Photoshop to the rescue

Photoshop is such a remarkable tool. Admittedly, it takes a long time to master. For the serious Photographer, however, it is a Godsend.

    Here is an example of using existing photos, creating a sky and stars background, writing a script....then, placing each in a layer above the others, moving them around to where they fit. In each case, making them larger or smaller, tilting them if need be, adding or subtracting color, contrast, light or darkness, then adding a mat around them, if desired.

    Once done, the whole set of layers is saved for later editing, then flattened, and made whatever size and resolution you need for printing or emailing.

    With the exception of Corinn's portrait, I made this whole thing without leaving my chair and computer....Even then, I took her original portrait from the same chair, added a diffused background of a white blossomed tree growing right out side my front door. (I took the tree photo leaning out the door).

    If you have further interest in learning all this, contact me at robertalex@comcast.net  or call me at 601-724-1007.

Proportions

    One of the most difficult parts of Photography to teach successfully is "Proportions"....Yet it comes into play in EVERY photo.

 

    Proportions is the relationship of Width to Height.

 

    First, let me say that width is always stated first....An 8"X10" photo is one that is 8" wide and 10" tall. This is a "vertical" format. (Taller than it is wide).

 

    An 8"X10" photo that is horizontal is correctly expressed as a 10"X8" photo. They are the same number of square inches, but one in an "up and down" photo and the other is a "sidewaya" photo, to use street language.

 

    Always expressing the width first will solve the problem as to which it is, Vertical or Horizontal.

 

    Now, what happens when you change sizes? Say you now want a 5"X7" photo. What is the difference between it and an 8"X10"?

 

    First, the area of a 5"X7" photo is much smaller than an 8"X10". Both are vertical, but there are two major differences.

 

    First, the size is 5x7 or 35 sq. inches in the 5"X7". The 8"X10" photo is 8x10 or 80 sq. inches. (more than double the size of the 5"X7").

 

    Second, the 8"X10" is "fatter" (wider) in relation to the "taller" (narrower) 5"X7" photo, PROPORTIONATELY.

 

    To explain this clearer, say you had an 8"X10" photo and a 1"X10" photo. The 1" wide photo is more like a soda straw than is the 8" wide photo. That is because the PROPORTIONS are different. There is no way to fill an 8"X0" area with a 1"X10" photo.

 

    There is then, no way to make a 5"X7" photo fit an 8"X10" frame....that is, without a mat to fill up the difference. Here, both the size and the proportions are different.

 

    Now, when you start to take a photo....first decide does it need to be horizontal or vertical? A mountain scene might need to be horizontal and a flagpole, vertical.

 

    An alligator horizontal and a tall, pretty girl in a bathing suit, vertical.

 

    Photos can be any size and shape, but the proportions need to be considered when placing on a wall or in an album. Is the wall area most conducive to a tall or wide photo? Will a vertical photo look right alongside an existing horizontal photo. All these are "Proportion" questions.

 

    Now, enlarging or reducing the size of a photo brings on a different type of proportional consideration.

 

    The"Proportions" of a 4"X5" photo, an 8"X10" photo, and a 16"X20" photo are all identical. That's because if you multiply or divide both sides of any of them by the same number, you can eventually make all the same.

 

    Multiply both sides of the 4"X5" by 2 and you get an 8"X10". Do that to the 8"X10" and you get a 16"X20".

 

    For instance, then, you CANNOT make 5"X7" photo out of any of the above without cutting off or adding to some of it....because the PROPORTIONS are different. The relationship of the width to the height is different. In street language, the "SHAPE" of a 5"X7" is proportionately different than the others. An 8"X10" might be called "fatter" and 5"X7" might be referred to as "skinnier", when their "shapes" are compared to each other.

 

    

   

 

   

 

   

   

   

Close-up Photos

Photo Pals:

    Ever so often you may need to take some "Close-up" photos.

    Technically, they are referred to as "Macro" photos.

    These are usually taken within a few inches of the subject.

 

    I once had to make some close-up's of a lady's tooth from 3 inches.

   

    Your digital camera will, doubtless, have a "Macro" position.

   

    If there is not a little picture of a Tulip Icon anywhere around your main OK button on the cameras back, try the Menu button and search for the Tulip....Better still, read your Manual for how to set up Macro.

 

    You will need to, either, set the ISO to correctly adjust the camera to the light level desired, or, as on my Nikon Point and Shoot, there is an "Exposure Compensation" key that lets you make the scene darker or lighter. That's what ISO does.

 

    If you have ISO controls, then set it high for inside available light or lower for outside light levels. Say, ISO 400 inside or ISO 50 for outdoors.

 

    Be sure to choose either Daylight or Incandescent depending on what your light source is.

 

 

    Most digitals will have either brackets or a green light that comes on when you are in focus....Plus the wonderful fact that you can see the image jump in focus. (if it does, correctly).

 

    Marvelously, you can take it, look at it, and do it again until correct. Sample below

 

 

    Your camera will normally take the scene at a High Resolution. Cameras with 12 MP, or so, will usually take it at about 300 dpi. Canon has a different system. This is complicated and I won't go into it unless you have a problem with it. If you do, call me at 601-724-1007.

