Photoshop Actions for Landscape Photography & Astrophotography

What Are Photoshop Actions?

Photoshop Actions automate editing steps that would otherwise have to be repeated manually, from something as simple as adding an adjustment layer to more involved processes using masks, Smart Objects, filters, or image stacks. I built this set around the techniques I use in my own landscape and astrophotography workflow to cut down on repetitive setup and get to the actual editing faster. The actions create editable layers, masks, smart objects, and filters that can still be adjusted afterward, and they automatically name the layers they create to help keep the layer stack organized.

What’s Included

The set includes the 28 actions listed below:

Auto Curves

The “Auto Curves” action creates four separate Curves adjustment layers, each using one of Photoshop’s four automatic Curves algorithms. The visibility of all four layers is initially turned off so the layers can be quickly toggled and compared. If one or more of the results are useful, those layers can be kept while the others are deleted, then further refined using opacity, blend mode, masking, or adjustments to the Curve itself. This action is typically useful after the initial RAW adjustments, though it can also be used later in the workflow. The action is assigned to F1 for quick access from the keyboard.

Curves with Luminosity Mask (Lighter Tones)

The “Curves / Light Mask” action creates a Curves adjustment layer with a luminosity mask targeting the lighter tones of the image. The mask is generated from the image’s RGB luminosity information and applied automatically to the Curves layer, allowing adjustments to be concentrated more heavily on brighter areas while reducing their impact on darker tones. The generated mask remains fully editable and can be inspected, modified with Curves to make it more or less restrictive, or refined manually with the Brush tool. The action is assigned to F2 for quick access from the keyboard.

Curves with Luminosity Mask (Midtones)

The “Curves / Mid Mask” action creates a Curves adjustment layer with a luminosity mask targeting the midtones of the image. This makes it possible to adjust contrast, brightness, or color primarily within the middle tonal range while reducing the effect on the brightest highlights and darkest shadows. The generated mask remains fully editable and can be refined with Curves or manual brushwork as needed. The action is assigned to F3 for quick access from the keyboard.

Curves with Luminosity Mask (Darker Tones)

The “Curves / Dark Mask” action creates a Curves adjustment layer with a luminosity mask targeting the darker tones of the image. This allows adjustments to be concentrated more heavily in the shadows while reducing their impact on brighter areas of the photograph. The generated mask remains fully editable and can be modified with Curves or refined manually with the Brush tool. The action is assigned to F4 for quick access from the keyboard.

Curves with Sky Mask

The “Curves / Sky Mask” action creates a Curves adjustment layer with a mask targeting the sky. It uses Photoshop’s Select Sky feature to generate the selection automatically, then applies that selection to the Curves layer and renames the layer “Curves / Sky” to help keep the layer stack organized. The Curve can then be adjusted to modify the sky independently from the rest of the image. Because the mask is based on Photoshop’s automatic sky selection, it may still need manual refinement depending on the photograph. The action is assigned to Shift + F2 for quick access from the keyboard.

Curves with Inverted Sky Mask

The “Curves / MinusSky Mask” action creates a Curves adjustment layer with a mask targeting everything except the sky. It uses Photoshop’s Select Sky feature to generate the initial selection, then applies the inverse of that selection to the Curves layer and renames the layer “Curves / MinusSky” to help keep the layer stack organized. The Curve can then be adjusted to modify the foreground and other non-sky areas independently from the sky. Because the mask is based on Photoshop’s automatic sky selection, it may still need manual refinement depending on the photograph. The action is assigned to Shift + F3 for quick access from the keyboard.

Curves

The Curves action adds a standard Curves adjustment layer with a single click. It was created mainly to make Curves accessible through a keyboard shortcut or action button, allowing a new Curves layer to be added instantly without navigating through Photoshop’s menus. It is a simple action, but it saves a repeated step that comes up frequently during editing. The action is assigned to Shift + F1 for quick access from the keyboard.

Dodge with Luminosity Mask (Lighter Tones)

The “Dodge / Light Mask” action creates a new layer, sets the blend mode to Soft Light, selects the Brush tool, sets the painting color to white, and applies a luminosity mask targeting the lighter tones of the image. The layer is then renamed “Dodge / Light” to help keep the layer stack organized. This setup makes it possible to begin selectively brightening lighter areas immediately, while the luminosity mask helps limit the effect on darker tones. The mask remains fully editable, and Brush opacity or layer opacity can be adjusted to control the strength of the effect. The action is assigned to F5 for quick access from the keyboard.

Dodge

The “Dodge” action creates a new layer, sets the blend mode to Soft Light, selects the Brush tool, sets the painting color to white, and adds an all-white layer mask. The layer is automatically renamed “Dodge” to help keep the layer stack organized. Because there is no luminosity mask restricting the effect, the brightening can be painted anywhere in the image and controlled using Brush opacity, layer opacity, or the layer mask. The action is assigned to Shift + F5 for quick access from the keyboard.

