Blueprint: Before and After with MCP Fusion Photoshop Actions

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Blueprint: Before and After with MCP Fusion Photoshop Actions

Blueprint: all Photoshop actions shown in this Blueprint are from the MCP Fusion Photoshop action set

Question: I often get asked “How can I effectively edit subjects with darker skin tones?”

My Answer: Edit them the same as you would any other subjects. Pay attention to brightness. Use layer masking as necessary to maintain the integrity of the image. The image below was literally just a few clicks and I did not need to mask anything.

  1. Started with the Summer Camp action (adjusted the Fix Underexposure layer inside One Click Color to 72%, Summer Camp folder left at default of 50%)
  2. Next used the Enclosed vignette action (opacity at 38%)
  3. Then finished with the Define Detail Enhancer (opacity 92%)

tracy-runnels Blueprint: Before and After with MCP Fusion Photoshop Actions Blueprints Photoshop Actions Photoshop Tips

Photo credit: Thank you Tracy Runnels for sending in this adorable photo of these boys.

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  1. Judie Zevack on July 24, 2009 at 9:04 am

    Looks great!!

  2. diana nazareth on July 24, 2009 at 9:05 am

    This is great, thanks! Would you consider doing a tutorial on how to best remove a “background”?

  3. MCP Actions on July 24, 2009 at 9:11 am

    Diana – I have thought about doing a tutorial on it but it can be a complicated process depending on the background and contrasting with the subject. It is something I avoid at almost all costs due to time. The best thing to do is plan ahead in camera. Extractions take a LOT of time unless against a simple backdrop of green screen.There are 3rd party software to help aide in extraction too. But for photoshop, it is a combination of the selection tools to isolate the subject from the background.Jodi

  4. Francisco Leal on July 24, 2009 at 10:02 am

    Wow, how could you mess up with a pic of that little cutie pie? Seriously tho, thanks for sharing your workflow.

  5. Brad Jolly on July 24, 2009 at 10:21 am

    Great edit! Thanks for sharing this info! Takes an otherwise good picture and really makes it stand out.

  6. Jill on July 24, 2009 at 10:28 am

    Thanks Jodi! I LOVE your blueprints!!!

  7. Amy Mann on July 24, 2009 at 11:17 am

    Wonderful, I love the blueprints too! What a difference this made on this pic! Great job.

  8. Flo on July 24, 2009 at 12:48 pm

    WOW! Jodi that sure made a big difference. I love your actions and use them a lot of the time. I think I need to get more LOL….

  9. Cathy on July 24, 2009 at 12:58 pm

    Jodi, when you ran Crackle and Color burst do you run at 100% unless otherwise noted? This turned out beautiful!

  10. Missy Hancock on July 24, 2009 at 1:03 pm

    I LOVE that! I’ve been trying to get that glow look but just didn’t know how to get that. I had a hard time following what you did. Do you happen to have an action that does that?

  11. Perpetua Hollis on July 24, 2009 at 1:49 pm

    Thanks Jodi, thanks for sharing 😉

  12. MCP Actions on July 24, 2009 at 2:41 pm

    Cathy – when I run and do not say a % – I run the default – so not 100% unless that was the default.Missy – the steps are listed with the blueprint – most of it was using actions. But a combination of things lead to the outcome – not just one step.

  13. Rose on July 24, 2009 at 3:48 pm

    I love it. She’s beautiful!!

  14. Silvina on July 24, 2009 at 4:06 pm

    Great blueprint as always…thank you!

  15. Kayla Renckly on July 24, 2009 at 5:04 pm

    I love this! So natural looking and still so beautiful!

  16. Missy Hancock on July 24, 2009 at 5:38 pm

    Thanks, Jodi for answering my comment. I guess I’m a little slow. :)I’m a visual learner, so maybe you could do a tutorial about “the glow” sometime? That is, if you run out of things to teach! Thanks for all your help!

  17. Michele Abel on July 24, 2009 at 5:50 pm

    The blueprints are my favorite……I love to know how to work on a picture using actions, and curves, etc. It also makes me want all the actions you have!!I, too, would love a tutorial on removing the background.Thanks for everything.

  18. Heather Price........vanilla moon on July 24, 2009 at 6:06 pm

    Thankyou,that was a super tutorial,really helpful!

  19. Pam on July 24, 2009 at 7:50 pm

    This blueprint actually helped with with some proofing I was working on today. Thanks for sharing Jodi. I have your Quickie Collection. Is the Quickie Color comparable to the Colorburst in your Workflow? If not, what is the difference?Thanks!

  20. honey on July 24, 2009 at 11:26 pm

    Amazing as usual! Love to see what you use & try it on my own. I would have never thought to run crackle after running colorburst … I usually choose one or the other … you results make me want to try them together! I’m with Diana … would love to see you change the background on video … I learn so much from those tutorials! Thanks for sharing!!!

  21. Life with Kaishon on July 25, 2009 at 1:52 am

    Oh my. What a cutie. Adorable as can be!

  22. kathy on July 25, 2009 at 10:34 am

    Just fabulous! Thank you for your clear explanations – they’re great!

  23. Karen Baetz on July 26, 2009 at 2:05 am

    Hi Jodi, I’ve been dying for this tutorial! I followed until I got to: “Inverted mask. Painted back on the mask with a white brush on the eyes to get rid of the cast.” When I try it on my own photo, nothing happens, but then again I don’t really understand how the mask removes the cast. What causes that hazy cast to begin with? I would looooove one of your videos that shows you actually doing this.PS. Your site is the A #1 site for learning how to improve one’s photos. Thank you!

  24. aimee ferguson on July 26, 2009 at 6:59 am

    beautiful edit jodi!! thanks for another great blueprint!

  25. Ashley Larsen on July 27, 2009 at 3:46 pm

    I second the background extraction tutorial. Maybe something simple for the tutorial that you could easily do?

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