How to Make a Frequency Separation Photoshop Action

Creating a Photoshop action for frequency separation involves recording the steps needed to apply the frequency separation technique to an image. Frequency separation is a technique used in photo retouching to separate the high-frequency details (such as texture and fine details) from the low-frequency color and tone information. Here’s how you can create a frequency separation Photoshop action:

Step 1: Open an Image

1. Open the image you want to apply frequency separation to in Photoshop.

Step 2: Create a New Action

1. Open the Actions panel by going to Window > Actions.
2. Click the “Create New Action” button at the bottom of the Actions panel.
3. Name your action (e.g., “Frequency Separation”) and choose a set to store it in. Click “Record” to start recording the action.

Step 3: Apply Frequency Separation

1. With the action recording, perform the steps for frequency separation on your image:High-Frequency Layer (Texture)
   1. Duplicate the Background layer (Ctrl + J or Command + J on Mac).
   2. Rename the duplicate layer to “High Frequency.”
   3. With the “High Frequency” layer selected, go to Filter > Other > High Pass.
   4. Adjust the radius to find the appropriate level of texture detail. Usually, a radius between 2 to 5 pixels works well.
   5. Click “OK.”
   Low-Frequency Layer (Color and Tone)
   1. Create a new layer above the “High Frequency” layer and name it “Low Frequency.”
   2. Select the “Low Frequency” layer and go to Image > Apply Image.
   3. In the Apply Image dialog box, select the “High Frequency” layer from the “Layer” dropdown.
   4. Choose the “Subtract” blending mode and set the scale to 2, offset to 128.
   5. Click “OK.”

Step 4: Stop Recording the Action

1. After applying both the high-frequency and low-frequency layers, stop recording the action by clicking the “Stop” button in the Actions panel.

Step 5: Save the Action

1. Your frequency separation action is now created and can be found in the Actions panel.
2. You can apply this action to other images by selecting the image layer and clicking the “Play” button in the Actions panel with your frequency separation action selected.

Keep in mind that frequency separation is a technique often customized to suit the specific image and retouching needs. Depending on your preferences, you might need to adjust the settings, such as the High Pass radius or the blending mode in the Apply Image step. Also, remember to save a copy of the original image before applying any retouching techniques in case you need to revert back to it.