Photoshop - Retouching

Editing - Retouching

In today's lesson, we used photoshop to retouch portraits. I retouched an image which I captured during my studio portrait shoot. I really liked this image as an original but think that it looks even more effective in the new edited version. Below shows a screenshot of my photoshop page during the editing process.

Firstly, we edited the basic flaws of the image. To do this I followed the below method -

1. Open the image and select Image, mode and then CMYK colour. 

2. When this has opened, go to channels and select yellow.

3. Press cmdA and then cmdC.

4. Then, go back to layers and press cmd alt Z and then cmdV.

5. Then rename the yellow layer 'Flaws' and press cmdV to invert.

6. Following this step, change 'normal' to 'soft light' and set the opacity to 50%.

7. Then, select the colour white and select the paintbrush tool and paint the desired areas of the image.

Then, we followed the previous method by altering any blemishes on the subject. To do this, we -

1. Press cmdJ to copy the background and rename the new layer 'Blemishes'.

2. Then select either the healing brush or spot healing brush which is on the menu on the left hand side of the screen.

3. Then select an area of clear skin and then paint over the spots or blemishes on which are in the image. 

Above is my original image.

Above is my edited image. I think that these edits are helpful when editing and photographing for the topic of portraiture as it helps to make adjustments and also allows imperfections to be fixed. In my opinion, the ability to edit out things like blemishes is helpful as it helps in the portrayal of the subject and gives a clear representation of what the individual is usually like and their appearance is therefore not altered by things which are not permanent and not usually there like spots and blemishes. In addition, I think that the image is more eye-catching and looks better due to the fact that the subjects skin appears to be clearer and the overall image is lighter than the original which I think looks effective. I also think that the edits help to make the image appear more professional and striking to the audience's eye. 

Lighting for Portraiture in the Studio

Low Key Lighting for Portraiture

1. Place the snoot over the mono-block light

2. Use the light reader to determine the correct camera settings.

3. For our shoot, I set the camera to ISO 200, f/stop 16 and the shutter speed of 1/125.

During the session on low key lighting, I experimented with taking portraits using this type of lighting and the above camera settings. Below shows some of my outcomes from the session. I really like how the images suggest an element of mystery due to the fact that they are quite dark and therefore appear to be quite dramatic.

I then edited my original images which are shown below to give them a black and white filter. In my opinion, the edited versions look much more effective as the edits help to show the highlighted areas as well as the shadowed areas. I also edited the image by increasing the saturation and also altering the curves to make the overall image brighter to therefore help the subject appear more striking and attract the audiences eye more. I also prefer the edits as I believe that the black and white filter helps to portray the element of mystery that is presented in the portraits which are captured with the low key lighting. Overall, I really like the outcome from the session and feel as though the lighting has helped to create a more dramatic photograph.

Although I like the original image and its composition, I feel that the image was more successful when it had been edited using photoshop.

With the above images, I really like the way that the light has been manipulated in order to make the main light be on the subjects face. This therefore helps to draw the audiences eye to this area as the main focus point of the image. I like the edit as I think that it has been successful in brightening the illuminated area of the image. 

I really like the composition of this image and like the element of shadow which is present within the image.

I especially like the edited version and feel it is a more successful image than the original. I like the way that the element of shadow is still present and like how, using the edit, I have managed to brighten the image and also by doing this, give certain areas of the image, such as the hair and the hand, more definition.

I like this image and like the alternative way of the photograph being taken as a landscape shot. I think that in this image, this is effective as it has allowed more negative space to be created either side of the subject's face. 

I really like this edit which was done using photoshop. I like how I have managed to enlighten the skin tones as this does not only draw more attention to the face, but also makes the shadows more apparent on the face. I think that these shadows look very effective and add interest to the image. I achieved the position of the shadows by manipulating the positioning of the low key lighting in the studio. 

Editing - Print Conventions and Preparation of Final Images

Print Conventions - Definitions

PPI - This refers to the numbers of pixels per inch in the images. This will affect the print size of the photo and will affect the quality of the output. 

72 PPI - Used for websites and images in digital form.

300 PPI - Used when printing images.

White Balance Adjustment - The colour balance on a digital camera. It is the process of removing unrealistic colour casts. This allows objects that appear white in person to also appear white within the image.

Colour Temperature - Refers to the measure of a lights colour. A cold colour temperature would be towards the blue end of the spectrum whereas the warmer images are more towards the red end of the spectrum. 

Dodge - Makes the image brighter.

Burn - Makes the image darker.

Print Resolution - The degree of sharpness of a printed image. Resolution is defined by pixels per inch.

Healing Brush - An intelligent paint tool which is similar to the clone stamp tool. The tools allows the covering of blemishes. 

