Part of being busy photographers is that we find our workflow subtly changes through the years, to reflect our passions and our clients preferences and to reflects changing styles.
Rachel has been including cleanly matted images into her workflow for a few years now, but that has not been reflected in our own Pure label offerings, because we have been so busy with our line-up of Designers who have been eager to create their sets! So while Rachel had a little extra time available to her with a new baby keeping her awake at night, she began committing her edits to actions. These are deeply personal actions, as she uses them often on her own images of her own children. Sometimes it’s hard to get out and purposefully create ART with so many little kids and with the cold winter. But Rachel began working and tweaking matte layers that kept the skin tones clean and clear, but that gave a more artistic finish to even shots around the house.
We are so excited to be back into the saddle with developing our own sets of actions based on what makes us really personally get excited and we hope you enjoy them too!
Please note that these actions DO NOT work in Elements.
1. Pretty Matte–This is the base of the set. Rachel was drawn to this simple matte that added a layer of richness and artistry to her images. Mattes work best with images where there are deep tones.
2. Pretty Matte Defined–This adds onto the clean matte of the Pretty Matte. It gives a bit of further contrast, which almost makes the subject stand out from the matted surroundings. This has become Rachel’s favorite, especially indoors.
3. Defined BW–Rachel’s current favorite black and white. It is soft and matted, but still has some great snap.
4. Pretty Matte Deep Pop–a deeper and richer matte. It can affect skin tones more than the lighter ones, so you might have to mask from skin or run the Too Much Matted Orange action to pull back on the skin tones being matted.
5. Pretty Matte Deep Pop BW–A very rich BW.
6. Pretty Matte with Warming–the lovely light matte, with a hint of warming.
7. Pretty Matte BW–A light matted BW.
8. Pretty Matte BW soft–a more heavily matted BW.
9. Pretty Matte Rose–A lightly toned matte
10. Pretty Matte Rose soft–a very lightly toned heavier matte.
11. Pretty Matte Whites–Matte is interesting, as it relies so heavily on the tones of the image. This helps matte more highlight centric images (which can resist matte), though it will make deeper images look more popped.
12. Just Matte–a softer heavier matte.
13. Soft Contrast BW–yes, a softer contrast BW. ;)
14. Warmer Shadows–A gentle boost to just the shadows, getting rid of hard to reach blue tones in the shadows.
15. Green Away–Get rid of green in the shadows from trees and plants.
16. Simple Matte–a very basic matte that can be used alone on images more resistant to the matted look, or over other actions to deepen the matte.
17. Matte and Haze Warm–this is a more universal matte look that can work indoors and out very easily.
18. Paint Back Details–don’t let matte rob your image of key details. Restore them with this action. It is great to use on eyes and mouths too.
19. Paint Back Details for PSCC and up only–This action is a powerhouse of detail enhancement, but it only works with Photoshop CC and up. (Please note that every so often it can be strangely glitchy and make strange effects. If it does that on your image, please revert to the universal Paint Back Details for that image.)
20. Beyond Compare BW–A little grittier, dramatic BW.
21. Too Much Matted Orange–sometimes matte can really distort skin tones. It can grab those oranges and exaggerate them. This will carefully reign those in, without making your subject look too sickly.
22. Black and White Bomb–a more dramatic matted bw.
23. Deep Color Palette–selectively boost colors after matting to draw attention to them. I love to do this especially with flowers or details.
24. Deep Color Pop–Use this before or after your matte for a stronger pop to the image. It generally runs cleanly on skin, but you might have to mask a little if it affects skintone.
25. Hazy Backlight–gently paint in a little backlight to an image. Use a low opacity white brush to naturally add in a little haze.
26. Simple Paint-On Blur–add a little softness at a low opacity to smooth out your image.
27. The Big Dreamy Outdoor Workflow–This action really combines a lot of the actions into one to help you speed things up. Some things can be optionally painted on or turned on or off to your taste. (Watch the warming action, as it can make things too orange on some images.)
28. Sunny Matte–This adds a little boost/matte to really bright images, which can be hard to matte.
29. Overcast Matte–lift those nasty overcast light shadows and soothe the harsh highlights it can cause. Adjust opacity to taste.
30. Non-Destructive Dodge and Burn–Add a little drama with some selective darkening or brighten up areas that get a little too muddy. Use a soft, low opacity white brush to paint the effects where needed on the black layer mask.
Does not work in Elements. Must have Photoshop CS2 or higher!
This is a digital Download. No actual product will be shipped. You will be directed to a download after your purchase.
Due to the digital nature of our product, no refunds can be given.
We know the legal stuff is not as fun, but we want to let you know what the terms of use are.
The actions, presets, templates, images and videos themselves are the property of Pure, and each sale/download constitutes a license to use the product. Please do not resell, rehost, or give the actions/templates/videos away. Please do not claim the actions/templates/videos/graphics (or the creation of them) as your own. A license does not extend to multiple people in the same company. You are welcomed to use the actions on personal and business images.
You are not allowed to share, sell or give away anything that you purchase from Pure. That violates the Terms of Use.
By purchasing you agree that you have double checked to make sure you have selected the proper editing platform, and that you have a basic understanding of how to use actions/presets and templates and how to install them and or a basic understanding of your editing platform.
If you are found to have violated these TOU, you will be required to destroy all copies, under penalty of law.
But we KNOW you'd NEVER do any of the above stuff. So let's have fun!
Pure Actions for Photographers