Photoshop

(Please Note: I did this as a part of my I.C.T homework and it crosses over with the work I am doing in Photography so I thought I would incorporate it in my blog.).

 

Photoshop is an advanced picture and movie editing software.

An image editing software developed and manufactured by Adobe Systems Inc. Photoshop is considered one of the leaders in photo editing software. The software allows users to manipulate, crop, resize, and correct colour on digital photos. The software is particularly popular amongst professional photographers and graphic designers.

You can even make gifs from videos in Photoshop.

Gif stands for Graphics Interchange Format. It is a form of computer image that moves as an animation, because it consists of frames. It’s like a movie without sound.

Gifs like the one above can be made in photoshop in a variety of steps.

1) You’re going to need:

• Photoshop cs6
• A video in which you would like to gif at a certain time of it

2) Download the video you want to gif with keepvid then open photoshop.

click file>import>video frames to layers.

3) Select the video you downloaded and click ‘open’.

Something like this should pop up:

On the little bar below the video, drag it to the part of the video you want to gif.

4)Drag the two black markers at the sides to the start and finish of the clip you chose, like so.

(tip: try not to select a clip longer than 2 or 3 seconds so there arent too many frames and the final product isnt too large of a file)

5) It’s okay if what you have selected isn’t the exact thing you want to be gif’d, you can delete individual frames.

6) Click ‘ok’ and your screen should look like this:

(note: if the timeline at the bottom doesn’t have any frames and all you have is layers on the side, click the button on the timeline that has 3 little bars and an arrow pointing down and then click make frames from layers and then they should appear.)

now delete frames as necessary! select each frame you want to delete and delete it using the trashcan icon. (make sure to delete the frame and the layer that it goes with to cut down on file size)

Note: Hold down Command or Control and click on all of the frames you want to delete (helpful for selecting multiple frames that are not right next to each other) OR Hold down shift and click on a range of frames you want to delete and it will select them all (helpful for select a large amount of frames without having to select each individual one)

7) Now, you might notice that the gif is moving really fast. to slow it down, click the arrow on the frame. (Make sure you have all the frames selected) Change it to (depending on the gif) anywhere from 0.08 seconds to 0.1 seconds. Feel free to make it whatever you think looks best.

8) Play your gif and see whether you think it looks good and make adjustments until it does.

Now it’s time to save your gif. Just click file>save for web.

9) A screen like this should appear:

You can change the settings however you want. But usually in standard gif making, editors tend to have these settings:

Adaptive color setting, Pattern dither, and Pattern transparency dither.

Not for number of colours, try to use as many as possible without going over your file size.

10) Make absolutely sure when you save it, you’re saving it as a .gif

Of course, you should set the pixel sizes.

11) If you’re just making a gif for Tumblr, 500 px should be the width and Photoshop will automatically adjust the height.

12) Finally press ‘save’ and choose where you wish to save it to, and you are done.

Also in Photoshop, you can alter your photos to get a more unique and prefered look of the photo. You can alter any properties of the photo, from the saturation and contrast to the sharpness of the picture.

Take this picture as an example of what photoshop can do:

On the left is what Actress Angelina Jolie looked liked before the picture was photoshopped. And on the right is the finished, edited picture. As you can see, the editor of this photo has edited the photo to get rid of Angelina’s blemishes. As well making her look more radiant and defining some of her features. This happens a lot in the media as a way of making famous people and models appear better looking than they actually are. Leaving a very bad effect on society - people will aspire to look like that, and so, aspiring to be something that is not real. It leaves young generations longing to look like something that is nothing like the person in the photo. This effect in the media is very damaging but at the same time, very money making.

Sources:

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/Photoshop.html#ixzz2gHoeDvoo

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gif

http://amazingphil-gifs.tumblr.com/post/48732732587/gif-tutorial

Depth of Field - Annie Leibovtiz

Depth of field is the amount of distance between the nearest and farthest objects that appear in acceptably sharp focus in a photograph. Usually the depth of field only reaches the most important

part of the photo, whereas the photographer could possibly make the rest of the image blurry. However, depth of field (DOF) is interpreted and used differently by different photographers. It is all a matter of personal preference when trying to determine the appropriate use of DOF to enhance an effect in a photograph.

