The ultimate battle ensues for the top drawer in my toolbox: presets versus actions. What’s the difference and what are the pros and cons according to Elizabeth?

First the basics: Presets are Lightroom’s way of applying many changes to a photo in one click. They can be made by you for a way in which you commonly treat a photo and would like to apply your own recipe in one click. Alternatively, they can be the recipes of other photographers which you purchase from them as .lrtemplate files to import into your lightroom catalogue of presets. Even better, some photographers give their presets away for free! Keep reading for those.

Photoshop’s one-click version are called actions and they work in the same way. Scroll through the effect names, choose one and click. You then see your photograph go through a makeover in a split-second. Again, you can record your own action sequences or buy them as .atn files from other photographers.

I prefer LR presets. I’m a control freak (big time) and I want to have complete, effortless control over every last pixel of my work. I appreciate the foundation that presets can lay in my editing process, but I never click once and move on. I always then play with the sliders to make every last element of my photo exactly what I want it to be. With actions, I feel that I lose control and unless the one click produces exactly what I had in mind (it never does), I don’t prefer to use them. The few times I’ve used actions, they always end up being from Florabella because she makes them work with a variety of layers which you can then tweak. But still, I don’t feel that I have enough control.

So what actions/presets do I love? My first love came from the ‘Lightroom Killer Tips’ website. Matt gives utterly amazing LR tutorials and gives his presets away for free. He even invented a preset extractor program which extracts LR setting from photos on Flickr and that is free as well. Genius! For actions, I use Florabella. She is the love of my textures life and also makes smashing actions. Another place for free actions and presets is CoffeeShop. For presets, my loves are Rebecca Lily and One Willow’s ‘Retro Candy’ presets with delicious names like ‘cotton candy’.

You may have noticed that we’ve shifted things around over in the forum this week. We’ve split up the Share Your Shots section into categories, much like those in Critique. So if you haven’t had a chance, come check out the new sections and share some of your shots.

Weekly Assignment

This week’s assignment was Streets. For the assignment we wanted you to show us a street. Whether it was rural or urban, busy or desolate. Something that shows us a road or street we would want to travel. Our winner this week was mseigafuse’s “Where the rubber meets the sky”. We really liked the overall shot. From the dramatic clouds to the pleasing colours, the shot was just really nicely done. It’s a road I think many of us would like to be driving down with our cameras. Our first runner up was another open road shot, Steph’s “Figueroa Mountains”. Again, the colours were very pleasing in this shot and it was nicely composed. The mountains are just gorgeous. You can imagine taking a road trip up to them. And last, but not least was a more urban street shot, Arabic Collaboration’s “Walking Home”. The shot was nicely composed, the reflections were wonderful, and the black and white treatment really gives it a sense of loneliness. Well done everyone!

This week also marked the start of our assignment on Centered Composition. Often you’re told not to put the subject in the center of the frame, but sometimes putting the subject there can create a very arresting and interesting shot. The assignment this week is to show us a shot where the subject is used in the center with a dramatic effect. Make sure that you’re using this compositional technique to the greatest effect. As usual, a quick overview of the assignment rules. First, your photo needs to be taken between 20 January – 3 February 2010. Second, your post must include the words “Assignment: Centered Composition” and the date the photo was taken. And last, your EXIF should be intact and it’s useful if you can include some of the main points (e.g. shutter speed, aperture, camera, lens, ISO, etc). In February we’re starting a month of themed shots on Food Photography. So the first assignment is Desserts. Make sure you check out magazines and cookbooks for ideas.

Hot Threads

• DPS Forum Competition: Over the next 4 weeks, you can have a chance to win part of $2900 USD in prizes thanks to DigitalRev. The theme of the competition is Life. Life can have many different meanings, so it’s open to interpretation. For all the rules for the competition, see this thread. To submit your images for Week 1 head over to this thread.
• 365 and Breaking Patterns: As we come up on the end of January, many people are nearly a month into a 365 project. As part of a 365 project you may fall into certain patterns and habits with the types of photos you take. But how do you break out of these patterns? Or are you happy to simply stay in the pattern you establish? Come share your thoughts and advice on how to break out of these patterns when you’re involved in a photography project.
• Question About Old Barns / Houses: One of the questions that can come up as a photographer is whether or not you’re allowed to go certain places to take photographs. This week someone asked about old barns and houses. But it’s good to know what you can and can’t do, and what’s proper etiquette when you’re shooting away from home. Come read some advice in this thread.
• When was the Last Time You Hired a Photographer?: As photographers, we may know what other photographers’ prices are because we want to know our markets. But when was the last time you actually hired a photographer? Come join in the thread and share with us whether you’ve hired a photographer and maybe a little bit about why?
• How to get Listed on Google Image Search: Obviously getting your photographs out there is important. But how do you get your photos on Google Image Search, one of the places where people will come across them. What shows up on Google Image search? And how do you get your images found? Come share your hints, tips, tricks, and questions in this thread.
• What Would You Do: Every week we give you the opportunity to practice your post-processing skills on someone else’s photograph. Whether you’re just starting out or a pro, you’re welcome to show us what you would do with the photo.

Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips.