Here’sthe second set of actions I wrote about earlier today:

This set has two actions that produce a “Cross-Processed” look - taking the color channel of an image and altering it it some way to create a better look, an interesting effect, or a color-shifted appearance. And if you couldn’t tell by the nifty Add-O-Matic graphic over there, they’re good to go for Elements 5 and 6 (and quite probably earlier versions, too, but I don’t have an Add-O available for them….)

Anyway, these are two extensions (companions?) to the Cross-Processed action already in FunFotoFX. One big difference is that while the original creates a very specific effect, these two are infinitely more versatile in how you choose to make them look - you can change blend modes, turn layers on and off, change the order of the layers, and play until you turn your mouse finger into a little stump.

For two examples, the straight output of Cross Processed 2 is up there to the left. The bluish tinted image on the right was altered slightly:  I simply moved the “Blue” layer to the top of the stack and changed its blend mode to Multiply:

For the second altered output, I kept the Blue layer on the bottom of the stack, but changed the blend mode of the Red layer to Luminosity and the Green layer to Difference.

It makes for a beautifully darker color balance, and to me, looks great on portrait images with darker backgrounds.  Oh - it really works well to bring out lush scenery, too - try it on a landscape shot that needs a bit more “pop”.

The other action here - Cross Processed 3 - adds two Green layers that you can swap, blur, tweak, turn on or off, or otherwise alter. To the right is the regular output just as the action finishes:

It adds a ton of green to this particular image, so to counteract it a bit, I simply changed the “Red” layer to Multiply mode. It’s similar to the image I creted with Cross Processed 2, but contributes a little more lighting.

More experiments resulted in the image below. For that, to counteract the green, I added a solid color adjustment and filled it with a green color similar to the green I “eyedroppered” from the image.  I changed the Adjustment layer’s blend mode to Hue and added an Invert Adjustment layer above that - then I grouped the Invert layer to the Solid Color Adjustment (make the Invert layer active in the Layers palette & press <Ctrl>+<G>):

Other experiments with Pin Light & Vivid Light blends produced images that resemble High Key effects, Posterization effects, inverted effects and so many other interesting things in between.

So when you think about asking “what should I do with this action?” or “how does this action work?” (or “this action really bites….”) - just experiment! Move layers around and change blends and try different combinations.  This isn’t an action that will do everything for you “out of the box” - it gives you some new tools to mess with, though - but you’ll have to do a bit of work with them to get the look you like.

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