Hi there everyone! I'm back with another action review! First I quickly wanted to chat a bit about my thoughts on actions and what works for me!
I get a lot of questions regarding what actions I use the most and which are my favorite. So I'll answer that question first...all of them! Lol! Not too helpful right! Well for me, I don't have one set that I love more than another. I have several different action makers loaded in my actions panel. And as many of you know, I use actions for 95% of my editing! I do things by hand as well. But most of what I need, I can do with the actions I have loaded. I think actions are wonderful and very helpful, not to mention a huge time saver. But I feel to be able to use actions and use them well (not as a crutch) you of course first have to have a good SOOC shot! There is no action that will fix your photos better than taking a good SOOC shot and enhancing it! So learn in camera first! Learn your camera, how to exposure properly and how to watch for good light. It will make editing easier, faster with better final images. Then learn PS. Learn to edit on your own. Learn to clean edit. Once you have both foundations in control, then you can start to learn to use actions. You may have noticed I said.... "start to LEARN to use actions"! That's not a mistake. Actions aren't a magic fix nor should they be used as a crutch. But when you are ready to start using them...LEARN them FIRST!!!! Not all actions are created equally. Not all actions will be your style!!! Not all actions look good on all photos and all different lighting. And 99% of the time, the action will need some adjustments and masking! If you take the time to learn your action and what each layer does and the overall look you can get with different actions, then you can begin to use them as your workflow!
Onto my favorite makers! I now have my style pretty defined and know who I want to buy from. There are so many action makers out there, you can go broke buying them all. Then what happens is your wallet is too empty and your actions panel is too full. What happens when your action panel is too full...you become overwhelmed and don't use them! It takes time to learn who you really like and who fits your style. But once you do, you'll be using them and using them well! I like variety and like to edit each image as an individual as per the mood & lighting in each photo. So my actions panel gives me the variety to edit each image as I see fit! Makers that I like are, Lilyblue, Pure Actions, Florabella, MCP, Michelle Kane, Red Leaf and some TRA! As you can see, there is a wide variety of looks from maker to maker. But each maker has a look that fits the variety of style that I like for my photos. It's different for everyone!
So the next question I get is.... "How is this set/maker different from this set/maker" or "I already have this set from this maker, can it do what this new set/maker can do"! That's a tough one to answer! Creative edits are whole different story. So I'll just quickly talk about clean edits! I have three main makers I go to for clean edits... Pure Actions, Florabella (new workflow set) & Michelle Kane! Each will give me a nice clean edit I will love! But...there IS a difference in the look of the clean edit from each maker! I can take the same photo and run clean edits on each from each maker, and they will be slightly different. That is the difference of style per maker. So one is not better than the other...just different. Depending on the light & mood of the photo and what final look I want, will determine who I use for that clean edit! Below I'll show you what I mean. Do know that the Pure action examples were already done and the Michelle Kane (MK) & Florabella (FB) examples I just did. If I had more time the MK & FB examples would be better! I'm not trying to show that one is better than the other...in ANY way! Only that for me, all three produce a good clean edit but each have a slightly different feel to them...
And now onto my Pure Actions review...
What can I say! Pure Actions are truly EXACTLY what they say...PURE! I will give a leg up to Pure Actions for my clean edits. When I want truly clean, truly pure, truly beautiful clean edits...I go to my Pure Actions! They are different than any actions in my panel! Hard to explain exactly how they are different...but they are! There is something to the quality and look I get with them that is really so Pure and clean! I was never too big on clean edits because I could never get a clean edit I LOVED! I could get a clean edit..but it always bored me and I always felt something was missing. So I'd do a clean base edit, then go creative over! But since I've gotten Pure Actions, I now do more clean edits than I ever have and feel that my clean edits now have that something that was missing. That something that took it from a clean edit snapshot to a clean edit professional print quality! Wow...that was a terrible sentence! Lol! These actions will take your images and bring them to the next professional level! They are great for sessions, events and family snaps! I can get my clean edits done in half the time with a much more professional looking clean edit now. THAT makes me happy! Most of the clean edits in my
Idaho 2011 Album were done with Pure actions! Which you'll notice is where a lot of my examples came from!
