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Black and White film Lightroom presets

Neil April 14th, 2009

Black and White film Lightroom presets

A set of three Black and White Lightroom presets to mimic film Contrast management techniques to mimic the tonal response of black and white films

Click to download other free photoshop actions and textures

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Action download , Lightroom , Lightroom Preset , contrast

Vintage Soft Color Photoshop Action

Neil March 16th, 2009

Vintage Soft Color Photoshop Action

The vintage soft color action will gently desaturate your image with a soft chocolate antique shadows. Expect a slightly darker mid-tone from the results. The desaturation method used is not like desaturation slider as it does not operate equally across the spectrum of colors. Great style for any photo subject. Action operates in LAB color mode.

Read on for more examples

Vintage Soft Color Photoshop Action Example image

Vintage Multiple Choice Photoshop Action Set

Neil February 27th, 2009

The Vintage Multiple Choice action produces 11 layers for you to blend into your vintage style.

The action does not produce automatic results, it’s up to you to finesse the options - but it’s results have an authentic antique, vintage and aged print look.

Who is this action for?

Intermediate to Advanced Photoshop users looking for a starting point for authentic, malleable vintage effects.

How does this action work?

The action produces 11 layers for you to blend and interact with giving you 285311670611 possible combinations for your photo styling pleasure! You can use the layer masks and layer blending modes to reach the creative potential of your images. The action set is a palette of paints for you to finesse into your masterpiece, it is not a shortcut but a workflow. If you are really interested in the vintage look, you’ll want to distress the image in custom ways so that it looks aged differently on different parts of the photo.

Here is a series of screenshots of the eleven example layers - first is the original image for reference as you see the changes:

^ original image - return for comparisions ^

The soft light smoothing layer is a basic retouch method that nearly everyone’s familiar with, it’s at the bottom.

The Simple Vintage B+W layer is one of 6 custom curve layers operating in the LAB color space. You can quickly paint in a little black into your layer mask to provide a variably aged look.

The reddened antique curve layer complements the green layer below it - if you are hoping to provide a vintage color look, the emulsions of prints tend to fade either red or green - you can custom mix them by local area or overall tonality (see green layer).

The funktifier green layer has a tone-map auto loaded. A tone map is a layer mask that uses the same lightness values as the image, providing a green tone to the shadows of the image. You can alter your tone map with a curve, or you can alter the curve adjustment layer to alter the hue or saturation of the green.

Muted and bleached Sepia layer which lightens your shadow zones and mutes(darkens) your highlights to a ruddy sepia color. This is your basic faded sepia look that you can dial in and customize for your image. Double click the curve adjustment layer to open it and operate with the surgical artistic destiny of your intuition.

Lens Leak layer 1 - Pay attention here folks, this is a trick to mimic the light leaks on film from old or leaky bellows. It takes into consideration your image as it builds the effect.

Light Leak option 2 - a stronger effect of the light leak - blend it into your image for that variable look that the years of aging produce.

Bleached shadows color layer - this layer mimics a light bleaching of the print, a delicate darkroom process that would take you a few months to master if you were doing this 10 years ago. It’s also an effect of the aging emulsion, so build up your taste for the effects of aging by looking at plenty of old pictures. Good taste makes good pictures - not actions.

Basic low color desaturation layer.

Grain texture layer.

Vintage texture layer @100% - mix in to taste - this is an auto generated texture, so I suggest a light hand. Custom textures are included in the Vintage Master package.

Here’s the results of my custom vintage processing of these two example images

My creative intentions were to capitalize on the dramatic eye contact and the sparkle of that ROCK. To do so, I went completely black in the shadows, but kept them a warm, chocolaty black, the major desaturation is matched with a slight warm highlight hue - making the overall image nearly a duotone - one highlight value, and one shadow value. I worked to channel the feminine power in the gaze, into the tonality and impression of the entire image.

Completely opposite in tone and intention, I felt the feminine grace of this pose and chose to follow that direction in my retouching. Whereas the ring shot was sharpened by an increase in contrast this image was softened by gaussian blur and custom texture overlay from the Beautiful Blurs Volume 2. I used the blur to focus attention on the back of the dress and hairpiece. Overall this image never gets to completely black, and the highlights buzz with a soft lightening texture.

I hope this discussion is valuable to you as you seek to find the expression in your images.

PROJECT: Open Source Action project

Neil January 7th, 2009

PROJECT: Action and Preset Extravaganza by the Epic Edits weblog

THE REQUIREMENTS

If you’re planning on participating and having a chance at some of the awesome prizes, be sure to read the following requirements very carefully. I’ve provided some useful links to appropriate resources, so don’t overlook them!

