tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45787029371971581432024-03-08T14:27:18.780-08:00Momaziggy's Photoshop for FUN!momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.comBlogger62125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-89784809207853349032012-03-09T14:05:00.001-08:002012-03-09T14:11:07.022-08:00Two FREE small actions...Hello...anyone there! I know I know, it's been a while! Sorry about that. I've been laying a bit low! I do have some action review posts coming up. I'm going to review <a href="http://www.florabellacollection.com/photoshop-actions.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">Florabella's</span></a> Classic Workflow (finally) and a couple sets from my newest love, <a href="http://myfourhensphotography.com/shop/" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">My Four Hens Actions</span></a>! <br />
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I haven't really recorded any actions for a while now. When you have as many actions from other makers like I do, it's hard to be motivated to record actions when you have a panel stocked with everything you need! I only record actions for myself now when I need something specific! So that's what I'm sharing today!<br />
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One set is called... <a href="http://www.4shared.com/file/Ix2L6jzm/MZ_Hazy_Matte_Freebies.html?refurl=d1url" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">MZ Hazy Matte Freebies</span></a><br />
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This set has two actions...one is a BW action that I've been using a lot lately and the other are color matte haze toppers!<br />
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The BW action I use on it's own and also as a topper. I like to run M4H Matty at 50% then run mine on top and tweak it for a light, airy and slightly hazy BW. I also like to run it as a topper over other BW actions. It gives just that little bit of pop over other BW actions. If you run it as a topper over another BW action or BW layers, you'll most likely need to tone down BW with Boost layer! You can tweak, lower or delete the Punch layer. And the cherry on top for me with this action is the two haze layers that are turned off. One will give you a darker Matte Haze and one will give you a lighter Matte Haze! I always use one of the hazes...always! But you don't have to of course!<br />
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Here is one of the BEFORE images I'll use for my examples so you can see how it altered this image! My girls on their first day of school last September (my big starting 5th grade & my little starting Kinder). I don't have before shots for the other examples as there would be too many. But this shot is closest to a clean posed type shot.<br />
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<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v27/p698896823.jpg" /> <br />
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And some examples of the BW action...<br />
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I tend to prefer the Hazy Dark layer most times...<br />
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<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v41/p796580160.jpg" /> <br />
<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v35/p958516164.jpg" /> <br />
<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v27/p793633068.jpg" /> <br />
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I also like to use this BW action as a topper. Sometimes I will top it over another BW to give it a bit more punch. If I do this I turn down the BW with Boost layer to about 15% and usually lower the Pinch layer to around 50%. If I'm using it on top of a color action (like my example) then I usually just adjust the Punch layer if needed! You can also go into the Slight Contrast layer and adjust the levels. I will often times adjust the Mids and possibly bring the hightlights back to 255 and if my shadows are too muddy I will bring down the shadows. But if you are going to turn on a haze layer, it will bring those shadows back up so I will leave the Slight Contast layer alone if I'm turning on a haze layer...<br />
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<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v30/p980089091.jpg" /> <br />
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And a few more examples I did the other day...<br />
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<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v31/p628214118.jpg" /> <br />
<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v29/p1073343599.jpg" /> <br />
<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v35/p748444952.jpg" /> <br />
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and now onto the Color Matte Haze toppers.These are not meant to be used on SOOC images. They are meant to be used in conjunction with and on top of other actions/layers! I use these often! I LOVE these! They are GREAT to give a soft matte feel to your images without being too much or making your images and skin tones muddy. It will also bring your highlights down if you need to! If you have a shot with a lot of mixed high hot sun (as long as the image isn't blown out) these toppers will really help mute the light and even it out while bringing up your shadows and giving you more detail in your shadows! My favorite is the Red Haze and that's the one I use most...<br />
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<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v31/p741937792.jpg" /> <br />
<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v30/p1061098384.jpg" /> <br />
<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v36/p578723202.jpg" /> <br />
<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v40/p755108901.jpg" /> <br />
<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v33/p687236288.jpg" /> <br />
<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v29/p728883065.jpg" /> <br />
<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s11/v36/p649604309.jpg" /> <br />
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and I recently recorded this action while playing around with different layer types the other day! I haven't used it much because I kind of forgot about it! Lol! It will just give you a soft creamy slightly hazy edit. The master opacity is set to 75%. You can lower or raise it or open up the folder and adjust layers or settings within the layers. You can run this on a SOOC image but depending on your camera and how you shoot and edit, you may need to add some layers of your own. You can also run this as a topper on top of other layers/actions and bring the master opacity down! <br />
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<a href="http://www.4shared.com/file/NOeMFnPf/MZ_Creamy_Haze.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: red;">MZ Creamy Haze</span></a> ...<br />
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I only did one example for this but you can compare it to the BEFORE example. I ran the action and let it exactly as is with no adjustments...<br />
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<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v40/p809124413.jpg" />
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The sky is the limit so play, discover and create...
momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-9635557055543889282011-09-22T15:06:00.000-07:002011-09-22T15:06:23.117-07:00Editing 16bit vs 8bit...My original post <a href="http://momaziggypsfun.blogspot.com/2011/09/editing-in-8bit-vs-16-bit.html"><span style="color: red;">HERE</span></a> had problems in showing my images. Not sure why but I wanted to try to repost the pictures only. If you want to read what I wrote...please refer to the old post!<br />
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8bit....<br />
<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v27/p779609350.jpg" /><br />
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16bit...<br />
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<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v27/p1012007182.jpg" /><br />
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before and after...<br />
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<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v31/p709614965.jpg" /><br />
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momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-38678690756047204452011-09-22T10:47:00.000-07:002011-09-22T13:55:07.225-07:00Action review... Pure Actions & some thoughts on actions...<div><div><div>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!<br /><br />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!<br /><br />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!<br /><br />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...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v27/p945384572.jpg" br="" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v34/p891977795.jpg" br="" /><br /><br />And now onto my Pure Actions review...<br /><br />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 <a href="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/p982088951">Idaho 2011 Album </a>were done with Pure actions! Which you'll notice is where a lot of my examples came from!<br /><br />I'll break down the sets I use and which actions within that sets are my most used...<br /><br />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)<br /><br />Pure 2 ~ Cloud 9 baby (SWOON), Snap that baby, Boost the shadows, Boost the blue (SWOON) & Boost the Yellows (SWOON)<br /><br />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<br /><br />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<br /><br />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!<br /><br />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!<br /><br />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!<br /><br />Now onto what I love the MOST about Pure Actions....<br /><br />* 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<br /><br />* their ability to RETAIN DETAIL in your images!<br /><br />* their ability to pop colors as they should be without making them go wonky & neon or spending tons of time masking on skin<br /><br />*their ability to not be overly bright (which goes with retaining detail and not spending tons of time adjusting & masking)<br /><br />* their ability to save me SO much time on clean edits<br /><br />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...<br /><br />* 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!<br /><br />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!<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v32/p725228025.jpg" br="" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v30/p838088142.jpg" br="" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v30/p1010667974.jpg" br="" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v28/p878485469.jpg" br="" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v29/p925268556.jpg" br="" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v30/p599612625.jpg" br="" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v28/p1021618561.jpg" br="" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v28/p1033326694.jpg" br="" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v31/p539930479.jpg" br="" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v27/p735813764.jpg" br="" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v31/p569632218.jpg" br="" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v31/p542015556.jpg" br="" /></div><div> </div><div>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!</div><div> </div><div>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!</div><div> </div><div>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!</div></div></div>momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-62619372723984187472011-09-17T17:43:00.000-07:002011-09-17T17:43:56.595-07:00Editing in 8bit vs 16 bit...There is a lot of info on the web about editing in 8bit & 16bit. You can google until your eyeballs pop out! I do not claim to be a professional and know all the the techy info. But I know and understand the basics and what an average person needs to understand! So rather than try to explain what I know and why I edit in 16bit vs 8bit, I will link you to a great post and then show you a GREAT visual example between the two!<br />
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<a href="http://damiensymonds.blogspot.com/2010/09/bit-depth-explained-by-cake.html"><span style="color: red;">Damien Symonds ~ Bit Depth Explained by Cake</span></a><br />
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(photo by <a href="http://damiensymonds.blogspot.com/2010/09/bit-depth-explained-by-cake.html"><span style="color: red;">Shelley Shaffer</span></a> edited by me with permission. Edited with <a href="http://www.florabellacollection.com/index.html"><span style="color: red;">Florabella's</span></a> Classic BW from her new Workflow set, which is AMAZING and her best set to date)<br />
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This one was edited in 8bit. as you can see, there is a rainbow of banding on the backdrop! You could not give this to a client!<br />
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<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v31/p470985284.jpg" /> <br />
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Exact same image, exact same action/edit! The only difference is this was edited in 16bit and not converted to 8bit until I was ready to save. Look at that beautiful smooth background! THIS you could give to a client!<br />
<img <br="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v27/p186590329.jpg" /> <br />
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And I always love a side by side together! Top edited in 8bit & bottom edited in 16bit! And what I also noticed is the color on the 8bit is off as well<br />
<img <="" body="" src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v34/p330851276.jpg" /><br />
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I hope between Damien's post and my visual example, it will show you the benefits of editing in 16bit. It's more important on shots with solid large backgrounds such as backdrops or lots of sky in shots etc! Jump on the 16bit bandwagon...you won't regret it!<br />
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And coming up (not sure when since I've been really busy lately) I will have two new Action Review blog posts! I will be reviewing <br />
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Pure Actions (various different sets which I will go over in the post)<br />
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and<br />
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Florabella (her NEW Workflow set)<br />
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Hope everyone is having a great weekend! :)momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-88356384310946834762011-07-17T18:55:00.000-07:002011-07-17T19:50:49.850-07:00A FREE action share ~ MZ Golden Backlight...I know it's been SO long since I shared an action! Sorry, but I haven't made any to share! Lol! This one I actually started working on at the end of last Summer...September 2010! Yikes! I kind of forgot about it, then when I thought about it I was too lazy to finish the layers then record the action and do the examples.<br /><br />But tonight I finally did it! This is of course FREE which I know makes many happy! It is only one action and not a whole set. This action is meant to be an all in one action for back lit photos. It has layers that are turned off so that you may personalize this action to suit your needs per photo. You can embrace the haze and keep it light & airy. Or you can turn on other layers and upping the layer opacity of others to remove some of the haze and get more contrast and depth. You can turn layers on, off, up or down and even go into the adjustment layers and fiddle with the settings to make it truly your own!<br /><br />I love this little action and find it very easy to use and I love the ability to go more clean and subtle or really bump on the layers and get a creative look! You can also, as you will see below, use this action on front lit images as well, but you will need to do a bit more tweaking to get it right! And don't be afraid to mask. On one of my examples I didn't like the tones on Nugget's face, so I masked her out of one layer and then with the alt key, dragged that layer mask to the others where I did not want the tone on her face and was able to quickly remove the colors I didn't want on her. And for those who are just learning or want to get better at really learning your actions! Try this...<br /><br />Download this action and open a back lit shot. Run the action and open the folder. Start at the very top layer. Click that eye on & off a few times while looking at your image. Do this for every.single.layer in this action. Then turn on & off the ones that are already off and watch to see what they are doing to your photo. Also as you do this, take the opacity slider and go from left to right to see how playing the opacity of that specific layer affects your photo. As I edit I will often turn the whole folder opacity on & off to see my before and after shot quickly! And if you love exactly how the action looks but feel it's just a bit too strong, just lower the opacity of the whole folder. I did that on the shot of Nugget holding the coffee cup in her black/gray outfit. The action was perfect but just a tad strong, so I lowered the folder opacity to 85% and that was it. And do this every.single.time you run this action, or any action, until you've gotten to know what that action does. This is how I am able to have such a large actions panel filled with wonderful actions from amazing makers and be able to get the most out of them. I know when to run which one and maker for that matter and when to combine to get a look special to only me! Don't be afraid to play around and experiment! If you don't like it, just hit delete! But you are not doing your checkbook or your actions panel, or your images for that matter, any justice if you have all these actions and don't know them well enough to really use them!<br /><br /><strong>This action does NOT work in PSE!!</strong> Users with CS3 or lower may get an error at the end of the action, due to a Vibrancy layer that came out with CS4. I am hoping that you will still be able to use the action but I cannot make any promises. But since it's FREE, it doesn't hurt to download it and try it out right! This action will also work best on SOOC images that have only RAW editing done to them! Make sure your white balance and exposure are adjusted and where they need to be from your RAW processor before you run this action. If you shoot jpeg, this action will be pretty strong on your already edited {in camera} images and will require more tweaking and lowering of layers and possibly folder opacity! <br /><br />I have 10 examples to show you of how I use this action! Again, there are several possibilities with this action that I could've gotten different looks per photo depending on what layers I use and don't and layer opacity. I won't be going into specific layer detail for each of my examples.<br /><br /><br />This was the photo that actually inspired the start of this action. First day of school. Can't believe the year is already over and we in the middle of summer break...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v21/p380694086.jpg" /><br /><br />I went a little more extreme with this one and I could have gone light & airy if I'd wanted that look...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v20/p244872872.jpg" /><br /><br />Here since there are not any large shadow or dark areas of the photo, I kept it light and airy...