Photo shop action that gave your image a super cool effect.

 Have you ever had a Photoshop action that gave your image a super cool effect or did something amazing and you always wanted to learn how that action actually did it?

Well, there's a way in Photoshop that allows you to convert an Action to a step-by-step tutorial.

And there's one more way in which you can see how the Action is doing what it's doing.

So here we are in Photoshop with this portrait gallery of expressions.

And if you want to go ahead and download this photo, check the links in the description.

Now, I think it would look much better inblack and white.

And let's say you have a black and white action.

So, let me just open up my Actions.

You can go to Window and then click on Actions to open it or click on this button right over there.

Now, I have an Action collection - PIX - B&WCollection.

I just made it up for this tutorial.

And this is the Action - PIX - B&W.

Select that one, and if you play that, it's going to create an amazing, dramatic black and white.

So you downloaded it off of internet and you always wanted to learn how that action did it.

Well, the first way is saving an Action ASA text file, so that you have the steps written.

Actually, when you save an Action as a text file, all of the Actions are saved.

So select the set, PIX - B&W collection, and then whatever Actions that you have, and then hold Alt and Ctrl.

First, hold the Alt, then the Ctrl / Option Command on a Mac.

When you're holding those two buttons, click on this grid and select Save Actions.

Now, it's going to ask you for a location.

So I'm going to save it in PIX - Action Test.

I've made a folder and I'm going to name itActions1.txt.

Now let's see what that txt file has.

So if I open up that txt file, have a look at this, it has all the sets.

So, the first set is Horizontal Curve, the second set is PIX - Color Grading.

So, it has saved everything as I said before.

So, if I minimize it, have a look, all the sets it has saved, but we only need this one.

If you need all of them, you got them.

But if you only need that one, just delete them.

So PIX - B&W is the name of the Action.

So we're going to go back to our Notepad.

So for all the sets, so, the last set wasPIX - B&W collection.

So, this is the only one you need.

And inside of that there are two actions.

So action PIX - B&W and there was one moreAction which was Auto Everything.

Alright, Source, we can select Channel - BlueChannel - Multiply.

Source 2, we have already selected Red Channel.

And once you're okay with it, hit OK.

And all you have to do is follow these steps and you'll be good to go.

Now there's one more way to do it if this is confusing to you, but having it as a text file also allows you to have something solid.

Anyway, let me show you one more way, which also shows you what it does.

Alright, so let's close it and let's go back.

And this was the Action that we wanted to know, PIX - B&W.

You can actually expand it and see the exact same thing.

If you want to learn, if you're still confused to that step does, you can actually double click just on that step, and only that step will be finished.

See, the Calculations appear with all these settings that we wanted. Right.

So on and so forth and hit OK.

Now, you want to learn what the second stepdoes.

Second step just makes a selection of everything.