Amazing Detail Action

I have been working on a few methods to enhance skin tonality - and created a few actions that deal with providing extra Contrast in Shadows and Highlights as well as bringing out details in images - both portrait and landscape.

This easy "Amazing Detail" effect, was something I picked up on a few different websites (including Calvyn Hollywoood), and I created an action to make it easy to apply to any image without going through the steps each time.


Here it is applied to a face



I have included 5 actions in this set:

Boost Highlights
Boost Shadows
Boost Contrast
Burn & Dodge Layer (use a brush with black or white paint on the mask)
Amazing Details


Download RobsGrit Action Set - http://robertwatcher.com/rsw_public/RobsGrit.atn



Have Fun

Rob

Robert Watcher said:

I have been working on a few methods to enhance skin tonality - and created a few actions that deal with providing extra Contrast in Shadows and Highlights as well as bringing out details in images - both portrait and landscape.

This easy "Amazing Detail" effect, was something I picked up on a few different websites (including Calvyn Hollywoood), and I created an action to make it easy to apply to any image without going through the steps each time.

Click to expand...

Here it is applied to a face

To help out a bit for those who are wondering how to make use of this action set.

To install Photoshop actions : First you go to your Actions Pallette in Photoshop > and click on the small button on the top right side > once the menu opens, click on Load Actions > select the downloaded action set file from your computer (RobsGrit.atn) and it will install. Once you open the RobsGrit Action Set Folder in the pallette by clicking on that name > select the specific action that you want to apply > click on Play at the bottom center of the actions pallette (presuming that you have an image file open)



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With the Awesome Details action - you can adjust the effect by playing with the Surface Blur settings being that the layer that it is applied to is a Smart Object. You can just double click on the word "Surface Blur" to adjust the sharpening to taste (yes Blur sharpens when the layer is inverted - cool heh).

The Dodge & Burn Layer action applies a new layer mask that is filled with 50% gray. By setting your brush to a low Opacity or Flow (I prefer to use Flow) you can paint over the mask with white paint to dodge different areas, and black paint to burn in different areas. It is just a really really simply way to dodge and burn using a brush. Fast too as you learn to press Ctrl X to swap the color samples back and forth between black and white.

The Boost Contrast action is actually a somewhat similar effect to Awesome Details - but there are no real controls to change with it.

The Boost Highlights and Boost Shadows actions are simply Curves Adjustment Layers. You can click on the layer and move the relevant curves section up and down to taste. I actually have a lot of actions such as these that I have recorded, which are just single steps that could be done without an action - - - but it is just so much quicker using an action and not having to remember the specific setting that I want to use.


Have fun
Rob