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v9/p164121756.jpg" /><br /><br />This is one where I masked a bit of the tones off of her face and dragged that mask to the other colors that I wanted to remove off of just her face...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v1/p429486846.jpg" /><br /><br />I also removed the haze and some of the tones off her only her in this shot too again using the alt key to drag the layer mask of the first mask I painted on so I wouldn't have to paint her out of each layer I didn't want on her...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v14/p36042411.jpg" /><br /><br />This was a bad shot that ended up a favorite. I have it edited as a grainy low contrast bw. But I wanted to see what it would look like with this action on it and I loved it. I turned on the "Darken the Shadows" layer and lowered the opacity to 50%. I initially meant to lower the opacity of that layer to 15% as the action recorded but I totally forgot and was too tired to record the whole action over again. And the great thing about it being a FREE action, I don't have too! Ha! So when you turn that layer on, it will be strong and in most cases will need to be turned way down unless you have a tone of haze on your image...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v11/p135771708.jpg" /><br /><br />And here are two examples of well lit, front lit images that this action worked great on. On this image I had to tweak a lot and turned off several layers, lowered layer opacity and turned on some of the other layers that come turned off. But it didn't take too long and I really like the color tone of the edit...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v25/p323174789.jpg" /><br /><br />This is the one that I loved the second I ran it exactly as is. It was a bit strong so I lowered the whole folder opacity to 85% and didn't anything else! I also love depending on the tones and light in your photo, the different types of looks you can get with this action...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v25/p454180789.jpg" /><br /><br />Perfect for the look I wanted here. I adjusted a few minor things and turned on the "Darken the shadows" layer and brought the opacity down to 30% I believe...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v11/p271649278.jpg" /><br /><br />This one I turned off the edge burn, lowered the dollop of whip cream and I believe that was it...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v5/p505222909.jpg" /><br /><br />And this one makes me really happy! I think this action would work GREAT on beach sunset pictures {with or without people} but I don't have any. So this sunset shot is as close as I can get for now! I apologize ahead of time for the power lines. On the image I'd already edited, I removed them. But didn't have it in me to do it again! But I'm in LOVE with the colors tones and overall image after the action. I made a few small adjustments but not many...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v15/p270184131.jpg" /><br /><br />So if after seeing all my examples and babble..you want to download it for FREE, head on over<br /><br /><a href="http://www.4shared.com/file/n5QKiY7x/MZ_Golden_Backlight.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;">DOWNLOAD ME FOR FREE!!!!!</span></a><br /><br />I hope you like it and don't have any problems with it. You can email me at momaziggy AT yahoo DOT com with any questions or if you'd like to share before & after images with me. I always LOVE to see people's before & after images. I'm not in business so I don't have a Facebook Fan page or anything, so emailing them is the only way I believe I can see them. I don't think you can attach them to the comments but if you load them somewhere, you can link me in the comments!<br /><br />Hope everyone had a great weekend!momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-19773310944835856912011-07-08T09:16:00.000-07:002011-07-08T12:59:47.848-07:004th of July fun...<em>*****I posted this on the wrong blog...I meant to post it on my Ziggy blog! Oops..lol! Too tired to move it now but will soon! Sorry PS people! :) *****</em><br /><br />I hope everyone had a wonderful, safe and fun 4th of July...well to my American friends that is! :) We had a great 4th of July. We stayed home, did crafts in the cool house during the day and headed out to BBQ with friends in the heat of the backyard later in the day.<br /><br />I was sick all week so I wasn't prepared for the holiday this year. I wanted to have the girls do crafts and make some fun themed food. But since I was in bed all week, Eric had to go shopping the morning of the 4th and my supplies were limited. But the girls had fun with the crafts and food we did have to make, so that's all that matters.<br /><br />All day time shots were edited with Lilyblue Simple Three and the night time shots were edited with Lilyblue Simple One, both from her <a href="http://leahzawadzki.lilyblue.com/new-simple-set/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Simple Set</span></a>!<br /><br />The flag fans they made for our guests. Haylee up top and Avyree on the bottom...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v26/p586413741.jpg" /><br /><br />I made a demo the night before so they could see how to do them...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v26/p798588870.jpg" /><br /><br />The paper lanterns were the big hit though. The girls loved making them...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v22/p850648605.jpg" /><br /><br />I had found a really cute craft to do on these round cardboard cut outs that would've covered them up. But I didn't have the right supplies and it just didn't work out. So we wrote Happy 4th of July and the just stuck stickers on them...lol...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v23/p968336081.jpg" /><br /><br />And here are all three of the crafts they made...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v19/p783122711.jpg" /><br /><br />4th of July Strawberries! These were a big hit with everyone and they didn't last too long...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v26/p808372086.jpg" /><br /><br />When Eric went shopping, all the 4th of July cookies were gone so he got his favorite, Peanut Butter cookies. These may not look festive but they were yummy...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v25/p965370285.jpg" /><br /><br />And I made my very first red white & blue jello cake. I didn't take pictures of the final cake decorated because I forgot. Here it is as it was sitting. When we flipped it over we forgot to sit it in warm water for a few to help the red separate from the tin. So the red fell apart and the blueberries just rolled off the red jello...teehee! But the whip cream looked good for the white part..lol! I'll make it again next year and hopefully will do better and be feeling better as well. But all in all, it still tasted yummy and the girls loved it...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v20/p305411649.jpg" /><br /><br />Here are the decorations hung up on our back patio. I still wasn't feeling good and it was so hot and humid I didn't take time to hang them up nicely. Just literally taped up the string. But hey, it's festive and it made the girls happy so it'll work...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v26/p419000604.jpg" /><br /><br />And speaking of hot & humid. We had already gone through several bags of water balloons. But if felt like back East, it was so hot, muggy and humid. So the girls jumped into our buckets filled with water. Gotta do what you gotta do to keep cool right...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v24/p943970616.jpg" /><br /><br />I didn't take any pictures of our BBQ or our guests. Now I wish I had of course. But between the heat, me not feeling good and getting all the food ready and on the table, it just didn't happen. But the ribs, tri tip, pasta salad, potatoes and beans were YUMMY! You'll just have to take my word for it! Lol!<br /><br />Then our little backyard fireworks before the big ones from the local high school. These are the only firework pictures I shot. My friend even brought me her tripod so I could shoot the big ones. But I just wasn't feeling it...same story for the past few weeks. So I had drinks instead and just sat and watched them in the front yard. I shot fireworks 2 years ago and since we live in the same house, it's the same show from the same school, I figured they wouldn't look any different than those so why bother...lol. But here was our pre show...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v22/p900509083.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v22/p1023362082.jpg" /><br /><br />And that was our 4th of July! Thanks for looking! :)momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-23116886199074987452011-06-30T15:50:00.000-07:002011-06-30T18:15:47.982-07:00Creamy butter Bokeh...So I finally have something to talk about..lol! I've had several people ask me how I get such creamy buttery bokeh! I'm not a pro photographer nor a pro in PS. But this is how I approach the bokeh in my images.<br /><br />First, it has to take place in camera! I shoot with a full frame and I shot only primes {unless I'm using my Tokina 16-28} and I always shoot with large apertures {unless I'm using my Tokina 16-28}. I use BBF and I toggle my AF points. I also keep in mind my distance to subject and the distance from my subject to the background. When I want more bokeh I get closer and do my best to have my subject as far from the background as possible. I also try my best to shoot in good light and all of these things play a part in the bokeh of my shots. So most of my shots almost always have good bokeh to begin with. But I usually want it a bit creamier and more smooth and more separation from subject to bokeh.<br /><br />I do use actions that I've paid for. So I won't be able to go over all the steps by hand because then I would be sharing the details of the actions I'm using and that's not okay! :) Normally when I enhance the bokeh or pop the subject, I do it at the end when my edit, creative or clean, is done. So my before shots are my edits that I've already done. Normally I would not start with a flattened image, but for the purposes of this tutorial and discussing bokeh only and not the rest of the edits I did, I'm starting on a flattened file!<br /><br />The actions I'll be using in this tutorial are...<br /><br /><a href="http://www.gettotallyrad.com/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">TRA</span></a> Boutwell Magic Glasses ~ this is my FAVORITE action of all time for detail shots and I use it on most of my detail shots unless I'm going for a true film feel to my images. I almost never use this action on people/faces.<br /><br /><a href="http://michellekanephotography.com/photoblog/blog/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Michelle Kane</span> </a>Bring on the Bokeh & See Things Clearer<br /><br />*Masking tip... White reveals & black conceals. So where you see white on a layer mask, the effect of that layer is showing. Where you see black on a layer mask, the effect of that layer is not showing.<br /><br />That's it...and it's all very easy and fast!<br /><br />The first photo I'm sharing is how I usually approach editing detail shots that already have a lot of bokeh in them. On this image the bokeh is smooth enough and I don't want to touch it. But I do want the microphone to jump out of the bokeh a little more and be a little sharper.<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v24/p219279921.jpg" /><br /><br />Once I've edited my image and have it where I want it I run my TRA Boutwell Magic Glasses which will convert my 16bit image to 8bit {one of the reasons I run it at the end} and put it on it's own layer without a layer mask. This action will give a depth and a defog of sorts and when applied only to the subject and not the bokeh, it allows the subject to jump out while keeping the bokeh smooth. I rarely ever allow this action to touch my bokeh. Once it's ran I make sure I'm on that layer then hit q for auick mask and select my brush tool {b}, set my brush opacity at 100% and my foreground color to black. Then I paint where I want the BMG action applied. Where you see red is where the action will be applied. You'll notice the red arcross the image. On most images that I run BMG, I follow the focal plane as I've done here...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v25/p772821998.jpg" /><br /><br />Then once I'm done painting where I want the action applied I hit q again to turn off the quick mask and I will now have my area that I painted selected with matching ants. Then I hold down my alt key and click on the layer mask icon and it will make my selection where I painted, white on the layer mask to show and where I did not paint will be black to hide...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v19/p882101979.jpg" /><br /><br />Now all I want to do is sharpen. I obviously do not want to sharpen my bokeh. So I run Michelle Kane's See Things Clearer above the BMG layer. This action runs with a white layer mask so it shows on the entire image. But since I only want a the area that I ran BMG on sharpened, I'm going to click on the BMG layer mask, hold down my alt key and drag that layer mask on top of the MK layer mask and hit yes to replace. Now I have my sharpening applied to the exact same areas I ran BMG without having to paint the area again. Very fast and easy and now I've given the microphone more depth and sharpening all while leaving the bokeh nice & smooth...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v26/p803518176.jpg" /><br /><br />And here is the before and after. This is my most used method when editing details that have good bokeh to begin with. It's fast, easy and just enhances that shallow DOF 3d feeling while still looking natural...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v22/p600042634.jpg" /><br /><br />Now onto how I handle bokeh with my people shots. As I said above, I almost never run BMG on people shots. I do not like the defog type of contrast it adds to faces, skin, eyes etc as it turns the skin & face harsh unless used at very low opacity. So usually when editing people shots, I work on the background vs the subject to allow them to pop from the bokeh. Here is a shot of Avyree that I took on Monday. The bokeh is there, but I really want it smoother and creamier, which will help her pop a bit from it.<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v23/p1045462815.jpg" /><br /><br />Again, once I have my edit done, I'm ready for the final touches. I run MK's Bring on the Bokeh. When this action runs a black layer mask is attached. So the bokeh is hidden and you paint with white where you want it. There are many times that I leave it black and only paint it in small areas. But on this one, the area is bigger and I find that I get a more natural look when painting larger areas by inverting the mask and painting the blur off of the subject. So I click on the black layer mask and hit ctrl i to invert it to a white mask and now the blur is over my entire image. I grab my brush with black as my foreground color and go around the of her hairline at 100% brush opacity. I stay on slightly on the inside of her hairline with a large soft brush so that it feathers nicely into the bokeh that is already there. As you can see below, I have removed the blur from the edges of her and now need to remove it from the rest of her.<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v18/p856142419.jpg" /><br /><br />I want to make sure I don't miss any because it would be really bad to have a small blurry spot on her face! :) So I hold down the alt key and click once on the layer mask. Now my layer mask is full screen and I can continue to paint the rest of her out of the blur with a black brush. Once I'm sure I've got all of her masked out I hold down the alt key & click on the mask again and VIOLA Avyree is back...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v10/p1014025799.jpg" /><br /><br />Last step is my normal last step, run MK's See Things Clearer. I can borrow the mask again from the Bring on the Bokeh layer like I did with the first image and the BMG layer. But I do not want the sharpen on her hair. So instead of borrowing that mask, then masking out off of her hair, I just invert the white mask to black, use a soft large brush with my foreground set to white & 100% brush opacity and do a few large clicks on her face & clothes making sure it doesn't feather out into her hair too much...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v20/p923291613.jpg" /><br /><br />So now I've made the bokeh creamier and sharpened only her allowing her to pop from the bokeh just a bit more and make that bokeh buttery! Again, we want subtle and natural. Here is the before and after...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v24/p660384905.jpg" /><br /><br />Now...lets say I have a shot where the bokeh is okay and the subject is sharp...but it's just not enough separation and I really want it the subject to stand out more! This usually happens when I shoot from a little further back, especially with my 35L. <br /><br />Here is a macro shot I took. It's okay... but nothing exciting. So now I want to see what I can do to make it a bit more exciting or appealing and have the subject pop and the bokeh creamy butter. I've already decided that I want to keep it centered {which is of course a personal choice and depends on the shot itself}. I know too that for the most part, I'm going to keep my edit clean and a bit rich & deep. But for me the dandelion is just getting lost in the bokeh and the bokeh to me is harsh and has too much contrast. But I don't want to lose the color tones and richness in my edit. This method will allow me to keep it exactly as I edited it but to smooth out the bokeh and make the tip of the dandelion pop out.<br /><br />Here is the before I'm working with {notice the right & bottom edge}...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v26/p976131193.jpg" /><br /><br />So like I said, I do all three methods to get the look I want. Once my edit is done I run Bring on the bokeh {because I want to run this while still in 16bit} and I want it everywhere but the dandelion and a tiny bit of the top of the stem. So I invert the mask to white and start in the center with a smaller soft black brush at 100% brush opacity and start clicking. I want a nice smooth feather so by doing this and then making my brush a bit bigger and clicking a few times again and now going even a bit bigger and bring my brush opacity down to about 30% and a few more clicks over the dandelion, I've created a really smooth natural transition from the focus area to the bokeh. Now I want to pop that dandelion and give it some depth. So I run TRA Boutwell Magic Glasses and use my Quick Mask to mask it only on the dandelion {no stem} then once I'm out of quick mask, hold down my alt key and click on the layer mask. Now the BMG is only on the tip of the dandelion and has left the smooth butter bokeh alone. Final step is to sharpen only the dandelion. So I run MK's See Things Clearer and borrow the mask from the BMG layer which will only apply the sharpening to the area that the BMG was applied, again without having to do any more masking...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v24/p709175183.jpg" /><br /><br />And here is the before & after. Again, pay attention to the right and bottom of the image. The plants that were coming up into the frame that were in focus, are no gone but the image as a whole still looks natural like it came from a marco lens!