Are "Actions" a cop out?

[pony]

Or are they ever a reasonable tool?
I was asking a couple friends of mine for photoshop help and both pointed me towards Actions saying that they do the bulk of the work and then you adjust them to suit your needs.
I don't do PP because I just don't know how. I can use the spot healing brush and I know how to "pop" eyes...but aside from cropping and rotating and simple stuff like that I really am pretty lost.
I would love to actually learn it, but seems that everyone I have asked for help doesn;t actually know a whole lot more than just where to buy good actions. And if I am going to get the same (or similar) end result I would if I truly learned PP then it is tempting

So, what are your opinions? Is there such a thing as a good set of actions?

If it makes any difference, I shoot all natural light portraits. Babies-90yrs

 

[RockstarPhotography]

I make all my own actions (mostly). Cuts down on work flow.

 

[Overread36]

Actions are just a way of automating set steps in editing as a way of speeding up the process. This is good if you've a set series of adjustments that you make to photos each and every time and don't want to have to go through every menu each time to get the general work done. This is really great if you're a studio photographer where you can ensure similar lighting, light values etc.. on set scenes in your shoots (making it easier to automate the editing stage a little).

As for learning editing you might find the following two sites give you some good grounding:

Ron Bigelow Photography Articles
Cambridge in Colour - Photography Tutorials & Learning Community

 

[Rekd]

Yeah sure, it's a cop-out. Just like using a skill-saw is a cop-out for a carpenter building a house.

 

[Geaux]

I think he's asking if using downloaded presets already done by someone else is a cop out. I often get the same feeling when using some. I never use the action for what its intended for though, I change things around so much lol.

 

[digital flower]

I don't use actions for PP but have a few for resizing/watermarking etc. They save a lot of time.

I know how to "pop" eyes

That sounds kind of gross

 

[pony]

I think he's asking if using downloaded presets already done by someone else is a cop out. I often get the same feeling when using some. I never use the action for what its intended for though, I change things around so much lol.

She

But yes, if I could make my own I would use them to save time for sure. I cannot make my own though and got some "Pure Actions" free ones that I was playing with.
I did have to adjust a lot, but some came out pretty OK....and kind of had the look I would have been going for if I actually knew how to use PS.

I guess I just didn't know if it was generally considered lame to use them. Or, because my eye is not good for looking at PPd photos, if the ones with preset actions looked bad as a rule.
I let my 4 year old play with pictures in picnik...she's 4 so obviously no pro...but I feel like I can "see" photos that people have picnik'd. Like "Oh, that's ortonish!".
They don't look like they were PP'd manually. Does that make sense? Do more involved actions have that look to someone who actually knows how to use PS.
I want to learn...so is using an action going to make it hard for me to see what actually looks good, and is it going to make for me developing bad habits because I get used to seeing the result of an action (which may or may not look "good")

 

[altitude604]

Actions are just another tool available to you.

Choose the right tool for the job!

 

[KmH]

Actions you use that are recorded by someone else, make edits that are their interpretation, not yours.

If you don't mind just copying someone else's style or interpretation, go for it.

 

[silentanathema]

One of the more popular photographers in my area recomends using actions and talks about using them on his own photos, I don't feel just because you are using sombody elses actions it means its "their interpretation". You are the one mixing and matching diffrent actions and layers to get your desired effect. Thats just my opinion though.

 

[kasperjd4]

I just started an apprenticeship with a photographer, she made all her own actions and uses them if she sees fit. I've never used them until now, so I say use them!

 

[SrBiscuit]

I use LR presets all the time...but then I tweak them to get the pics where I want them.
So I think using them as a jump-off point is fine. That's just me though.

 

[g-fi]

There are tons of actions for speeding up your workflow, I can't imagine how using an action to resize or crop or adjust levels is putting someone else's interpretation on your pictures. But, to each their own. I'm all in favor of actions, or anything else that streamlines my pp routine. The Kubota action sets and the CoffeeCup action sets have cut my time spent in PS in half, easily. I think you'd be cheating yourself not to learn some PS basics, how to best utilize layer masks, etc. but why not check out some of the free action sets out there and see for yourself what you think?

 

[Rekd]

I think he's asking if using downloaded presets already done by someone else is a cop out. I often get the same feeling when using some. I never use the action for what its intended for though, I change things around so much lol.

I understand. Hence the reason I didn't say "just like it's a cop-out to build a skill-saw to use to build a house".

Bottom line is, we ALL use tools designed by others in just about everything we do. I wouldn't worry about what anyone thinks about using other people's Actions, unless of course the actions were not free and you stole them.

 

[c.cloudwalker]

Actions you use that are recorded by someone else, make edits that are their interpretation, not yours.

If you don't mind just copying someone else's style or interpretation, go for it.

Does that mean you would invent a new language if you wanted to write a book? I mean, english words have been used in pretty much all possible combinations by now...


To the OP: I couldn't care less what you do to get to the final image. I am way more interested in what your image tells me, how it moves me, etc than the technical part. Do whatever you want to do.

And if I ever ask you how you got top this or that result it will be because I may want to use your technique.