When I started scrapbooking, I didn't even own a camera. Since that time, I've learned so much about photography, and I think I've finally started figuring out my own style as well -- this journey has been so similar to my scrapbooking journey, probably because they've really evolved hand in hand. One of the keys to really developing my photography skills was building a set of tools to use on my photos. I'll admit it, I like to do a lot of post-processing on my photos. I enjoy that aspect of the process. So while I'm still working on improving my processing skills, I'll never give up my love of a good action or frame or other Photoshop tool. This 10 on Tuesday, then, brings you a list of my favorite post-processing tools. Enjoy!
1. Pioneer Woman's actions
Not only are these actions FREE, but they were developed with the help of Doug Boutwell, maker of Totally Rad Actions (which I think are gorgeous but beyond my budget at this point). Ree has a number of actions that I love -- particularly the Seventies action and the Warmer action -- but all of them are fantastic. The photo below uses the Heartland action. That's it. Just one action. Love it.
2. Leora's Color Overlays
These are simply colored textured overlays; place them on top of your photo and then adjust the opacity or blend mode to your liking. One of my favorite things to do is to take a black and white photo and then add a touch of color back to it, almost like a wash of color across the image. It can create a really evocative look. I've used a rich yellow on the shot below, which gives it more of a sepia look; the color overlays can be really striking on color photos too.
3. Liz's Viewfinder Frames
There are so many incredible tricks and techniques that are possible with digital photography. As my interest has grown, so has my collection of vintage cameras. I have a couple of twin lens reflex cameras that I'd love to make a TTV contraption for; until then, I can fake the look with these frames (set 1, set 2, and set 3).
4. CoffeeShop Vintage Clipping Masks
This website is a great resource; not only does it contain numerous tutorials, actions, textures, and storyboards, but much of the content is created to work with PSE -- that's great if you're just getting started with photo editing or any kind of post-processing work. I love these vintage clipping masks in particular.
5. Leora's Sun Flare and Bokeh Overlays
Sun flare is one of the things I love about photography -- I think it adds so much mood and emotion to a photograph. These overlays take some tinkering, but it's fun tinkering -- the kind that could find me at the computer two hours later after claiming "I'll only be a minute!
6. Paislee Press DIY 2010 Calendar and Month Stamps
I spent hours on Etsy, poring over calendars for 2010, trying to figure out which one I liked the most. Then Liz sent me an email, letting me know this product was available and that was the end of my searching. Now a different kind of searching begins -- finding my favorite photos to add to this calendar so I can get it printed and displayed -- hopefully before February arrives!
7. Danielle's worn photo overlays
I only own one or two sets of these, but Danielle has an entire line of worn photo overlays. I love how they can immediately give a sense of depth and dimension to a flat image; with the proper shadowing, these look great printed out.
8. Emily Powers' Photology line of textures and overlays
These are, by far, my favorite overlays and textures. I've used these on so many photo sets: my San Francisco sets, the family photos I've done, my Shakertown photos. And I get gorgeous results every.single.time.
9. Emily Powers' Storyboards
More and more, I love the look of a vibrant photo against a minimalist white background. Emily has taken all the guesswork out of photo layout with these storyboards. They're sized 20x20 but can easily be adjusted for smaller layouts. You could combine them into an 8x8 mini album quite easily, I think.
10. Liz's Off to Press photo book templates
These haven't been released to her shop yet, but they're coming soon. Liz took her blurb book and created templates so you could replicate this idea yourself -- the pages are simple and gorgeous. I can't wait to scrap my San Fran trip and my Washington DC trip. I ended up with so many great shots that trying to scrap them traditionally was just overwhelming. I can't wait to have them all in one book together. Here's a sample spread from a book I'm doing about my Shaker Village visit as well.
