Emma Gillanders

COGC HND 2C Photography Blog

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My Work Experience during HND

Croy Primary School Dragon Project                   October - December 2016 Every Tuesday for 8 weeks, myself and 4 others taught primary 3-5 pupils some basic photographic and media skills. In the end we created videos and stories based around the Disney film, Pete’s Dragon. Workshop leader for HND Jewellery Students                    November 2016 Along with a small group of other students, I helped run mini workshops showing jewellery students how to use studio lighting and backdrops to best photograph their own pieces of jewellery. 

Assistant for Kirsty Anderson and team from the Herald       March 2017 I spent an entire day in the college alongside the fashion team from the Herald, helping to photograph a model for 2 fashion editorial shoots which were to be featured in the Sunday supplement. 

Carntyne Primary School/ If Walls Could Talk               April - Current 2017 Spent days with primary 6 pupils documenting their old school building before it gets demolished, using photographic techniques, with some guidance from David Eustace. In the end we hope to produce a book or exhibition. 

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Colour Channel Cut Out

I found it quite difficult to make a selection of the model in this image originally, because the background was light grey and the selection tools kept picking up areas of the backdrop along with the model. To avoid this, I decided to look at my colour channels to find out which ones shows the most contrast, in order to make an easier selection. 

The Red channel with the others turned off clearly defines her hair, which would make for an easier selection of individual strands against the backdrop. However, the Red channel completely bleaches out any detail in the skin, and so would not be very helpful when making a selection of the entire model.

The Green channel selected alone does a good job of defining both her clothing and her hair, and certainly shows more contrast compared to the Red. However, her skin is still a little pale and would still make a selection quite tricky to perform.

With the Blue channel on and the others off, there is a clearly a hard outline around the model from the backdrop, which is due to the increase of contrast. By using any of the election tools, a selection should be straight forward. I have decided to try a cut out using the quick selection tool.

This worked generally well in all areas apart from under the chin and around the hair. The ‘Refine Edges’ option then allowed me to paint over areas I wanted the selection to cover, picking up on details like fly away hairs etc. I then made a copy of the selection into a new layer, making my model appear on transparency. I could then add a new layer of a fill-colour in between the new layer and background layer to change the background. I simply added a blue backdrop. I can see how channels can help define details/areas which can otherwise be lost in the full RGB version of the photograph, making it easier for selections.

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Duotone Colour Grading

To begin, I had to convert my image to Grayscale by going to ‘Image > Mode’. It is only once Greyscale has been selected that can you choose Duotone. 

So, I went back to to ‘Image > Mode’ and selected ‘Duotone’ which brought up an options window. I firstly made sure that ‘Preview’ was on.Then for the Type option, I selected Duotone, but it is possible to also select Monotone, Tritone and Quadtone. I could then click the colour boxes which led me to the colour picker, where I chose two ink colours, blue and green. I also clicked on the curve box next to the ink boxes and adjusted the curve for each colour, and hit OK.

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Puppet Warp

I found the tutorial from MyCity a little difficult to follow, so I found a YouTube tutorial instead, and tried out the puppet warp tool on an image I took at the Highland Wildlife Park. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLBNSM67Cvk The first thing I did was create a selection of my animal, so I opened up quick mask by pressing Q on the keyboard, allowing me to paint a mask over the animal. I then pressed Q again, and saved the selection I made as a Channel. 

Next, I switched to my Channels to where my selection was, held down ctrl and clicked on the Channel, and brought back up a selection outline. Then, I moved back to RGB and back to the layers panel, with the animal still selected. By pressing ctrl - alt - j I created a new layer.  This now meant I had two copies, the original, and the animal itself on a transparent background. However, this is not what I want, and so need to remove the animal from the original picture. I loaded up my selection again via the Channels like before. Next, I went to ‘Select - Modify - Expand’ and expanded the selection by 5px to ensure I had everything selected most of the fur etc, and pressed OK. The next step was to remove that selection, and by pressing backspace, the Content-Aware box came up, which removed the animal, replacing it with the surrounding pixels. This unfortunately left a halo on the background, and so I quickly used the spot removal tool to heal any obvious areas.

Once complete, I went back to the transparent layer with the animal on it and right clicked and selected ‘Covert to Smart Object’. This would protect the pixels from stretching while I use the puppet warp tool. Once done, I went to ‘Edit - Puppet Warp’ which brought up a grid across the selection.

I could then use my cursor and place pins on the grid by clicking on areas I wished to move, such as the neck or legs. Once the points were in place, I could drag and rotate any of them completely change the selection to however I wanted. As you can see from my result below, I have lengthened it’s face, stretched it’s leg out and just had a bit of fun with it. This technique amazes (and scares) me as it can completely transform a photo. 

