Digital Photography Advanced Skills

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Digital PhotographyAdvanced Skills

• Class 6
• John Byersjbyers2_at_mail.com
• Class website www.notlong.com/c4d-dp

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View assignment results action shots

• Capturing and portraying motion
• Including sports and wildlife photography

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Animated GIF example
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Class session plan

• Portraits, lighting techniques
• Stills, macro techniques
• Landscape/nature, architecture, low-light
• Action, sports, wildlife
• Eclectic topics travel, story Editing,
  composition techniques

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Our last class eclectic topics

• Telling a story with photos sharing
• Workflow
• Resolution camera, monitor, print
• Color management
• Panoramas
• Camera care
• Lens cleaning
• DSLR image sensor cleaning
• Converting color to black white

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Photo essay collection of images that tells a
story

• Who
• What
• When
• Where
• Why
• How

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Essays can have different purposes

• Inform
• Entertain
• Persuade
• Or, combinations of the above
• How does this picture make me feel? Emotional
  feelings arising from photos remain long after
  the crispness of the images have faded from our
  minds.

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The power of photos to create a cause

• Terri Schiavo case
• JonBenet Ramsey murder
• Vietnam war

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Photo essay challenges skill with camera, plus

• Observation skills
• Ability to visualize
• Ability to develop concepts
• Resourcefulness in making the shot
• Ability to express ideas in visual form
• Expression of personal point of view

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Story can be told from different angles

• Angle is the point of view taken in presenting
  a story. For example, possible angles in the
  story of Cinderella
• Prince meets love of life
• Stepsister treated brutally
• SPCA looks into maltreatment of mice
• Survey of citizens' shoe sizes has strange
  results
• Rags to riches story
• Palace Footmen's Union strike on overtime rates

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Details tell the story

• Create a mood that lets viewers use their
  imaginations to fill in the unspoken details
• Detail-telling photos are similar to photos in
  home décor magazines close-ups of small,
  meaningful aspects of a place

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Details can evoke a sense of place

• Examples
• Fishing poles leaning on the dock
• Sporting gear heaped at a doorstep
• Peeling paint on a window frame
• Curtains fluttering out the windows
• Potted flowers on the doorstep

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Finding details in each event

• Events can be anything from washing the car to
  college graduation
• Examples of telling details
• Piles of wrapping paper after a birthday party or
  holiday celebration
• School supplies stacked neatly in anticipation of
  the first day of school
• Candles burning in the window during winter
  holidays
• Close-ups of favorite Christmas decorations on
  the tree
• Table settings for a dinner celebration
• Race number from a marathon

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Story-telling presentation methods

• Shared prints, image files
• Web album http//www.ornj.net/
• Photo blog http//www.photoblogs.org/
• Audio story http//tinyurl.com/9mq6l
• Slide show http//tinyurl.com/8cxt3
• Narrated slide show
  http//tinyurl.com/8x5ng

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Slide show creation tools

• Photoshop Elements
• MS PowerPoint
• MS Photo Story http//tinyurl.com/4f869
• Photodex ProShow http//www.photodex.com/

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Sharing photos online

• E-mail as file attachment most editing programs
  provide auto email feature
• Posting photos online
• Your personal website (free, min size)
• Online album resources
• www.Ofoto.com (free)
• www.ShutterFly.com (free)
• www.Snapfish.com (free)
• www.FotoTime.com (pay, no ads)

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Options for printing photos

• Hands-off
• Over-the-counter photofinishing service
• Commercial photo lab
• Hands-on
• Online printing service (limited editing
  provided)
• Photo kiosk (linked to in-house lab or
  stand-alone)
• Ink-jet printer (computer, camera, memory card)

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Work-flow considerations

• Crop, perspective distortion correction
• Enhance
• Color correction
• Levels
• Shadows Highlights
• Sharpening (Photoshop Unsharp Mask)
• Output
• Color management

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Photoshop USM suggested settings
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Image Resolution in different contexts

• Pixel count image size, width x height in
  Megapixels high resolution large image size,
  lots of Megapixels
• Pixel density pixels/inch (ppi) embedded file
  specification used by printer only determines
  print size, not screen size

Camera Megapixels
Printpixels/inch
Scanpixels/inch
Image size pixels
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Monitor resolution, image size, E-mailing

