paint the moon photoshop actions grace collection guide and recipe book

grace COLLECTION�AWAKEN AND BLOOMplus the blooming light bonus set

guide & recipes

Paint the Moon p hotoshop™ actions

© p a i n t t h e m o o n p h o t o s h o p a c t i o n sa l l r i g h t s r e s e r v e d • p a i n t t h e m o o n . n e t

http://www.paintthemoon.net/blog


the grace collection: awaken & bloom

beautify . refresh . perfectlove your photos in a whole new way


Hi. I’m Annie.

So nice to meet you!

So nice to meet you!I hope you love the Grace collection!

C O N T E N T S Tips From Annie - Page 4

An Overview of the Sets - Page 5

List of All Included Actions Including Descriptions and Tips - Page 7

Recipes and Images from Paint the Moon - Page 11

Recipes and Images From Other Professional Photographers - Page 42

What Other Photographers are Saying About Grace - Page 53

Important Links to Everything Paint the Moon Including Video Tutorials - Page 57


A few tips from Annie about the Grace Collection action sets ...

First of all, I want to thank you for your support of Paint the Moon and for your purchase of the Grace Collection Awaken and/or Bloom action sets. These sets have been in the creation process for a year and a half and went through extensive testing for months while being used in day-to-day workflows among professional photographers with varying styles of processing. The Grace sets were designed to compliment each other (as well as with the Luminosity Collection) and can all be used with one another seamlessly. Just like the Luminosity Collection, the actions in the Grace Collection sets are unique in that they stack on top of one another without ever interfering with the actions you’ve previously run. The Grace sets also include the amazing Blender actions, which allows you to see at a quick glance each of the different actions. It also enables you the fabulous opportunity to mix and match to create your own unique look and therefore, keep true to your own style.

Similar to Luminosity in the way these actions were designed, the Grace Collection not only allows, but inspires you to create your own unique style. When working with the actions from Bloom, keep in mind that if you are stacking more than a couple of the “toppings” (your color toning, matte colors, color pops, etc.) together that you’ll likely want to drop the opacity a bit on each of them. Paint the Moon actions are completely customizable so you can tweak individual layers within the action’s group in order to get just the right results for your particular image and sense of style. When adding unique, color toned looks to your images think about using the Paint On Bloom Toppings Blender. Using a very large, soft brush in order to paint dashes of style and color here and there on the background. You can also use the specially created actions for background toning, the three Background Color Palette actions (Pops, Tones and Soft Lightness).

You may notice many of the edits in the recipe portion of this guide will use multiple Bloom toning actions. This is usually done at very low opacities and sometimes the toning action will be painted here and there on the background only as shown below. See what I did in the example below ... in the after, all I did was use the Bloom Background Color Palette action around the background here and there. It gives the image a very different feeling and tone.

before background toning after background toning using the Bloom Background Color Palette


Actions at a GlanceGrace: Awaken contains 57 actions created to be the backbone of your workflow. You’ll find an arsenal of powerful base actions for a clean, vibrant edit, all in one actions that combine your base edit with a unique, creative look in one-click, a huge array of special brush on tools, indispensable tools for corrective and enhancing edits and a number of special touch actions that add a unique look to take your images to another level.

Base Workflow Edits At the beginning of the Awaken set you will find your Base Edit category of actions. The Base actions are designed to apply an in depth process for a fresh, clean look, with all workflow edits wrapped into one easy action. These actions can take your straight out of camera image and with one click finish all your edits at once. Within these actions, as with all Paint the Moon actions, you’ll find quick and easy ways to make needed adjustments and be on your way quickly. The styles in the base actions range from the beautiful Light and Airy action to the vibrant and rich base action Opulent, and everything in between.

All In One EditsThe All In One actions are a step ahead of the clean base actions. They also apply all your base workflow edits in one action, but they are designed with special artistic looks built right in. Get an filmy organic look, a dreamy and soft look, a lush and warm look ... many different styles for all types of images and feelings you might want to portray in your photos.

Special BrushesAn amazing set of tools to brush on just about every effect you can dream up. From exposure fixes and selective detail sharpening to magic little tools that paint away nasty color casts or add a punch of color just where you need it.

One Click EnhancersThe enhancers do just that ... give a little oomph and boost to your image in a quick and easy step. Add a shot of apricot toned warmth, give your image an extra shot of rich color, add some rosy sunshine and correct your white balance. These are just a few of the many tools in the enhancers category.