Clone Stamp Tool - Photoshop's clone stamp tool allows you to duplicate part of an image. 

Hue - A colour or shade.

Saturation - Used to refer to the intensity of a colour within an image. 

Levels - Used to correct the tonal range and colour balance of an image by adjusting the intensity of the images shadows, mid tones and highlights.

Curves - Assists with the adjusting of points through an image's tonal range.

Editing

Editing using Photoshop

Curves and Hue and Saturation 

For this image, I used Photoshop to alter the brightness, saturation and curves in order to achieve a brighter and more eye-catching final photograph.

This screenshot shows when I was adapting the curves. 

This screenshot shows when I was adapting the saturation. Although I did not increase the saturation much, I think that the little that I did increase it made the overall image more effective.

Before -

After -

Evaluation -

I think that my final edited image looks much more effective than the original. I like the way that the edited version of the image is much brighter and also like that the background is much whiter and more bold which assists the image in catching the audiences eye. In addition, I like the way that the figure is made bolder by the increase of saturation as it allows the person to stand out more against the white background. 

Levels

I altered the levels in order to change the lighting and brightness in the image.

Before -

 After -

Evaluation -

I think that the adapted levels of the image helps to make the images more bold and striking to look at. I like how the colours are also bolder and more vibrant as this helps to make the images more eye-catching and attractive to the eye. This edit also allows the presentation of more detail within the image. 

Dodge and Burn

With the below image, I edited with the dodge and burn tool on photoshop. I like the way that this tool can create more intricate darker and lighter effects within the images. To use the dodge and burn tools, I used the 'select' tool to select the area I wanted to apply the effect too. I then selected either the 'dodge' or 'burn' tool and applied them to the selected area of my image. 

Firstly, I edited the curves of the image to increase the brightness and also make the darker colours bolder. 

I then also edited the hue and saturation and increased the saturation to make the image bolder and more striking. 

I then experimented with the dodge tool and the burn tools to create darker and lighter effects within the image.

Before -

After -

Evaluation -

I like the outcome of my first attempt using the dodge and burn tools. I think the outcome is effective in presenting the effect and it clearly shows the darker and lighter areas. However, if I were to do this again, I would make the effect more subtle as I think that this would look more effective. On the whole, I am not overly satisfied with my first attempt at using the dodge and burn tools. However, I then also experimented with another image and feel that the more subtle use of the tools makes the image appear slightly more effective.

White Balance

I then used white balance to improve the following image.

Firstly, I began with my original image.

Then, I selected the levels shortcut and then selected the middle/bottom pipette icon depending on how bright the image is needed to be. 

Before -

After -

Evaluation -

I think that the image looks much more effective in the edited version where the white balance has bee applied. It has made the image much more striking and bright which therefore helps it to appeal to the audience and attract attention.

Selected Colour Manipulation

Firstly, begin with the original image.

Select the desired area of the image using the 'select' tool. 

Once you have the desired area selected, click 'select' and then 'inverse'. This will allow for making the background black and white and leaving the originally selected are left in colour. 

You are then able to alter the hue and saturation of the originally coloured selected area. To do this I deselected the selected area and altered the colour to turquoise and also increased the saturation. 

Before -

After -

Evaluation -

I think that this technique is effective and is useful in some particular images. I like how I was able to change the hue of the selected coloured area and also like how the black and white background complements the coloured areas within the image.

Portraiture - Straight Images - Best 5

Portraiture - Straight Images - Best 5

I really like this portrait which I captured during the shooting on location session. I like how the image shows a shallow depth of field. I achieved this depth of field by having my camera on aperture priority mode and having my f/stop set to the value of 5.6 which helped me to focus on the subject and have the background blurred. I like the way that the subject is in a natural pose and is not looking at the camera as this makes for a more realistic portrayal of emotion.

I really like this image and like the way that, again, the subject is natural and not looking directly at the camera. I altered this image using photoshop and increased the brightness, increased the saturation and also altered the curves to make the image vibrant and make the subjects skin bright so that they stand out more.

I also like this image and feel as though it could be considered as a follow on from the image above. I also edited this image using photoshop and altered the curves as well as increasing the saturation to obtain a more striking and bold image. I also like how the subject is not face on as the image therefore presents an alternative perspective of portraiture in the form of a side on angle. 

I like this image and feel that the shallow depth of field helps to add interest to the image as well as drawing the viewers eye to the face in the foreground. I edited this image on photoshop by altering the curves to make the subject brighter and also increased the overall brightness. In addition to this, I used a technique known as vignette to make the centre of the image brighter to assist the audiences eyes being drawn to the centre and main focus point of the image.  For this image, I used the camera on aperture priority and set the f/stop to 4 in order to achieve the shallow depth of field.

