Let There Be Light

Lighting is one of the most important things to consider when creating portraits. Below is a great link that contains some fantastic, yet basic info on lighting. Check it out.

6 Portrait Lighting Patterns Every Photographer Should Know

Portraiture Lab

Below is the info we will will use to complete our portraiture lab. Download the file and print out the last 2 pages. Fill these out and hand them in by the end of the class day on Friday, 12/19/2014. Put them on my desk as you walk out the door.

This project involves thought and creativity. Do a good job and make it fun as well as rewarding. Also remember…the holidays are right around the corner and everybody loves to get a nice, framed picture as a present :)

Portraiture Tips

Today we will be starting our unit on portraiture. Below are the three links we will be working with that will give us some great tips to help us while getting started.

14 Portrait Photography Tips You'll Never Want To Forget

Six Things They Won't Teach You In Portrait Photography Class

101 Portrait Photography Tips

Today's Assignment: Making Complex Selections

 Today we are going to focus on making very accurate, complex selections.  Up until this point, we have said that it is extremely difficult to work with detailed objects such as people's hair and branches on a tree. Today we are going to learn how to use the Color Range tool and the Refine Selection Button. These will both help us to achieve our goal in making more accurate selections. Download the PDF file below as well as the sample photo which is also posted below. After we do the demo, you are going to:

1. Take a picture of a tree and a headshot of a person with spiky or wispy hair. 
2. Eliminate the background of both pictures.
3. Add new backgrounds. 
• Make sure your selections are perfect. This means that no remnants of the original background are still present.
4. Put both the before and after versions of each picture into a Google doc and share it with me. 

(20 pts.)    5 point penalty for each picture that contains remnants of the original background.

Today's Assignment: Changing B&W Levels And Contrast

Today we are going to learn about adjusting levels in a B&W Graphic. We will start with a color graphic and use the instructions in the PDF file below to change the image from color to B&W, then adjust the different levels. Download both the PDF file and the image file and let's get started.

You will take two images form the Internet, apply level changes and submit them in a presentation via Google Drive. (20 pts.)

Todays Project: Using Gradients and Overlays

Today, we are going to learn about gradients and overlays in Photoshop. Download the two files below and we'll do the project together at first. Then you'll be able to pick your own graphic either of your own or off the Internet and do it yourself. Download the two files below and we'll get started!

Check Out This Great Visual Aid

Check out this chart below. We haven't learned white balance or metering yet, but the upper half is great information pertaining to what we've learned so far.

An Army of One

New project! In this project, you will be using a digital camera and Adobe Photoshop to take several pictures of yourself and place them in the same document. Remember to keep the tripod in the exact same place!

This project is due at the end of class on Wednesday, December 10th.

Today we are going to retouch both models below. Download the files and use the skills we learned in Photoshop to make them both look "magazine ready". This project will be graded on hoqw realistic we keep the quality of the image. All blemishes should be removed and there should be no wavy edges. (40 pts.)

Fashion Photography, Modeling and the Effects That Photoshopped Pictures Have on the Body Image of the American Public

Today's class was great! We started off talking about the effects that digitally manipulated photos can have on our body images. After the introduction, we began by watching 3 videos featured below.

After watching these videos, we spoke about the benefits that this sort of image manipulation can produce for businesses and marketing agencies. We also spoke about the negative effects that it can have on people's self image. After that, we fielded questions from the class and also heard lots of great opinions about the topic.

During the last part of the class, we learned how to create some of these effects in Photoshop. The three tools that we used today were the spot healing brush, the clone stamp tool, and the liquefy filter. 

The pictures below are of a model named Kelly Brook. The first photo is shown before any manipulation was performed with Photoshop. The second photo is what we had when we were done the demonstration. Most of the work we did consisted of removing any blemishes or wrinkles from her skin, making her arms thinner, making her legs thinner, tightening up her waist, straightening out her bathing suit bottom and lifting and decreasing the size of her top. These are all actions that would be performed when preparing a photo to be placed in an ad. If you click on the photos, you can see them in a larger size and also flip back-and-forth to see the before and after effects a little more dramatically.

Adding A Shadow To Your Stock Photos

 Today we are going to learn how to add a shadow to your stock photos. We will do this for two of our stock photos;  the one that was taken with the light source on the left and the one that was taken with the light source on the right. Below are two pictures. The top picture is a "before" picture and the bottom picture is an "after" picture. In between the two are some basic instructions. These are brief instructions and you will need to use some of your existing Photoshop experience, but it's definitely enough to get you started. Finally, there is a video posted at the bottom. Watch it and enjoy.

1. Take your image and open it in Photoshop
2. Create 2 duplicate layers of the background. Label 1 of them "shadow" and the other one "object".
3. Remove the white around from around the "object" layer.
4. Desaturate the "shadow" layer.
5. Add a gaussian blur to the "shadow" layer.
6. Move the "shadow" layer slightly to the right and down if the light source is coming from the left. Do the opposite if the light source is coming from the right.
7. Paint white over any leftover sections near the sides and top portion of the "shadow" layer.

This exercise is all about using layers, so be aware of what layers are selected while you are working.

When you are done, save your 2 photos as JPEG files and I will come around and grade them all at once on Wednesday. (40 pts.)

How To Add A Shadow In Photoshop from Michael Pagliara on Vimeo.