Depth of Field in This Photo

The depth of field in this photo is very easy to spot. The focus is sharpest on the actor in photo holding a swan, as well some of the grass at the bottom of the photo. Everything behind the actor (the background) is blurred, possibly for the effect of the actor standing out.

FACTUAL: This photo was taken by American Portrait and Fashion photographer Annie Leibovitz. This picture was taken in 1997, of the then-budding and still no Oscar Award, actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Leonardo has been a wide variety of majorly successful films, including Titanic, Inception and Romeo + Juliet.

CONTEXT: This picture was taken for popular magazine, Vanity Fair, and has since been an iconic photo. The swan wrapped around the handsome actor’s neck was seen as a very sensitive, bold and iconic photo. In 2001, Icelandic singer Björk mimicked the photo in the form of a dress, and to this day is one of the most infamous red carpet dresses to name.

TECHNICAL: Due to the colours of the photo, i think this picture was taken on a black and white camera, possibly a film one.

AESTHETIC: What i like the most about this photo is the whole concept of the swan around Leonardo’s neck. How such a simple thing, image wise, could create such a powerful effect in such a weird way. I love how the photographer has chosen to put the swan instead of any other animal - a swan conveys emotion, lobe and beauty, maybe the point of having the swan there was to imply those elements on Leonardo as well.

For a more thorough explanation on Depth of Field, watch this vimeo clip.
  Depth of Field from Blurred Eye Vision on Vimeo. 

http://partnouveau.com/?p=1912

http://www.mir.com.my/rb/photography/fototech/htmls/depth.html

Lighting - John Hedgecoe

Lighting is basically the ability to use equipment to illuminate a picture in some way to create effect. Good lighting makes an effective and generally good image. Also, lighting can convey mood, atmosphere, emotion and depth. The direction, quality, and the direction of the light can be toggled to create very dramatic effects.

Lighting In This Picture

Photographer John Hedgecoe has used a sidelight to convey effect in this black and white picture. With the man in the picture facing away from light, it falls on the side profile of his face, bringing the attention there. The sidelight brings the effect of importance, it shows the depth and texture and separates the person from the background. The fact the light shines on the man does show a sense of importance about the man, he is probably famous, and the effect of a light shining on him does convey that.

FACTUAL: This picture was taken by John Hedgecoe, who was an award-winning British Photographer, and wrote over 30 books about photography. The person in the picture is director and acting legend John Gielgud who wrote many movies including The Elephant Man. the picture was taken in 1979.  

CONTEXT: This picture was taken during Gielgud’s first one-man show in London, a Shakespeare reading called The Ages of Man. As a new photographer, Hedgecoe was slightly in awe of famous actors and actresses. This photo was shot in the Queen's Theatre, which was being renovated at the time. The building was full of workmen and he had to be moved to a spot where there was sufficient light.

TECHNICAL: Due to the date that this photo was taken, and the colours, I think it was taken with an old (but new at the time) black and white film camera. Hedgecoe probably would've used a massive stage light to provide the lighting.

AESTHETIC: What I like most is the beautiful simplicity of the picture, and how the lighting creates such enormous depth. Gielgud smoking in the picture creates quite a cool effect with the black and white camera; the smoke is very visible in the air.

For more info on lighting, this Slideshare can be very useful.

Basic photography lighting from Ram Chandran

This helped my with the lighting
http://schsgcsephotography2011.blogspot.co.uk/
and this helped with the info about John Gelgud
http://www1.topfoto.co.uk/gallery/JohnHedgecoePortraits/ppages/ppage4.htm

Focal Point - Veer Speers

The focal point means the centre of the attraction or activity in a photo. It is also what the viewer would naturally see first. Something would be said to have bad focal point if something that was meant to be the centre of attention blended in with the photo.

Focal Point in This Picture:

This picture has good focal point. The girl and her clothes blend in with the white wall in the background. Though the little girl does stand out a little bit, the main centre of attraction is the dead rabbit she is holding. It does not go by the rule of thirds, but the colour of the rabbit contrasts with the rest of the colours in the picture, making it stand out the most.

FACTUAL: This picture was captured by Australian Abstract Photographer, Vee Speers. This picture is from Speers’ series ‘The Birthday Party’ published in 2008.