<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v17/p937060599.jpg" /><br /><br />So there you have it...this is how I approach bokeh in my editing workflow! I hope this was helpful and if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. Again, I will not be able to answer any questions as to the specifics of the actions that I run. You'll have to head over to the maker and buy them if you want to try them..lol! And they do not know that I am writing this nor am I getting any perks by stating their actions & sites. I actually use these in my workflow and cannot share my steps without sharing what actions I used! :)momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-33714501465101294732011-06-08T16:32:00.000-07:002011-06-08T17:28:41.930-07:00Action review ~ The Simple Set by Lilyblue...Hi all! I bet you thought I forgot I had this blog! Ha! I think that's my usual opener when posting! So I'm here with yet another action review. I'm thinking of changing the name of my blog to Momaziggy's Action Review Blog...lol!<br /><br />As many of you know, I'm a HUGE <a href="http://leahzawadzki.lilyblue.com/blog"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Lilyblue</strong></span></a> fan! I have all of her actions. And I still use them all the time. Her sets just keep getting better. I love her <a href="http://leahzawadzki.lilyblue.com/wallflowers/"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Wallflowers</strong></span></a> set and use it a lot. The Lily action from that set is a big favorite of mine! But I think she's out done herself with her newest set...<br /><br /><a href="http://leahzawadzki.lilyblue.com/new-simple-set/"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>The Simple Set</strong></span></a>! It's exactly what it says it is...but SO much more! I love this set and think it's her best set to date! Since I've gotten it I've used it on almost all of my pictures! It's simple and perfect! Here are a few posts on my Ziggy Blog that I used just her actions for the entire post...<br /><br /><a href="http://theziggylife.blogspot.com/2011/06/slave-labor.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Slave Labor </strong></span></a>~ all images edited with Simple Three {some adjusted}<br /><br /><a href="http://theziggylife.blogspot.com/2011/06/mcdonalds-with-nugget.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>My Nugget at McDonald's</strong></span></a> ~ edited with various actions from the set all which are stated above the image<br /><br /><a href="http://theziggylife.blogspot.com/2011/05/lunch-date-with-my-girls.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Lunch date with my girls </strong></span></a>~ edited with various actions from the set all of which are stated above the image<br /><br />The set hasn't been out long and as you can see, I'm using it a LOT! What I love about this set is that it's simple...but still fun and creative. I did wait a bit before buying these and had actually decided I probably wouldn't. As you all know, I have a TON of actions and need another set like I need to gain 10 more pounds! Lol! I worried that they would be too simple for me because I like creative actions. But I kept going back to them and looking through the examples. Then fate stepped in and I sold another set of my Ziggy Licious actions {which you can click in the nav bar to see} and decided that I'd use the sale of the set to buy the Simple Set.<br /><br />And no joke, the second I ran them I was in LOVE! Sometimes that happens but most times I have to play with a set for a bit before I truly fall in love! But these from the get go made my heart swell with happiness. The look they give my images is so clean, simple yet creative and they do a great job of creating the "Film" look without looking too thick or fake. In fact, I posted the images from the first four examples that I will share below and one of the girls stated that if she didn't know I shot digital, she would've thought that I shot those with a film camera! So way to go LB! :)<br /><br />I did one example for each action in the set! I don't normally do that but felt I really wanted to show each action. I do have my favorites in the set so far but have an open mind to the others. I think that where I shoot mostly just doesn't suit those couple of actions. But I know that when I shoot the right location, they'll be perfect! So I'll state my favorites quickly then post my examples. I also wanted to state that the other thing I love about these actions is that I almost always run them on my SOOC images and love the results right away. I used to do touch ups and editing before running my actions because they always needed that extra before running or they just weren't where I wanted them. Not with these. I do my ACR edits on my RAW files, open in PS and do any patch work, lighting of shadows under the eyes etc and things of that nature, but nothing else. I do not brighten, add contrast etc!<br /><br />Simple 1 is GREAT and I LOVE it! It's great for a clean quick simple edit that looks yummy with a very slight film look. I rarely ever tweak this action! I use this one a LOT!<br /><br />Simple 2 is AWESOME too on the right image and I use it a lot too but less than Simple 1 & 3!<br /><br />Simple 3 is a bit more creative and that makes me HAPPY! I use this one a LOT too and usually run it as is but sometimes do minor tweaking!<br /><br />Mulberry is great on the right image and I do use it. But do find this one, for me, needs some adjusting!<br /><br />Bisque & Bisque Softer are great actions and I like them on a lot of images. Very little tweaking needed!<br /><br />Now onto the BW actions which LB always ROCKS!<br /><br />Just BW is probably my VERY favorite! I use it a LOT and LOVE the contrast and film look it gives! Every time I run this action my heart melts...really!!!!!<br /><br />Soft BW is great for a really light soft airy filmy sort of BW. And on the right images it's so fun and artistic. I love it for shots where the lighting was really bad but I wanted to take the shot anyway because it's my kids!<br /><br />Rich BW is just plain YUMMY and rates up there with Just BW! My heart melts when this action works on my photos!<br /><br />I left out Olive, Earth, Basic BW & Darker BW. Only 4 actions out a set that I don't LOVE. I like them, but for my shooting editing style, they just haven't found their place...YET! Basic BW & Darker BW are great but the other 3 are just better to me! Olive & Earth are tough ones for me for some reason. They just don't fit the locations I've shot in yet. But again, it's just a matter of time! So really only 2 actions from the set don't fit me totally! Not bad for $60 if you ask me!<br /><br />Now here are my examples...<br /><br />Simple 1...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v19/p156058327.jpg" /><br /><br />Simple 2...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v20/p196193691.jpg" /><br /><br />Simple 3...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v26/p129004698.jpg" /><br /><br />Mulberry...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v17/p96835029.jpg" /><br /><br />Olive {lowered folder opacity to 70%}...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v23/p466515097.jpg" /><br /><br />Earth {lowered folder opacity to 70%}...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v25/p334739192.jpg" /><br /><br />Bisque {lowered contrast layer to 20%}...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v24/p425803361.jpg" /><br /><br />Bisque Softer...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v26/p433274615.jpg" /><br /><br />Basic BW {layers adjusted & masked some layers off of her eyes}...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v17/p489235966.jpg" /><br /><br />Just BW...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v21/p533229901.jpg" /><br /><br />Soft BW...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v24/p170801228.jpg" /><br /><br />Darker BW...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v17/p11358225.jpg" /><br /><br />Rich BW...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/v24/p32660938.jpg" /><br /><br />So...there you have it! I LOVE LOVE LOVE LB's Simple Set. It fits me like a glove and I have a hard time using any other set in my panel now for my daily shots of our life! Not to mention since getting this set, I spend SO mush LESS time editing. Which actually kind of bums me out since I LOVE to edit. But what it does do is push me to shoot more so I have more to edit! LOL!<br /><br />Now as I say that I use this set most and have a hard time using other sets I have! I am not knocking any of my other sets and still use my <a href="http://www.redleafboutique.ca/"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Red Leaf </strong></span></a>actions {workflow and Film Shift}, my <a href="http://michellekanephotography.com/photoblog/blog/"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>Michelle Kane </strong></span></a>actions {both sets} and my <a href="http://www.mcpactions.com/actions/artistic-actions/fusion-actions.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;"><strong>MCP Fusion</strong></span></a>! These are my top actions in my panel that I use on a regular basis and love the variety I get with all of these actions makers including LB of course!<br /><br />Hope this was helpful! Happy Wednesday! :)momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-70946771078481461552011-04-14T18:33:00.000-07:002011-04-14T19:42:22.478-07:00Action review ~ MCP Fusion....<div align="center">Hi everyone! Remember me? I haven't forgotten about the blog. I just haven't really had much to share! But once again, I have an action review to share! I feel like my blog is starting to become a review blog! Ha! And I must remind ya'll that I'm just a MWAC who wanted this PS blog to be about all the fun stuff. I in NO way know it all nor am I really that good. But I have a lot of fun and that's what really matters! </div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">If you DO actually want to learn the REAL stuff and the CLEAN editing stuff, head over to <a href="http://damiensymonds.blogspot.com/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Damien's blog </span></a>and read read read. Then....after you've read everything you can get your hands on, click on "Training" take his Raw class. Next will be his levels class then his skin class, as far as I know it! It's a new format done via Facbebook and I can say from personal experience...it ROCKS! He is my PS hero and I'm not getting anything from him by plugging his blog nor was I a tester. Just a crazy obsessed fan! </div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">So now...onto Jodi's new Fusion set which you can get at <a href="http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">MCP Actions</span></a>. I'll be honest and say that I went back and forth on whether I would buy this set or not. I've recently purchased <a href="http://michellekanephotography.com/photoblog/blog/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Michelle Kane's </span></a>& more <a href="http://www.redleafboutique.ca/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Red Leaf </span></a>actions. So my desire to not spend any more money was strong. But after looking at the wonderful examples over and over I really felt that these actions were perfect for my personal style, which is more light/airy, muted and pastel creamy colors! So really, I never should have hesitated! I will say that I think this is Jodi's best creative set to date. I absolutely LOVE this set...more than I can say! So easy and fast to use. My favorite is the Mix & Match because I love to mix it up! I love that I can run the Mix & Match then click the folders on and off to get ANY look I want. The sky is the limit...literally. The only bad thing about this set is the time you will spend playing and mixing it up because it's just too fun! I have the hardest time choosing because they ALL look so darn good. Most of the actions fit most pictures...which is very rare! The B&W actions are fantastic and I have a couple favorites that I use a lot now. I also love her Perfect Size action. The sharpen layer with the set opacity is perfect for almost every photo. It's the only way I resize and sharpen for the web now. Her Sunflare actions are the best I've used to date. Just the right amount, easy to adjust or mask and very natural looking vs some that are so obvious that they are done in PS. </div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">I will let my mediocre images show some of what can be done with this AMAZING set of actions... Sorry these first too are too big. I forgot to resize them after running the bar on the bottom. This was a shot I took at a wedding I was 2nd shooting! The shot isn't all that great as there was a mirror directly behind the flowers and I had to make sure *I* wasn't in the shot! Lol! But I wanted a nice soft creamy pastel color shift and the Fusion set gave me just the look I wanted for these while keeping the general colors close to what they were in real life... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v26/p187339420.jpg" /> This was also taken at the wedding. I love this edit! The general colors are the same but was able to still get the pastel tonal shift I wanted while adding some drama to the shot... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v21/p143110849.jpg" /> Also taken at the wedding. This shot I handled a bit differently because I wanted different tonal shifts on the top of the frame vs the bottom. So I added a screenshot of my layers panel so you can see how I masked to get the result I wanted. I added the masks to the actions that I wanted to apply in certain areas. Where you see black on a mask, the action is NOT effecting that area and where you see white, the action IS effecting that area. Remember, black hides & white shows... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v19/p432740312.jpg" /> <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v20/p319011018.jpg" /> Another from the wedding. I loved this shot and it didn't need much but what I love is that I was able to use so many of the different actions in the mix & match and it isn't over the top or too much... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v21/p174565024.jpg" /> Here is my sweet little Nugget playing on her homemade stage... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v25/p271692508.jpg" /></div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">Same edits as the one above. I love this shot and the slight motion blur... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v20/p312572924.jpg" /> Here is our sweet Lily... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v19/p160902988.jpg" /> This is our friends son at the park... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v26/p368571493.jpg" /> This was shot the same day as above. I loved the tonal range the Fusion set gave this flower while keeping the detail.... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v19/p288228423.jpg" /> Same day. The kids running around free! I went in a different direction than I would normally go with this type of shot and really like how the urban feel made the image look.... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v25/p226478795.jpg" /> This is one of my favorites! I love the dramatic b&w. It took a regular okay snapshot and made it something with feeling and drama... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v19/p22467769.jpg" /> Nugget at the park. The sun was high in the sky and a bad time to shoot. But photography revolves around my life vs the opposite. Fusion to the rescue of bad light.... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v26/p256251343.jpg" /></div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">Haylee had to get in on the action too. Not really...I made her... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v25/p160620271.jpg" /> Fundraiser chocolate that now looks even yummier. Look at all that detail in the in focus area of the chocolate. These actions do not muddy up your detail, even if you run a lot of them... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v19/p181042704.jpg" /></div><br /><div align="center"></div><br /><div align="center">As you can see here, the general colors are the same but now have a soft pastel look... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v22/p169429180.jpg" /> And this is my life! Give two girls two jump ropes and this is what you get... <img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v19/p154815721.jpg" /> So as you can tell with my 17 examples...I LOVE this set and am SO glad I bought it! If you love to get creamy tones in your image and love pastel tones and mixing it up...this set is.for.you! </div>momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-13981627257524856222011-02-25T12:34:00.000-08:002011-02-25T14:38:57.571-08:00More Michelle Kane HeARTy action examples...I think this is the first time I've shown before/after shots of the same set more than once!!! To say it as simple as possible....these actions are THE.BEST I've ever purchased! And coming from me that's a big deal. I usually love my actions pretty evenly. I have my favorites of course. But not one set I could say is better than the rest. They all hold a certain place in my heart and get used pretty equally. But very quickly this set has raced to number ONE and I'm pretty certain will stay there! Next to <a href="http://michellekanephotography.com/photoblog/blog/"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Michelle Kane's HeARTy actions</span></a>, my second favorite are <a href="http://www.redleafboutique.ca/"><span style="color:#cc0000;">Red Leaf Actions.</span></a> Man are they amazing! Their Workflow set blows my mind! So now, for my workflow editing, these two are on the top of my actions panel and TRULY top notch high quality actions! I still use my own actions and my other creative actions regularly too, but these sets are worth their price tags!<br /><br />So I wanted to share a few more examples now that I've had a bit more time to play with them. I also wanted to include my layers panel so that you could see which actions I used, opacity and the masking I did. Again, you NEED to mask with this set. BUT....it's not nearly as scary or hard as it may seem...promise! And the more you play with these sets, the faster you get and the more you see that larger, low opacity soft brush masking is all it takes and is actually pretty quick! See <a href="http://michellekanephotography.com/photoblog/2011/02/21/layer-masks-theyre-not-as-scary-as-you-think/"><span style="color:#cc0000;">THIS</span></a> post by Michelle that is very helpful with the masking of her actions!<br /><br />Again I must say...she does not know me. I did not test these actions and am under NO obligation to sell them, push them or share examples. I'm doing it solely because THAT is how much I LOVE these two sets! And I simply could NOT pick between the two. To me, it's one big set and I couldn't live without either!<br /><br />Okay onto the examples! All of the before edits have minor ACR adjustments such as WB & some brightness. Some I ran Red Leaf's workflow actions on to clean them up as a better starting off point. <br /><br />This shot is from my friends wedding last year. A simple candid shot while the girls were getting ready. I loved it from the get go and my first initial edit was a light airy pastel type wash edit. I wanted to try again and go for a little more clean and direct this time. I also wanted to show that this set can be used on shots that don't have a lot of environment and deep rich colors...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v20/p738515297.jpg" /><br /><br />And here is my layers panel for the above shot...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v20/p812139812.jpg" /><br /><br />This shot I took while we were out playing in our Jeep in the mud last weekend! That's my husband checking out the sloppy ground and trying to figure out the best way to go back down since there wasn't enough traction to continue going up! Lol! The girls and I played in the snow below while he got the Jeep down safe and sound! The view was beautiful and there was so much hidden color to discover...