Textures, Actions & Presets » Elizabeth Halford Photography {the blog}

Category Archives: Textures, Actions & Presets

Testing testing 123 – Actions & Presets RAW vs JPG

February 18, 2011 Posted in Textures, Actions & Presets

Q. “You mentioned running actions on RAW files, I think I must be missing a trick here as I shoot in RAW (& mostly process in LR) but would convert to JPEG before running an action. Does it really make a lot of difference running an action in RAW rather than JPEG?” A. Well…yes and...

6 comments

grace - February 18, 2011 - 8:09 pm

have just left a comment but it was on a post from about a year ago so not sure if you will read it, have just spent ages enjoying your images and learning so much from your very helpful and generous comments. I also love your photos of Elbrie (who always looks gorgeous anyway but you have captured something so special with those shots, they are amazing in so many ways!) Thank you very much for all your help, I will be back..

Imene - February 19, 2011 - 1:30 pm

I edit my pics in LR then open them in Ps where they are opened as tif files. Do actions run well on tif or am I missing something?

elizabethhalford - February 19, 2011 - 3:57 pm

@Imene: Yes that’s a great way to do it

Shannon - February 19, 2011 - 4:01 pm

I use florabella and mcp actions. I’m beginning to shoot in raw and I’m trying to learn what to do with them after that point. I’ve heard that tiff is better than jpg because it keeps more information. I work in PS5 and I haven’t made the change to LR, I’m just not comfortable with the change yet. I’m more comfortable in PS. Anyway, my question is, have you noticed a difference between running actions on a jpg and a tiff? I’ve been converting my raw images to tiff images and then when I’m all done it ends as a jpg. Am I just wasting a bunch of time with all of these steps? Help!

Thanks so much!

Jan - February 19, 2011 - 4:08 pm

Just wanted to add (for newer LR users) that most presets for RAW images will work on your jpgs as long as you make a few adjustments, usually brightness, exposure and contrast. Those are usually the biggest differences.
So you CAN use them, just make your adjustments.
That’s the nature of presets anyway :)

Wedding Photographer Italy - February 20, 2011 - 7:59 am

As a rule of thumb is to try to work in raw or uncompressed mode as much as possible. I try to export and compress in jpg at least as possible; possibly only once for final image delivery.

Reader Photo Friday – Florabella on a JPG

February 11, 2011 Posted in Before & Afters, Textures, Actions & Presets

It’s been a while since I’ve run a read photo Friday! This was sent in by Holly Murphey and I loved it. The ‘before’ is a beautiful shot and it’s a lot like a photo I would take. Holly sent it as a jpg and I ran Florabella’s ‘rain’ which is a hazy, blue tint...

3 comments

Are you disappointed with presets & actions you’ve downloaded?

February 7, 2011 Posted in Lightroom, Photoshop & Elements, Textures, Actions & Presets

I’ve gotten emails before about people wondering why Lightroom/ACR presets or Photoshop actions aren’t ‘working’ for their photos the way they anticipated. They have seen photos on my website, from friends or the example images shown when purchasing and can’t understand why they’re not getting the same results. There are a few really basic things...

5 comments

Jeannette Herron - February 7, 2011 - 1:29 pm

So true, love me some actions!!

Johannah - February 7, 2011 - 5:47 pm

Thank you so much Elizabeth for helping me =) And the blog is very helpful =) Thanks again =)

charlotte wilson - February 26, 2011 - 8:18 pm

Elizabeth,

You are right on about the actions and presets being a tool that you have to really practice, practice and experiment. When I first looked at the Flora Bella before and after photos using her textures, I thought that I had it made; all I would have to do is lay on this texture and it would look great. Not true. It is good to have some tutorials and there are a lot of generous souls out there, like you, who offer help and support.
thanks!

Yolanda Frost - September 9, 2011 - 8:08 pm

Hi Elizabeth
I just discovered your amazing blog today, so please forgive me if there is a better place for me to post this question. I am starting out on my exciting journey of being a professional photographer and all the help in this blog has been so inspirational.
At the moment my biggest pain is my monitor/editing setup. I can feel my eyes are getting so tired as I am doing the editing on my 15inch laptop. Can you perhaps discuss this, and your workflow in some detail. I find I spend about 8 hours on 20 images! Way too long I know. My monitor is currently calibrated, but the light where I work is just so terrible. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Kind regards
Yolanda Frost

Anonymous - September 15, 2011 - 10:32 am

Hi Yolanda! I’m sure my readers will have wonderful advice for you please post this question in my discussions tab on my facebook page –> facebook.com/ehphoto everyone there is super helpful.

I started my business on a 10″ macbook and know what you mean. I currently edit on a 24″ screen which is infinitely better for my eyes but if you don’t have that option, try not editing last thing at night, wearing glasses if you need them and not editing in the pitch black if it presents a problem for you. As for quickening your workflow, I found that using Lightroom did the trick but also learning not to be overly picky about every single image and being brutal about whittling it down to the best of the best to focus on in my editing workflow. But again…post these topics in my discussions panel and you’ll get other points of view on your topics.

B&A {how I shot and edited it}

February 1, 2011 Posted in Taking Pictures, Textures, Actions & Presets

{How I shot it} I was drawn to the line of the fence that went on forever and the path beside it. I knew it would be so interesting in the photo. The afternoon sun was to my right and heavily overcast by clouds. It was only 1* and so Natalie quickly dropped her coat...

5 comments

One Willow’s Newest Presets for Portraits

January 17, 2011 Posted in Textures, Actions & Presets

Many of my readers have been loving One Willow presets as long as I have. The last set, Fairytale, has been a huge hit and I have high hopes for this newest set! What: It’s called The Timeless Collection and it’s made specifically for portraits The promise: They give a ‘subtle yet complete edit for...

2 comments

Some Florabella B&As {and replacing skies}

January 12, 2011 Posted in Textures, Actions & Presets

Some B&As from a recent session. You can find my video for replacing the sky in PS here and PSE here.

no comments

Rockstar Style B&As

January 6, 2011 Posted in Textures, Actions & Presets

Pamela Topping has come out with an exciting new set of PS Actions called ‘Rockstar’. I used them in addition to her iEnhance and Color Castle sets to come up with some pretty rad B&As!

no comments

Two B&As – A sweet little action set

November 15, 2010 Posted in Before & Afters, Textures, Actions & Presets

I found these actions from photographer Pamela Topping and I thought they were just perfect for this photo of my son which was already pretty awesome SOOC. If you don’t like the highly processed look and you just want a simple actions set to sweeten up your tea, these are great! The Color Castle is...

1 comment