CONTEXT: Vee’s ideas for The Birthday Party series sparked after watching her children at a fancy dress birthday party. These photographs are to reveal the cruelty, vulnerability of children's lives in now generations. The photos are trying to show the vulnerability and traumas that children could / already have experience(d).

TECHNICAL: This image would've probably been taken on a very expensive DSLR camera and photo shoot equipment.

AESTHETIC: I like how pretty and innocent looking  the little girl looks, holding a dead creature. In my head, it sparks quite a powerful meaning. I think Vee is showing this in a very simplistic but powerful, the photo’s could at first look simple but carry a deeper meaning. The models face the camera in the pictures, with faceless expressions, and usually all carrying or wearing a certain object that defines the meaning of the picture.


http://www.jacksonfineart.com/Vee-Speers-103.html
http://www.veespeers.com/thebirthdayparty/#29

Composition - Perou

Composition

Composition is the arrangement and alignment of objects and elements in the photo and their relationship to the background image. The first impression from a photograph is determined by the composition balance of an image.

Good photographs usually go by one of three elements of photo composition. These three elements are all about placing and what goes in the photo where (an object will create different visual effects depending on where or what angle it is at), these three elements are:

• Rule of Thirds
• Golden Section Rule
• Diagonal Rule

Rule of Thirds

The Rule of Thirds is based on the fact that the human eye is naturally drawn to a point about two-thirds up a page. A three by three grid is usually shown to determine what part of the picture we are most drawn to, like so:

Golden Section Rule

It has been realized that certain points in a photographer's composition automatically attract the viewer's attention. Similarly, many natural or man-made objects and scenes with certain proportions (whether by chance or by design) automatically please us. The two horizontal lines in the middle start and end at the main section of attraction.

Diagonal Rule

One side of the picture is divided into two, and then each half is divided into three parts. Important parts of the picture will be in coalition with the diagonal lines. Like so:

    

Composition isn't just these three elements, composition is all about where something is and what effect it makes.

Composition in this picture

I think Perou has used composition in were he has positioned McFly in the picture. He has used juxtaposition to portray McFly as interesting and powerful; the grey backdrop might blend in with the band member's clothes but it contrasts with how McFly are presenting themselves in this picture. This picture shows maybe the goofiness and happiness of the band, as well as making the viewer of the picture smile.

FACTUAL: This was captured by Perou from a series of photos for McFly's autobiography, Unsaid Things... Our Story.
Ralph John Perou is an English music, portrait and fashion Photographer and has even appeared as a judge on Make Me a Supermodel UK.

CONTEXT: This picture was one of a few used for McFly's book, as well as for several magazines. The people of McFly consist of (from left to right) Dougie Poynter, Harry Judd, Danny Jones and Tom Fletcher.

TECHNICAL: I think Perou has used a DSLR camera as well as a few soft boxes to make the picture vibrant and light.

AESTHETIC: I like how McFly are arranged in the photo, and how they are all pulling facial expression or being in comical positions. It brings some character to the picture. 

(NOTE: none of the was copied and pasted. I used one website to help me: http://www.colorpilot.com/comp_rules.html but I mostly used the knowledge I already have of the subject to write all of this.)

First Analysis - Annie Leibovitz

FACTUAL: This picture is captured by Annie Leibovitz. She is an American Portrait Photographer and one of the best and most famous in the world. Her work has been very popular, and she has even taken photos for magazines ‘Vanity Fair’ and ‘Rolling Stone’. Some of her clients included John Lennon and Mick Jagger. This image is of famous model, Kate Moss.

CONTEXT: This picture was taken for a magazine, 21^st century.

TECHNICAL: I think that Annie has taken this picture in a studio or a certain place/ restaurant, lying across a sofa against a wooden wall and an old carpet. I think Annie has used these props for effect; Kate is wearing a stunning dress, and with seemingly dull surroundings it brings more attention and appeal to the beautiful dress. The effect might also be to draw attraction to Kate as well.

AESTHETIC: What I like most is the dress, and how Annie has chose to display it with Kate. The beautiful colours textures and layers of the dress have been eye catching in the picture and has reflected beautifully on Kate.