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v23/p607093231.jpg" /><br /><br />and my layers panel for the above shot...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v24/p902002478.jpg" /><br /><br />Same day as the above shot! I had my Medium<a href="http://www.jill-e.com/"><span style="color:#cc0000;"> Jill E bag</span> </a>sitting on the ground and it was such a pretty shot that I had to take a picture. I love the deep rich colors in this edit and love that it's so different than my normal style. This is one of my favorite edits with her actions to date...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v23/p997292800.jpg" /><br /><br />and my layers panel for the above shot...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v23/p619201833.jpg" /><br /><br />Again same day! Nugget playing in the snow. Again I knew that I wanted to bring out the rich tones and colors that were there and I wanted the background darker to put all focus on her...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v23/p1033702566.jpg" /><br /><br />and my layers panel on the above shot...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v25/p587452970.jpg" /><br /><br />Again same day! Can you tell I liked a lot of shots from this day! The environment of these shots were perfect for these actions! This is Haylee, my older daughter having fun in the snow! This is one of my favorite shots & edits of Haylee to date...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v26/p795950914.jpg" /><br /><br />and my layers panel on the above shot...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v21/p1039698918.jpg" /><br /><br />Same day...AGAIN! Lol! It's rare that I take a lot of shots with a lot of pretty environment with colors and richness. So I went with it! Lol...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v25/p588539855.jpg" /><br /><br />and my layers panel from the shot above...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v23/p541877138.jpg" /><br /><br />And here is a shot from today for my 365. It's not a great shot and the before shot is really drab and flat! I knew I wanted to go rich, darker and warm! For the final shot I did end up adding two Florabella textures but the after here is without...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v24/p974132836.jpg" /><br /><br />and my layers panel for the above shot...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v25/p795457683.jpg" /><br /><br />I actually had to STOP doing so many before and after shots because I love every edit I do with these actions! Lol! <br /><br />I do believe that it helps a great deal to have an idea of how you want to edit a shot and a visual of the end result. It helps you decide which actions to run and how to use them together! And the only way to get to know your actions is to play play play!<br /><br />Some have asked me what my favorite actions are in these sets! I have a LOT but figured I'd post the ones I love the most and use the most. And I know there will be more, but these are the main ones I've been playing with so far! And just so you also know, these sets are BIG! Everything you could ever want are packed in both of these sets, from rich deep edits to soft light hazy edits! It's all there and worth every penny that they cost!!! <br /><br />From the HeART & Soul set...<br /><br />* Mellow out ~ This is great to take down some color of an area in a clean and natural way. I don't use it a lot, but when I do it works great! I used it in the top example in this post on the background where the Tungsten light was overwhelming from the lamp.<br /><br />* Color Jolt ~ love this for a deep rich color pop. I often just invert the mask to white and mask it where I don't want it! This method works great on outside shots where you want the color on most things and masked off the skin. On indoor shots I leave it black and paint just where I want it! Sometimes if the color is just a tad too dark I'll go into the adjustment layer in the Master color and up the lightness a tad!<br /><br />* Light/Shade ~ is for a quick and easy dodge/burn on the same layer. It's easy and very clean. This is how I used to dodge/burn and I'm SO glad it's in this set because I love the result. You use a black brush at low opacity to burn and a white brush at low opacity to dodge! I use it all the time!<br /><br />* Hidden Meadow ~ is great to get deep rich greens on trees/leaves etc! It does go a bit dark, but the way I edit, I bring back in the detail. Key is a low brush opacity!<br /><br />* White Neutralizer ~ is great to get your whites white! Low brush opacity again!<br /><br />* Flawless Face ~ simply ROCKS! It uses a Surface Blur {among other things} and does take a bit of time to run but is VERY natural looking. Low brush opacity is a MUST to keep skin looking natural and soft vs plastic and air brushed! It also works WONDERFULLY for skies and backgrounds to help with noise and banding! Want a soft dreamy sky or background, this is your action!<br /><br />* Sun Kissed Skin ~ is probably my favorite action in both sets! It's amazing and gives just the right amount of lightness & warmth to skin/faces! I use it on almost every shot! Low brush opacity again as are with most of these actions!<br /><br />* Rosy Cheeks & Lips ~ is such a great little action to give a bit of pinkness to the lips and cheeks! Great to zap a little life back into the face. You really have to use a very low brush opacity on this to keep it natural looking. I use a brush opacity of 5% and if I'm doing the cheeks, usually one click of a soft round brush at 5% brush opacity does the trick!<br /><br />*All the Anti skin actions are wonderful. The Anti Lobster Skin & Anti Pasty Skin are the only ones I've used sor far! But really and truly THE BEST skin actions I've ever used. So natural and effective! They are my go to actions to clean up issues with the skin colors!<br /><br />* Blue Eyed Beauty & Gorgeous Green Eyes ~ I use lightly as with the Rose Cheeks & Lips actions. My girls have both colors, so I usually use both at 5% opacity and only one click on each iris!<br /><br />*Eye-citment ~ is great but be careful not to go too far or the eyes will look overdone! I did this in the last two shots of my first example {my first review} on my little Nugget. I've gotten better at dialing it down for a more natural look. Gives great contrast to the eyes and what I love the most about it is it preserves the detail and darks of the eyes. So it doesn't just lighten and wash away all detail!<br /><br />* Glisten ~ is AWESOME! It will slightly define/sharpen and brighten! Low brush opacity is a must! I usually do about 10% brush opacity and make the soft round brush large enough to fit over the eye brow and down below the under eye and do one or two clicks! I just shoot my girls and often shoot at awful times of day when we are out playing. I don't plan my life around photography, I plan my photography around my life. So often I get shadows under the eyes from mid day shooting. Using this action the way I do helps with the entire shadows that my girls have in my shots! Again tho, do not over use!<br /><br />* Pearly Whites ~ does what it says. So natural and clean. If used right with a low brush opacity, looks completely natural and nobody will ever know it was used. It doesn't strip colors like some do so it won't make the teeth gray and drab or neon. Love that it's so quick and easy too! I used this on the bridal shot in my first example {my first review} of the close up of the bride with the groom behind her!<br /><br />* Bring on the Bokeh ~ is another I use on most pictures. It's the most natural fake bokeh action or method I've ever used or tried myself! The action runs fast and when used on a shallow DOF shot, the results are smooth, gorgeous and natural. It is not meant to take a deep DOF shot and add fake bokeh. It's to enhance and smooth the bokeh that's already there! Great for banding/noise issues as well. I usually use at about 20-30% brush opacity. Most times I control my brush opacity and leave the layer at the opacity in which it ran. Sometimes I get a bit carried away and brush too strong and then I will lower the layer opacity. But most times it's best to control your strength with your brush opacity!<br /><br />* Opulent Light ~ is wonderful for a little glowy light! It's dreamy and best on backgrounds. If your background goes a bit too dark or you want a more dreamy glow feel run this and lightly brush it on the backgrounds. It will make them come to life. And when I say dreamy and glow, it's not exactly what you might be thinking! It's not strong nor fake looking! You have to try it to really understand. I usually mask it on at about 20-30% brush opacity!<br /><br />* Velvet Vignette ~ is so pretty and rich and dreamy. You paint with a white brush at low brush opacity {10-20%} along the edges for a customized creamy rich vignette!<br /><br />* Sparkle ~ is a wonderful sharpening action that you apply by brushing with a white brush where you want it! Great for selective sharpening of the eyes and often I'll use it at low brush opacity with one or two clicks over the entire face. I don't like to sharpen hair, so this is a nice clean sharpen that will not add contrast like a high pass will and won't muddy up your shadows but a give a nice clean sharpen. That's why I like it on the face and I'll often do it on the clothes too if they are in focus in the shot to get a bit more detail out of them!<br /><br />That's it for my favorites of the HeART & Soul set. There are MANY more actions in this set and I'm sure the more I play with the other actions, the more I'll add to my favorites list. <br /><br />Now onto the Creative HeART set...<br /><br />* Bland to Brilliant & Dull to Dazzling ~ are both great actions and I can't way which I use more. It just depends on the photo, the look I want and if I run it right away or later in the editing process and what I've already done to the image. These are great for a starting off point or as a topper for the final touch. Both of these will add contrast, mild defog & bump the mid-tones. Bland to Brilliant is more subtle and basic, so is probably better as a topper. Dull to Dazzling is a bit stronger with more adjustable layers and probably best run as a workflow type action in the beginning of your editing process. That is not set in stone though because I've run it toward the end and lowered the folder opacity! So try them both and play around with when you use them!<br /><br />* Posh ~ I use a LOT! This action is SO different from my normal style and probably why I love it so! This action will give you a very rich deep dreamy look to your photos. MUST be masked off the skin, at least a little depending on what edits you've already done! This is the action that gave my snow shots above that dreamy rich soft look to the backgrounds. I LOVE LOVE LOVE this action! But masking is a must. Not a run and go action. <br /><br />* Euphoria ~ is dreamy, creamy, light and wonderful. This is a creative action for sure and I love it as a topper at lower folder opacity! It will give you a peachy warm type of feel that is light and airy!<br /><br />* B&W's that are my favorite are Timeless. Great clean standard b&w and always gives great results. Ice is a rare one for me to like. I don't normally like Blue b&w's. But this action on the right photo totally makes me happy. Silverscreen is also one I love on the right image. It's a very moody hazy type of b&w. Reminds me a bit of Red Leaf's Old Hollywood b&w!<br /><br />* Now to the tones!!! So many to choose from, so many I LOVE and so many I haven't played with enough yet! These are the icing on the cake, the cherry on the top of the sundae! All are one layer actions that give you a different tonal range and feel. Some are light and airy and some are darker/deeper. You can run more than one at different layer opacity and masking! So far my favorite and most used are...<br /><br />*Autumn Sunrise ~ the tones make my heART smile! Get it...ha! :} Don't judge...I've been laid up all week & stuck indoors after my little dirt bike crash and I haven't had enough coffee yet...or too much! Whatever... :} <br /><br />* Bloom ~ oh how I LOVE this one. Probably the one I use the most in the Tones section. I get giddy just thinking about it! <br /><br />* Brown Sugar ~ is DELICIOUS! I usually have to lower the opacity of the layer and mask off of skin/clothes but it's wonderful for the backgrounds!<br /><br />* Cosmic Ray ~ I don't use too often but on the right shot/edit, it's awesome. I think I prefer it for detail/still/macro type shots vs people. But that could change!<br /><br />* Kiwi & Lilac Haze ~ are nice and have their place in my heart! Not used as much as some, but on the right shot/edit I really like them!<br /><br />And so far those are my favorite and most used of the Creative HeART set! Again I know the more I play, the more I'll add to my favorites list!<br /><br />So as you can see, even if I never use any other actions in both sets {which I know I will} I've already gotten my money and then some. I also bought the bundle while it was on sale, so that makes me smile a bit more! Lol! I will admit that I was hesitant when I saw the price! I did stop and consider if this would be another expensive waste of my money and that they would sit like so many other pricey actions I've purchased. But I'll also say I've gotten a lot smarter in the last two and a half years. Oh yeah, my three year photography anniversary is coming up, June 31 this year! YAY! So I really thought about this set, read her blog and all the examples. I read what testers were saying...but more LOOKING at what they were doing. I don't think a tester is going to say a bad word about a set they are testing. That is saved as feedback for the maker. So I paid attention to their edits also keeping in mind that their examples show how THEY use them along with THEIR shooting style! In the end I felt confident that I would truly love these sets and most important...USE them! And I was right! For me, I was in a place where I really wanted to start upping my editing. Taking my images to where I saw them in my head. To take them from okay creative edit of a MWAC to looking more professional. And for me, I think for your edits to look more professional, masking is THE.KEY!!!! You truly need to work on different sections of the photo for specific targeted editing and this set allows you to do that! If you are the type of editor that wants to run, barely tweak and go...this set is NOT for you! But if you really want to push yourself, get more out of your edits and personalize them directly to you and your style, and are willing to mask to achieve that professional look, then *I* think these sets are a MUST.HAVE! Whether you edit clean, deep & rich or light & airy. These two sets have it all!<br /><br />So that's my review, examples and thoughts on these two sets! I hope it was helpful, IF you actually got through the whole thing. I know many will just look at the examples and skip my novel, which is perfectly fine. But if you really want to know how I use them and a little detailed information on the sets before you fork over the money for them, then read away!<br /><br />Okay....my fingers are cramping and I NEED MORE COFFEE! Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend! Best wishes.... momaziggy! :)momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-25347657820932170722011-02-18T12:07:00.000-08:002011-02-18T12:22:08.841-08:00Michelle Kane HeARTy actions before/after examples....<div align="center">So I said I wasn't going to buy anymore actions. And I meant it. But when these came out I simply couldn't resist them! They aren't my normal style, which is why I got them! I know...I'm crazy! I do love my light/hazy edits, but I do also love some rich deep colors too! So I wanted this set so that I can have the variety between the two! I'm still learning and have a long way to go to get the most out of these actions. But I will say they really were worth every penny and things that I couldn't do as cleanly on my own! I can light airy edit *fairly* cleaning, but not the deeper richer type edits...yet! This set will also help me learn...you should ALWAYS LEARN from your actions!<br /><br />Anywho....I thought I'd share some before/afters for anyone who might be considering buying them! I will say that although these two sets really are amazing, they are not for beginners. This set is meant to be adjusted and lots of masking! Which as we all know is the key to getting the best final image. Working specifically on separate areas of your photo to pull it all together is what takes an image to an okay average edit to a WOW edit! So if you are new to PS, this set is probably going to need to wait until you have a good grasp on masking and adjusting layers, folders set! The other thing that I LOVE LOVE LOVE about her set...you NEVER have to flatten. Every action in both sets can run on top of each other. I sadly flatten a lot in editing, especially since I use so many recipes. But hers are good to go, even over other actions from different makers. All you have to do is collapse any folders that are open in your layers panel and run run run!<br /><br />I just got them less than a week ago, so again I need to continue to play with them and learn how to use them better. But truly, I could not be happier with this set!<br /><br />The first 2 were right after I got them {literally unzipped loaded & played}, the next 3 were the day after and the last 2 were from today! I went a bit too far with the Anti Lobster Skin on Avyree's {2nd example} and should have dialed back the opacity a bit and I think the eyes are a bit too much on today's. But I'm getting there...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v20/p898659065.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v26/p756890706.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v26/p1072794622.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v25/p767562700.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v26/p648021425.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v26/p733805331.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v26/p1012646971.jpg" /></div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">Take a peak at <a href="http://michellekanephotography.com/photoblog/blog/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Michelle Kane's blog </span></a>and I'm sure you'll fall in love like I did! The actions are only on sale until Saturday {2/20} so if you want them at the discounted price {saves you $89} then rush over and buy them. And just so you know, Michelle Kane has NO idea I'm writing this review {as with any reviews I do} so I'm not making any money or gaining anything by writing this! Lol!</div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">Have a great weekend! </div>momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-81442693088178778932011-02-14T15:22:00.000-08:002011-02-14T15:43:22.201-08:00MCP Actions is about to lanch her new Fusion set....<div align="center">and it looks GREAT! You can download a free mini action of the Fusion set by going to <a href="http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/2011/02/14/free-photoshop-action/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Jodi's MCP Actions Blog</span></a>!<br /><br />Here are two samples I did quickly with the Mini Fusion set...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v20/p523995578.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s3/v24/p374628877.jpg" /><br />Head on over and download the trail & enter to win the set then watch for March 1st when the set will be released!</div>momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-3961538486561424102010-12-21T15:50:00.001-08:002010-12-21T16:05:54.617-08:00Action review ~ Miabella Summer Skies...