# MCP Newborn Necessities Photoshop Actions worth it?



## rachelrach11

A photographer friend recommended this program and I was curious to see if anyone else has used this and what your opinion was?


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## gsgary

Using programs like thid is making a mockery of photography because we end seeing the same old crap with no individuality


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## kathyt

Once you learn your style of editing you will not any actions.  You best bet is to put that money toward www.lynda.com for a month or two and learn PS and LR inside and out.


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## rachelrach11

gsgary said:
			
		

> Using programs like thid is making a mockery of photography because we end seeing the same old crap with no individuality



It was just curious to if it offered any effects or tools that you wouldn't be able to achieve in photoshop. 

The website doesn't go into much detail. It basically just has before and after examples.


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## rachelrach11

kathythorson said:
			
		

> Once you learn your style of editing you will not any actions.  You best bet is to put that money toward www.lynda.com for a month or two and learn PS and LR inside and out.



Thanks so much! I'd  love to learn more about editing. Will definitely look into it!


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## Derrel

I have not used it, but I recently watched a Creative Live webinar with Doug Gordon, and he uses many Photoshop actions, very similar to these, and it speeds up his workflow quite a bit. It's all about SPEED, and about creating images with differentiation from the way they come out of the camera. I am going to say "Yes," it's worth $150. $150 is three tanks of gas for my car. That's a VERY small expense for something that can radically change your photography. This is not about learning how to do tedious,repetitive Photoshop work on a file-by-file, one-at-a-time basis, using old-fashioned working methods. This is about workflow, and speeding things up,and about burning through images FAST, and efficiently, and not about learning how to carefully hand-work every minute detail. There are many other similar action packs that have been developed by successful people.


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## MLeeK

NO! Don't get sucked into actions and all of those paid gimmicks!!! You'll waste a TON of money and it won't get you anywhere!!! Instead surf YouTube for the information you are seeking. It might waste a day, but it's a WHOLE LOT CHEAPER! 
If you want to invest in  your future in processing buy yourself a month or two of Kelby On-Line or Lynda.com training. MUCH better investment.


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## KmH

rachelrach11 said:


> It was just curious to if it offered any effects or tools that you wouldn't be able to achieve in photoshop.


Actions written for Photoshop can only be written by using Photoshop, and perform steps that Photoshop can already do. All an action is is a recorded sequence of 

Some people buy actions and try to run the action in Elements, and discover the action doesn't work because the action uses a tool or edit that Elements cannot do.

IIRC you have Elements 9 and while Elements can run some actions, Elements doesn't have the capability that would let you write your own.

I have many actions that I recorded for my own use.

You won't learn Ps and Lr inside and out in a month or 2 of watching videos at lynda.com.
Lynda.com is $25 a month, or $250 for a 1 yr subscription. You can join NAPP for $99 a year. Click on *Benefits* to see what $99 gets you - *Photoshop User | Learn Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and Digital Photography | NAPP*


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## kathyt

Derrel said:


> I have not used it, but I recently watched a Creative Live webinar with Doug Gordon, and he uses many Photoshop actions, very similar to these, and it speeds up his workflow quite a bit. It's all about SPEED, and about creating images with differentiation from the way they come out of the camera. I am going to say "Yes," it's worth $150. $150 is three tanks of gas for my car. That's a VERY small expense for something that can radically change your photography. This is not about learning how to do tedious,repetitive Photoshop work on a file-by-file, one-at-a-time basis, using old-fashioned working methods. This is about workflow, and speeding things up,and about burning through images FAST, and efficiently, and not about learning how to carefully hand-work every minute detail. There are many other similar action packs that have been developed by successful people.



Oh Derrel, no you didn't!   Doug Gordon uses actions that speed up his workflow BUT he knows EXACTLY what that action is doing to his image.  That is the key.  If you don't know exactly what the action is doing to your image then you will NEVER have consistency with your images. EVER!  Doug Gordon can do those series of steps in PS forward and backwards in his sleep and most likely created those actions himself.  A new photographer that has not yet developed his or her style yet should stay clear of actions because it will deter them from learning the fundamental steps of editing before jumping into the pot of gold.    P.S. I love Doug Gordon! Huge Fan!


