Uber Actions
Photoshop Actions
Here are some general guidelines for using Uber Actions.
It is highly recommended that you always work on a duplicate image and not on your original, especially if your original is not created from a RAW file. We also recommend creating a History Snapshot before running actions and especially with Edge effects so that you can revert the image back to its previous state if you don’t like the changes to the image.
Uber Actions can be used in any sequence, however you may not always get the same results if you run the actions in a different sequence. Some actions like B&W Conversions and Softening create new composite layers based on all the existing layers and sequencing can become very important.
Many of the actions are created using Adjustment layers that provide non-destructive changes to the original image. These Adjustment layers can be altered using the Opacity setting, Layer mask and Blend mode settings to enhance or diminish the effect of the action.
If an action has an (8) after the action name, it will only work on 8 Bit images.
Edge effects having a + sign after the action name enlarge the canvas size resulting in a larger image.
Uber Adjustments can be run in almost any sequence and still have the same effect on the image . You can also turn layers on and off or move them up and down in the layer stack if they aren’t working the way you want them to. All Uber Adjustments work on 16 Bit images.
Black & White Conversions create a new composite layer based on all the layers already existing. So it’s best to do all of your basic adjustments like skin lightening etc. before converting to Black & White. However, each Black & White Conversion method will alter the image in a different way so you may want to see how an image converts to B&W before you alter it too much. All Black & White Conversions work on 16 Bit images except for the Infrared conversions.
Black & White Tones can be used in any sequence and combined together for even cooler effects. They also work great to alter color images. All B&W Tones work on 16 bBit images.
Color Tones can be used in any sequence and varying the sequence will change the overall effect. All can be used on 16 Bit images.
Edge Actions – usually these are the last actions you will run on your image. If an action has a + sign after the name then it will enlarges the canvas size resulting in a larger image. Sometimes it will be necessary to run a toning effect after an edge effect. An (8) means the action can only be run on 8 Bit images.
Uber Grain effects can be applied anytime with varying results. All grain effects work on 16 Bit images except for those using the PS (Photoshop) grain filter.
Softening Actions are generally used towards the end image manipulation. All softening effects create a new composite layer based on all existing layers. All can be used on 16 Bit images.
