Works with actions!

Primatte fully supports Photoshop's Action and Batch processes. This is great if you regularly work with groups of photographs that need to be processed fast and somewhat autonomously.

An Action will automate a task in Photoshop by saving a script of commands and operations that can be replayed. The Action that you create holds on to Primatte’s color settings and applies them to another photograph.

In our Actions palette, we've created a 'run primatte' script. This Action contains two steps. First, the default layer of our file is converted into a regular layer to support transparency. That is the 'Set Background' item. Next is the 'Primatte' item. The Primatte filter is opened, its mask settings are accessed, and Primatte is applied to the photograph.

Works with batch process!

You can also tie that Primatte Action into a Batch process. The Batch command, accessible through Photoshop's File> Automate menu, lets you run an Action on a folder of files.

In this Batch dialog, we've specified our Primatte Action. We've also chosen a folder of bluescreen images to process.

Anything that Photoshop can handle regarding automation can be tied into Primatte. When batch processing files, it's a good idea to save modified versions of the files to a new location, leaving the original photos intact.

Actions don't work in all situations.

An automated approach to Primatte will not work ideally with every group of photographs. This is because the Action/Batch is pulling out specific color settings. If the other photos have a different color distribution, then the automatic mask is going to be wrong.

ABOVE: A photo group that works great with an Action/Batch. Multiple photos of a model were taken under the same lighting conditions and against the same backing screen.

ABOVE: A photo group that doesn't work with an Action/Batch. The two models have different hair and skin colors. More importantly, the back screens are different colors and their lighting conditions are varied.

Want more info about actions?

We've created a step-by-step explanation of using Primatte in an Action, then tying that Action to a Batch process. We also show examples of what groups will and won't work with an Action/Batch and explain why.