Retouching Actions: is this $40 stack worth it for Photography?
If you’ve ever stared at a portrait export and felt like you’re rebuilding your retouching workflow from scratch every single session, you know the tax on consistency. You have the skill, but the setup—frequency separation layers, dodge-and-burn masks, color grade tweaks for different skin tones—eats an hour before you even touch a pixel. Erjon Sopaj’s Retouching Actions is a $40 bundle designed to collapse that setup time into a single click, giving you a full high-end beauty and portrait toolkit that handles everything from digital skin texture to specific color grades for dark and white skin. It’s not a generic “smooth skin” filter; it’s a structured stack of 40 distinct actions that lets you move from raw file to polished finish without manually rebuilding your layer structure every time.
Quick answer
| Best for | Portrait and beauty photographers who want a consistent, high-end retouching workflow without building it from scratch. |
| Skip if | You only do landscape or product photography, or you prefer a completely manual, from-scratch layering process. |
| Price | $40 |
| Format | 40 Photoshop Actions (3.18 MB download) |
| One-line take | A comprehensive portrait retouching stack that covers skin, eyes, teeth, and color grading in one package. |
What you’re actually buying
At $40, you aren’t just buying a “smooth skin” button. You’re getting a specialized library that addresses the specific pain points of commercial portrait and beauty work. The core of the pack is the frequency separation suite, which includes Frequency Separation +, FS 8-Bit Plus, and FS 8-Bit. This is critical because frequency separation is the industry standard for separating texture from tone, allowing you to smooth skin without losing pore detail. By including multiple variations (8-bit, plus, and standard), the pack accounts for different file structures and workflow preferences, ensuring you have the right tool for your specific resolution and bit-depth needs.
Beyond skin, the pack covers the “details that sell” in high-end beauty shots. You get dedicated actions for Eyes Plus + and basic eye work, as well as a suite of dental fixes including Whiten & Brighten Teeth, Whiten Teeth only, and an Easy tooth fix. These aren’t one-size-fits-all; the variation allows you to choose between a subtle brightening for a natural look or a more aggressive whiten for a commercial campaign. There’s also specific attention to lips and cheeks, which are often neglected in general-purpose retouching packs but are crucial for beauty editorial work.
The color grading section is where this pack distinguishes itself from cheaper, generic action bundles. Instead of a single “color correct” action, you get Dark Skin Color Grade +15 Actions and White Skin Color Grade +15 Actions. This specificity is rare in this price range. It acknowledges that retouching a client with deep skin tones requires different luminance and saturation adjustments than a client with fair skin, and it provides a structured set of 15 actions for each to handle that nuance. Combined with tools like Dodge & Burn, Face Contouring, and a BW Help Layer, you have a complete workflow for both the technical cleanup and the artistic grading of a portrait.
Why it’s on our radar
This pack is interesting because it solves the “workflow fragmentation” problem that plagues many retouchers. Most action packs focus heavily on skin smoothing and ignore the rest of the face or the color grading phase. Retouching Actions covers the entire pipeline: from the structural layer setup (frequency separation) to the detailed fixes (teeth, eyes) to the final artistic grade (skin-tone-specific color actions). The inclusion of 15 distinct actions for both dark and white skin color grades is a strong signal that the seller understands the specific technical requirements of diverse skin tones, rather than just applying a generic HSL curve. For a photographer who shoots a mix of clients, having these pre-built grades saves significant time in the color correction phase, which is often the most tedious part of the retouching process.
What actually matters
Before you commit, check your Photoshop version compatibility. While most actions are version-agnostic, some complex frequency separation setups can behave differently across major version updates (e.g., CC 2020 vs. 2024). Verify that the Retouching Actions are compatible with your current version to avoid unexpected layer issues.
Look at the file size and structure. The pack is a 3.18 MB download, which is standard for a set of 40 actions. Ensure you have a clean workspace or a dedicated folder for your actions, as installing this many actions at once can clutter your Actions panel if you don’t organize them into a dedicated set. (Retouching Actions)
Consider your retouching style. If you are a “minimalist” retoucher who prefers to do everything manually with manual masks and curves, this pack might feel like overkill. However, if you are a commercial shooter who needs to deliver 50+ portraits a week with a consistent, high-end look, the frequency separation and color grade actions will significantly speed up your turnaround time. The pack is built for efficiency and consistency, which is its primary value proposition.
Mid-check
If you’re ready to streamline your portrait workflow, See current options.
FAQ
Do these actions work for all skin tones? Yes, the pack includes specific Dark Skin Color Grade +15 Actions and White Skin Color Grade +15 Actions. This specificity is a major advantage over generic packs, as it allows for tailored luminance and saturation adjustments for different skin types.
Is this just a skin smoothing tool? No. While it includes Skin Smooth +, Quick skin +, and Magic brush Skin Smooth, the pack also covers eyes, teeth, lips, contouring, and color grading. It is a full retouching suite, not just a blur tool.
Do I need to know frequency separation to use this? You don’t need to build it from scratch, but understanding the concept helps you troubleshoot. The Frequency Separation + actions will set up the layers for you, but knowing how to adjust the texture and tone layers manually will allow you to fine-tune the results for specific clients.
Bottom line
If you are a portrait or beauty photographer who is tired of rebuilding your retouching stack from scratch, Retouching Actions is a solid investment. The $40 price point is reasonable for a pack that includes 40 distinct actions, particularly given the specific color grading options for different skin tones. It’s a tool for efficiency and consistency, designed to help you deliver high-end results faster. If that matches your workflow, it’s worth a look.