Blog Post #4: It Took Me a While, But I Think I Finally Figured Out Why Smart Objects Are Not Dumb Objects ෆ

Introduction

In this blog post, I describe the process (aka struggle) of creating the cover of my magazine Photostory. Using the skills I learned in class, I had to combine two images together and combine them to make a multi-layered first page image.

The (Long) Photoshop Process

I first selected two images that I wanted to use for my magazine cover: one for the foreground, and one for the background. The two original images are found below.

Foreground

Background

I started by cropping the background image to 8.75 x 11.5. I felt that the colors of the background image looked too dull in comparison to the foreground, so I added a Brightness/Contrast layer and changed the brightness to -42 and the contrast to 26. I also added a Color Balance layer and changed the magenta/green slider to -5, and the yellow/blue slider to -14.

Once satisfied, I made the foreground a smart object, and used the Quick Selection Tool to lasso the girl and her rifle. This grueling process felt like it took at least half an hour, since I constantly checked to make sure that I didn’t accidentally select any portion of the photo I didn’t want. I then placed the foreground picture on the background. 

Noticing that my foreground blended in too much with what was going on in the background, I decided to put a blue border around her to make her stand out. I also made the background look like stained glass using the Filter Gallery in Photoshop. This would put the focus on a singular person, which was much better than having the background be in-focus, because the people in the background would be unneeded visual noise that would distract the viewer from what is more important (10 Tips to better print design).

The Final Product

Here is my final result!

Reflection

This assignment was one of the toughest ones yet, as it was completely new territory for me. However, the class video Photoshop, Smart Objects, Quick Select Masks (Heagney Nov 14) helped me figure out how to use smart objects and masks, which made it far more easier. In the end, I was very proud of the way my final product looked.

Blog Post #3: You Can Probably Guess I Really Love Pastels ෆ

Introduction

In this blog post, I created a color scheme based off my original creation and created custom nameplates for myself using the color scheme.

Photograph

Two years ago, I helped create a mod for Stardew Valley that changed the color palette of the game’s interface. Instead of using a photograph that I took, I used a screenshot of Stardew Valley’s loading screen with the mod. I really enjoy pastel colors, so I was excited to see what I could do with this image.

Color Scheme

     I created this color scheme by using the swatches panel in InDesign. The first column on the left is the custom color with 100% tint, while the middle columns are 75% and right columns 50%. 

The Nameplates

      For the final portion of the assignment, I had to create 3 different nameplates using the previous color scheme. I made my nameplates in InDesign. In these nameplates, I typed my name along with a few important defining parts about myself below. I rotated the color of the nameplates so I could see the best color combination.

      In my opinion, the 3rd name plate is the worst because the yellow background is too bright compared to the text, and the pink text is barely readable. I think the yellow and pink just don’t go well together. The 2nd name plate is slightly better than the 1st because the yellow text on the pink background strains me eyes in the 1st name plate. It doesn't have the best contrast of colors so it's not extremely easy on the eyes, but it is better than the other two options (Beachy). I think I would have to go for a lighter blue so the contrast is better and it is easier to read.

Conclusion

I think this is my favorite blog post so far. I was extremely excited to use the color palette of the Stardew Valley screen. I’m very pleased with the final result, and I think it’ll really add something to my photostory.

Blog Post #2: I like Instagram's Clarendon Filter, but I Guess Mine Will Have to Do ෆ

Introduction

  In this blog post, I had to create my own filter in Adobe Photoshop and apply it to multiple photos. As for the photos I chose, my good friend graciously sent me pictures of his dog Lola (isn’t she adorable?). I named this filter “Kawaiken”, which is a rough translation of “cute dog” in Japanese.

Making the Filter

  The first photo I worked with was the picture with Lola standing outside next to the flowers. I didn’t like how green everything looked, so I decided to add a color balance layer and turn the red to +49 to make the photo look warmer. I changed the magenta/green slider to +25 to balance the red shades; magenta made the reds stand out way too much. Doing this made the grass much more greener and fresher. Finally, I changed the yellow/blue slider to +40 because it balanced out the red & green tones well.

  The next thing I did was play around with the vibrance adjustment layer. I set it to +42 to make the colors brighter and stand out a little bit more. The most noticeable effect it had on the photo was that it enhanced the color of the grass and the roses, making them look even brighter and vibrant. (“Saturation vs Vibrance a Photoshop skill”, 0:49) I originally did not plan on messing around with the saturation, but I found that I liked the picture a lot more when I moved the saturation slider to +24 because it made the colors even more intense than the vibrance slider. (“Saturation vs Vibrance a Photoshop skill”, 2:01)

  Finally, I added a selective color layer. The only thing I changed was the cyan slider to -54%. This made the entire photo have a red tint and gave it a warmer look.

The Super Cute Dog Photos

Now, I will present my final product!

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

What I Learned

     Adding these different layers and messing around with them taught me many things about Photoshop that I didn’t know prior to this assignment. For example, I had no idea that there was a difference between vibrance and saturation, and now I know that vibrance keeps the skin tones and whites in a photo true to color. (“Saturation vs Vibrance a Photoshop skill”, 2:04)

     Another thing I learned from this assignment was how to toggle the visibility of layers; doing so made it really easy to see exactly what each layer was doing to the background photo (“Introduction to Layers in Adobe Photoshop CC 2014”, 3:44)

     I thought this assignment was super fun! For someone who uses filters a lot already, it's surprising that I didn't know how they were made til now. It was really interesting figuring out exactly how to make a filter look good and attempt to make a picture stand out even more than it originally did.

Blog Post #1: Where I Take a Bunch of (Artsy?) Pictures ෆ

Introduction

When this blog post was assigned, I knew that I wanted to photograph my wooden rifle that I spin for color guard. The only pictures that were ever taken of my rifles were when I spun them in shows, so I was excited to try and “work the shot” for something I loved.

Contrast
Contrast in photography is the visual ratio of different tones in an image. This difference is what creates the textures, highlights, shadows, colors and clarity in a photograph. (Skylum, para. 1) My rifle has both white & red tape wrapped all around its body. Green is red’s complementary (opposite) color, so I changed the string lights in my common room to a green color and turned the brightness all the way up. The red tape in the photograph still looks slightly red, but not as much as I hoped it to, which was disappointing.

Negative Space
I personally like close-up shots, but I realized that having that negative space in an image can make the image far more dramatic. (Bray, para. 12) In this shot, set my rifle on a step stool and against the wall and stood far away to take the picture. The glare from the lights was a bit distracting, but the muted color of the wall made the bright electric tape on the rifle stand out more.

Symmetry
The effective exploitation of symmetry and pattern can make for an extremely powerful shot. (Bray, para. 15) For this image, I laid two rifles next to each other on my bed, with the bolts (black metal part of the rifle) touching each other. The symmetry would be more apparent if I taped the other rifle completely, but I didn’t have any white electrical tape with me. I think the photo turned out well, but could’ve been better because of the tape.

Lines
Lines within an image are one of the most effective ways to enhance the drama through your shot. Horizontal and vertical lines add particularly strong structure to images. (Bray, para. 7) In this image, I used the red electrical tape as the main “lines” to focus on, and the white tape would be the secondary lines to focus on. The black strap on the bottom (or left in this picture) could also be considered a line.

Shapes

Strong shapes such as triangles and squares are easier to use to frame than circular shapes (Bray, para. 9) so I looked for shapes with strong angles. I took this image in Belk building, on the fourth floor right  outside my room. I really liked the repetition in the background of this photo and how it did not distract from the subject of the photo. It also did not have any distracting glare or lighting issues, like the negative space or contrast pictures.