Review: Photoshop Actions Bundle by Contrastly

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Photoshop Actions are a great way to save time when you want to repeat a multi-step process over and over again. However, don’t limit yourself to making your own actions when you can also install actions like the ones in this Photoshop Actions Bundle by Contrastly.

In this review I’ll have a look at the bundle of actions available on the Contrastly Shop. It includes 183 individual actions, divided into fourteen thematic categories.

Full Review

The Contrastly Photoshop Actions Bundle contains a great variety of looks. Some of the Photoshop action categories are fun and playful, like the Lomographist and Analog & Retro, while others are perhaps of more interest to photographers looking for more “traditional” treatments, like the Portrait Series or the Cinestock.

There are also two action groups that work best in combination with other effects: Analog Light Leaks and Vintage Flares. These two sets of Photoshop actions are great for creating special effects!

Installing the Photoshop Actions Bundle

Installing Photoshop actions is really easy!

First, make sure you unzip the file from Contrastly and make a note of where the .atn files are located on your drive. Now, simply open your Actions panel, click on the icon with the four horizontal stripes, and select Load Actions…

This will load up all the Photoshop actions like this:

Using the Photoshop Actions

Like any other Photoshop actions, the ones included in this Contrastly bundle are a snap to use. Just pick an action from one of the categories and hit the play button! Just make sure you have an unlocked layer selected in your layer stack. Usually a copy of your background image will work.

The Play All option

A super cool feature of the Contrastly Photoshop Actions Bundle is that they’ve included a “Play All” option inside each category. This will run all the actions in that category which is a huge time saver when you want to initially check out the options available, and maybe pick out a few favorites.

Some Photoshop action examples

Here’s just a few examples of the 183 Photoshop actions included in this bundle. Keep in mind that results will vary quite a bit depending on your starting image.

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Don’t just hit Play and be done!

Once you’ve run an action from the Contrastly Photoshop Actions Bundle you’ll see a bunch of new layers inside a folder in your layers stack. The real power of actions is that you can go in and modify any single layer that was created by the action. You can turn layers on and off, adjust opacity and blend modes and anything else you want to do.

Adjusting individual layers

Here is a super simple example where the action includes a vignette, but it is centered on the frame. I unlocked the vignette, increased the size a bit, and moved it into a better location on my canvas.

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Combining multiple actions

In this example I combine two actions and make some minor adjustments. Notice that I changed the opacity and blend mode of the Light Leaks in the final version.

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Conclusion

The Contrastly Photoshop Actions Bundle provides a large range of looks that are sure to please an equally large range of artists. There really is something for everyone.

Having these actions to play with is a refreshing change from using color profiles which give you much less control over the final outcome.

I definitely recommend this set of Photoshop actions by Contrastly.