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Displacement Map

By following a YouTube tutorial, I decided to apply text using a displacement map to an image I used in my documentary project. Displacement Map helps add realistic looking texture to layers and text. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=geZ8UDF4ScA I firstly opened up my image and made a copy of the background layer. With that new layer, I desaturated it by 100% and then used layers adjustments to bring about some contrast. 

I then saved the progress so far as a PSD called Displacement Map, and following that, I deleted the desaturated layer. Next, on the background layer, I added some text, and moved it around and changed the size using free transform or ‘ctrl T’.

Once I got the text in a position I was happy with, I selected both text layers and right clicked, choosing ‘Rasterize Type’ and then went to ‘Layer - Merge Layers’, which created one text layer. Now, to create the displacement in the text, I went to ‘Filter - Distort - Displace…’ and left the settings where they were. This opened up the window to allow me to select the PSD I made earlier. This brought through the texture of the background layer into the text, giving a more realistic look. To push this further, I created another background layer copy and moved it to the top of the layers which covered the text. By then double clicking and opening up the Layer Style window, I could move around the blending options. By holding Alt, I could move the ‘Blend If:’ slider to reveal the text again, blending the shadows sand highlights into the text. I did this with both Grey and Blue.

I feel my result worked successfully, and I can see how displacement maps can be very useful, and could used for many purposes like putting text (or anything) onto a textured surface. I found this tutorial very easy to follow and understand!

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Photoshop Brush Panel - Create and Modify

I decided to have a go at creating a brush tip from an image. I opened up a random image I took in the studio last year, and using the quick selection tool, I selected the whole of my object. After refining the edges, I went to ‘Edit - Define Brush Preset’ and named my brush ‘Perfume’ then pressed OK. 

Afterwards, I switched to the Brush tool, and by using [ and ] I decided on a size. Next, I alt-selected a colour from the subject matter. I opened the brush panel next to the side bar, which then allowed me to choose and modify my brush tip. I searched through my list and found Perfume and selected it. I then painted across the blank area, and noticed the brush spacing was far too close together at 16% and so I changed it to 110%.The brush panel also allowed me to change direction of the brush, as well as add others features like Scatter, Texture etc.I simply had a play around with various options. 

This tutorial was a bit of fun for me, but for those who like to paint digitally with a tablet or touchscreen, the brush panel gives fantastic control. I can image the brush tool could also be very useful for editing advertisement images, like adding liquid splashes to drink ads, or spray from perfume bottles and the likes.

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Content Aware Scale

The tutorial was quite a difficult to follow and I am unsure when I would actually use this whilst editing, however I have given it a go. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlPsiJDMqkE I opened my photo up in Photoshop and firstly unlocked the background layer. Next, I pressed Q on my keyboard to enable the quick mask mode. By selecting the brush tool, I painted over the building. 

Following this, I pressed Q again and created a selection, however, it selected everything but the building. So, from ‘Select’ in the options bar, I chose the inverse. The next step was to save the selection which I named ‘Building’. This created a channel of my selection. 

Once saved, I deselected the building and moved from Layers to Channels in my side bar. The tutorial then told me to go to ‘Edit - Content Aware Scale’, where I began to drag the image outwards, but noticed it performed the same as free transform, or T, skewing the building’s perspective completely. By using Content Aware Scale, it allowed me to protect part of the image whilst transforming it. So, from the options bar, I choose ‘Protect’ and selected the Building channel I created earlier, which then allowed me to stretch the background without distorting the proportions of my building. I can see how this would be useful, but I personally believe this is too much hassle.

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Exhibition Questions

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Content Aware - Extend

Following the same Adobe tutorial, I decided to try using the content aware tool to extend an area of a photograph. Using another holiday snap, I firstly selected the area I wanted to extend using the Rectangular Marquee tool.

Next, I switched over to the Content Aware tool, and up in the top bar there is a drop down menu called ‘Mode’. If you change that from Move to Extend, you can drag your selection and release it, and Photoshop will calculate and extend it. You can also hold shift whilst dragging to keep the selection straight, but I did not as my subject matter leans to the left. I left my adaption selection to Very Strict to begin with, however it did not seem to work at all. I therefore changed it to Loose which worked slightly better. 

As you can see, there is clearly a light square patch around the extended area. With some extra touching up this could work, but as it is now, it is far from perfect.The tutorial itself states that this technique only works for some images, preferably those with a clean background.

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Content Aware - Move

I wanted to try the content aware moving on an old holiday photo just to experiment, by following the instructions of the Adobe Help tutorial. https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/atv/cs6-tutorials/using-content-aware-move-and-extend.html Once opening the image, I zoomed in on the subject I wished to move, and using the lasso tool, I drew around my selection. Normally, if you move the selection, it leaves a blank hole in the photograph. By switching to the content aware tool (within the spot removal button) and dragging the selection, Photoshop will cleverly try fill in the gap with surrounding information. 