Burn with Luminosity Mask (Darker Tones)

The “Burn / Dark Mask” action creates a new layer, sets the blend mode to Soft Light, selects the Brush tool, sets the painting color to black, and applies a luminosity mask targeting the darker tones of the image. The layer is automatically renamed “Burn / Dark” to help keep the layer stack organized. This setup makes it possible to begin selectively darkening darker areas immediately while reducing the effect on brighter tones. The mask remains fully editable, and Brush opacity or layer opacity can be adjusted to control the strength of the effect. The action is assigned to F6 for quick access from the keyboard.

Burn

The “Burn” action creates a new layer, sets the blend mode to Soft Light, selects the Brush tool, sets the painting color to black, and adds an all-white layer mask. The layer is automatically renamed “Burn” to help keep the layer stack organized. Because there is no luminosity mask restricting the effect, darkening can be painted anywhere in the image and controlled using Brush opacity, layer opacity, or the layer mask. The action is assigned to Shift + F6 for quick access from the keyboard.

Clean Up

The “Clean Up” action creates a new blank layer, automatically renames it “Clean Up,” and selects the Spot Healing Brush so retouching can begin immediately. The layer can also be used with other cleanup tools such as the Remove tool or Clone Stamp, keeping those edits separate from the underlying image. The action is assigned to F7 for quick access from the keyboard.

Glow

The “Glow” action creates a merged copy of the visible image, renames the layer “Glow,” converts it to a Smart Object, and applies a 25-pixel Gaussian Blur along with a Camera Raw Filter that slightly warms the image and adjusts the tonal curve to create a soft glow effect. An all-white layer mask is added, and the Glow layer is set to 30% opacity as a starting point. Because the effect is created using Smart Filters, the Gaussian Blur and Camera Raw settings can be reopened and adjusted later if needed. The mask can also be replaced with a Light, Mid, or Dark luminosity mask to restrict the effect to specific tonal areas. The action is assigned to F8 for quick access from the keyboard.

Sharpen

The “Sharpen” action creates a merged copy of the visible image, renames the layer “Sharpen,” converts it to a Smart Object, and applies sharpening through the Camera Raw Filter. The sharpening starts with an Amount of 60, Radius of 1, Detail of 40, and Masking of 25. An all-white layer mask is also added so the effect can be refined or restricted afterward. Because the sharpening is applied as a Smart Filter, the Camera Raw settings remain editable, and the final strength can also be controlled with layer opacity or by replacing the mask with a Light, Mid, or Dark luminosity mask. The action is assigned to F9 for quick access from the keyboard.

Replace Mask with Luminosity Mask (Lighter Tones)

The “Replace Mask / Light” action replaces the existing layer mask on the selected layer with a luminosity mask targeting the lighter tones of the image. It is intended for layers that already have a mask and makes it possible to quickly restrict an existing effect or adjustment based on the brighter tonal values. The action is assigned to F10 for quick access from the keyboard.

Replace Mask with Luminosity Mask (Midtones)

The “Replace Mask / Mid” action replaces the existing layer mask on the selected layer with a luminosity mask targeting the midtones of the image. It is intended for layers that already have a mask and provides a quick way to constrain an existing effect or adjustment primarily to the middle tonal range. The action is assigned to F11 for quick access from the keyboard.

Replace Mask with Luminosity Mask (Darker Tones)

The “Replace Mask / Dark” action replaces the existing layer mask on the selected layer with a luminosity mask targeting the darker tones of the image. It is intended for layers that already have a mask and makes it easy to restrict an existing effect or adjustment primarily to the shadow values. The action is assigned to F12 for quick access from the keyboard.

Add Luminosity Mask (Lighter Tones)

The “Add Mask / Light” action adds a luminosity mask targeting the lighter tones of the image to a layer that does not already have a mask. It first creates an all-white mask, then applies the same light-toned luminosity masking process used by the corresponding Replace Mask action. The action is assigned to Shift + F10 for quick access from the keyboard.

Add Luminosity Mask (Midtones)

The “Add Mask / Mid” action adds a luminosity mask targeting the midtones of the image to a layer that does not already have a mask. It first creates an all-white mask, then applies the same midtone luminosity masking process used by the corresponding Replace Mask action. The action is assigned to Shift + F11 for quick access from the keyboard.

Add Luminosity Mask (Darker Tones)

The “Add Mask / Dark” action adds a luminosity mask targeting the darker tones of the image to a layer that does not already have a mask. It first creates an all-white mask, then applies the same dark-toned luminosity masking process used by the corresponding Replace Mask action. The action is assigned to Shift + F12 for quick access from the keyboard.

