How To Create A Photoshop Action! Batch Edit Images

Got a folder of hundreds of photos that all need the same edit? In this episode we record a Photoshop Action once, then use Batch processing to apply it to an entire folder automatically, no clicking through each image one at a time.

We build a simple black-and-white action with a Black & White adjustment layer and a Levels tweak, then show you how to run that action across a whole folder with File, then Automate, then Batch, including the one setting that keeps Photoshop from stopping to ask you a question on every single image.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Intro to Batch Actions in Photoshop
01:04 Creating a New Action
02:08 Adding a Levels Adjustment
02:36 Flattening and Saving the Image
04:01 Setting Up the Batch Command
04:42 Overriding Save Dialogs for Batch Processing
05:23 Reviewing Your Batch-Processed Results

THE STEPS
1. Open the Actions panel with Window, then Actions, click New Action, name it, and hit Record.
2. Make your edits normally (we used a Black & White adjustment layer, then a Levels adjustment on the Blue channel for a bit of color in the shadows and highlights), the Actions panel records every step.
3. Flatten the image with Layer, then Flatten Image, then save with Command/Ctrl+S so the save step itself gets recorded into the action, then click Stop.
4. Always work from a backup copy of your originals first, since recording a save step means the action will save directly over the image you just recorded on.
5. Go to File, then Automate, then Batch, select your action, and choose a Source folder (uncheck "Include All Subfolders" if you don't want it touching a backup folder) and a Destination folder.
6. Check "Override Action Save As Commands" so Photoshop uses your action's save settings automatically instead of popping up a save dialog for every image.
7. Click OK and let Photoshop process the entire folder in the background, whether it's a dozen images or a thousand.

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