CoffeeShop Portrait ToolBox 1.0 PSE/Photoshop Action!

UPDATE!  I have a new version of this action (CoffeeShop Portrait ToolBox 2.0) that has a tooth-whitening layer plus a few new enhancements.  If you aren't worried about teeth, this action still works great.

Today I am excited to post my newest action, the CoffeeShop Portrait ToolBox 1.0.  This action should be run on a SOOC (straight-out-of-camera) image that needs basic contrast/color adjustments.  I also wanted to write an action that you could also use on portraits; so it smooths skin, brightens eyes, and adds a vignette.  This is a great action if you want a simple clean edit and can be as subtle/over-the-top as you want.

This action is for advanced beginners/intermediate users of PSE and Photoshop.  You must know how to paint on layer masks to use this action.  When you run this action you won't see any changes on your image UNTIL you turn on layers and paint on layer masks.  This action does not replace any of my retouching actions, but is an additional valuable tool in your action pane.

This action does not add any arty effects, but it allows you to make a "clean" edit and clean up an image.  You could run this action on an image and then run one of my fun creative actions to create your own work of art.

And a special thanks to Amy Mize for allowing me to use her beautiful image in this tutorial.

I wanted to mention I am working on a page where you can see the before/afters of all of my actions.  Click on the image to be directed to the post where you can download the free action.  If you find broken links please leave a comment!

CoffeeShop Portrait ToolBox 1.0 Action Tutorial:

1.  This action should run in PSE7-PSE11 and all versions of Photoshop CS.  Open an unedited image that needs some basic enhancements.

2.  Start the action.  A curves adjustment layer pane will pop-up.   Make initial contrast adjustments if needed and  press OK.

3.  After the action runs your image will look exactly the same (other than the curves adjustment you just adjusted) and you will see 12 layers over your background image.

4. You can start wherever you want, but I will start with skin smoothing in this tutorial.  If you need any skin smoothing then click to select the Skin Smoothing black layer mask and paint over the skin with a 100% opacity soft white brush.  The skin will look like plastic, so lower the opacity where the skin looks smooth but not fake.  And do not soften hair, eyebrows, eyes, nostrils, or the mouth.

5.  There is a levels adjustment layer that you can use to do additional contrast/color adjustments if needed, but I am skipping it on this tutorial.

To do a simple eye pop, select the Eye Pop layer's black mask and paint over the whites/pupils of the eyes with a soft white brush then lower the opacity.  Don't overdo the eyes and make them look scary.  I always dial it down to what looks nice and then move it down a notch more to be safe.  This effect should be very subtle.

6.  If you want to add a vivid color pop, turn on the Vivid Color Pop layer.  I used a soft black 80% opacity brush to remove  most of the color pop from her skin.

7.  Now you can play with the Darken Darks, Brighten Whites, Brighten Everything layers.  Turn them on if needed and adjust the opacities to taste.  You can also paint over the layer mask to remove part of the effect if needed.

8.  Click to turn on the Define layer if you want the dark parts of your image to be slightly sharpened (like the eyes).  This is very subtle but really makes eyes/hair "pop".

9.  If you need to cool down the image (remove reds) or warm it up (remove greens/add reds) then turn on Cool It Down or Warm It Up.  In this image I found the vivid color pop was too red, so I turned on the Cool It Down layer and lowered the opacity under 50%.  There are layer masks on these layers, so you could add warmth/coolness to your background and then paint it off skin.

10. If you want to add a vignette, turn on the Vignette layer.  The image might look blown-out in the middle as seen in this image.  Don't worry, you are going to fix that.

If your portrait is blown-out, click on the Vignette layer mask and use a soft 100% opacity black brush and paint over the center of your image.  This really makes your portrait "pop".  Adjust the opacity to taste.

11.  I added a bonus B&W layer. Turn this one and play with the contrast layers (Vignette, Brighten Whites, Darken Darks, Brightens Everything, Define, and the Levels 1) until you have the perfect B&W image.  This type of B&W conversion gives you so much control and allows you to quickly get a B&W and color version of the same image.

That is it!  I hope you enjoy playing with this new action. If you have any suggestions for future actions, please leave a comment.  I am always looking for new inspiration.

Download the CoffeeShop Portrait ToolBox 1.0 action. You can also download it here.

Do you want to download my favorite CoffeeShop Actions (bonus for PSE11 & Photoshop CS users, you can load all of the actions in one grouped set!) or Design Elements in one convenient zipped file AND help support this blog? Just click here for my action pack or here for a download of some of my most popular design elements, storyboards, and textures.

For complete info on installing all of my actions, click here.