One Click FinishersPick the perfect tool to finish off your edit. Print sharpening for your high resolution images, a noise reduction action that both smooths grain and gives a lovely creamy look to your image if desired, a basic boost action to give a final, subtle dose of BAM! and a num-ber of web sharpening and resizing actions including the custom size action to enter what-ever specific dimension you need for your blog, site, etc.

Grace: Bloom contains 64 actions designed to take your image to the next level with a wide variety of artistic actions and finishes. Lush color toning and pops,beautiful, deep rich matte looks, colorful and pastel hazy looks, vintage film looks ... somany possibilities. The Bloom actions are created to be used on an image that has been clean processed (the Awaken action set was created to be a sister set to Bloom, or use your own basic workflow - or simply a perfect out of camera image). Also included is a basic workflow base action called Clean Grace.

Toppings for Your BaseWithin the “Toppings for your base” category you’ll find the heart of the Bloom set. Color shifts and toning actions, the deep, rich matte look that is full of color, soft pastel actions with delicate hazes, rich and vibrant color pops and styles that are reminiscent of film photography.

Bloom Blenders for ToppingsWithin the Toppings for Your Base category you will find the most useful and powerful of all The Blender actions that will run the heart of the Bloom actions in one swoop. Leaving you with 28 gorgeous actions all stacked together and ready for you to turn on each one to quickly see the results. Even better, turn on a couple here and there and adjust the opacity as needed. For those who enjoy using toning actions just where desired, especially beautiful to do with backgrounds, you can run the Bloom Paint On Blender and simply paint on each action wherever you want a dab of added color, toning, matte, etc. The best way to get to know these versatile and incredibly varied actions is to use the Blender and then experiment from there.

Special FinishesIn the Special Finishes category you’ll find a number of special tools that just may become your secret potion to creating a whole new level of artistry. The Color Toned Shadows Palette action is a unique action that allows you to select beautiful tones that will give a hint of mystery and color to just the shadows in your image. It’s a beautiful way to give an image a dash of style without overwhelming the image. The Whispers Softest and Light As Air actions transform your photo with a softness that is just a whisper and as light as gossamer film. It’s that special touch that makes the image stand out as unique without being “in your face” that something was even done to the image. The Background Color Palette actions let you play Picasso... dab a little color here, a little more there and subtly transform the look of your photo with just a couple clicks.

Overlay FinishesA huge palette of finishing touches including beautiful, rich matte finishes, light and airy haze finishes, nostalgic and delicious film looks, earthy and lush mattes and many other finishes and special tools. If you’ve added actions that have perhaps made the image too matte/hazy or bright, bring some depth back with the Cut Through Haze action, add some warmth with Warm Skin Boost or soften too bright images with the brush on Soft Matte action.

Artistic EdgesFinish your artistic vision with a variety of unique edge effects that will add a pop of color, a lot of drama, a bit of airy haze, a lens-like zoom effect and more.


Grace: Blooming Light is a very special bonus set of 24 actions created to infuse your images with beautiful light, radiant and soft color and other special creative touches designed to take your image from ho-hum to brilliant, dynamic and filled with light.

Blooming LightAdd a gorgeous sun-glow to your image that you can place just where needed. Create flushes of color, depth and light. Brush on washes of natural, airy luminance exactly where you desire.

Light LeaksA fun group of actions for creating light leaks similar to retro film looks. Create a dynamic, novel look that is full of personality or add just a subtle hint of tone to the edges of your image.

EnhanceSpecial actions for exposure and color correction as well as a special matte finish brush. The Light Reflector action adds light to the shadows and mid-tones similar to the look you’d get from using a reflector or fill light - perfect for back-lit images or underexposed photos. Give a sun-kissed look to skin and warm it up with the Warm Skin Boost action. And for images that you’d love to add a matte look to as well as tone down the brightness and exposure the Soft Matte (Bright Images) is exactly what you need. Add back some rich depth with the Make It Rich action.

For a detailed list of actions included along with descriptions and tips for using them, see the “all the details” section on the following pages.


BASE Workflow Actions

These are the heart and soul of the Awaken set - powerhouse workflow actions to either act as the foundation of your edit or for a clean processed look, leave them on their own.

Light and Airy - A delicate clean edit with lower contrast and a special brightening of mid-tones that leaves the image light and airy feeling. Lovely for subtle edits, images that have shadows that are too heavy and lifestyle shots.