• Screen width x height in pixels is determined by
  monitor and computer video card setting
• 43 VGA (640 x 480), SVGA (800 x 600), XGA
  (1024 x 768), QVGA (1280 x 960), SXGA (1400 x
  1050), UXGA (1600 x 1200),...
• 169 WXGA (1280 x 800), WSXGA (1680 x 1050),
  WUXGA (1920 x 1200),
• Resize image email attachments to fit on
  recipients monitor (e.g., 640 x 480) using
  editing software or Windows XP E-mail task or
  Microsoft Powertoy image resizer

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Color management

• Want consistent appearance of color images
  throughout the imaging process
• Input camera, scanner image capture
• Editing computer display monitor
• Output prints ( others display monitors)

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Color management issues

• Different types of imaging devices (cameras,
  scanners, monitors, printers) capture and
  generate color differently
• Within a type (such as monitors), each device has
  different characteristics
• Color perception is a neurological response
  subjective

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Monitor emits RGB light that additively produces
white printer uses CMY inks that subtractively
reflect light to produce black
Monitor Additive Red, Green, Blue Light viewed
? emitted by source
Paper Subtractive Cyan, Magenta, Yellow Light
viewed ? reflected by ink
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Two different color models
CMYK - printer
RGB - display monitor
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Subtractive color
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Display monitors and printers generate different
ranges of colors or gamuts

• Colors viewed on monitor may differ from those on
  print

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Neither monitors nor printers can display the
range of colors that the human eye is capable of
seeing (LAB)

• Monitors display the smaller color space called
  sRGB
• Most digital cameras are designed to capture sRGB
  color space
• Printers can reproduce on paper the subgroup of
  colors called CMYK

Color spaces (gamuts)
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Color management systems can help, but

• Cant make prints match exactly what you see on
  your monitor display
• Monitor has far greater contrast ratio
• Monitor and printer have different color gamuts
  each can produce some colors that the other
  cant
• Cant ensure predictable colors for others if
  they dont play by the same rules
• Must have properly calibrated and profiled
  devices
• Images rendered in sRGB color space standard will
  display reasonably well across most modern,
  properly functioning PCs by default

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Calibrating your monitor is the first step

• Ensures monitor settings are optimized to
  maximize dynamic range (brightness and contrast)
  and color reproduction while keeping white,
  black, and gray neutral (neutral white balance)
• Creates monitor profile that Windows uses to
  adjust computer video card look-up table,
  loaded at boot-up

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Adobe Gamma software supplied with Photoshop is a
cost-effective monitor calibration tool
LCD monitor calibration is not as critical as CRT
monitor
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More accurate monitor calibration is provided by
using an external sensor
For fairly accurate calibration without the
expense of a sensor, use DisplayMate software
(about 60)
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Suggestions for color management keep it simple

• WYSIWYG is the goal of color management
• If it aint broke, dont fix it
• If you have problems, determine the cause dont
  expect color management magic
• Work in a color-neutral environment
• Calibrate and profile your monitor
• Use sRGB as your color space for editing

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Panoramic photos satisfy the eyes desire for
expanded field of vision
Photo by Mark-Steffen Goewecke(Camera Russian
Horizon 202, revolving 2.8/28mm lens, fixed
focus angle of view 120 degrees negative size
24x58mm, vs. 24x36mm standard)
http//cameras.alfredklomp.com/horizon202/index.ht
m
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Creating a panoramic image

• Capture a series of images around a single point
  of rotation, keeping the camera level
• The images should overlap by 30-50 horizontally
• Include distinctive object in each overlapping
  area to make it easy for the software to combine
  the images
• Maintain consistent focus, focal length and
  exposure

Result stitched image using Photoshop
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QuickTime Virtual Reality

• QTVR tools can be use to create 360-degree
  stitched images
• Objects
• Panoramas
• Scenes
• Output is via Apples QuickTime (MOV) video
• Apples QTVR Authoring Studio is a popular tool
  (Mac only)

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VR Worx by VR Toolbox (PC and Mac )

• After capturing images, use wizard
• Setup
• Acquire
• Stitch
• Blend
• Review, create QuickTime output file
  www.kaidan.com

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VR Worx wizard interface
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QTVR examples
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Keeping your camera clean

