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Essential Food Photography Photoshop Actions

5/18/2015

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A couple of months ago, we released the Essential Food Photography Action Set.  This set is geared toward Food Bloggers and Food Photographers.  As Food Bloggers ourselves we use this set every day and it makes life incredibly more easy around here.  I am able to post on average 3-5 times per week and I attribute this is quick editing.

I thought it would be fun to take a look at some before and afters from the last couple months of using this new set.
Photoshop Actions for Food Bloggers and Food Photographers

Rose Cosmopolitan Recipe by FoodieFoodster.com

Photoshop Actions for Food Bloggers and Food Photographers

If you are a Food Blogger and you find yourself just sitting and staring at your RAW images in Photoshop, wondering where to start, this is a great tool.  Included are 3 Storyboard Templates and 33 Actions designed to help your food photography reach a professional level.
Photoshop Actions for Food Bloggers and Food Photographers

Fresh Thai Spring Rolls with Sweet and Spicy Cashew Dipping Sauce Recipe by FoodieFoodster.com

Photoshop Actions for Food Bloggers and Food Photographers

Not Yo' Mommas Tuna Casserole Recipe by FoodieFoodster.com

Photoshop Actions for Food Bloggers and Food Photographers
Photoshop Actions for Food Bloggers and Food Photographers
If you are a Food Blogger or thinking of becoming one, you should know that it is essential for you to have to best possible images.  There are a million food blogs out there and most of them are on point.  If you want to be competitive online then your images need to stand out.  Sites like Foodgawker.com and TasteSpotting.com have very strict guidelines but are essential to the growth of your blog .  We are consistently accepted on those sites (with the exception of three submissions [boo]) and have seen tremendous growth on the food blog as a result.  Three months in we are sitting at 10,576 pageviews for the last 30 days.  Much of this traffic is coming from Foodgawker.com and TasteSpotting.com.
I am a professional photographer and my images still need to be edited.  If you shoot in RAW (which you should be doing) then you need a basic clean up of your image.  This can be accomplished with the Image Cleaner Action.  It mimics the camera RAW filter but allows you to make selective adjustments on each layer, giving you more control.   This is the most powerful Action in the set.

You can find more specific information about this set, including all of the Actions included, by clicking on the button below!  

Happy Food Blogging!
ESSENTIAL FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
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How To Boost Your Food Photography in Adobe Photoshop & Elements

3/5/2015

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Guess what?  I started a food blog!

I don't do portraits anymore or take on commercial jobs and so I have been struggling to find my photo groove for the last year or so.  I think I have finally found it in food photography and styling.  I love it.  Do you know what I love the most?  There are no people involved.  No skin tones to get right, no...people...to deal with.  It's peaceful.


Here at MLC, we released Essential Food Photography (Action Set) about a month ago.  This set is amazing.  Editing food photography has truly never been easier or faster.  In working with it everyday, I am always excited and amazed at how quickly I can process images.

"Editing food photography has never been easier or faster"

Here is todays post over on the food blog (FoodieFoodster.com).  The before image is a typical RAW image, really dull.  
Learn how to boost your food photography in Adobe Photoshop and Elements
The new Essential Food Photography Action set allowed me to edit this image in less than a minute.  The colors are amazing and the lighting is smooth and even.  The first step is to run the Image Cleaner, this is an Action that mimics Camera RAW and allows to quickly produce a clean edit without the guess work.  You play the Action and then simply slide the sliders until your image is perfect.
Notice that the shadows on the right side of the first plate are gone.  That is thanks to the "Fill Flash Brush" included with the set.  You simply brush on areas that need to be brightened!  It is not simply a Light Brush, but rather a brush that brightens the shadows in the areas where you may have needed a reflector or...a fill flash (but don't ever use flash on your food photography)

A detailed list of all 33 Actions and 3 storyboards included is provided on the Essential Food Photography page, it is available for Photoshop and Photoshop Elements 11-13.


On this image, I also used the 5 for $5, Magic Finish© Actions to get that great color bar on the left of the image.

If you are interested in the food blog, head over to FoodieFoodster.com
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Love the font?  It is called Country Chic and you can find it at Creative Market!

One thing I have learned over the last 5 years of blogging is that the images can make or break you.  This is especially true in food blogging but translates across the web.  Essential Food Photography has applications that transcend use for food bloggers, have you ever considered taking pictures for restaurants or hotels?  They need images of their food for menus!

I will tell you a little secret that I learned when I stopped taking portraits and started doing commercial.