Clean Slate - A perfect “go to” clean edit - works on a huge array of photos as a perfect base to start with or use it as your only action to create a “just right” clean look. Includes a Make It Black and White layer to click once and create a perfect, crisp black and white.

Glitter Pop - Clean, full of light and pop with a bit starker contrast.

Spark - A beautiful, clean edit with a spark of toning for a creative touch.

Posh - A favorite for creating images that are full of vibrant color and pop with dashes of special artistic touches.

Opulent - Rich and lush. Loads of color and drama - in other words, opulent.

BASE All In One Actions

The All In One actions take the base action a step further and includes your foundation edits for a clean workflow while adding in the creative touches such as color shifts, toning and matte finishes. You can still play with adding more special touches or just use this as an all in one solution for creative edits when you’d like to just “click and go”.

Kitten - Soft, sweet and just a tad on the rosy and creamy side, Kitten is a beautiful action for everyday edits as well as lifestyle images. Cool undertones keep it from being cloyingly sweet and it’s soft without being overly hazy. A favorite among our product testers!

Teak - Rich, warm and dramatic. Like caramel, cinnamon and autumn all rolled into one. Works beautifully on images that need some extra warmth and drama, and just as gorgeous when used as an everyday edit at a lower opacity. Includes an artistic option for a cooling haze to create cool, matte shadows for a completely different look.

Light Radiance - A colorful, radiant edit that works beautifully on underexposed images that need a boost of light and color.

Deep Radiance - A colorful edit that works beautifully for a boost of radiance and depth.

Organic Film - Earthy, natural, warm ... a slight filmy matte yet rich without losing detail or color. Gorgeous.

BW Film - Just a bit of matte and filmy style added to a crisp black and white edit.

Build Your Own - Includes all the adjustments and special touches necessary for a beauti-ful, clean edit and leaves the recipe up to you to individualize as you need.

Special Brushes

Note that all brush on actions can be used over the entire image instead simply by running the action and then inverting the layer mask (type control/command + I).

Bleach Whites (Brush On) - Make whites sparkly and clean with the bleaching brush that includes just a touch of brightening (optional). Great for clothing, teeth, anything that is supposed to be white but isn’t!

Yellow Reducer (Brush On) - A perfect brush to remove yellow casts and bring back a clean tone. Works especially well for skin, hair, overly yellow grass and more.

High Contrast Pop (Brush On) - Add a burst of high contrast pop with this brush.

Save Highlights (Brush On) - Help restore and bring back detail in (nearly) blown out highlights with the Save Highlights brush.

Lighten Mid-tones (Brush On) - Secret formula brightening brush that targets just the mid-tones and lighter shadows to brighten without losing too much detail or overexposing.

Lighten Shadows (Brush On) - Target shadows and blacks only with this lightening brush.

Lighten and Darken (Brush On) - Includes both lightening (dodging) and darkening (burning) tools for spot exposure adjustments or artistic shading of light.

Soft Color Punch (Brush On) - A beautiful, soft punch of color and vibrancy as desired.

Warmth and Cooling (Brush On) - Handy tools for both adding warmth or cooling down.

Tone Down Color (Brush On) - For bringing down the vibrancy of color in select areas.

Chameleon (Custom Color Changer) - A very special action that allows you to change the color of your image to a custom selected color of your choice. Endless uses, including making clothing items match, removing color cast reflections, artistic coloring, etc. Includes lightening and darkening layers to make the new color just right in tone and color.

Cool Off (Brush On) - A more comprehensive cooling brush for too warm images.

Subtle Highlight (Brush On) - Add a subtle highlight wherever you want a tiny bit of pop.

Diamond Sharp Details (Brush On) - Make those special details stand out and be noticed. Works great for eyelashes, use gently over facial details, etc.

Sparkle (Brush On) - Sharpen and highlight enhancer in one, wonderful on hair, or just areas of the image where you want a bit of added sparkle.

Blush (Cheeks and Face Brush On) - Sure to become an essential brush in your editing toolbox, the Blush action has both a layer for adding a bit of rosiness and depth to cheeks (or lips!), as well as a special layer for adding a gently lightening, peachy skin glow all over.

Healthy Skin (Brush On Warm Up Skin) - An indispensable tool for adding a warm, healthy tone to all types of skin tones.

all the details ... grace collection: awaken


One Click Enhancers

Fresh Natural Light - The perfect lightening action when you want it to resemble a fresh wash of natural light.

Subtle Color Boost - An ideal boost of vibrant, yet subtle color.

Rich Color Boost - Adds drama in rich color and depth.

Rosy Sunshine - Creates a special touch of sunshine with a rosy undertone.

Warm Oomph - Sparkling pop and light with a touch of warmth.

Apricot Warmth - A touch of honeyed apricot warmth.

Not So Yellow - Removes an overall too warm, yellow cast.

Lush Depth - A bit of lush, depth for just a tad added drama.

Lights Up - An overall lightening and brightening action to increase exposure.

Lights Down - An overall darkening action to decrease exposure and bring down brightness.

Bit of Zing - Adds a zing of dramatic color, light and contrast.

Fresh Haze - A soft, neutral haze.

Auto Histogram - Uses an auto histogram to balance your exposure.

White Balance Fix - Select a middle gray neutral in your image to set an auto custom white balance and help color casts.

Group All Editing Layers - Perfect to group all your working layers and actions that have run into one big group folder to quickly adjust at once.

One Click Finishers

Creamy Noise Reducer - Use to smooth out noise and grain, or to create an overall creamy, smooth appearance to your image. Be careful to watch details so they don’t become lost, especially facial features and hair.

Creamy Noise Reducer (Brush On) - See above ... as a brush on/selective adjustment.

Basic Boost - The perfect last minute touch on all your edits to boost contrast and brightness.

Print Sharpen

Sharpening for Print - Just right sharpening for your high resolution prints.

Web Sharpen

Sharpening/Resize for Web (Custom Size) - Just right for the web sharpening and the option to select your own custom size needed - great for blog posts, web sites, etc.

Sharpening/Resize for Web (960) - Facebook - Specifically created for Facebook images - resizes to 960 pixels on the longest side and sharpens.

Sharpening/Resize for Web (1100) - Specifically created for web images - resizes to 1100 pixels on the longest side and sharpens.


Clean Grace

For a very basic clean foundation, run before the rest of the Bloom actions. Toppings for Your Base

Within the “Toppings for your base” category you’ll find the heart of the Bloom set. Because these artistic toning actions are so customizable (turn on/off layers or change their opacity to tweak the look), the best way to get to know the look of each action is to play the Blender and play around with them. Defining each of these actions would be too limiting since one click can take an action from “matte and filmy” to “bold and full of contrast,” enabling numerous possible looks even within just one action’s layers.

AdornedApricotAuburnAuroraBohoCartwheelsChilled GrapesCiao Bella BlushFabledGildedGlacialHazelHipsterLilac FrostLondon FogMatte HennaMilk FrostMorning FawnOn a WhimOpalPersimmon Pink Sugar MattePoetic MistPure SundropsRose WaterSea GlassTwilight MatteTwisterWildflower

all the details ... grace collection: bloom

Bloom Blenders for Toppings

The Blender Toppings actions will run the heart of the Bloom actions in one swoop, leaving you with 28 gorgeous actions all stacked together and ready for you to turn on each one to quickly see the results of each. Even better, turn on a couple here and there and adjust the opacity as needed. For those who enjoy using toning actions just here and there, especially beautiful to do with backgrounds, you can run the Bloom Paint On Blender and simply paint on each action wherever you want a dab of added color, toning, matte, etc. There is also a Blender action for the matte and overlay finishes.

Black and White Toppings

Created to be added over the top of a clean processed image, the black and white toppings give you a quick and easy way to achieve the perfect black and white.

Plush BW - A velvety, deep matte black and white.

Effortless BW II - The perfect classic black and white. A favorite with the product testing team. Works beautifully over a clean processed image as well as a straight out of camera shot.

Special Finishes

Color Toned Shadows - A very special action that lets you pick from a rainbow of tones and magically applies color toning to only the shadows in your image. A perfect way to add just a touch of creative toning or turn it up for a bit more drama.

Whispers Softest - A perfect softness and light for backgrounds and adding touches of blur.

Light As Air - A delicate and light softness without losing detail and sharpness.

Background Color Palettes - Transform your image with a palette of colors to paint on your background adding dimension and color.

- The Pops version of the action adds color toning plus a bit of depth and pop. - The Tones version of the action adds just color toning where you want it. - The Soft Lightness version adds hints of color toning with a lightening, softening effect.

Overlay and Film Finishes

Silky Matte - A silken matte and haze with a bit of velvet.

