Okay, novice post-processing question, but I'm tired of suffering all alone for fear of group humiliation!! hahaha Save me!

Right now, I shoot Raw, open all files in Bridge, do tweaks there, and resave as jpeg. Currently, to run any PS action, I have to individually open each pic to work on it - which is fine for specific pics, but not all of them! I need to figure out how to take an entire file of photos (after they've been worked on in Bridge/LR and saved as jpegs) and run a batch PS action/s on them all, then save and close the entire group.
- for example, download wedding into Bridge, work on contrast/temp, etc, save as jpeg. Open up file of all jpeg wedding images and run batch action on all photos, save and close.

I know the wonders of LR and Raw actions, but there are just a few PS actions that I can't live without and need to figure out how to use them in bulk.

Pointers for this very tired and migraine inflicted lady?

You can certainly run batch actions on a folder of images. I do it all the time. I am not in front of my computer with Photoshop, but it should be under the file menu and called automate...the screen will then run you through some preferences on how to automate the action you want to run.

You can set it up through Bridge. Once you finish whatever tweaks to the RAW, select the images, go to Tools->Photoshop->Image Processor. Set the file type to save (ie. JPEG 10, PSD, TIFF), and at the bottom you can select which action you want to run.

Is there a reason that you convert each one to a jpg first?

also, if you go scripts, image processor, you can also assign an action to run on a set or folder of files. I actually prefer this to automate/batch because if the action requires you to click ok or hit enter, you have to keep something on the keyboard while it processes or else it gets hung up. So the image processor does the same thing but eliminates the need to hit any keys. Hope that helps, feel free to call me if you need any other help and I can walk you through the process over the phone

Dustin
801-589-6292

+1 Image Processor works wonders...you can just set it and walk away.

Awesome you guys!! Thank you so much. You know when you know there is something you could be doing to simply your life, but you just don't know how to go about it? Dustin, thanks for the offer to talk me through it - as always, you're awesome!




Great question. I only did so b/c I wasn't sure how to batch all photos in Raw, open in photoshop, make changes and then resave all as jpg. Again, batch inexperience kicking in. I would love to hear your recommendations as I'm eager to learn more time efficient ways.

Would you suggest running it through Image Processor as you suggest, applying a batch action/s and then resaving at that time? Do you suggest saving as a file other than jpg at that point? Perhaps pdf instead?

Thanks in advance!

It really depends on your workflow and how you edit your images.

If you normally run some sort of action on all of your images without making any changes, then I'd say to save it as a jpg right away (this is what I do when I make process images for proofs...)

If you have a set of actions that you run each action through, but you like to tweak each one depending on image, I would say to create an action that sets up each file the way you like them (with all your layers and masks), and then save it as a PSD. Then you can use bridge to browse through each PSD, and any that you want to tweak, open it up and have all your basic layers/masks set up (sort of like your own template for each image).


Also, with Image Processor, in one run-through you can save as both a PSD and a jpg, so you could do use a broad action set to create a set of proof images in jpg, and have a layered PSD in case you need to go into the file to make additional changes.


That's probably a lot of useless information...
- Save as PSD if you want to have the option to go into each image and tweak the general settings of your actions that you run.
- Save as jpg if you won't be tweaking any of the settings of your action after the fact.


Hope that makes sense...

You guys are awesome! It worked and it was soooooo easy! I knew I was missing a very elementary step in my workflow! Because of you, I can actually go out and hit the gym tonight, instead of sitting in front of the computer eating chips! hahaha. ...... seriously!

BTW, I am stoked to see that I can save as both a pdf and jpg all at one time. What a great time saver!

Two last questions, (1) do you happen to know what the box "Include ICC profile" does, and (2) when I am under the "Preferences" section and am selecting my action to run, is there a way to select more than one action to run, or will I actually have to create my own action with my chosen actions in it - and then choose that new custom action as my single selection action in the Image Processing?

*ETA - it worked great on my first run through, thank you.

ALTHOUGH, along with the two questions I have above, another question has popped up in the last few hours. When I'm in Bridge, choosing my settings under Image Processor, option 4 - "Preferences" which allows me to choose which action I would like to run, the action list is not inclusive of all of the actions I have loaded (and use) - and as life will always have it, the actions not listed are the actions I want to have! go figure. Any suggestions on how to make this list appear showing all of my actions options?

Hey Tana, glad it worked for you so far.

(1) Your ICC Profile is your color profile. If you're sending the image to a lab, most what you to include that for color management.

(2) You cannot run multiple actions through Image Processor...just one at a time. So if you have multiple actions that you want to run in a batch, you'd have to create a new action which runs each one of those, and then use that one action in Image Processor.

(3) Under option 4 - Preferences, there should be two drop down boxes after "Run Action:". The first to select the set the action is in, and the second is the actual action itself. If you hve a bunch of different action sets or your actions are separated into different folders, then it'll only show the actions in that specific folder. Your options are to just remember which action is in which set, it group all your most used actions into one "Master" set.

Hope that helps!

-Nate

You've been such a help Nate!! Thanks.

(2) I figured this, I'll go ahead and make my own custom actions.
(3) I see the two pull down lists. I see most of my actions (TRA, TriCoast, etc) - and when I pull the list down, I see my Kubota Artistic Actions II but not my Kubota Artistic Actions I. When I go back to PS, both sets are there separately, but when I go back to the Image Processing it only lists the one set.

This isn't a huge deal since I will be making my own custom blend of actions anyway, and you've been more than helpful, so I'll leave you alone!! Thanks a million to all of you who wrote back. Learning this today really has helped.

I have a question still. What about someone like me who shoots jpeg. How do you run a batch of actions in jpeg or am I too much of a looser and need to change to RAW!!

Hey Dawn, you are not a loser!!! I originally shot in JPEG, and when I switched to RAW, i'll never go back. I think it is fine for more advanced photographers, I guess, than most because they can nail their shots consistently. RAW just allows you to more easily adjust the highlights and shadows, white balance, etc. without "overdoing" it. Does that make sense, without getting too technical?
You can run an action on a batch of JPEGS, by going to File->Image Processor, and then following the prompts in that box, but I wouldn't recommend it. Next time, try shooting in RAW and I guarantee you will see a difference in your RAW vs. JPEG images.