<div align="center">I literally JUST bought this set. I looked through all of her sets, and this set seemed to fit my style the best! I've always heard wonderful things about <a href="http://www.leahprofancik.com/actions/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Miabella Actions</span></a> and the rave reviews are true! I truly LOVE this set and all I've done is test them on a couple images! I can't wait to really put this set to use and get to know them better. But I thought I'd share some examples. I ran them on the same image, with the exception of the Backlit Magic...which ROCKS by the way!<br /><br />This is just a snap of my two girls {left & middle} with one of their friends while we were going 4'wheelin in the mountains! </div><div align="center"><br />I really love Summer Pop. It's a great addition to my workflow for the final touch! I love it so much that I ran each action in the set over the Summer Pop. So every image below this is Summer Pop + the creative action...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v22/p174847943.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v12/p374616604.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v20/p189601198.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v12/p161351535.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v21/p20021822.jpg" /><br /><br />Kite Flying Skies is one of my favorites from the set...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s1/v22/p514169660.jpg" /><br /><br />Bright Blue Skies is a great quick action to give a strong or subtle pop to your beautiful blue skies...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s9/v15/p278570050.jpg" /><br /><br />Basic Vignette but fast & very natural...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v16/p529939788.jpg" /><br /><br />I'm just entering the world of backlighting. I'm not very good yet. It's still intimidates me. But I grabbed this shot at my friends wedding and loved it! But the backlight was really strong. Actually, that's what I loved about it so much. But because I'm new to backlighting, I'm not always 100% certain on how I want to edit them. This is the perfect action to quickly edit your backlit photos then you can add tones etc if you choose...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s9/v15/p270660008.jpg" /><br /><br />I rarely purchase actions that I'm not happy with anymore. Buying actions can be frustrating because you never know if you'll really like them or get use out of them. But I think once you know your style, you know which makers to buy from or which sets will work for you. I think it's safe to say this set will work for me & my style of shooting and editing! I also think that her sets are priced well and worth the money if you find a set that fits your style!<br /><br />Happy Holidays! :)<br /></div>momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-36786058836250115322010-09-17T14:18:00.000-07:002010-09-17T15:28:30.713-07:00Tantalizing Tips... Center light & Crisp~a~licious...<div align="center">I have several tip posts ready! So I thought I'd post two today! These will just be quick small tips that will hopefully help you!<br /><br />First one today is center light! I learned this from <a href="http://florabellacollection.blogspot.com/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Florabella</span></a>. I also included this in my Ziggy Licious Action set for <a href="http://momaziggypsfun.blogspot.com/2010/07/ziggylicious-action-set-now-available.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Full PS</span> </a>& <a href="http://momaziggypsfun.blogspot.com/2010/08/ziggy-licious-set-for-pse-is-ready.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;">PSE</span></a> called "Dollop of Whip Cream"! It's one I use a lot and wanted to share how it's done!<br /><br />This will give you a strong or subtle light in the center of your image, hence the name! Lol! I used it on a macro shot but it works wonders on people too!<br /><br />First set your foreground color to white. Then go to the half black/white circle and select "Gradient" not to be confused with gradient map!<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v16/p864812458.jpg" /><br /><br />When the dialog box comes up change it to radial. If you want to make the top of your image look sunny & hazy you can also choose a yellow ish color and leave it on Linear and select reverse! :) So back to the center light! Then play with the angle and scale! You can hit reverse if you want the light on the edges of your image! Sky is the limit with PS! :) Then hit enter and you'll have your gradient in your layers panel!<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v16/p741392127.jpg" /><br /><br />Now change the blend mode to Overlay and play with the opacity! You can use a higher opacity for a stronger effect or a low opacity like I usually use for a nice subtle pop in the center of your image. Sometimes if the face is just a tad dark and the subject is in the center of the frame, I'll run this at about 10% and it gives the face just that little bit of lift that it needs to bring it to life!<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v11/p835234339.jpg" /><br /><br /><br />Here is the before and after. I realize now I probably should've used a person so you can see it more. But give it a try, I think you'll LOVE it!<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s9/v13/p865260779.jpg" /><br /><br />Another thing I use in my base ingredients actions in the Ziggy Licious set is this great high pass filter option that I call Crisp~a~licious. I probably shouldn't give too many of my secrets away or nobody will buy my actions...ha!<br /><br />This is great at low opacity and will give your images that little bit of deminsion and depth and will appear to sharpen it, although it doesn't actually! Just be careful not to use too high layer opacity with this or it will add to much contrast and make your subject and their skin look very harsh! Now I use it at about 15-30% and if it's macro, stills, details etc I MAY go up to 50%!<br /><br />First thing you do is create a new layer and name it if you want...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v12/p783807800.jpg" /><br /><br />Then you need to "Stamp Visiable" by hitting ctrl alt shift e.<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s9/v15/p551799800.jpg" /><br /><br />Now you want to run a high pass filter on the top photo layer. I assigned a short cut key of ctrl shift . but you can find it under Filter>Other>High Pass! I use 10 but play around with larger or smaller numbers. Your image will look really funky but no worries! Well fix that! Now desaturatre the layer by hitting ctrl shift u or going to Image>Adjustments>Desaturate!<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v9/p901174858.jpg" /><br /><br />Now change the blend mode to Soft Light {you can also try Overlay but I like Soft Light} and lower the opacity to taste! When done with the proper strength, this method can really enhance your images!<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s9/v15/p973798427.jpg" /><br /><br />And here is the before/after. If you look at the fine details like her eyes, freckles and the tape you can see the nice subtle but effective difference!<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v10/p1016876983.jpg" /><br /><br /><br />And to comment on the picture of Haylee....it was a joke and she was not hurt, injured, treated badly! Too see the post on my Ziggy Blog click <a href="http://theziggylife.blogspot.com/2010/06/trusting-others-with-your-children.html"><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">HERE</span></strong></a>!<br /><br />So that's it for today! I have several other Tantalizing Tips that I'll be posting in the next couple weeks along with a few action reviews. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend! </div>momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-56075839058571252542010-09-08T08:41:00.000-07:002010-09-08T10:09:27.257-07:00Action review ~ MCP Bag of Tricks...<div align="center">Things have settled down a bit now and I have some time to post! Sorry for the absence! I have several posts already lined up and ready to post! I've actually had this specific action review in my to post folder for a couple months! *blushing*<br /><br />When<a href="http://www.mcpactions.com/blog/"><span style="color:#ff0000;"> Jodi at MCP Actions</span> </a>first created this new set "<a href="http://www.mcpactions.com/actions/retouching-actions/bag-of-tricks.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Bag of Tricks</span></a>", she did a giveaway on her blog! I actually WON! It was the first time I'd really ever won anything. I was very excited to win and win this particular set. It looked very promising to me and I couldn't wait to play!<br /><br />Needless to say this set, I believe, is her best set yet!!! This is my go to action set when I need to correct problems and issues with my photos. This set is interactive and you can fine tune each one to your specific photo! That I love! I'm so impressed with this set that I will say that it is my favorite and most used set in my actions panel for cleaning up and correcting issues and problems in my photos. Here are a few examples of the actions I use from the set.<br /><br />All wedding shots in this post were taken by me last year when I was 2nd shooting my very first wedding with my dear friend and awesome photographer, <a href="http://amw-photo.blogspot.com/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Amanda Ward</span></a>...<br /><br />Here is a shot Amanda was shooting and I shoot at another angle. These were taken with my Canon XSi {that I have since sold}. So there are some issues in the photos that needed to be fixed. I did shoot all of these in RAW and adjusted WB, expsoure etc in ACR then brought them into PS. So of course my MAJOR issue with this image in the color casts in her dress. One of my biggest pet peeves is color casts in whites! So that is the first thing I will address...<br /><br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s5/v4/p427744668.jpg" /><br /><br />So I ran "Color Safe Bleach"! This is one of my FAVORITES in this set! It's SO easy to run. It will prompt you to click on three areas on the photo {or little black box} where you want the whites white! And this is what the result was...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v10/p345711686.jpg" /><br /><br />Not bad huh for for clicking a couple spots on the image huh? It also removed the color cast in her white flower in her hair, in his white shirt & the chairs. If you have very light areas in the skin the color can be pulled them as well and that area of the skin can go grey. So on higher key images you may need to mask the skin back in...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s9/v13/p467982434.jpg" /><br /><br />My other issue was that I felt her dress had lost some detail that I wanted to retain! It wasn't badly blown but I did want to try to get a little more detail. So I ran "Magic Recovery" and lowered the opacity to I think about 30%.<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s9/v15/p238852950.jpg" /><br /><br />Here is the before and after. As you can see I was able to get a little bit more detail in her dress without making the whites gray, dull and dark...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v10/p424933810.jpg" /><br /><br />Here is a group shot that Amanda was taking & I shot from a different angle as she was shooting! Everything is fine in the image in the aspect of WB, expsoure, color etc! But it needs a pick me up, a little pop to make it stand out and show the excitement of the wedding party...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s9/v15/p408755358.jpg" /><br /><br />And here is the after. Below the photo I stated which of the actions from the set that I ran. Masking was of course a factor in editing this image to a clean color image...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s9/v13/p189962951.jpg" /><br /><br />And here is a side by side. You can see that the edit is clean, not over done but just enough to give the image some life!<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v12/p358205518.jpg" /><br /><br />This was the building where the wedding was held. This shot was more just for me. The building was backlit, so the sky is completely blown. Which normally doesn't bother me in the slightest and I would take this shot to a fun, funky creative edit. But for the purpose of the possibilty of a wedding album etc, I decided to see what this set could do to transform this image into something the bride might possibly want!<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s8/v10/p46282329.jpg" /><br /><br />I will be honest and say that I did forget to write down every single action run. Sad considering i did this with the thoughts of the action review! But I have a pretty good memory of what I did run although I may possibly leave something out!<br /><br />I started with "Magic Dynamic Range" which balanced out the the bright and dark areas of the building! Then I ran "Magic Midtone Lifter" & "Magical Color Finder Vivid". I tweaked and did any masking required! Then I ran "Fake Blue Sky Illusion" and tweaked the color and opacity slightly! Then I ran "Magical Contrast" & "Magical Clarity"! And I do believe that is all I ran on this image!<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v17/p166774183.jpg" /><br /><br />And the side by side for comparision...<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s10/v17/p297395561.jpg" /><br /><br />And on of my VERY.FAVORITE actions in this set that is a LIFESAVER and completes me heart is..."Reflected Color Cast Vanisher"! This one action is worth $99 all on it's own! I took this shot last year on a photography gathering with the awesome girls from <a href="http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=list&forum_id=21"><span style="color:#ff0000;">2Peas</span></a>! As you can see, this beautiful model is leaning up against a great cyan wall! The drawback is that she has a reflected color cast on the left side of her face from the wall. MCP to the rescue! I will usually paint with a brush opacity of about 30% to get a cleaner result!<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s9/v14/p360069303.jpg" /><br /><br />And here it is after I ran the action, did some tweaking on the color of the skintone in the action and masked the areas of the color cast!<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s5/v4/p93187761.jpg" /><br /><br />Here in the side by side you can really see the difference and how clean the result is! This action gets 10 thumbs up from me!<br /><img src="http://momaziggy.zenfolio.com/img/s9/v15/p390923223.jpg" /><br /><br />So those are the basic actions I use in this set when I need to correct issues in my photos! Here is the list of my most used from the set...<br /><br />*Magic Recovery ~ at lower opacity and sometimes masking of the skin is necessary </div><div align="center"><br />*Magic Dynamic Range ~ for a clean bump in your dynamic range use a low opacity and for a fun artistic look use a higher opacity </div><div align="center"><br />*Magical Color Finder Brush Vivid ~ I rarely ever push color. It's just not my style. I prefer a much more muted softer tonal range. But when I need to push some color in specific areas of my photos, this action works great. Paint with a low brush opacity and I usually lower the opacity of the folder as well! </div><div align="center"><br />*Reflected Color Cast Vanisher ~ my FAV of the set hands down! It's UTTER.PERFECTION and worth the cost of the entire set! </div><div align="center"><br />*Color Safe Bleach ~ This is my second FAV of the set! It's clean, easy to use and REALLY.GOOD! </div><div align="center"><br />*Bleach Pen ~ a great little tool when you need to just whiten a small area of an image without needing to customize it to your photo. It runs with a black layer mask, paint white with a VERY low brush opacity and VIOLA...you have your own personal bleach pen </div><div align="center"><br />*Shiny Skin Vanisher ~ I have only used a couple times because I rarely need it. But when I have used it I've been very happy with it!<br /><br />Actions in the set that I think are GREAT but I don't personally use are...<br /><br />*Studio White Bright & Studio Black drop ~ I don't shoot backdrop at all! But I did play with a couple images from other photographers and I can tell you that these two actions are AMAZING for white & black back drops!<br /><br />*Magic See Saw ~ I shoot RAW so I adjust my WB in in ACR. But for jpeg shooters or for a tweak in WB once already in PS, this is a great action! You do need to have knowledge of the color wheel and color correcting. But all the layers are there for you to turn on and adjust opacity and mask where needed!<br /><br />*Magic Color Finder Brush Intense ~ for those who love to push rich darker colors. This will make you happy! Just keep your brush opacity low when painting and watch for neon OOG colors!<br /><br />*Orange & Blue Skin Vanisher ~ I don't ever need and use but have tried and are a great tool to have in your panel<br /><br />*Sunburn Vanisher ~ I've only tried once and thought it worked great. I do think however that you need to watch your opacity with this action and allow a little sunburn to show through to keep it natual looking!<br /><br />So all in all I LOVE this set! I have many of Jodi's actions. To me, this is her VERY.BEST set for correcting problem areas or enhancing areas of your images! It is my go to action for this reason and gives wonderful results! The price point on this set is right on the money and now that I have it, I'd pay more for it if I had to!<br /><br />I hope you enjoyed the review and it helped you understand the set more and answer any questions you may have had in regards to it!<br /></div>momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-75746412457954787902010-08-01T19:29:00.001-07:002010-08-01T20:38:49.445-07:00The Ziggy Licious Set for PSE is READY...<div align="center">Hi all! Thank you for being so patient! They are finally ready for purchase and I'm very excited! They are so similar to the full PS set that I wanted to link the <a href="http://momaziggypsfun.blogspot.com/2010/07/ziggylicious-action-set-sneak-peek.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Sneak Peek</span> </a>& the <a href="http://momaziggypsfun.blogspot.com/2010/07/ziggylicious-action-set-now-available.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Examples</span></a> for the full set so you can see the variety that is capable with the set!<br /><br />This set is available for PSE6, 7 & 8! They WILL work in PSE5 but I had a problem with the icons that I could not resolve. When loaded in PSE5 with the atn. file and the psd. file, there are two icons in the panel. The icon I created does not run the action, but the gray blank square before said icon runs the action. So they DO work, but with that issue. So if you have PSE5 and would like to purchase, you can at that risk. But I didn't want to completely advertise PSE5 because of this issue. Also included with the action set will be a pdf with details about the set and how to get the most out of them!<br /><br />The set is $55 via paypal at momaziggy AT yahoo DOT com. Please indicate PSE and I will email you the zipped file that contains all the actions, png & psd files within 24 hours. But I will say I pride myself in getting them to you right away. I think my longest turn around time with the full set was 1 hour! Again...PLEASE specify PSE as I'm still getting orders for the full set!<br /><br />Now for a few more examples. ALL images in this post were taken by my dear friend and fellow amazing photographer, <a href="http://amwphotography.blogspot.com/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Amanda Ward of AMWphotograhy</span></a><br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4136/4851339621_d78a3ec27d_b.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4851957654_93b6476d74_b.