Littlelusker Actions

they look nice and very really reasonable too.
 
$85 dollars for something you could do yourself by a little research into Lightroom or photoshop's features?

No thanks :)

Using other people's actions teaches you nothing... and also... can you REALLY attribute your finished images to your own skill? Surely if you use a action, the author of the action actually post processed your image for you.

I'm not cool with that.
 
Pookeyhead said:
$85 dollars for something you could do yourself by a little research into Lightroom or photoshop's features?

No thanks :)

Using other people's actions teaches you nothing... and also... can you REALLY attribute your finished images to your own skill? Surely if you use a action, the author of the action actually post processed your image for you.

I'm not cool with that.
Click to expand...

i see Actions/presets as just another tool to get you where you want to be. They act as a starting point to then add your own stamp to the image.

If there is an action that gets you almost there, why reinvent the wheel? I would rather spend time shooting, learning lighting than creating actions / presets.
If you use them blindly with no thought to how the image would feel,then yes, there is a fine line bewteen your work and someone elses.
Plenty of photographers use re touchers. This isnt greatly different.
 
Why? Because post processing is equally important as a skill, and relying on others to do the work is akin to letting them also take your light readings, or composing the shot for you. It just is.

We're not talking about plug-ins here.. like Silver Efex, that while they have presets, also offer full manual control.. these are actions... click and go. You CAN go into the actions pallet and reverse engineer them, but if you're going to do that, why not just create your own actions.. it's not particularly difficult.
 
Pookeyhead said:
Why? Because post processing is equally important as a skill, and relying on others to do the work is akin to letting them also take your light readings, or composing the shot for you. It just is.

We're not talking about plug-ins here.. like Silver Efex, that while they have presets, also offer full manual control.. these are actions... click and go. You CAN go into the actions pallet and reverse engineer them, but if you're going to do that, why not just create your own actions.. it's not particularly difficult.
Click to expand...

Absolutley not. somebody could take my lightreadings for me...under instruction as to what im trying to achieve ie i give them ISO, aperture ' now stand over there and hit click..what speed do i need?' Whats the issue in that. saves me walking backwards and forwards!

I use lightroom presets that i have made myself and some that i have downloaded, tweaked and saved as my own. Again, whats the issue. Its nothing like letting someone compose a scene.

I look at a scene / image and know how i want it to look in PP. Sometimes an action or preset will match, almost, to what i want then i adjust accordingly. Sometimes nothing is close and i have to start at the very begining.

There is no right or wrong, just personal preferance and if something helps to cut down on workflow then great. Doesnt mean i have sold my soul to the preset devil.

I guess actions are a bit more final than lightroom presets as with presets its really easy to adjust sliders and see the results.

Lets agree to disagree :thumbs:
 
If you're going to adjust them yourself... just make your own.. why pay $85 and then just create your own from them? Just create your own from scratch! LOL


Photographers these days.. bloody lazy.
 
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I mostly agree with Pookeyhead. There is a time and place for presets and actions but creating your own is a huge benefit in terms of learning the art of photography.
 
I haven't tried these but if it works for you go for it. I mostly use my own actions, but I do use some others from time to time to get a certain look, is it letting someone else process your images... no more than letting Mr Canon or Mr Nikon choose the colours feel of the image. The final choice of how it looks is still mine.
 
swanseamale47 said:
I haven't tried these but if it works for you go for it. I mostly use my own actions, but I do use some others from time to time to get a certain look, is it letting someone else process your images... no more than letting Mr Canon or Mr Nikon choose the colours feel of the image. The final choice of how it looks is still mine.
Click to expand...

exactly. I dont understand the argument that you should strt from scratch each time.

As an example, you shoot an image of a girl in a meadow and want a nice summer feel to it. You use an action that gives you some haziness, softer warmer light. You dont like the amount haze so you change to taste. You change few things so that the final image is what you saw / felt at the point of capture.

Thats not lazy, thats sensible. Do i want to spend hours fiddling about with sliders. Not if something gets me where i want to be quicker.

Nothing to do with a photographer being lazy or unskilled. Its still my image, my though process and my take on what i saw / felt that is represented.

I agree if presets are used without thought, or you use them to try and polish a $$$$ tthen i agree that perhaps that not right.

I guess the ultimate answer is 'do what you like and works for you' . Im not here to judge other photographers on their workflow and images and what tey use to get them there.

back to the OP, $85 is Ok I suppose. There are many taht you can get for free and can use as a starter.

I paid $35 for some and they are Ok. But i find they are very specific to the image they are used upon.

JMTPW
 
Pookeyhead said:
If you're going to adjust them yourself... just make your own.. why pay $85 and then just create your own from them? Just create your own from scratch! LOL

Photographers these days.. bloody lazy.
Click to expand...

I can think of a lot of photographers that maximise the time they spend taking photos and want to minimise the amount of time they spend at a computer. Spending some cash to get you close to where you want to be then tweaking so you get exactly what you want sound eminently sensible.

In the good old days we would buy different films for different looks, now I use presets. I don't see one as better than another. Learning a package so you can use it perfectly is an ideal situation but it isn't feasible for everyone.
 
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