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## rachelrach11

kathythorson said:
			
		

> Oh Derrel, no you didn't!   Doug Gordon uses actions that speed up his workflow BUT he knows EXACTLY what that action is doing to his image.  That is the key.  If you don't know exactly what the action is doing to your image then you will NEVER have consistency with your images. EVER!  Doug Gordon can do those series of steps in PS forward and backwards in his sleep and most likely created those actions himself.  A new photographer that has not yet developed his or her style yet should stay clear of actions because it will deter them from learning the fundamental steps of editing before jumping into the pot of gold.    P.S. I love Doug Gordon! Huge Fan!



That makes sense.... I definitely don't feel comfortable with certain areas in photoshop. The website drew me in by seeing the super soft skin tones, eyelash sharpness etc.....

Ive learned several tools an adjustments but I'm not so great with skin smoothing ( without it looking fake). I tend to leave very distinguishable lines on areas that I've corrected when using lasso ( even after adjusting opacity ). 

Alot to learn !!!!!


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## MLeeK

rachelrach11 said:


> kathythorson said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Oh Derrel, no you didn't!   Doug Gordon uses actions that speed up his workflow BUT he knows EXACTLY what that action is doing to his image.  That is the key.  If you don't know exactly what the action is doing to your image then you will NEVER have consistency with your images. EVER!  Doug Gordon can do those series of steps in PS forward and backwards in his sleep and most likely created those actions himself.  A new photographer that has not yet developed his or her style yet should stay clear of actions because it will deter them from learning the fundamental steps of editing before jumping into the pot of gold.    P.S. I love Doug Gordon! Huge Fan!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> That makes sense.... I definitely don't feel comfortable with certain areas in photoshop. The website drew me in by seeing the super soft skin tones, eyelash sharpness etc.....
> 
> Ive learned several tools an adjustments but I'm not so great with skin smoothing ( without it looking fake). I tend to leave very distinguishable lines on areas that I've corrected when using lasso ( even after adjusting opacity ).
> 
> Alot to learn !!!!!
Click to expand...

Using the lasso tool is part of your problem. 
First make a duplicate copy of the image layer, then soften universally-not just a selected area. Then use the mask to mask it back where you want sharpness Or vice-a-versa. I always put my adjustment layer underneath and then mask where I want softness.


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## Derrel

Lots of resistance to speeding up workflow without learning how to tediously, laboriously waste 10 to 45 minutes per image using manual, outdated methods people learned years ago....must learn everything about everything before moving on to speedy,efficient, workflow-boosting shortcuts...must,must,must!!!

*Must* learn with one light and a reflector...*must* learn photography with *FILM*....*MUST* learn in manual exposure modes ONLY...*MUST earn degree* in English Literature before watching Shakespeare's plays at the Ashland Shakespearean Festival...must direct one full-length Hollywood-produced feature film before offering opinions on movies or screeplays (no Bollywood movies or indie-cinema chit need apply)...must have been opener at the Los Angeles Comedy Club before evaluating stand-up comedians seen on TV...must have written at least ONE best-selling novel before being allowed to say, "That book is good,and it's well-written"...

See where this is going....you *MUST LEARN TO WORK EXACTLY THE WAY EVERY OTHER shooter* has learned...you MUST learn the most mundane chit before using shortcuts!!! MUST COOK all food from raw ingredients grown in back-yard garden,...otherwise you are a weenie and a wanna-be! Must raise, then must kill own beef and slaughter it, then cut and wrap it before enjoying steaks...*must...must...must!!!

There is only one, true path. We all know this. There is ONLY ONE WAY to arrive at good photos.*


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## kathyt

Derrel said:


> Lots of resistance to speeding up workflow without learning how to tediously, laboriously waste 10 to 45 minutes per image using manual, outdated methods people learned years ago....must learn everything about everything before moving on to speedy,efficient, workflow-boosting shortcuts...must,must,must!!!
> 
> *Must* learn with one light and a reflector...*must* learn photography with *FILM*....*MUST* learn in manual exposure modes ONLY...*MUST earn degree* in English Literature before watching Shakespeare's plays at the Ashland Shakespearean Festival...must direct one full-length Hollywood-produced feature film before offering opinions on movies or screeplays (no Bollywood movies or indie-cinema chit need apply)...must have been opener at the Los Angeles Comedy Club before evaluating stand-up comedians seen on TV...must have written at least ONE best-selling novel before being allowed to say, "That book is good,and it's well-written"...
> 
> See where this is going....you *MUST LEARN TO WORK EXACTLY THE WAY EVERY OTHER shooter* has learned...you MUST learn the most mundane chit before using shortcuts!!! MUST COOK all food from raw ingredients grown in back-yard garden,...otherwise you are a weenie and a wanna-be! Must raise, then must kill own beef and slaughter it, then cut and wrap it before enjoying steaks...*must...must...must!!!
> 
> There is only one, true path. We all know this. There is ONLY ONE WAY to arrive at good photos.*



I hate editing, I mean I HATE editing!  I spend about 1 hour on a typical client session from start to finish in LR.  My point was when "starting out" actions are not a good thing because you have no clue what they are doing to your images.  Plus, when you are JSO your images are so all over the place actions are just going to mask those issues.  It is like having a pile of crap and spraying Lysol directly on the crap instead of cleaning it up first and then spraying Lysol.  Once you have an efficient workflow established and your own style defined then by all means shortcuts can be a life saver.  
I am an ER nurse.  I can be armed with all of the latest trinkets, gadgets and crash carts but if I don't have all of the knowledge and experience behind that, I might as well go and sit in the break room and eat my twinkies because I am no good to anyone else.  P.S. most of my baked goods come from a box mix.  Don't tell anyone please.


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## Derrel

A person MUST KNOW and FULLY understand the full,complete, and total workings of an internal combustion engine in order to be a good driver. 

Until you know exactly how each and every aspect of the engine works, you will not be a good driver. Unless you have ALL of the knowledge and experience that a fully-certified NASCAR engine mechanic has, you will be a chit driver. A wanna'-be.

There is only one way to become a good shooter. You must learn EVERYTHING first.


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## MLeeK

I am all about speed too, but actions are not really the answer-until you know what they do, like Kathy said. 
The MCP set isn't really all that bad and if you want something to start with and reverse engineer, go for it. I have actions for almost every processing I do. I have made them myself and I know exactly what they do and exactly what to tweak, mask or change the opacity on to get MY look, my consistent processing. 

The images in this post were skin softened: 





MLeeK said:


> Some adjustments made. No, Derrel... I haven't  gotten to the Hole From Another Planet... Later... when I have time!




I may have worked on each one for about 2 minutes. The most of that time was waiting for the smart objects to re-load between adjustments. My technique is to do a form of double processing for skin softening. 
I open the raw image and process in ACR, open that to PS as a smart object.
Create a new smart object via copy
Take the bottom smart object back to ACR by double clicking on it.
Apply my preset for skin smoothing.  That preset removes all sharpening on the image, reduces clarity and bumps up the noise removal sliders. If there is problem skin I may adjust the luminosity on the reds, oranges and magentas and I also may adjust the saturation on those colors. 
Click done to go back to PS
Quickly mask back the skin with a soft brush leaving the eyes, mouth and nose lines sharp. 
Apply my final processing action which flattens, pops, saves, resizes for web, sharpens for web and saves in my web folder then closes the image.


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## rachelrach11

Thanks y'all. This is the reason why I always come to this forum before venturing elsewhere. 

I was just under the impression that the actions would pretty much do the same adjustments that I would do ( if I knew 100% completely what I was doing) when editing a newborn. For example , instead of tweaking exposure, contrast and adjusting sharpness in a certain area, I would do one adjustment instead of all 3......???

Ive become pretty familiar with the "basics". However , I cant say that I would be the person to come to with a question when it comes to layers, layer adjustments and masks. I'm very guilty of  immediately trying to fix a problem area with lasso......


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## MLeeK

Your assumption is right, kind of. It doesn't see individual areas and adjust them, it's adjusts universally. 
You REALLY need to learn to use layers. MANY MANY benefits of layers
1. if you screw something up, you just delete the layer. 
2. if you did a local adjustment like you're doing with the lasso you can blend it so that you aren't having those harsh lines
3. You can adjust the opacity of the layers-if you did something you find is too heavy you can reduce it just by sliding the opacity slider. 
4. You aren't altering the base image and if the client doesn't like something in particular? you just remove that layer. 
And about a dozen or more benefits that aren't listed. 
YouTube has SO many free tutorials as does AdobeTv. They only take time. I know sometimes that's a premium, but if you can bite off a little here and a little there your abilities will far surpass that of any action.


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## runnah

I love the actions and image processor function, but I use them to quickly re-size photos I use for time lapse and for web publication. Since each photo is unique it's hard to apply any sort of adjustments on them in large numbers.


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