
Conclusion
Wrapping it up, Photoshop actions for photographers are a straight-up game-changer.
- Think digital wizardry.
- Personal editing sidekicks.
- Those neat little packages that serve up consistency and speed with a cherry on top. If you’re all about getting those images from camera to ‘wow’ faster, then mastering actions is pretty much essential.
Throughout this piece, we’ve untangled the how-to’s, where-to-finds and all the creative nitty-gritty in between. From photo editing presets to downright transformative batch processing magic, actions are the silent heavy lifters behind stunning portfolios.
Remember, it’s all about making the tools work for you. Bend those automating edits, tweak those skin smoothing sliders, and let the color correction presets do the heavy lifting.
Always keep exploring. Craft those time-saving Photoshop scripts that let creativity flow, snatch up free and premium action sets, and – let’s be real – never stop learning. The journey from good to great, well, it’s a one-click adventure away.
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