• Use syringe blower and lipstick brush available
  at most camera stores for sweeping dust off
  camera, lens (front and back of removable lens)
• Blow out brush before and after using
• Using canned air, beware of moisture
• Use high-quality lens cleaning tissues for
  removing smudges, or microfiber cloth and lens
  cleaning fluid (place on cloth, not lens)
• DSLR sensor cleaning requires special care

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Cleaning DSLR image sensor

• Dont clean the DSLR mirror easy to damage
  dust on mirror wont appear on images
• Necessary to clean the sensor? If you own a
  DSLR, the day is coming when you'll have to clean
  the sensor.
• Olympus DSLRs sensor-cleaning function
  (vibration)
• Camera manufacturer, shop, or do it yourself?
• Techniques wet or dry?
• Blowing, brushing generally does the job
• Stubborn dust particles require using wet swabs
• Imaging Resource article tinyurl.com/cvo59
• Class website reference articles

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Does your sensor need cleaning?

• Set focus to infinity, set exposure compensation
  to 1, set the aperture to its smallest value
  (largest number), at least f22
• Take a picture of a uniformly illuminated target,
  or bright sky
• Examine image in Photoshop perform levels
  adjustment to locate dust spots

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Example dust spot locations
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DSLR sensor cleaning tools, methods

• VisibleDust brush kit 100 www.visibledust.com
  
• SensorSweep brush 20 tinyurl.com/8lv5g
• Make-up brush 5 tinyurl.com/4ugeb
• Roll your own SensorSwipe tinyurl.com/bfnr5
• DSLRClean products, movie tinyurl.com/beuga
• Methods summary www.cleaningdigitalcameras.com

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Graphics tablet and stylus device

• Can be used as substitute for standard computer
  mouse
• Allows more precise and natural movement of
  cursor
• Use stylus like pen or paintbrush

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Wacom is the top tablet manufacturer
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Photoshop technique BW conversion

• 1. Start with color image to be converted on
  Background layer. 2. On top of the Background
  layer, create a Hue/Sat adjustment layer (name it
  "filter") don't make any adjustments yet -- just
  select the "Color" blending mode. 3. On top of
  the "filter" adjustment layer, create a second
  Hue/Sat adjustment layer (name it "film") bring
  the Saturation adjustment down to -100 to produce
  a grayscale result. 4. On the "filter"
  adjustment layer, adjust the Hue value to produce
  an optimum grayscale result. This arrangement
  simulates using BW film in a camera with an
  adjustable lens filter. 5. The Hue adjustment
  can be used independently on individual Red,
  Green, Blue, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow channels for
  optimum effect, as well as the feature that
  provides for defining the range of the colors
  affected. 6. When satisfied with the results,
  flatten the image.

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BW conversion technique layers
http//av.adobe.com/russellbrown/ColortoBW.mov
(7.5MB QuickTime movie)
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Photoshop techniques selections, layers
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Summary taking great photographs
Great scene or subject
Capture
Understanding
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You know how photographers think
Concepts (Why)

• Softness, sharpness
• Highlights, shadows
• Color, tone
• Scenes, subjects

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Practice the way photographers work
Procedures (How)
Concepts (Why)

• Softness, sharpness
• Highlights, shadows
• Color, tone
• Scenes, subjects

• Motion, depth-of-field
• Correct exposure
• Light and color balance
• Composition, visualizing

Become intimately familiar with the features of
your camera
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Improving your skills

• Take lots of photos digital film is free!
• Re-read your camera users guide
• Share photo successes (and failures) with others
• Join a photography club
• Attend photo workshops, classes

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Photo assignments to try on your own

• Photo essay pick your subject/message
• Subject study lighting, perspective, variety
  (benches)
• Abstract lines, patterns, colors, shapes, motion
• Portraits formal, candid work, play
• Landscape, seascape, weather
• Action sports, wildlife
• Still life found and formal
• Lighting natural, flash, studio
• Specialty macro/micro/astro, panorama, VR
• Techniques panning, ISO, WB
• Weekly contest sites replicate a favorite

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Halloween photo ideas
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Valentines Day photo ideas
Clip art template http//tinyurl.com/7lc8n
Photoshop project http//tinyurl.com/ey48x