I signed up for a demo of the Photoshop action pack from Totally Rad. You can fill out the form for the sample actions here.   I tried about 5 of them and honestly this is really my first time to use actions that are this complex.  I really didn’t do anything else to the photos besides an unsharpen mask filter at 150-1-10.  I ran the same settings on all the actions and didn’t touch the opacity on any of them.  This may not have been the best image to try them out on, but I think some of the results came out pretty nice.  I also must admit that a couple of them would not work on my computer.  I am waiting till I get back to the states before buying a new computer and didn’t have enough RAM to run them. (How pathetic is that?)

test1

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After running the image through these free actions, I am pretty sure that I will be purchasing the full set when I get home.  I also really need to study up on image processing in Photoshop.  I also really need to spend the time to work on some of my own custom made actions.

If you are looking for actions, here is a list of some other companies/photographers that offer actions for sale or sometimes free. I will using this list to decide what actions I will use.  I hope this  post will continue to grow.  If you have any actions that you use or suggest, please feel free to add them in the comments sections and I will add them to the list.

Kubota- Seems to be pretty expensive, but they also have some cheaper options available.

Jibz Actions 4 Photographers-39 dollars for their portrait actions.

Itty Bitty Action Sets Sweet Set- 50 actions for 99 dollars. They have a few more sets avaiable as well and you can get all their packages for 199 dollars.

Davis Tool Actions-16 major actions and 9 micro actions for 75 dollars. I didn’t look at this one too intently.  I think that you may have to use their action software as well.

Photoshop Actions- A bunch of free actions that you might find useful.

1-Click Actions- 39 dollars

60 Photoshop actions- Free, from Design M.AG.  I am going to be using a bunch of these. Most of these are hosted on Deviant Art and are free to download.

Photography BB actions- Some are free others are priced pretty cheap.

Graphic Mania- The Big Collection of  Amazing Photoshop Actions.  All are free.

Naldz Graphics-60 Useful Photoshop Actions

Graphic Design Pro- A few actions and a tutorial

Web Design- 50 Time Saving Photoshop Actions for Enhancing Photographs

50 Photoshop Postwork Actions from manicho. Free to download!

20+ Photoshop Actions. Free

30 Photoshop Actions for Touch-Ups and Enhancements.  Free

Many of these come from Design M.AG. Give their site a visit. There are tons of useful tips and tricks.

30 more actions from Design M.ag. Free