I like this image as I feel it shows a relaxed individual in their natural setting very well. In this way, the image could be thought to resemble that of Alec Soth. I also like the way that the image shows a narrow depth of field which I achieved by using the f/stop value of 5.6. I also edited this image in photoshop and increased the saturation as well as increasing the overall brightness of the image.

Portraiture (studio) - Straight Images - Best 5

Portraiture - Straight Images - Best 5

The three images below were inspired by Thomas Ruff's work. He uses colourful backgrounds and also uses only head and shoulder shots to create his portraits. I really like the three images below as they show a variety of different emotions portrayed by the same subject. 

I like this image as I feel it suggests that the subject is surprised. I like the way that the subject is positioned to one side of the frame as it creates effect and makes the image more interesting and attractive. I edited my image in photoshop and adjusted the curves and also sharpened the image.

I like this image as it looks as thought the subject is deep in thought. Again, I like the way that the subject is positioned towards the right hand side of the frame and also like the way that they are not looking directly at the camera. I edited my image in photoshop by adjusting the curves to make the image brighter and also increased the sharpness of the image.

I also like this image as I think that the subject appears to be stressed. Although in real life it is likely that the subject didn't feel this way, the image shows a strong connection with this emotion due to the fact that the person is looking up and also has their hands raised towards their head. 

The two images below were taken in the style of Richard Avedon. I think the way that he captures and edits images is effective and think that the usual black and white filter he applies makes the images more attractive and eye-catching. 

I like this image as it uses a prop to add more interest to the image. I like the black and white theme which is present in the image due to the subject wearing black clothes and the background being white. 

To make my images more like the images by Richard Avedon, I added a black and white filter to my image and also altered the curves. I like the outcome as I feel that the photograph now looks more in the style of the artist I was trying to capture the style of. 

I also like this image as it relies on more interpretation due to the fact that the subject's face is covered by the camera. Again, I like the addition of the prop as it helps to add interest to the image and therefore helps to attract the audience's eye more. 

Again, here I added a black and white filter and adapted the curves of the image and really like the outcome as I feel that it now portrays the style of Richard Avedon more accurately.

Joiners - Straight Images

Joiners - Straight Images

This is my first attempt at a joiner. I captured the images for this in the studio and like the lighting in the images as they help the images to appear clear and help the colours be quite bright. For my first attempt, I think that the joiner is quite successful and I like the distorted element of the image as it helps to create a more surreal feeling. 

I experimented further with the photo joiners in photoshop and adapted the background colours. I thought that black would have be a good colour to experiment with due to the colour of the subjects trousers. However, I prefer the original image.

This was another attempt at a joiner. I took the images in the studio and this time, only used 5 layers. In my opinion, the image looks a bit strange, but I think this is because I am not used to looking at photographs in this way. I like the distorted element of the joiner as I think that it makes the image more eye-catching. In someways, I quite like the fact that the image at the bottom goes off the white background as it creates an elongated feel. Overall, I am quite pleased with the outcome considering it was my second attempt at creating a joiner.

I also experimented with this image and made the background the same colour as the subjects clothing. I think that this image looks effective as the background compliments the individuals clothing.

This is a more simple example of a joiner as it only includes three layers. However, I made the image more effective by using rotations and also using a black and white filter. This filter helps the viewer to distinguish between the images due to the different tones that are shown. I really like this image and also created another version of it where the photographs were angled slightly differently.

For this edit, I also used the curves tool to edit the image further. This helped to make the building darker which helped with the boldness and therefore leads to the eye being more drawn towards the building as the main focus point. 

This image shows more of a landscape which was created using joiners. Again, the joiner is more simplistic and only uses three layers but I still think it looks quite effective. With this joiner, I also used slight rotations on some of the images to make the overall image more interesting and eye-catching. 

This image also shows a landscape scene. This joiner is formed from four layers and does not include any rotated images. This more uniform effect makes the image appear more organised and therefore helps to make it more aesthetically pleasing. Although I think the image looks effective, I do not think it is as interesting and striking as my other joiners that I have made. 

This joiner is made of approximately 5 layers. I think the image is effective as it combines a good amount of images and uses them at different angles within the image to give the most effective appearance. I think the image is very striking but do not like the great variation in colour between the images. This variation is especially noticeable on the bottom two images as the one at the very bottom is  very bright, while the one above is quite noticeably darker. 

Due to the variations in colouring, I decided to edit the image using a black and white filter to reduce the effect of the different colours. I think that this image looks quite effective and I like the way that the branches of the trees stand out and are bold against the light background.