 

    This high resolution is about what you need for printing. If you want to email them, you need to convert the resolution to 72 dpi and less than 9 inches wide. Call me for instructions.

 

    Good luck with Macro. Tricky, but great, if needed.

Bob A. 

 

Photographing People Together

Photographing people together, or in groups, presents a different set of considerations.

    First, what is the purpose? Let's start with two young people.

    Now, are they in love, or brother and sister, or two siblings of the same sex, such as sisters, or what.

    Keep in mind the other things I have told you....straight line poses for boys, "S" curves for girls. Men/boys usually look best when leaning slightly forward. Take, for instance, athletes are almost always leaning forward....for sure, the military.

    Girls kiss leaning back, and are the one who usually lean back when dancing, etc. Ginger Rogers, dancing with Fred Astaire, said she had to match his every step, mostly going  backward, and in high heels.

    So, it makes sense for the male to lean toward a female, with his head forward and hers back. see below:

Photographing People Together

    Photographing people together, or in groups, presents a different set of considerations.

    First, what is the purpose? Let's start with two young people.

    Now, are they in love, or brother and sister, or two siblings of the same sex, such as sisters, or what.

    Keep in mind the other things I have told you....straight line poses for boys, "S" curves for girls. Men/boys usually look best when leaning slightly forward. Take, for instance, athletes are almost always leaning forward....for sure, the military.

    Girls kiss leaning back, and are the one who usually lean back when dancing, etc. Ginger Rogers, dancing with Fred Astaire, said she had to match his every step, mostly going  backward, and in high heels.

    So, it makes sense for the male to lean toward a female, with his head forward and hers back. see below:

 Now, here is a derivation of that pose with the added sensuality of head and eye angles changed toward each other. This was their portrait just before they were married. People aleays look sensual when they look at the other's lips. (Just threw that in....no extra charge). Be careful, though, in using it, as it is powerful.



Creating a Mood for your Photo.

     Now, I'd like to get into "mood" photography....How to create a viewer reaction. (first of a couple of emails).

    The first thing you must do is become proficient with your camera. Keep experimenting and making several images of each subject, changing poses and light angles to see what works best as a way of life for you.

    Photoshop has opened a door I only dreamed of 50 years ago.

    I, once, (50 years ago) photographed a group of three children, who were the great, great, grandchildren of Greenwood Leflore, the Choctaw Indian Chief for whom the city of Greenwood and Leflore County, MS, are named.

    Their Grandmother wanted them sitting on the porch of Malmaison, Greenwood Leflore's beautiful, big, home. It had burned years before, but she had a nice photo of it.

    I copied the photo, then photographed the children on a standard porch steps.

    I'll keep this short....I exposed a 20X16 of the house, dodging a space where the children would be sitting. Then, in the darkroom, double exposed them into it.

    I oil painted the whole photo, filling in around the children with paint.

    It turned out very nicely, but oh, how much easier that is now with Photoshop.

    That has little to do with "mood" photos, but it just came to mind and I wanted to tell you about it for a reason.

    Sometimes the environment creates a built-in mood.

    A brightly lit scene usually denotes some version of happiness or activity. Darker scenes bring out feelings of anxiety or even fear. Dracula and Frankenstien usually were involved in darker scenes.

    Portraits with dark backgrounds usually bring about "Character" moods. Children are rarely photographed with dark backgrounds, as they are thought of as light-hearted and gay. Gay is a beautiful little English word, meaning happy and light-hearted....not what others would use it to mean. 

    Here, again, Photoshop to the rescue, making it fairly simple to have a suitable background when none is available at the time you took the photo.

    If you are just learning and not proficient in Photoshop, then your choice of a background becomes all important in mood creation.

    Use flowers or greenery for "happy" looks. Mountains, a lake, or trees for tranquil effects. Use landmarks such as a football stadium for excitement.

    Indoors, use a type room which matches the message. Kitchens for cooking, etc. Maybe a den in which to make an athlete's portrait.

    There is a good-sized tree right out side my apartment which has big white blossoms on it. By putting it out-of-focus, it looks somewhat like an Old Masters out of focus floral background and colors can be added if need be, Usually, backgrounds are more high quality looking in a mood photo if they are neutral, and dull, colored. 

    Below is my close friend, Marianne, with that tree as an out-of-focus background.

Using what we've learned so far.

We have discussed the main ideas of utilizing the sun from the rear, when practical....For two main reasons: 1st - the light from the rear lights the hair nicely and even gives the aura of glamour to ANY portrait. It is best used on subjects that you feel could use glamour in a useful way. Babies and young children and more sedate groups or individuals are usually best portrayed in the shade, where the light is gentler (more even) and less contrasty, due to the light bouncing all over the scene. That softens its effect.

Groups are best posed with all persons, in some manner, facing (bodies turned) either toward the center or all looking in the same direction.
2nd reason for sun at their back - Squints are eliminated. When the subjects face the sun, you can count on bad squints and the photo is ruined.

Here is a group with the sun from the rear...