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4851958356_91349ba1d3_b.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4851341675_d31688930b_b.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4851342703_07609482fa_b.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4851960926_12d98a0329_b.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4081/4851961944_0705165a37_b.jpg" /><br />If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask! I hope you love them as much as I do! :O) </div>momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-57772687799546292752010-07-01T22:18:00.000-07:002010-07-02T08:50:08.317-07:00The Ziggy~Licious action set now available for purchase....Wow..it's been a long couple months from when I first started thinking of the ideas for this set to the final product. It's been a great journey and I learned a lot about myself in the process which is always great!<br /><br />This set will work in Photoshop CS2 & for for PC & MAC but is not compatible in PSE. Sorry!<br /><br />So first off, if you haven't seen the<a href="http://momaziggypsfun.blogspot.com/2010/07/ziggylicious-action-set-sneak-peek.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;"> Sneak Peek</span> </a>take a look and see what this set is capable of when mixing and matching actions from the set!<br /><br />I was very lucky to have a lot of fabulous women send in images for testing and the examples that you will see on this blog. To all of you...thank you! You made this post much more beautiful than if I had to fill it with all of my own images! :O)<br /><br />This set has 22 actions included. It is meant to give you a tonal shift in colors and a slight haze while keeping detail in your images and your whites still white! Your skin tones will get a slight shift as well, but remain natural!<br /><br />When you purchase the set a pdf file will be included which will go over the basics of the actions, how they are set up and how to get the most out of them!<br /><br />I am really proud of this set and use it on most of my images now! It's exactly what I was missing in my panel and I hope you feel the same way! So...let's get on with the show...<br /><br />The set is broken down into 5 sections. Here is the list of actions you will receive...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4074/4753635047_13188dd850_b.jpg" /><br /><br />The first section is your "Base Ingredients". These are basic clean work flow type actions that will help boost contrast, color and a bit of sharpness. They will not add any haze or tones and as each image is different, these are meant to be adjusted to your liking! These should be run on your SOOC images as your primer to either edit clean or to go under your creative edits.<br /><br />Base Ingredients contains 3 actions... "Low Fat" for those who shoot jpeg, do a lot in ACR or LR or just have that rockin SOOC image that doesn't need much. Half & Half is a little stronger with a little more umph and color boost. This is the one I use for my work flow action. Heavy Cream is pretty strong and will most likely need a fair amount of adjusting and possibly some masking of the skin. Do make sure that before running any of the "Base Ingredients" or any editing for that matter, that you have a good clean WB and your exposure is good. Any editing will only enhance problems in your photos. Here is a lovely shot from Anne Oliver of her beautiful daughter...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4118/4753627387_fda9b594d1_b.jpg" /><br /><br />Then once you've ran one of the Base Ingredients {or your own work flow edits} you can move onto the best part...the creative fun!<br /><br />The next section has 5 creative edits that will shift the tonal range of the image, add a bit of haze and add a bit of contrast. I call these "Desserts"! They are the most creative of the set, but still not a heavy handed action. You MUST flatten before running any in this section. One thing that was important to me as well when making this set was time! I wanted actions that didn't take forever to run but also wouldn't take forever to adjust! I spend too much time adjusting layers of actions and I wanted to minimize that for this set! So the actions in this section will leave you with 1 photo layer and a white layer mask above your background photo layer! Then you simply adjust the opacity and do any masking if necessary! Quick and easy. And for the most part, lowering the layer opacity should yield nice results. But if you would like a little more control you can use your history panel to go back to the step before "merge visible" and the layers will be opened for you or you can go back with the ctrl/alt/z button until the layers open. Usually 3 or 4 steps. Then you can adjust the layers and mask each layer to taste.<br /><br />Ziggy~DE...Licious ~ The next two images were sent in by <a href="http://janett.squarespace.com/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Janett McKee</span></a><br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4094/4753626049_5e0c1df352_b.jpg" /><br /><br />Could she be any prettier! I LOVE this shot! Honey & Sugar...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4120/4754267846_eba2294955_b.jpg" /><br />My little Nugget with some Strawberries & Cream...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4119/4754265248_c98cc08d4e_b.jpg" /><br />Rainbow Sherbert sent in by Carla on this soft yet sharp image...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4138/4754270118_8e2bd48fe3_b.jpg" /><br /><br />Warm Razzberry Pie on a warm sunny beautiful images sent in by Shelley Schaffer...<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4754271008_bae5cdabc6_b.jpg" /><br />The actions in the next section are even lighter and great toppers to any edit. So I call them "Dessert Toppers". These are a simple 2 layer action that is grouped in a folder and can be run one on top of the other. No need to flatten before running any in this set! I often will run a couple of these on top of a Dessert and just play with the opacity of the folder. But you can open the folder and adjust the two layers if you so choose.<br /><br />Here they are and this precious image was sent in by <a href="http://farrahjoblingphotography.com/index2.php"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Farrah Jobling </span></a>of her darling little Claire<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4077/4754268220_e61f21fe38_b.jpg" /><br />Also in this section is "Cream Sodas". This action will run 14 tones/tints for you to customize your image and top it off even more! Each layer is turned off and you can turn on any that strike your fancy for a different look every time. I also run this a lot and will turn on just a couple like the Cherry on top! :O) The creams will mostly effect anything lighter than 18% gray and are great for babies, newborns, kids...anything you want to be creamy! The sodas ROCK for urban, grunge or just that little extra something. The Sodas will tint your shadows and anything darker than 18% gray. I LOVE this look and use the Sodas a lot. And to spice it up the creams WITH the sodas give a great result. I will say that Cherry Soda is one of my FAVS...along with Cherry Haze from the section above! So def check these out and don't afraid to play and experiment!<br /><br />First some examples from the Sodas...<br /><br />The next two rockin little girl images were sent in by<span style="color:#ff0000;"> </span><a href="http://www.nikkimatthews.com/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Nicole Matthews</span> </a><br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/4754269678_3e2ff18a44_b.jpg" /><br /><br />This is a Cream & a Soda combined and gives a very fun and unique look almost similar to my XP set I shared for free a while back! This one on it's own is a lot of fun as well!<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4143/4753627839_2f3497773b_b.jpg" /><br /><br />And now we have the creams. This beautiful image of these darling kiddos was sent in by Dana Fowler...<br /><br />As you can see they are very subtle and you may have a hard time actually seeing a difference on here. Each one is just one layer at low opacity and these are meant to be in addition to the other actions, a final topper..like the cherry on top I was talking about versus them being used alone like in the sample. So keep that in mind!<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4753624941_ba404cfcb8_b.jpg" /><br /><br />And I loved the light in this image so much that I had a clean play with it using the actions from this set and wanted to share that example as well!<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4138/4754265618_827598af76_b.jpg" /><br /><br />Now for even more fun stuff! The Blur/Grain section! I am VERY into the Tilt Shift lens look {t/s}. But sadly I'm on a poor sad little crop sensor! So until I can upgrade and get that expensive T/S lens, this is as close as I can get! So I included an action that I use a LOOOOT! It will do it's best to mimic a T/S lens. I also included a soft dreamy blur that mimics more of a soft focus effect for a pretty selective focus option. Both require you to paint with black where you want to remove the blur. I have two GREAT tips in the pdf that comes with the set on how to get the most natual look with the blurs. You MUST flatten to run the two blur actions.<br /><br />This image...be still my heart was sent in by <a href="http://www.thesugartreestudios.com/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Taryn Lewis</span></a>! So I had to run the T/S action on it! Here is my editing process for this image...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/4754271394_c7b72dc243_b.jpg" /><br /><br />And so you can see the yummy goodness close up...<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4123/4754272046_fb72515c1d_b.jpg" /><br /><br />In this section as well is an action called "Sprinkles". It is a simple grain action that I love and does not require you to flatten before running. There is also a white layer mask for any masking needs and runs at 50% opacity. So you can raise or lower it to taste!<br /><br />Then the last section is the Extras. Very simple, basic tools to help you get a little more out of your images. All of these actions can be run at any time, no need to flatten first! Dollop of whip cream rocks and I use it like crazy. It's basically a center light and you can raise or lower the opacity! Then there is Oven High/Low which is your standard dodge/burn action. To get more out of the dodge layer, change the blend mode to screen and to get more out of the burn layer change your blend mode to multiply. Be CAREFUL when doing any type of dodge/burn. Go light with the brush opacity for a natural look and use a larger soft edge brush so that it blends and enhances. The worst thing you can do is have your dodge/burn efforts wasted by screaming it's been done! It's takes practice and patient. It took me a while to get it! :O) Then you have a basic brighten and darken layer called Oven On & Oven Off!<br /><br />So...if you are still with me and are as excited as I am about this set....lets get to the details! I'm not a fancy bloggin action seller as you all know! Lol! So I do not have a fancy blog like MCP or the other girls that allows you an instant download. I am sorry about that. But I do not plan on going into the action selling business, so I cannot justify paying for that option!<br /><br /><strong>To order this set paypal $50 to momaziggy AT yahoo DOT com and make sure you check your email for your paypal account as that is where they will be emailed, along with the pdf file! Your actions will be emailed to you within 24 hours of your order, but in all honestly...most likely MUCH less time! You can email me anytime as well at momaziggy AT yahoo DOT com</strong><br /><br />So I think that's about it. Head over to <a href="http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=list&forum_id=21"><span style="color:#ff0000;">2Peas</span></a> to see more examples I've posted, I'm on FB as well and let me know if you have any questions. I hope you buy them, LOVE them and get as much out of them as I do! :O)momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-11955927115383150462010-07-01T10:15:00.000-07:002010-07-01T11:42:55.056-07:00The Ziggy~Licious action set Sneak Peek...Hello all! I am VERY excited about my new set. This set is a labor of love and very personal to me! I have decided that I will be selling this particular set. I know I said I would never sell my actions, that they would always be free. I still feel that way. So I do want you to know that I will still be sharing action sets I make for free. This set is different though which is why I've decided to sell this one.<br /><br />I was at a point where I felt my processing was missing something. I have an action panel full of amazing actions, that I love and use regularly. But something was missing. So I finally asked myself what was it that was missing and what I needed to do to achieve it. And VIOLA I created "The Ziggy~Licious" set!<br /><br />I had a few things that were very important to me when I made this set. First was I wanted a set that would change the tonal range of my images and add a slight haze without adding too much contrast and losing the detail I work so hard to get in camera and that wouldn't make the whites and skin tones wonky. Don't get me wrong, I have actions that add a lot of contrast and I LOVE them. But I wanted the option of both. Lilyblue {LB} is as close to what I wanted as possible. But I wanted different tones and a slightly different feel! The other thing that was really important to me was that this set be fast and easy to use. I wanted a set that I didn't have to do too much tweaking of layers so that it would help speed up my workflow. I spend too much time playing in PS! Lol!<br /><br />So all in all I really could not be happier with this set. I met my goals and am thrilled! I've gotten so much use out of this set already and I truly hope that you guys love it as much as I do.<br /><br />They are almost ready for release. I'm just fine tuning everything and should be up within a couple weeks.<br /><br />I wanted to share a Sneak Peek of images that were sent in to me for testing! The images themselves will blow you away and I hope you love the actions run on them as well. This is meant for you to see what is capable of achieving with this set. The actual post where they will be for sale will have all of the before and after examples. These simply show different looks you can get combining the actions in this set! Note...I did use TRA Boutwell Magic Glasses on a couple that of course is not included in this set.<br /><br />These will work in CS2 & up PC & MAC but are not PSE compatible. Sorry PSE girls! <br /><br />Here we go...<br /><br />This beautiful image was sent in from Anne Oliver...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4095/4751975053_cc730cfdac_b.jpg" /><br /><br />This gorgeous baby with the most amazing eyes I've ever seen was sent in by <a href="http://www.camerasandchaos.blogspot.com/">Cindy Mandernach ...<br /></a><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4140/4751977473_c2714d9c2a_b.jpg" /><br /><br />This sweet candid moment was sent in by Tiffany...<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4080/4752617704_c1b96c9acb_b.jpg" /><br /><br />These next two beautiful flower images were sent in by <a href="http://www.thistlecreekphotography.blogspot.com/">Michelle Olson</a> ...<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4142/4751980141_a30d5e8b5d_b.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4135/4752621876_f1651dc9aa_b.jpg" /><br /><br />This awesome shot/expression was sent it by Shelley Schaffer...<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4076/4751975425_e96016594a_b.jpg" /><br /><br />The next two beautiful beach images were sent in by Sarah Seibert...<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4122/4751976795_9e5b77453d_b.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4141/4752617312_aafff75828_b.jpg" /><br /><br />This awesome urban shot was sent in by one of my dearest friends and also an amazing photographer <a href="http://amwphotography.blogspot.com/">Amanda Ward<br /></a><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4101/4751979227_dcabdc850d_b.jpg" /><br /><br />This shot was sent to ME by ME! Lol! Macro shot taken with my 100mm 2.8 {non L version}...<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4098/4752621004_1dca744d38_b.jpg" /><br /><br />This stop.your.heart.romantic.moment shot was sent in by <a href="http://vanessakearnsphotography.com/">Vanessa Kearns </a>...<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4079/4752618518_71db0e385f_b.jpg" /> <br /><br />The next two images of this adorable little girl and beautiful setting was sent in by Suzi...<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4082/4752619202_174bfd408e_b.jpg" /><br /><br />Here I wanted to show that you can take the same image and get different looks and tonal ranges depending on which actions you use! :O)<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4121/4752620080_2026e317f2_b.jpg" /><br /><br />And I'm sure after looking at all of those amazing.beautiful.breathtaking images you are feeling happy and positive! Beauty does that to people! :O)<br /><br />So that is the Sneak Peek. I hope you enjoyed it, it's gotten you excited about the action set and that you can imagine these actions on your images! I would love to hear any feedback you have about the action set and I will post when they are ready! <br /><br />Thank you very much for stopping by and supporting my first attempt at selling one of my action sets! Have a beautiful day! :O)<br /><br />***PSA...for those of you who do not know me...I am a down to earth easy going person and with that comes good and bad! I use caps too much when writing and :O)! I also am the typo queen of the world, use the wrongs words all the time and am also known as the run on sentence queen of the world! I'm also VERY long winded! So now you know and might not run away too fast! :O) I've come to terms with who I am and am at peace! Lol! Oh...I use LOL a lot too! Hope you stick around...teehee! End of PSA***momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-39842056027506236122010-05-20T20:34:00.001-07:002010-05-20T21:55:18.034-07:00Before and after with new stuff I'm trying...<div align="center">Wow..can you believe I'm actually posting! Lol! The more I learn the more I find out what I DON'T know. Which is the main reason why I haven't posted much. I haven't felt I've had anything to share and when you realize you don't know nearly as much as you thought you did..it makes you leery of teaching others! Lol! One reason why this blog is called "for FUN" tho. It truly was never a place to teach, but to share fun things I've learned! But I started posting some more serious color correcting tuts etc before I even got a great grasp on it. Not to say that those methods aren't good methods. Just that I probably shouldn't be teaching that important stuff and need to keep it more about the "FUN" stuff!<br /><br />I've learned some things from Anne on 2Peas and have been playing around. And it's made a big impact on my editing. I was having a bad time with muddy colors and skin tones. Just blah and lifeless! So here is just a little peak at what a difference her methods {that I'll share a bit below and link you to her tut on 2Peas} have made! Much better than before and I'm learning that the true next step to stepping up my game and images is starting to mask more and working on specific parts of the image with different layers rather than just a couple all over adjustments. I think that's part of what separates those really rockin edits and mine. Well that and the fact that the images rock and mine are mostly snaps of my girls! I bet you missed how long winded I am..NOT! Ha! Okay...here they are...