Airy Matte - A bright and airy matte finish.

Earthen Matte - A matte finish with an organic, brown toned look. Turn off the vignette and edges for a more subtle look.

Milk Paint Matte - A soft, milky white matte finish.


grace collection: bloom continued ...Smolder Haze - Deeply toned matte finish with a dramatic finish and shift in tone

Subtle Neutral Matte - For just a touch of matte finish.

Antique Silver Film (Highlights) - Subtle highlight tinting and muting like antique silver film.

Heathered Matte - A grayed out, powdery, lighter matte finish.

Creamy Deep Matte - A favorite of the product testing team, creates a beautifully lush matte finish without dulling the colors and keeping details intact.

Crushed Rich Matte - A super matte look that crushes your shadows and deepens overall.

Soft Desaturated Matte - Fine matte finish with a hint of faded color and muted highlights.

Soft Matte (Brush On) - Paint on a soft matte finish just where you need it.

Simple Light Haze - Just a bit of soft, neutral haze.

Cut Through Haze - Bring back detail and depth if your image becomes too matte/hazy.

Artistic Edges

Paint on Edges Palette - Pick your color and style of edges or background toning.

Smolder Paint On Vignette - A matte but very vibrant vignette or background toner that adds a richness and toning with a unique touch.

Onyx Vignette - A classic, rich black vignette.

Dreamy Haze Border - Add an angelic, soft light edge around the image.

Dreamy Haze Border (Plus Color) - Same as above with a kick of color added.

Cool Smolder Edges - Plums and cool shadows are mixed with a matte, deep finish.

Edge Zoom - Create a blur lens effect around the edges of the subject you select.

all the details ... Grace: Blooming Light contains 24 images to add beautiful light and whimsical color to your images. Transformations from subtle enhancement to dramatic works of art.

Blooming Light

Light Blossoms - Add a fresh glow of sunshine blossoming from your image wherever you need it. Just choose from Apricot, Sunshine, Rosy or White Light Blossoms and then move to wherever you desire to add some soft, glowing sunshine or light wash.

Light Washes - Create an overall soft wash of diffused light over your photos with either the neutral Soft Light Wash or the Rose Light Wash.

Soft Spotlight - A fresh and clean center spotlight.

Rainbow Light Ring - Use subtly as a fun rainbow of sun flare - works best on outdoor pho-tos that already have some back-lighting and/or sun, and best at a low opacity. See example to the right on the center photo.

Soft Light (Brush On) - Brush on a diffused, soft light wherever you wish. Perfect for soften-ing images that are too dark or heavy, lovely on lifestyle images and those that need some di-rectional light softened and highlighted. Creates a beautiful, dreamy look. Choose from White, Rosy, Apricot or Natural Soft Light.

Blender - Use the Grace Blooming Light Blender to play all of the Blooming Light actions and try them out or mix and match as you please.

Light Leaks

A collection of fun, pretty actions to mimic the look of film light leaks ... giving it a dreamy, retro look. The styles range from a subtle, overall pastel look to a more distinct retro style. Use at a very low opacity when just a hint of added artistic flair is desired.

Blender - Use the Grace Light Leaks Blender to play all of the Light Leak actions and try them out or mix and match as you please.

Enhance

Warm Skin Boost - A warming action to specifically target skin for healthy color tone.

Soft Matte (Bright Images) - A matte that deepens and especially helpful for images that are too bright or overexposed.

Light Reflector - Fabulously helpful action that acts like a reflector to fill in the shadows with light and brighten mid-tones.

Make It Rich - Add a bit of depth and richness to your photo.


PAINT THE MOON PRODUCT TESTING TEAMThe following images and edits were created by our product testing team of professional photographers.

Edited using Paint the Moon grace action Sets



Edited using Paint the Moon grace action Sets (and a tiny bit of clone work on blanket)


PAINT THE MOON ProDUct teSting teaMThe following images and edits, were created by our product testing team.



What other photographers are saying... grace collection: awaken & bloom



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Paint the Moon Storeshop hundreds of actions, textures, and templates to save you time and make your images look their very best. Love editing again - love your photos - come on, get happy!

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beautify . refresh . perfectlove your photos in a whole new waygrace

COLLECTION�AWAKEN AND BLOOMplus the blooming light bonus set

guide & recipes

Paint the Moon p hotoshop™ actions


paint the moon photoshop actions grace collection guide and recipe book

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