Star Trails and Astrophotography Actions

The astrophotography actions are some of the most involved tools in the set. They are designed for photographers working with stacks of night-sky images and automate processes that would otherwise require substantial repetitive work in Photoshop. Separate tapered versions are included for stacks containing 50 to 149 images and for stacks containing 150 or more images.

Standard Star Trails

The “Startrails (normal)” action blends a stack of night-sky images together using the Lighten blend mode so the brighter star positions accumulate across the sequence and form continuous trails.

Tapered Star Trails (50-149 Images)

The “Startrails Tapered (50-149 images)” action first blends the stack of night-sky images using the Lighten blend mode, then progressively adjusts the opacity of the layers throughout the stack. This causes each trail to gradually fade toward one end instead of maintaining the same brightness across its full length, creating a tapered, comet-like appearance.

Reversed Tapered Star Trails (50-149 Images)

The “Startrails Tapered Reversed (50-149 images)” action first reverses the order of the image stack, then blends the images using the Lighten blend mode and progressively adjusts the opacity of the layers throughout the stack. This causes the trails to gradually fade in the opposite direction compared with the standard tapered version, creating a reversed comet-like appearance.

Tapered Star Trails (150+ Images)

The “Startrails Tapered (150+ images)” action uses the same process for stacks containing 150 or more images. It blends the stack using the Lighten blend mode, then progressively adjusts the opacity of the layers throughout the stack to create the tapered, comet-like star-trail effect.

Reversed Tapered Star Trails (150+ Images)

The “Startrails Tapered Reversed (150+ images)” action first reverses the order of a stack containing 150 or more images, then blends the images using the Lighten blend mode and progressively adjusts the opacity of the layers throughout the stack. This causes the trails to taper in the opposite direction compared with the standard tapered version, providing an alternate result that can be chosen based on the composition.

Noise Reduction from Stack

The “Noise Reduction from Stack” action is designed for a stack of night-sky images and uses Photoshop’s Median Stack Mode to combine the photographs and average out random noise. Because random noise varies from frame to frame while consistent scene detail remains, combining multiple exposures in this way can produce a much cleaner image. The action handles the stack processing automatically, merges the result into a single layer, renames it “Noise Reduction from Stack,” and adds an all-white layer mask so the cleaner composite can be blended into the final photograph as needed.

Star Trails + Noise Reduction (50-149 Images)

The “Startrails + NR (50-149 images)” action combines several of the individual astrophotography actions into one automated workflow for stacks containing 50 to 149 images. It processes the image stack and outputs four separate layers: standard star trails, tapered star trails, reversed tapered star trails, and a noise-reduced composite. Each result is placed on its own named layer with an all-white layer mask so the different versions can be compared, masked, and blended independently. Instead of running each process separately, the combined action handles the repetitive processing automatically and leaves all four outputs ready to evaluate when it finishes.

Star Trails + Noise Reduction (150+ Images)

The “Startrails + NR (150+ images)” action performs the same combined workflow for stacks containing 150 or more images. It automatically generates four separate outputs: standard star trails, tapered star trails, reversed tapered star trails, and a noise-reduced composite. Each result is placed on its own named layer with an all-white layer mask so the different versions can be compared, masked, and blended independently. Large high-resolution image stacks can take several minutes for Photoshop to process, but once the action is started, the processing is handled automatically and all four results are ready to evaluate when it finishes.

These Actions Save Time Without Replacing the Editing Process

The actions are designed to automate repetitive Photoshop work, not to make the creative decisions.

A Curves action can create an adjustment layer and targeted mask, but the Curve still needs to be shaped for the individual photograph. A Dodge or Burn action can prepare the layer, mask, blend mode, Brush tool, and color, but the photographer still decides where and how strongly to paint. Glow and Sharpen create editable starting points, but their final strength and masking remain adjustable. The Star Trails actions process the image stack, but the photographer still decides which output works best and how it should be blended into the finished image.

The goal is to automate repetitive technical setup while retaining full control over the final edit.

Can You Create These Actions Yourself?

Yes. Photoshop includes the ability to record your own Actions, and that is how these actions were originally created. Similar workflows can be built manually by anyone willing to spend the time setting them up, testing them, and organizing them.

The purpose of this pack is convenience. The actions are already built, tested, organized, and ready to use. Some save a few repeated steps, while others automate substantially more involved processes such as tapered star trails and multi-image noise reduction. Together, they reduce the amount of repetitive setup required from image to image and make the Photoshop workflow faster and more streamlined.

If you would rather skip the setup and start using the complete action set immediately, the pack is available for $19.99.