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4007/4626102676_0160b8d601_o.jpg" /><br /><br />I'm also trying a new method of doing most of the typing on the actual screenshot. For two reasons. One..it's just easier and more time efficient. It takes forever to do all the instructions in between the screenshots, two you can right click and save and will have the majority of the instructions right there and an extra...three...I can't talk quite as much on that little screenshot! Ha!<br /><br />So here is a snap of Avyree at a place where you can paint your own ceramics and they fire them for you. It's for my mom for her bday! I'm in the process of editing the folder {my last of mine and I'm finally caught up..yay} and this one jumped out at me! The light was nice, focus was good and I was happy with the edit. So I thought I'd do a before/after with it!<br /><br />So here is the zero'd out ACR SOOC. Just so you know and something I never thought about. When you load a RAW file into ACR, it's instantly no longer a SOOC image. ACR applies a medium contrast S curve, 50 brightness, 25 contrast and 5 blacks. That's the default. So it's already been slightly edited for you. Then bring it into PS and do your normal editing and you could end up with clipped shadows, blown highlights and an image that overall just has too much contrast which looks wonky, throws off your colors and enhances any color issues including reflected color casts! And not to mention that each image {even in the same lighting but different angles} may need different things. And if you changed your settings while shooting, that will also require different settings per shot! Soooooo....I now have my RAW saved to zero out everything on import! Sure it's ugly and gray BUT it allows me to see the image for what it really is...naked! Then I can really analyze what it REALLY needs and do my ACR adjustments for each image then go into PS! So when you see my SOOC example, you'll know it's a TRUE sooc image and as I've also learned, is pretty right on with a good SOOC RAW image! So that makes me happy!<br /><br />Here is the before/after...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4049/4626073390_100c57dbfb_o.jpg" /><br /><br />I'm also trying this new method from Anne about <a href="http://www.imagenomic.com/nwpg.aspx"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Noiseware</span></a>. The theory is removing the noise without making the image too soft and silky also making the skin looked too smooth and plastic! To see the full tut about her clean post processing with some fun great extras to help you really pop your photos head over to <a href="http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=display&forum_id=21&thread_id=2991490"><span style="color:#ff0000;">2Peas PhotoClassroom ~ Post Processing</span></a>!<br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/4626070372_f47a9cc92d_o.jpg" /><br /><br />And here I went over each layer in my new action! So there are lots of screenshots but I know when you are beginning and just learning screenshots with specific settings are so important and give you a starting off point! :O)<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/4625464583_b534bda464_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3384/4625467831_3dcd46a121_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4065/4625464761_29160b0838_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3314/4626070958_88871c5a42_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4061/4626071182_f8edbf2952_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/4626071414_a5258da22a_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4004/4626071622_cedff4ae56_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4052/4625465733_df7af61ea8_o.jpg" /><br /><br />Go check out <a href="http://www.eyecandyactions.com/index2.php#/home/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Eye Candy Actions</span> </a>if you are interested in them!<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4625466015_1d07e42afa_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3397/4625466211_1eb6564a1d_o.jpg" /><br /><br />Another tip for the cream layer, at 10-15% over a b/w can make a nice soft creamy b/w and it helps lift the shadows of a b/w too! :O) My b/w cream actions that I shared here use this layer on top at low opacity!<br /><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3317/4626072406_b81f00cda0_o.jpg" /><br /><br />Check out <a href="http://www.petamazey.com/actions/actions.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Child's Play Actions</span> </a>if you are interested!<br /><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3386/4625466637_a1c78fb3d0_o.jpg" /><br /><br />Check out <a href="http://www.ashleymcnamara.com/articles/photography/photoshop-tutorials/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">Ashely McNamara's Tut</span> </a>for this method! Check out her blog! She's great and has a great photographers section, actions and tuts! :O) Oh...and I went a bit lighter on the eyes here than I normally would or did with my original edit. I was rushing since this was a re edit for the tut! Normally I'd lower the eye curves a bit more but I'm really freaking about over popped eyes! So even Avyree's in this after are a bit much for me!<br /><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3416/4626072896_fee2b50bc8_o.jpg" /><br /><br />Florabella is my HERO and I LOVE her! I have everything she's sold and will buy everything she sells in the future! Lol! I have all 5 of her action sets and both of her texture sets and her textures are the only ones I use now! So you have to go check out her <a href="http://www.ashleymcnamara.com/articles/photography/photoshop-tutorials/"><span style="color:#ff0000;">GOODS</span></a>!<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4046/4626073090_d682f96454_o.jpg" /><br /><br />Then after I ran this and flattened I ran my Luminosity USM that I still use at the end of EVERY edit unless it's like crazy underexposed 3200 ISO! Lol! I lowered the opacity to 75%. I have a tut here on the blog on how to do the LUSM but am way too tired to search and still have to finish the editing I stopped to do this tut that took like 3 hours! Lol!<br /><br />And after all of that...here is the after! :O) Isn't she a cutie!<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4017/4625467617_6a51a96b09_o.jpg" /><br /><br />And I actually have another post idea. It will be more random but with some fun tricks that I've learned for fun creative stuff! So hopefully in the next week or two I'll get it up!<br /><br />Hope everyone is great and thanks for being so patient with me. Now that my 700 Idaho pics are done, 600 small wedding pics are done and 500 event pics are done and I'm on my last folder of personal files, maybe I'll be able to start posting again! Lol! I don't know how you girls do the biz thing, daily life and still get your own pics done, blog posts up etc etc! I bow down to you!<br /><br />And a special THANK YOU to Anne on 2Peas. The amount of time she gives to us on the board is truly amazing. She's so gifted and generous with her knowledge. She truly wants to give back and help others learn how to get what they want out of their images. The amount that I've learned from her posts out number any classes I could ever take! And she does it simply for the goodness of her heart! So if you don't know about <a href="http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/mb.asp?cmd=list&forum_id=21"><span style="color:#ff0000;">2Peas</span></a>...get your butt over there because it ROCKS and tell em Momaziggy sent you! Lol! Cause I rock like that! Teehee! Oh geeze...I need sleep!<br /><br />Have a GREAT Friday and weekend! </div>momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-30170061610990076652010-03-19T10:48:00.001-07:002010-03-19T12:15:37.209-07:00Organzing your actions panel and button mode...<div align="center">So I am finally getting around to doing this tut! It'll actually be a quick and easy tut! Once I finally did this, it made a world of difference in how efficient I am in PS!<br /><br />So the first thing is to clean out any actions you do not use. We all know that we accumlate a LOT of actions...many wonderful free shares and some we've bought and just didn't care for! So the first thing I did was delete ALL sets and single actions I NEVER use. When I say delete, I mean just from my panel. They are still in a folder on my hard drive and backed up on disk! ALWAYS back up your actions, plugins, textures etc on disk!!! I have a few I only use once in a while, so I did leave those but moved them to the bottom of my panel. Then once you have your actions panel cleaned up, it's time to put it in order! Very easy and simple. Simply collapse the action folder then drag it where you want it. The ones you use the most should be at the top of your actions panel, then go in order of how often they are used! So all my Florabella actions are first, well actually Damien's hightlight/shadow action is first. Then after FB I have all of my actions. Then Lily Blue cause I use these A LOT...and so on! So far so easy! Here is a screenshot of what my actions panel looks like once I have them all on order.<br /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2718/4446115962_49783c7a56_o.jpg" /><br /><br />Now comes the NOT so fun time consuming part! We are going to assign colors to each action set. The only thing that bugs me is that you cannot assign a color to the whole folder...you have to assign it to each and every action in the set! So it's takes a long time, especially if you have a lot of actions. But the time it takes is SO worth it! It took me almost a full afternoon to do it and I was really grumpy and annoyed at the process, but once it was done I was happy as a clam...if clams are actually happy! Lol! And while we are assinging colors to our actions, we can also assign short cut keys to our most used actions. I have just about every short cut key used for my actions that I use a LOT. It's a BIG time saver! :O)<br /><br />The reason it is important to assign colors to your actions is so that you can quickly tell them apart by maker! I wish PS had more colors for this!<br /><br />So for Damien's awesome action and FB's FAB actions, I left them at the default gray because I ran out of colors! Lol! Then I started with my actions. My favorite color is purple, so I assigned purple to ALL of my actions.<br /><br />Here's how...<br /><br />First start by opening the folder so that you can see all the actions. Then I click once on the first action in the set to highlight it. Then I click on the little arrow thingy and it gives me the following options. You want to click on "Action Options".<br /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2559/4446135526_852a9498ff_o.jpg" /><br /><br />This is what you'll see...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4071/4446141570_3854da48f1_o.jpg" /><br />So now you just click on the arrow for the drop down menu and select your color. The important part is that you use the same color for all the actions from the same maker. So ALL of my action sets are purple! The PITB now is that you HAVE to do this step for EACH individual action! So once you select your color for your first action, click ok then select the next action in that set and do the same steps assinging the color you chose for that maker! Rinse, lather and repeat...a thousand times! Lol! Then when you get to the next action maker, chose a different color. If you run out of colors like I did you can use default gray in between other colors to make the different makers stand out. Again the key is to be able to tell color wise each action set from each maker! Or it'll take you more time to browse through your actions in button mode defeating the purpose of button mode!<br /><br />So now lets say you want to assign a short cut key to an action you use all the time or on every pic. I have a very basic all in one action I use now! I use it on EVERY photo!!! It's a high pass filter, strong S curve at low opacity {blend mode set to Luminosity} and a levels adjustment layer for the middtones. Since I use it on every photo I don't want to have to click on my actions panel every time. So I assinged a short cut key to it. Here's a screenshot of it...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4009/4445385797_828f41565a_o.jpg" /><br />So you go back into "Action Options" the exact same place you assigned your color. Now you use the Function Key drop down menu to choose what F key you want assigned to this action. They also give you the option to choose Shift and/or Ctrl. This helps if you run out of short cut keys. So for my action that I use on all my photos I assigned Ctrl-F9 since I have SO many already assigned! Then you click ok and that's it. Now while you are assigning your colors, if you come across an action you use all the time, then you can assign the color AND the short key at the same time. Another time saver. So now the 1st thing I do after I run an image through ACR and bring into PS is hit Ctrl-F9 and it runs that action for me. I never have to touch the actions panel to run this action...another time saver! And as you can see in my actions panel, I've assigned many short cut keys! I wrote them all down and have them on a piece of paper to remember them. I've got almost all of the memorized now but there are a few I don't use as often, so I sometimes have to refer to my little cheat sheet. So I HIGHLY suggest writing them down on a paper next to you until you have them memorized!<br /><br />And that's the hard time consuming part. Now we are almost done. You noticed that when you clicked on the little arrow thinging the first option is Button Mode! So go back and select it! Now you are in button mode! Here is what my actions panel looks like now that I've got them all done...<br /><br />Like I said I have a LOT of actions so it's a really long actions panel! Lol! So I did a few screenshots while scrolling down.<br /><br />This is the top of my actions panel. 1st action is Damien's which really ROCKS! Then Florabella in gray then mine in purple...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2681/4445411601_be10bd608e_o.jpg" /><br /><br />After mine I have Lily Blue's in blue and Red Leaf in red! Lol!<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4022/4445412039_089daf4727_o.jpg" /><br /><br />TRA in green...<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4037/4445412421_eb096a18c8_o.jpg" /><br /><br />Eye Candy in yellow, Ashley's McNarma's in orange and MCP in gray again...<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4044/4445412839_6258f892de_o.jpg" /><br /><br />And so on. And to show you the color differences and why it's so important I made my actions panel take up my whole workspace so you can see most of it! Sadly it still wouldn't all fit in my screen...lol...<br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2698/4445413417_d9a35b8940_o.jpg" /><br /><br />And one other quick thing I wanted to show you that is a huge time saver as well is setting up and saving your own workspace! We all process different and all have different workflows. I find myself using certain things for my workflow and some things I never used. My screen is only 15 in, so I need all the workspace I can get! So I started moving things around, using the Window tab up top to select the things I use and have them all tabbed up where the adjustment panel is. CS4 has an adjustment tab. Older versions do not. But you can still set it up to your liking. Here is my workspace...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4008/4446218930_071ddc77d3_o.jpg" /><br /><br />Once you have it set up the way you like it go to Window>Workspace and select Save Workspace. It will give you a pop up menu and allow you to name it. You can see where mine is and it also puts the name you assign at the top right!<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4062/4446219174_158f17454a_o.jpg" /><br />So now if I accidently move something {which happens if I'm working fast or the girls are running a muck all round me} or PS goes all wonky, all I have to do is go to Window>Workspace and click on the workspace I saved it's instantly back to MY workspace!<br /><br />PS is such a powerful tool with so many different options. Some will be used and some won't. So to use it to it's fullest and get the most out of it without it ruling your life, it's important to learn all the little time saving things you can do and get it set up for you so that editing is faster, easier and more efficient. Every one's workspace will be different depending on what you use! This is just what works for me. Find your own way and then customize it so PS is working for YOU instead of you working for IT! Lol!<br /><br />I hope this was helpful and as you can see, it's REALLY easy to do, just time consuming. Oh...one last tip for the day! Once you've made your changes, CLOSE PS then reopen. Because if you spend most of the day doing this and PS crashes on you, NONE of your changes will be saved and you'll have to start over!!!! Trust me...I KNOW! Lol! After it crashed and I lost all my work {luckily I was still doing it not completely done} I started closing PS down a couple times to save my progress! The first time I was about half way done. So I was NOT going to start over again! Lol! So close it down and reopen as you go to save yourself the headache of wasting half a day just to start over! :O) </div><div align="center"> </div><div align="center">So you may be wondering why would you want to use button mode?! Really it's just a time saver. I'm an organized person and it allows me to be more efficent and work faster. With your regular actions panel, you have to open each folder, then select the action you want to run then hit play! A few steps. With button mode ALL you have to do is scroll down and find the action you want to run and hit it! That's IT! Once you use it for a day or two you'll wonder how you lived without it! I will say that if you aren't familar with your actions, button mode can be harder to use. It took me a while to switch because I didn't know my actions well enough. Now that I know and have them in order, it's a BREEZE! So try it for a few days and you'll be IN LOVE!<br /><br />If you have any questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to help! I am by NO means a PS pro. One of the reasons I haven't been posting much. I realize there is just too much I don't know yet to be teaching others! Lol! Reading Damien's posts have shown me that. So for now I'm sticking to posts like this and creative editing post, but nothing on clean processing or skin tones until *I* get better!<br /><br />Happy Friday and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! :O)<br /></div>momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-61059766931426760472010-02-04T09:52:00.000-08:002010-02-04T13:43:37.184-08:00Action recipes...<div align="center">So...if you are like me you have an actions panel full of wonderful and fun actions. The fun part is getting to know your actions and what each one does. And learning each layer in each action is so important. Then what happens when you know your actions inside and out and you have fun using them but then your images start looking similar because you are running the same actions over and over? It's time to start mixing actions from different makers to get special recipes that are unique and fit your style. I've got my actions panel all cleaned up and I only have the ones I use all the time loaded. The ones I love and cannot live without. I have a few that I only use once in a while at the bottom of my panel. But I have MANY that I never use and I finally cleaned those out. If you have too many actions it can be overwhelming. So I took the time to get to know my actions so I could decide which fit my style. Then the best thing I did was organize and switch to button mode!