Ass215 - digital image manipulation, part 5

image manipulation gallery

original image

processed image

masks and cropping

overlay, mask and crop

original processed image

greyscale manipulation

colour tints

tints and masks

retro, jumpers for goalposts

mask, layers and cropping

Ass215 - digital image manipulation, part 4

Saving images and file formats

The final part of the process is to save the work, there are many formats available within Photoshop, each format has a different use depending on the end use of the image, for this project I have used the JPEG format, it provides a file format that works well and is supported on the web and in digital print.


.JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), is a widely used method of compression for digital images, the amount of compression can be adjusted, allowing for a controlled trade-off between storage file size and image quality. This format is used in the graphics, publishing, and web industries, where the requirement to control and distribute images over the internet without loosing too much perceptible quality is essential for the end user, either for traditional print requirement or to be viewed on computer screen.

The JPEG is also the most common file format used in todays creative industries and by the amateur photographer, images are saved within the digital camera. Internal settings allow the photographer to choose image output quality, large JPEG files for publishing or small JPEG options for viewing on computer or even in a digital frame.


Other file formats that might be used in the production process:


.PSD (Photoshop Document), saves an image with layers, layer-masks, clipping paths, transparency, text and many more settings, this allows the operator to re-open the saved document at any time to make changes. This file format can also be exported to and from other Adobe software products such as Illustrator, Premiere Pro, and After Effects.

.TIFF (Tagged Image File Format), is a file format used for storing image data and is widely used in the graphics, photographic, publishing industries due to its ability to handle image data within a single file source, this format is slowly being replaced with JPEG as the industries preferred format choice.

.PNG (Portable Network Graphics), is a bitmapped image format that employs lossless data compression and was designed for image transfer on the web, this file format was not designed for use in traditional print.

Ass215 - digital image manipulation, part 3

Black and White conversion

cropped original colour image

To convert a colour image in Photoshop to Black & White there are a few different ways for this task to be completed, the quickest and simplest way to convert an image is to change the colour mode to Grayscale, this way of converting the image discards the colour from the image coupeletly and cannot be reversed once the file has been saved.

fig.1

To change the colour image to grayscale (fig.1) we need to alter the colour  Mode, this can be found on the header bar under the Image heading, once the image has been converted to grayscale it can be worked on further in Photoshop by using various filters, layers and any number of combinations.

fig.2

The second possible option is the Chanel Mixer (fig.2), this is found via the Image header under the Adjustments sub-window. With this option you click the Monochrome button first and then you use the RGB slide bars to control the look of the image, the source chanels should make up a total score of 100 for the best result, once you are happy with your image you click OK and a chanel mixer layer is located above the original image, this way of working allows you to retain the colour image within the PSD file.

fig.3

fig.4

For the third convertion (fig 3.) you could use the Black and White layer option, this option is also found under Image heading scrolling down to Adjustments and in the sub-window you can select Black and White..., this option automatically converts the image to grayscale, providing you with 6 slide bars to alter the image (fig.4), giving you good control on the final output, also with this option you have some saved Prests which can be used as a starting point to manipulate the image. The final tool within this option is the Tint tool, by using this option you can convert the image to a single colour image.

fig.5

An alternative working method is to use a layer mask, by clicking on the Create new fill or adjustment layer button (fig.5) found at the bottom of the Layers pallet, an adjustment mask is positioned above the colour image, this works for both the Chanel Mixer and the Black and White layer option.

fig.6

By using this method the original image can be worked on in the grayscale mode without the loss of colour to the original base layer image, by clicking on the mask layer you open up the mixer window (fig.6) this is where the image can be manipulated, once you are happy with the image it can be re-named and saved as a PSD, saving the image as a PSD file allows you to re-open the file and make as many changes and tweaks as you require in the future.

Ass 211 - Task 2a - Presenting photo images

Ass 211 - Task 1a & 1b - Presenting photo images

The first stage of the process was to download the images to a new folder on my computer desk-top, by selecting all of the images within the folder and touching the space bar I could view an index sheet and take a closer look at each individual image approx.150.

contact sheet

Once I had taken a look at all the images within the folder I started the selection process, I wanted to select pictures which would convey Pollys personality, 24 images were chosen. For the next stage I opened Photoshop and used the Automate feature to create a contact sheet, once I had this file I could either print it off and mark-up the sheet in a traditional way or I could view the same file on the computer and mark-up each individual image as to how it might be cropped, I could also look at how these images might work as a complete presentation, various crop boxes were overlayed, positioned and re-positioned until I felt that I new which images would work best together for my final image choice and how they would be cropped.

I had decided to present the images in a square format, to achieve this I would have to open each of my selected images in photoshop, the first part of the process was to crop the image to the required composition, I would then unlock the background layer and make sure that the canvas size was 300mm square, the image would be either enlarged or reduced to fit the canvas the image was then flattened and save.

The next stage of the process was for the background layer to be duplicated and an unsharp filter applied to the top layer, depending on the image and how the filter looked the top layers opacity is reduced for a natural look, the two layers are then merged and reduced to 97%, to create the border a new layer was added and positioned at the bottom of the file and a black fill was applied, these layers are then merged and reduced to 95%, a second new layer was then added with a white fill and positioned below the image layer and the file was flattened, the final part of the process was to reduce the image file size to 250 mm square at 240 dpi, this process was applied to all 10 of my chosen images.

The final part of the assignment would be to present the images together as a collection, this might be done as a printed booklet, it might be as a set of individual art prints presented in a traditional portfolio case or even as a single canvas with all the images shown together each of these options might prove expensive depending on the chosen supplier and the quality of materials used.

Another way to present the final images would be to use an online gallery sources such as Flickr or Blogger, with both of these options the gallery would be ready to view worldwide as soon as the images had been uploaded and published, this option would be very cost effective as it is free to most users at the moment, to support this option an email link could be mailed out to various contacts world wide informing them of the new online portfolio.

bored now...