I’ve been wanting to do this for a while – share some of my editing shortcuts with fellow photographers!
Concert photographers deal with such extreme conditions that many other readily available actions are often not applicable to concert photos. With that in mind, I tried to make these actions adjustable so that they work with different lighting conditions (but even with their flexibility, keep in mind that these actions still work best on properly exposed and white balanced photos). Also, I’ve used these actions on lots of non-concert photos, so non-concert photographers, feel free to download them too!
These are the first actions I’ve put out for the public to use, so I would love feedback. Let me know if you run into any problems or if you have a suggestion on how to make them better. Also, if you use them, let me know that too – feel free to post pictures in the comments that have been edited with the actions!
POP
This action makes images “pop” – a little bit of contrast, a little bit of an S curve, some saturation, a tad of unsharpen mask (in LAB mode), and a smidge of vignette. Since some photos need a little more help than others, this action is the most adjustable of the set. And don’t be afraid to run the action twice if you need extra pop!
Before & After:
ROCK
Rock is a strongly contrasted black and white with a little color added back in. I love this action, probably the favorite of my set because, simply put, it makes even small indie band members look like rock stars. The contrast is adjustable on this action, and the “Light” action is also designed to work in conjuction with this image to add even more flexibility.
Before & After:
ROCK – RED WASH
This image produces the same result as the “Rock” action above – but with a little twist. Since red wash from the lights is such a common problem with concert photography, I created this action to specifically combat that problem.
Before & After:
METAL
Metal is just a vignetting action. While “Pop” and “Rock” are standalone actions, and both contain small amounts of vignetting, “Metal” is around for those pictures that need more a little more emphasis on the center of the image. It is a subtle action though, so you can keep running the action until you feel as though you have enough vignette.
Before, Mid, & After:
LIGHT
I originally created this action to work with my “Rock” actions, but this works with any action or photo that needs a little lightening up. This action quickly corrects slight underexposure and just brightens up the whole image.
Before, Mid, & After:
Again, please let me know what you think of these, and don’t forget to post examples of the actions in use in the comments!