"There are a million portrait photographers"

Portrait photographers are a dime a dozen.  While I feel like there is room for everyone and their unique style, the market is saturated with portrait photographers.  If you feel interested in commercial photography i.e. Real Estate Photography, Product Photography, Food Photography, etc.  the market is wide open.   Before I left my commercial photography business to work on MLC full time, I didn't even have time for portraits because the commercial side of my business was so busy.  There was no one else in my area that did Real Estate Photography, and all of the business landed in my lap.  I literally started a job for myself out of nowhere that became the foundation of my business, and provided a full time income.  I know the same principles ring true for Food Photography.  The options are endless, restaurants, hotels, etc. all need professionally rendered images specific to their own menus (which is something stock photography cannot provide).
The opportunities for photographers that want to build their businesses and branch outside of portrait photography are endless!

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Essential Food Photography, Photoshop Actions For Food Photographers and Food Bloggers.

2/9/2015

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Our brand new Essential Food Photography Action Set is designed for Food Photographers, Food Bloggers and all around Foodies!

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Have you wondered how all of those great food images come together on your favorite blogs or sites like Foodgawker (my favorite)?  It takes some editing to get these truly scrumptious images.  We all know that RAW images need a little TLC in Adobe® Photoshop® or Adobe® Photoshop® Elements® and here at MLC, we have a brand new solution to help you work smarter.  Essential Food Photography© is our brand new set of Actions, available for Adobe® Photoshop® and Adobe® Photoshop® Elements®.  
In total, there are 33 Actions and 3 storyboard templates available.
This set has the power to really shorten your workflow in a meaningful way. But even better, if you are a beginner at taking snapshots of food, there is no need to guess about what you need to do. We have created couple of videos that show how several of the Actions work.  In these videos I am working in Adobe® Photoshop® Creative Cloud® but the process is the same for previous versions of Photoshop®.
It is also the same for Elements® 11-13.

How To Achieve A Clean Edit
In this video, we show you how to use Image Cleaner.  This Action mimics the Camera RAW Filter.  Even if you have a version of Adobe® Photoshop® that predates Creative Cloud® or if you are using Elements® you can still pull this Action up at any time (with fully layer masking capability)
 and achieve perfect Camera RAW results!

How To Achieve A Brighter & More Balanced Image
In this video, we show you how to brighten the shadows, pop the highlights, & boost the orange tones.


3 Storyboards Included:
These 3 storyboards make it easy to display your work on Facebook, your blog, or website.  They come to you in easy to use .psd files.  The options allow you to display four images, seven images, or one image with a headshot.  Two of the options have a customizable color bar that allows you to choose a complimentary color from your image. 

This is truly a dynamic new set that we are ultra excited about.  As die hard foodies ourselves, we use this set every day, even on our iPhone pics!  It is available for Instant Download so you can get started right away!  For all of the details including a list of Actions, and a description of each one, head over to the Essential Food Photography page.
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ESSENTIAL FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY
33 ESSENTIAL ACTIONS & 3 STORYBOARDS
$49-
FOR ADOBE PHOTOSHOP CS4-6 & CREATIVE CLOUD

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FOR ADOBE PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 11-13

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    Hi!  I'm Amy,
    a former commercial photographer turned Mom-tographer.  I started Magic And Light Collection 8 years ago and have loved watching it grow over the years!  I am currently working hard on raising those littles, and sharing all the Photoshop shortcuts that help me work smarter, and not harder!

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  • Home
  • Actions
    • Real Estate Photo Actions
    • Essential Food Photography
    • Essential Vintage Action Set
    • Black & White Actions
    • Retouching Actions
    • Magic Mini Action Sets
    • Harvest Actions for the Fall
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    • New! Workflow Essentials
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  • 5 for $5
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    • Graphics You Need
  • Ebooks
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  • FREE DAILY PHOTO TIPS
    • 5 For $5 Fridays
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    • Watch Me Edit
    • Free Photoshop Actions
    • Photoshop Elements
    • Food Photography
    • Macro Photography
    • Photography Fun
    • Learn Adobe Photoshop
    • My Photography Insight
  • Video Library
    • How To Install Actions & Overlays
    • How To Use Portrait Magic
    • How To Use Real Estate Actions
    • How To Use Food Photography Actions
    • How To Use Gypsy
    • How To Use Sweet Sky Overlays
    • How To Use Dark Sky Overlays
    • How To Use Absence Actions
    • How To Use Photoshop Elements
    • General Editing Tutorials
    • Freebie Tutorials
  • Resources
    • Support
    • Disclosure