CREATE AN ACTION OR PRESET
The first important part of the project is actually creating the action or preset. The choice of software is up to you — whatever you happen to use. The action(s) and/or preset(s) that you choose to create and share are also totally up to you — they could be workflow timesavers, creative tweaks, or whatever else you can dream up. If you’re not familiar with creating these things, you can read up on creating Photoshop actions and Lightroom presets. And the creations must be your own — no swiping somebody else’s work!
MAKE YOUR FILE ACCESSIBLE
This is the hard part, but we’ve got some options for you. You’ll need to upload your action/preset file to the web so others can download it. If you have your own blog or website, this is no problem and you can host the file yourself. Some forums also allow files to be attached to posts. But sites like Flickr don’t allow this, while they do allow you to link to external files. To accommodate those of you with fewer options, Neil has offered to host your project files on his site. You can email him at action@makelightreal.com with your file. He’ll upload it to his server and send you the URL so you can link to it in step 3.
WRITE ABOUT YOUR CREATION
Once you’ve created your tool and made it accessible to others, you’ll have to write about it. There are many forms of self-publication, so don’t be intimidated. You should tell us what the action/preset does, how it works, and any special instructions for using it. You should also link out to your file from step 2 so others (including me) can download it and use it.
SUBMIT YOUR LINK AT EPIC EDITS
When your written post is complete (with the link to your action/preset), fill out the form at this link. Just plug in your name, the location of your write-up from step 3, and your email address so I can contact you if needed.

THE PRIZES:

1ST PLACE: LIGHTSPEED WORKFLOW PACKAGE
Valued at $290, this prize includes a Nostromo n52 left-hand keypad, “ONE” Lightroom/ACR preset, “ONE” Photoshop Action, and tutorials. This is an awesome package! This winner will also receive a $39 credit to use toward any additional items from Neil.
2ND PLACE: PHOTOSHOP LIGHT REAL VIRTUAL COURSE
Valued at $250, this prize includes the “ONE ACTION” workflow scripts plus a 4 hour training course covering the workflow scripts and working in LAB color space. This winner will also receive a $39 credit to use toward any additional items from Neil.
3RD PLACE: ONE ACTION AND GOLDEN TOUCH PACKAGES
Valued at $79 and $49, respectively, this prize includes the “ONE ACTION” scripts and presets for Photoshop and Lightroom, plus extra training materials along with additional Photoshop actions and 30 textures. This winner will also receive a $39 credit to use toward any additional items from Neil.
1ST AND 2ND RUNNER UP: $39 CREDIT
The two “honorary mentions” will each receive a $39 credit toward the purchase of any item from Neil’s offerings.
5 RANDOM WINNERS: $39 CREDIT
Just to shake things up a bit, we’ll select another 5 random winners to receive the $39 credit toward any item of their choice. So anybody could be a winner, you just have to participate!

So… basically we’re looking at over $1000 in prizes given out to 10 different winners. Not bad!

DEADLINE: JANUARY 12, 2009

Vintage Maker Kit

Neil December 22nd, 2008

Here’s a creative package for all those sepia-tone lovers, steam-punk aficionados, and handmade artists.

Vintage Maker Kit - 5 Postcards + 10 Textures + 2 Actions

A tremendous value to help you achieve a vintage photo style for $39

The vintage look isn’t just a one time thing for you. You’re looking for a classy, fun and witty theme to bring into your work to astonish your clients. The Vintage Maker Kit is 5 postcard backs, 10 texture files to add a worn and antique feel to your images, and 2 photoshop toning actions that will creatively alter your photographs to achieve the tonal balance of an image faded and worn by years of love and appreciation. Postcards are 2400 pixels on longest side. Available for immediate download upon purchase.

Make your sky blue

Neil November 29th, 2008

Make Light Real

And if you don’t think a Lightroom preset or photoshop trick can change the lighting in a photo - watch this:

Original Image

Preset #1 - low power

Preset #2 - medium power

Can you see how much more distinct the light coming through the trees is visualized in the photo?

Buy them here:

Blue Skies - Lightroom Preset - to make your photos $9 better!

Video Tutorial on the Color Blue

Video Tutorial on the Color Blue - take your basic understanding of photoshop and push it into the professional level!

Golden Touch Monochrome: free sepia style photoshop action

Neil November 16th, 2008

Golden Touch Monochrome: free sepia style photoshop action

…illuminate your understanding with more…

Blue Skies - Adobe Lightroom Presets

Neil November 5th, 2008

Blue Skies - Lightroom Preset - $9.00 - Buy and download instantly

Have some images from the summer that you’d like to prepare for an upcoming competion?

Get the most out of your blue colors in Adobe Lightroom presets available for immediate download.

Speed up your workflow keeping everything in Lightroom

If you’ve got a really hard image - or just want to stand out from other photographers by actually winning that contest you’re entering - get the deepest knowledge I can give you on manipulating your blue tones: