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.