I dragged my selection back a bit, and as you can see when I zoom in, it is obvious where the selection originally came from. Parts of the man’s clothing remains where it was. Up in the top bar of the tool, there is a drop down menu which allows you to choose the adaption. If you select ‘Very Strict’ it should do a better job of moving the subject and blending the background. However, it seemed to get worse. The tutorial then mentions to go back a few steps and re-draw your selection, this time with more of the background selected. I then repeated the process, still keeping on the ‘Very Strict’ adaption option, and voila! 

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Colour Grading

I checked out the Fstoppers guide to colour grading which involved adding layers and adjusting colour channels. I selected an image from my fashion project and opened it up in Photoshop. As it was photographed in front of an old brick wall, I wanted to add more of an earthy/warm grade to it. To begin with, I added an Hue/Saturation layer and reduced the saturation to -15. I then added a curves layer, and with each colour channel, I made a very slight S curve until I was happy with the input of each colour. 

The next step was to add a level layer, where I selected the blue channel and drew in the black slider to add more blue into the shadows, and moved the white slider in to bring back warmth into the highlights.  The final step was to add a colour fill layer. I chose a dark brown colour from the image and then reduced the opacity to around 10%. This added a milky warmth to the photograph.

The result has added a very retro, cinematic feel to my photograph which is quite nice, and it has also softened the image quite considerably. I feel that colour grading is something which can be quite fun and creative if done correctly. 

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Soft Proofing in Photoshop CC

Before I began soft proofing, I read over this tutorial http://www.peak-imaging.com/downloads/A_guide_to_soft_proofing.pdf and by following these instructions, I installed a printer profile from DS ColourLabs to try this method out with.

I then opened a photo in Photoshop CC and went to ‘Window - Proof Setup - Custom’ and found the profile I downloaded. Following this, I watched Adobe’s tutorial on soft proofing and followed along. http://tv.adobe.com/watch/learn-elements-to-photoshop/soft-proof-for-optimal-printing/ It suggests flicking between the Relative Colorimetric and Perceptual ‘Rendering Intent’ to look at the difference, and I found better results with Relative Colorimetric. I also left ‘Black Point Compensation’ on, so black in the image will be black in the outcome. 

Next, I checked both Display options, which added a muted filter over the image. This is because the printed outcome will not be as dynamic as my laptop screen. 

Another proof you can perform is a ‘Gamut Warning’, which puts a grey layer over any areas which cannot be produced through the printer. Luckily almost all my image can be printed out fine through this printer set up, apart from a small area of her patch on her coat. 

This can ultimately be fixed through applying a curves/levels layer adjustment, however I will leave it as it is such a small area of the photograph.  Although I have never done this before printing, in the future it may be a wise option to download printer profiles and check that the colours of my photographs can be reproduced through the printer, before the sending files away. 

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Selection with Pen Tool and 5 part Composite

I first had a go at using the pen tool to cut out a circle in Photoshop, in preparation for the 5 part composite. The pen tool is simple to use but can be fiddly on curved objects. Next, we were tasked with making a composite picture out of 5 component parts. The process included randomly selecting images from Google, then combining them into one photo through Photoshop. A winter scene, women from the 1920s, a tomato with a straw, a Ford Mustang and an urban landscape were the images our class chose. Various blending modes and cut out tools were used within the different layers which made up the one image.

This composite is best viewed on a brighter screen 📺

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10 Advanced Advertising Images with Annotations

For our image editing class, we had to look at 10 high end advertising images with several parts which have been effortlessly composited, and pick up on what has been edited within the pictures.

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What a wonderful exhibition full of talented artwork! Well done everybody 📷🙌🏼

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Composite Research Task

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Making a GIF

By (roughly) following Adobe’s online tutorial, I used a set of images from my graded unit to create a GIF. To create the GIF, I opened the files in Bridge and loaded them into Photoshop layers from there. Once the images loaded, I went to Window > Timeline to display the bar at the bottom of Photoshop, and made sure to select ‘Create Frame Animation’ from the drop down menu and clicked it. Then, from the 3 lines menu at the top right of the Timeline bar, I selected ‘Make Frames From Layers’. A small drop down menu appeared below the loaded layers, where I chose to repeat the animation ‘Forever’. Finally, by going to File > Save for Web, I selected ‘GIF’ and pressed save. Simple! I have also included a Jumbo Contact Sheet of some of the images. Instead of creating a contact sheet through Photoshop, I created this one through the output option at the top of Bridge, and made it A3 in size with 4 rows and 3 columns.