I'll break down the sets I use and which actions within that sets are my most used...
Pure 1 ~ Come out of the shadows baby, Warm that baby up, Hazy Baby, Hazy Baby 2, Fix all that red baby, Look at all that color baby (SWOON)
Pure 2 ~ Cloud 9 baby (SWOON), Snap that baby, Boost the shadows, Boost the blue (SWOON) & Boost the Yellows (SWOON)
Just a Pinch ~ A pinch of warming (SWOON), A pinch of haze, A pinch of Soft Light (SWOON), A pinch of makeup (SWOON), A pinch of Aloe Vera (SWOON), A pinch of tone and A pinch of Film Noir
Pure Haze ~ Yellow haze (SWOON times 2), Pink haze, A touch of haze, Brown haze, Get rid of that yellow (SWOON), Custom clean light, Pure Haze, Warm soft & pop (SWOON) and Pop the haze
SWOON means they are the ones I CANNOT live without and use the most! I do use others from each set, but these are my most used Pure actions!
And for my standard clean fast workflow when using Pure actions, I usually use Look at all that color baby, Boost the shadows/yellows/blues (which ever are present & needed per photo) and if I want a bit more in my edit I'll add (if needed) A pinch of warming or Cloud 9. Again this is kind of my base Pure editing and when I just want to take a good SOOC shot and have a normal basic clean edit! Super fast with GREAT clean PURE results!
I can honestly say, for CLEAN edits, Pure Actions have been my best spent money! I can also say that while I love them for their clean results, I freaking love the Pure Haze set. What amazes me the most about this set, is that you can get CLEAN CREATIVE edits! Who knew right! Ha! Really, they are creative with a bit of tonal shift and haze...but still SO CLEAN! They are light & thin and not over the top!
Now onto what I love the MOST about Pure Actions....
* their ability to give you the most clean edits WITHOUT adding too much contrast and making your images muddy, your shadows too dark or requiring too much adjustments or masking
* their ability to RETAIN DETAIL in your images!
* their ability to pop colors as they should be without making them go wonky & neon or spending tons of time masking on skin
*their ability to not be overly bright (which goes with retaining detail and not spending tons of time adjusting & masking)
* their ability to save me SO much time on clean edits
now onto what I don't like.... this is a review...so I have to be 100% open & honest! I assure, there is only ONE thing...
* having to flatten in between actions. I would love to see Pure Actions work as MK & FB and be able to run actions on top of each other. I have to take many snapshots when using Pure Actions and have to flatten after almost every action. That would be the ONLY thing I would like to see change. On the other hand, if in doing this, it changed their actions a bit...I'd rather have to flatten forever. Because THAT is how much I LOVE Pure Actions!
Wow...that was a lot. Now onto my examples. I'm not going to list what I ran for each image. This post is LONG enough! Lol! But you have a list of my most used up top and it will give you an idea of what I used. I will say however, that I still use TRA Boutwell Magic Glasses on a lot of my images (mostly on non people shots) and I do use MK See Things Clearer for my sharpening, MK Glisten & Eyecitment for my eyes. So I cannot say much for Pure sharpening actions or their eye actions. I know they are probably great. But I've been using the MK sharpening action and it's what I've stuck with because it's perfect for me!
So...I give Pure Actions TWO thumbs up! If you are wanting really good PURE clean edits, you will LOVE Pure Actions! And not to mention, Crystal & Rachel are two of the most kind hearted and talented women I know! I assure you, they will not be a waste of money and their actions are priced well. You'll get your money worth!
One last note...I've been having some issues with my Zenfolio not showing some of my images. Some say they are locked/private. I apologize for this issue and I'm am uncertain what is causing it as all of my blog albums are public and always have been. Some show and some don't. I started a new album for this blog and hope that it fixes the issues. My fingers are crossed that everyone will be able to see all of the images I posted!
I hope this review was helpful and please feel free to ask any questions you have in my comments section. I will answer to the best of my, mom with a camera, ability! Lol! Just make sure to come back and check for my response! HAPPY THURSDAY!
