Orton Effect Tutorial: Using Actions

1. Download Actions File

Right-click on this link: Orton_Effect.atn
Select 'Save Link As..." from the menu
Save the file to your computer
Note: This action set is known to work in Photoshop CS2 and CS3 for Windows. It does not work correctly under Photoshop 7 (old versions handled layer groups differently.)

2. Load Actions in Photoshop

Start Photoshop
Locate the Actions window (Menu: Windows -> Action)
Left-click on the menu pulldown button on the actions window to bring up the menu. (It looks like a down-arrow next to 3 lines in the top left corner.)
Select "Load Actions..." and then find the Orton_Effect.atn file that you saved above.
You should have a new folder of actions similar to the one seen to the left.

3. Load Your Image

Load your image into Photoshop
In this example, I'm using a 300x300 pixel photo of the Tower of Terror at Disney MGM Studios

4. Apply one of the "Setup" Actions

Go to the actions window, and select one of the "Setup" actions. All of the Setup actions work the same way, with slightly different lightening steps included. In this example, I have selected the "Setup - Screen" action.
Run the selected action, by clicking on the little "play" triangle icon at the bottom of the actions window.
The action should play out, leaving you with a new set of layers like this one on the left.
Group 1 is the sharp group. It contains the original, sharp image, and a lightening layer.
Group 2 is the blur group. It contains a copy of the original image, a second copy to be blurred and masked, and another lightening layer.

5. Image After Setup is Run

This shows my example image after the layers have been created by the Setup action. The image should look about the same as the original.
Setup-Screen (seen here) tends to increase the contrast of the resulting layers.
Setup-Exposure and Setup-Expcurves will also increase the contrast, and may clip the image in the highlights somewhat.
Setup-Gamma will not change the contrast. You should not notice any difference between the composed image and the original with this action.

6. Blur the Blur Layer

Click on the image thumbnail in the blur layer to select it. (The action is set to leave this layer selected for you automatically.)
Apply a Gaussian Blur to the layer. (Menu: Filter -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur...)
As a rule of thumb, I set the blur radius around 1% of the size of the image. In this example, I used a radius of 4.0 pixels for a 300 pixel image.
Click on "OK" to commit the blur filter.
You should now have a simple, two-layer Orton image, like the one shown on the left.

7. Mask the Third Layer

The Setup action automatically created mask on the Blur layer, and left a Sharp copy layer underneath it.
You can use this mask to selectively sharpen parts of the image, while leaving the rest of it blurred and soft.
Click on the white mask box on the Blur layer to select the mask layer. This will allow you to use the standard tools to draw on the mask, and not on the image.
Set your colors to black and white (press 'D').
Select the Brush tool (press 'B'). Adjust the softness and size of your brush as needed.
Set the opacity of the brush to something like 40-50%. This will allow you to mask out the blur more gradually.
Paint on the mask using your brush, in any place where you want the original sharpness of the image to show through the effect. Since you are painting on the mask, you should see the area under your brush get sharper with each stroke.
Masking is not the same as erasing. You can always undo part or all of the mask by painting with white instead of black.

8. Completed Three-Layer Image

In this example, I masked out most of the face of the building, to preserve the sharpness of the windows.
The sky and trees were left unmasked, so they have the most softened appearance.
You can now move on to more images very easily using this Actions set. There are only 4 basic steps:

Load the picture
Run one of the Setup actions
Blur the Blur Layer
Mask the Blur Layer

	1. Download Actions File Right-click on this link: Orton_Effect.atn Select 'Save Link As..." from the menu Save the file to your computer Note: This action set is known to work in Photoshop CS2 and CS3 for Windows. It does not work correctly under Photoshop 7 (old versions handled layer groups differently.)
	2. Load Actions in Photoshop Start Photoshop Locate the Actions window (Menu: Windows -> Action) Left-click on the menu pulldown button on the actions window to bring up the menu. (It looks like a down-arrow next to 3 lines in the top left corner.) Select "Load Actions..." and then find the Orton_Effect.atn file that you saved above. You should have a new folder of actions similar to the one seen to the left.
	3. Load Your Image Load your image into Photoshop In this example, I'm using a 300x300 pixel photo of the Tower of Terror at Disney MGM Studios
	4. Apply one of the "Setup" Actions Go to the actions window, and select one of the "Setup" actions. All of the Setup actions work the same way, with slightly different lightening steps included. In this example, I have selected the "Setup - Screen" action. Run the selected action, by clicking on the little "play" triangle icon at the bottom of the actions window. The action should play out, leaving you with a new set of layers like this one on the left. Group 1 is the sharp group. It contains the original, sharp image, and a lightening layer. Group 2 is the blur group. It contains a copy of the original image, a second copy to be blurred and masked, and another lightening layer.
	5. Image After Setup is Run This shows my example image after the layers have been created by the Setup action. The image should look about the same as the original. Setup-Screen (seen here) tends to increase the contrast of the resulting layers. Setup-Exposure and Setup-Expcurves will also increase the contrast, and may clip the image in the highlights somewhat. Setup-Gamma will not change the contrast. You should not notice any difference between the composed image and the original with this action.
	6. Blur the Blur Layer Click on the image thumbnail in the blur layer to select it. (The action is set to leave this layer selected for you automatically.) Apply a Gaussian Blur to the layer. (Menu: Filter -> Blur -> Gaussian Blur...) As a rule of thumb, I set the blur radius around 1% of the size of the image. In this example, I used a radius of 4.0 pixels for a 300 pixel image. Click on "OK" to commit the blur filter. You should now have a simple, two-layer Orton image, like the one shown on the left.
	7. Mask the Third Layer The Setup action automatically created mask on the Blur layer, and left a Sharp copy layer underneath it. You can use this mask to selectively sharpen parts of the image, while leaving the rest of it blurred and soft. Click on the white mask box on the Blur layer to select the mask layer. This will allow you to use the standard tools to draw on the mask, and not on the image. Set your colors to black and white (press 'D'). Select the Brush tool (press 'B'). Adjust the softness and size of your brush as needed. Set the opacity of the brush to something like 40-50%. This will allow you to mask out the blur more gradually. Paint on the mask using your brush, in any place where you want the original sharpness of the image to show through the effect. Since you are painting on the mask, you should see the area under your brush get sharper with each stroke. Masking is not the same as erasing. You can always undo part or all of the mask by painting with white instead of black.
	8. Completed Three-Layer Image In this example, I masked out most of the face of the building, to preserve the sharpness of the windows. The sky and trees were left unmasked, so they have the most softened appearance. You can now move on to more images very easily using this Actions set. There are only 4 basic steps: Load the picture Run one of the Setup actions Blur the Blur Layer Mask the Blur Layer