Do Actions and Presets Have a Use:
I believe they do have a place. Perhaps weddings or workflows processing many images, but I feel that for your high-end custom work actions may not be the appropriate thing. Even if you managed to get a certain look you wanted from an action, I do believe you are better off to know how to do it manually because you will then have the flexibility to always produce a look you desire rather than relying on an action to do it for you.
What do you think? Do you rely on actions or have you found a certain path that gets you the results you really want?
Despite how many things I bought, I couldn't get the coloring I wanted. I really found that I love the coloring of many Russian photographers, and the color was something I wanted. But imagine my surprise when I see videos they produce, and they don't use anything magical. Simple cameras, medium-grade DSLRs, non-top-end lenses, and just Lightroom/Photoshop without special programs or actions. Yet they achieve this look.
This was disappointing, but then we ask ourselves why do we not like this answer? After speaking with a Russian who gave me some guidance I finally started to get it. He said that instead of looking for a program or magic solution, really learn what you want to do, and it won't matter the program. I know it seems like a vague answer, and every time someone had told me that in the past I thought it was a cop out. I thought they just didn't want to share "the secret" with me. You can use Lightroom, Photoshop, 3DLut Creator, or any capable program really to achieve a certain color style once you know what it actually is that you want. By that, I mean breaking it down and really understanding what the toning really consists of.
I'll admit, I hated that answer when he gave it. The reason? Because it's way easier to always say "if I just had XYZ lens, or of I just had this program, or so-and-so's actions, I could do it" than it is to put all the pressure squarely on your own talent. This is a really hard thing (at least it was for me) to get drilled home. I, like many others, wanted an easier answer. I wanted the secret, and after years of chasing a secret to learn there isn't a secret can be a hard pill to swallow. But it is the truth, and it does put the responsibility squarely on us.
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