<br /><br />So today I'd like to just quickly show a couple examples of actions recipes and how you can take an image from nice to creative, fun and unique. They will be creative edits of course! Lol! And how fun and unique it can be to mix it up and think OUT OF THE BOX! It's a little hard to do this if you don't really know your actions. So I do highly suggest that you take the time to get to know your actions and what they can do for you and what you can do with them. Especially if you've paid for them. Get your money's worth! I know what each actions {for the most part} does and what look it will give me. So I can visualize how different actions will look together on an image. And no image is the same, so some will look good on one image but not the other.<br /><br />The first one I'll start with today is a snap I took of my girls while camping in the desert. Since I'm only talking actions today I won't be sharing SOOC and screenshots as to how I got to my Before. This image has been ran through ACR with the sliders etc to where I like them. Then I ran my new all in one {yes ever newer than the last one I posted} with the layers adjusted. I'm doing more in ACR now so what I need in CS4 is much less. It's basically just 3 layers...a high pass filter {like in PW's Boost & TRA Oh Snap}. I keep the opacity at about 50%. Sometimes higher for non people or non face shots. Then a strong S curve {also like PW & TRA} that I keep at about 20-40% opacity with a blend mode of Luminosity {keeps the skin from going too yellow}. Then the last layer is just a basic levels adjustment layer which now I really only use for a mid tone bump if needed. Between ACR and the strong S curve I don't really have the need to touch the shadows or highlights.<br /><br />So this is the image I started with after ACR & my basic action...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2793/4330128505_cdb597c22b_o.jpg" /><br /><br />And here is the final edit...<br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2689/4330865760_51ba967a5c_o.jpg" /><br /><br />The first thing I did was run Lily Blue "Rose Water". I knew I wanted warmth. I love this action and I left it run as is and full strength...<br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2753/4330864162_df1ce8a1f8_o.jpg" /><br /><br />Then I knew I wanted a little pastel tint to it so I ran my MZ XP Soft. I left the layers as is but lowered the folder opacity to 50%...<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4070/4330129165_87c5d5dc62_o.jpg" /><br /><br />Then I used one of my FAV and FREE actions from 2Peas Indie Jane called Grunge. I knew in order to run this action I'd have to flatten first. Then I grabbed all the layer and grouped them in a folder and named it. Sometimes I will adjust the individual layers other times I just adjust the opacity of the entire folder. Here since there are no faces in the shot I just lowered the whole folder to 50%. I LOVE the feel of this action...<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4056/4330864822_73c84593dd_o.jpg" /><br /><br />Now I really wanted to go creative and have a fun artistic feel to this shot. So I turned to my FAV textures and the ONLY ones I use now...Florabella Textures. I now apply textures the EASY way. File>Place...find the texture and it brings it in as a Smart Object, brings the name of the action on the layer with it and adds the Transform tool so all you have to do is stretch it and hit enter! Wish I'd tried this method so much sooner. So first I added Ethereal b/w and lowered the opacity to 30%. I use this opacity for textures a lot! Then I played with each blend mode til I found the one I liked which was Overlay. Then I added Mai Tai b/w and lowered the opacity down to 30% and blend mode Soft Light. Then finally I added French Canvas at 30% blend mode Multiply because this texture is pretty light and I didn't want to wash out the feel of the photo. I like to group my textures in a folder too so I can turn it on/off and see how they are all effecting the photo. Sometimes if I know my opacity for each texture will be the same then I'll just change blend modes on each layer then lower the opacity of the entire folder to about 30%. It will put each texture at 30% opacity...<br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2794/4330865160_4cda72baac_o.jpg" /><br /><br />Then I flattened and ran my L USM at 70%. So here is the before and after side by side...<br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4011/4330130921_7ed8d67622_o.jpg" /><br />Here is another example. This is my little Avyree aka Nugget. I love this photo. She seems to peaceful and sweet. So to fit the mood of the photo I knew I wanted a soft light sweet pastel type edit.<br /><br />Here is the before...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2692/4331061394_0b55767c5c_o.jpg" /><br /><br />And here is the final edit...<br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2620/4331062112_898f1261e4_o.jpg" /><br /><br />I only did one screenshot for this one. I ran Lily Blue "Sweet Water" which is one of my fav actions. I love her actions so much rarely do I mess with the actual layers, just the folder opacity. I brought it down to 30%. Then I ran my much used MZ XP Soft and lowered the folder opacity to 75%. This is one of my actions that I actually use on a regular basis. I love this action and it's one of my favs. I shared this action here on the blog. Then I used a one layer action to top it off that I use a LOT too and LOVE. Child's Play "Pastel Wash". I LOVE this action so much that I run it on top of so many different actions and recipes. I almost always lower the opacity. But I love the tones of this action. And then I flattened and ran my L USM at 60%. That's it...3 actions from 3 different makers to get a unique look that fits my style and the mood of the shot.<br /><br />Here's the screenshot and what my folders looked like...<br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2730/4331061736_30ab30c42e_o.jpg" /><br /><br />And the before after. Probably should've made this a bit smaller...<br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2677/4331062808_d411b73375_o.jpg" /><br /><br />Now finally my last example is my sweet Haylee. I thought I'd show you how you can use action recipes for b/w's too.<br /><br />Here is the before which I printed in color. This is one of my all time FAV shots of her that I took at sunset with my EF 100mm 2.8 Macro. I wanted to have a play with it in b/w...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2771/4331119206_5273498f17_o.jpg" /><br /><br />I didn't do any screenshots for this one because I flattened a lot in the process. But for this shot my main concern was keeping detail. I knew that I didn't want to go too light and washy because I'd start to loose detail. Her freckles were especially important to me in this shot. So I knew it would be a darker richer b/w but I really wanted a fun tonal range as well.<br /><br />So here is the after and below it I'll go over the actions I used...<br /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2746/4331119598_fb6daf7532_o.jpg" /><br /><br />The first thing I did was run my "Quick & Easy B/w". Which is basically just a gradient map, dodge/burn layer, and a lighten layer. This action does duplicate the photo layer, change the blend mode to Soft Light 30%, flatten and run the layers that you can see. So with the Soft Light blend mode already there, it gave it the perfect contrast it needed. I turned off the Dodge/Burn layer as well. So basically dup layer, soft light 30% and a gradient map over the before. Then I use Florabella B/W Espresso Tint and put the layer opacity at 30%. Now onto Lily Blue Cherry Tone and put the layer opacity at 35%. I was happy with where it was going but I wanted a slight pastel type lift. So I ran my trusty MZ XP Soft. Told you I use it a lot. I started off by turning off the b/w layer or it would cover the 2 tints I already added. I then lowered the opacity of the XP Soft layer to 20%, turned the Blue Soft layer off and changed the opacity of the Cream layer to 20% as well. I then ran MCP Touch of Light/Dark and lightened the eyes just a tad with a very low brush opacity. I don't like to go too light on eyes because the lighter you go the more detail you loose. And for me, the details in the eyes are what it's all about. My girls have crazy detailed eyes so the last thing I want to do is over process them and lose that. Then I used the Dark to lightly go over her freckles with a very low opacity brush {10% brush opacity} to darken the freckles a bit. Then flattened and ran my L USM at 50%. I always run my L USM lighter on b/w's because they tend to look over sharp quicker than a color edit.<br /><br />So here is the before and after side by side...<br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2692/4330385675_4891153fb1_o.jpg" /><br />So..these edits may not be for you. But it shows you how you can really change it up and make each image you shoot ONE OF A KIND by using that actions panel and the different sets to their fullest. And you also see why it's so important to KNOW your actions inside and out and look at each image as an individual. Look at the image, find what's important to you to convey with that image then go to those actions in your panel that will give you the look/mood you want to display. Some images and the mood of the image calls for dramatic, urban, darker and others may call for a softer, washy pastel type etc etc. The more you know your actions panel, the better and faster you can create recipes to fit your style! That's the great thing with having a variety of actions! I'm ALL about variety in shooting and PP'ing! :O) It will help you better use them together in fun different ways. I hope this post gets you thinking and gets you combining actions and thinking outside the box. Cause let's be honest..it's MUCH MORE FUN outside the box. At least it is for me! Ha!<br /><br />If you are interested in any of the actions I used I've linked where to buy each...with the exception of my freebies...<br /><br /><a href="http://leahzawadzki.lilyblue.com/">Lily Blue Actions</a> ~ These actions are one of my FAVS. I use them all the time! I LOVE LB! I have her Color One Actions & her Waterplay Actions and they are SO YUMMY! I don't use her presets because I prefer to go creative with layers than in ACR. Her b/w actions are great too! But basically anything she makes/sells I will buy!<br /><br /><a href="http://florabellacollection.blogspot.com/">Florabella</a> ~ I love FB as much as LB. Lol! I've had her 1st set of textures for a long time and after buying them quickly deleted all my free textures. Then I bought all 3 sets of her actions and LOVE them and have also now bought her 2nd set of textures which is just as good as the first, but slightly different. I LOVE FB and will buy all her stuff too!<br /><br /><a href="http://www.petamazey.com/actions/actions.html">Child's Play Actions</a> ~ I don't use this set much with the exception of the Pastel Wash. I use it so much that I have a short key assigned to it! :O)<br /><br /><a href="http://mcpactions.com/blog/">MCP Actions</a> ~ Her Touch of Light/Dark FREE and a great quick way to dodge/burn. I also have this assigned to a short key. I have lots of Jodi's actions and you can't go wrong with any. My FAVs are Bag of Tricks and Blog it Boards.<br /><br />My actions are here on the board on previous pages. So if you haven't downloaded them for free look back and you'll see several different free action shares.<br /><br />Happy Thursday and I hope everyone has a great Friday and weekend! :O)<br /><br /><br /></div>momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-52264464305230193192010-01-05T13:55:00.001-08:002010-01-05T14:25:17.961-08:00Action review....Florabella Actions...<div align="center">I first have to say that I am a HUGE Florabella fan! I have her <a href="http://florabellacollection.blogspot.com/2009/06/blog-post_03.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;">textures</span></a> and they are the only ones I use now! They are gorgeous and can be used thick or light and airy! She is an amazing photographer with a great eye for art! So I knew once she'd announced her <a href="http://florabellacollection.blogspot.com/2009/11/florabella-actions.html"><span style="color:#ff0000;">actions</span></a> that I would buy all three as soon as I could. Well that was this morning and I could not be happier with them! Not surprising tho! I LOVE creative edits and really love the light airy hazy look. So Florabella is right up my alley! But what I love the most about these is you really have full control to make them thick and heavy or just a slight light adjustment! I bought all three & I LOVE these actions and will use them a LOT. The B&W's are amazing too! Worth every penny!<br /><br />So here are some examples that I played with this morning! The images weren't great to start with. They are just snaps of my girls at the park. We went at the time of day where the sun was harsh and due to the tree coverage, the lighting was awful! Florabella to the rescue! :O)<br /><br />I ran all the images through ACR with basic adjustments. I read that these actions run very warm, so I didn't warm them up too much in ACR knowing this in advance. Most of the actions run on the warm sunny side for sure! On any that have her Vignette, I masked at 100% in the center of the image. Then after I was done I ran TRA Boutwell Magic Glasses between 30-40% then my Luminosity USM between 70-85%.<br /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2728/4248548389_64b97da20b_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4050/4249323074_7c596d07c3_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2547/4248547291_0e5e57314e_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4066/4249321922_f89f3b5bce_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2736/4248546143_b432c9b164_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4015/4249320584_f83ce40f61_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4014/4249320012_f15ba04a53_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4002/4248544121_e1c65c8184_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2710/4248543775_2d6f5fa642_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4249318376_bf8b4982f7_o.jpg" /><br />So as you can see, you can run them lightly for a nice subtle edit. And then once you get the hang of them, you can start running more than one action for a fun unique receipe! You can either play with the opacity of the whole folder or you can open it up and adjust the individual layers! So if you are on the fence and you think these actions would suit you style, don't hesitate any longer! I don't think you'll regret this purchase!<br /><br />If you would like to see any of your images with any specific actions run on them, feel free to email me the full size image and tell me what action you'd like to see run on your image and I'd be happy to run it for you so you can see for yourself. Just email me at momaziggy AT yahoo DOT com! It may take me a couple days but I'll email it back to you!<br /><br />Happy New Year! :O) </div>momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-88001691706892870052009-12-17T20:48:00.000-08:002009-12-17T20:59:38.945-08:00Found some GREAT FREE actions....<div align="center">I admit to being an action snob! I have a lot of really good pay actions that cover all my needs. So it's rare that I find a set of free actions that I actually USE! But I was really happy with these actions and wanted to pass them along. They sadly will not work with PSE...sorry!<br /><br />Here is an example of "Portrait Snap, Crackle & Pop". I LOVE the Portrait Snap layer. I rarely push colors because I like soft muted tones and washy type edits. But this is perfect for slightly popping colors in portraits without making the skin go neon and masking like crazy. It's soft, subtle and most important...a CLEAN color pop.<br /><br />A snap of my little Nugget with her Gummy Vitamins stuck on her face. She told me it's her mole! Ha!<br /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2434/4193741271_dbc30ac7b7_o.jpg" /><br /><br />As you can see, it's very soft and subtle. Look at the pink in her PJ's and the mole {lol} and you'll see a very nice clean subtle NON neon pop and her skin still looks great. I ran the action as is and didn't touch a layer, opacity and no masking!<br /><br />So if you want to download them and try them for yourself, just go to <a href="http://catchingsand.wordpress.com/">Catching Sand Photography Blog</a> and download them. Make sure to say Thanks on your way out and I hope you enjoy them! :O)<br /><br />Happy Holidays and thanks for being patient with me and my lack of posting!<br /><br /></div>momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-13079511179000099882009-12-04T11:26:00.000-08:002009-12-04T11:27:57.760-08:00I'm sorry....that I've neglected this blog! It was never my intention. I'm in an editing rut the size of Texas with a spork to dig my way out! Ha! So I've had nothing new and exiciting to share! I keep thinking of things to post but I'm just so blah about editing right now! So please allow me to apologize for not posting in a while! As soon as I have some inspiration again I'll post! Happy Holidays!momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4578702937197158143.post-15422141060786718412009-11-26T15:50:00.000-08:002009-12-04T11:29:24.952-08:00Canon XSi & accessories for sale...<div align="center"><span style="color:#ff0000;">****SOLD****</span></div><div align="center">I've upgraded to the 50D thanks to my dear husband. So I'm ready to sell my XSi and accessories.<br /><br />I'm selling everything for $675.00 and if you don't want the 18-55mm kit lens, I will sell it for $600. I have all boxes and everything that came with all items. I have the date written on each box when I purchased it. I bought the XSi June 30, 2008. Everything is in PERFECT condition. Always stored in my camera bag in a cabinet.<br /><br />Items included are...<br /><br />XSi and Canon battery grip including 2 Canon batteries<br />EF-s 18-55mm lens {optional}<br />Canon RC-1 wireless remote<br />2 8GB Kingstons SDHC cards<br />1 4GB PNY SDHC card<br />1 4GB Kodak SDHC card<br />1 2GB Kodak SD card<br />XSi field guide book by David Busch<br /><br />I won't be parting anything out with the exception if you don't want the kit lens. Everything else will be sold together. Price firm.<br /><br />Here are some pictures I snapped quickly this morning. I did not take pictures of the 5 memory cards, but they will be included.<br /><br /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2660/4137257582_0e98579e0a_o.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2504/4136493709_14aed360e3_o.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2572/4136497693_4fa0a9e356_o.jpg" /><br /><br /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2649/4137259674_439e825fb3_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2588/4136495971_f7a03ee66b_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2716/4137258674_7b8c076059_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2668/4136494117_1ee677cc94_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2735/4136496393_b514bc0432_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2755/4137260908_f5c6e6c5b1_o.jpg" /><br /><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2616/4136497381_e8d8afc4de_o.jpg" /><br />If you are interested please leave me a comment or email me at momaziggy @ yahoo . com. If you are in So Cal we could meet. I will also be putting it up on CL Monday. Everything I've put on CL has sold in the first couple days, so hurry if you are interested. If you email me I can give you my phone number so we can talk over the phone if you'd like.<br /></div>momaziggyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11754623232877560755noreply@blogger.com2