Photo Management and Graphic Design Workshop: Basic principles Immanuel Henne , 21st of October 2009
Agenda
Basics of photo management and graphic design
Basic principles of digital photography (recap from 1st workshop)
Photo Management
Download from camera
Image processing
Online sharing of images
Graphic Design Guidelines
General guidelines
Example of use (presentation guidelines)
. Light is the foremost indicator of how you are going to go about your photography. It determines what you will be able to photograph as well as govern your limitations
Light
Front Lightning
Side Lightning
Back Lightning
Difussed Light
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Front Lightning
Representative images
Two Dimensional
Reduces Shadows
Most used and recognized light source
Original definition: The method of recording the image of an object through the action of light, on light sensitive material Derived from Greek words: photos = Light | grahphein = to draw
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Side Lighting
Brings out Detail in subject
Reveals texture
Introduces a third dimension
Shows depth in an image
Use side lighting as much as possible, even moving your subject, if necessary, next to a window.
.
Back Lighting
Striking effect
Use with recognizable subjects
Halo of light around subject
Late evening or early morning
.
Diffused Light
Clouds act as a large filter and diffuse light
Saturate colour
Good for taking portraits
Good for recording detail
Close ups
Macro
. One word on flash usage Avoid using flash, even for night shots. The indiscriminate blast of flash destroys the intimate mood of existing light. The use of frontal flash lighting tends to flatten faces. However use fill-in flash, for backlit situations or overhead sun.
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Angle
Changing your angle
By changing the angle you look at your subject, you alter the perspective. This has a great bearing on how the subject is perceived on a photograph.
Create impact by photo-graphing your subjects from unexpected angles.
Imagine yourself as an electron spinning around the subject, which is the nucleus of an atom.
The way you look at a subject makes a large difference to the end result of a photograph. Changing angle means bending your knees, lying down, looking down at your subject etc.
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Composition
There are various guidelines of composition that you
can use. Some are for portraits, while others are for
landscapes. In this lecture we will discuss how to
approach and compose a subject.
Leading Lines
High contrast scenes
Rule of Thirds
Balancing background and foreground
Even horizons
Subject placement (animals and humans)
Portrait and landscape
Fill the frame and get close
. Rule of thirds Rule of Thirds rule are imaginary lines dividing the image into thirds both horizontally and vertically
. Balancing foreground and background
. Even horizons
. Even horizons
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Subject placement (animals and humans)
Drop the “cross hairs” syndrome. Think about
where you want to place your subject
Frame your subject looking into some space
For action, place the subject to the side of the frame, so that it is moving into some space
When looking to take a photograph, select your subject. This is normally the first thing your eye is attracted to. Once you have your subject, you can then apply compositional rules to give the image better impact or balance.
. Portrait and landscape … and check the different impacts
. Portrait and landscape
. Fill the frame and get close For action, sports and portraits a subject that fills the frame makes for a very high impact image. A good photograph is a subject, a context, and nothing else. Remove any clutter that detracts from your message. Get closer -- zoom in -- and crop as tightly as possible
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Things to know
Know your camera (e.g. set correct time)
Hold the camera still
Avoid using flash, even for night shots
Take a few more
Change your angle
Use frame, lines and diagonals
Put subject off center
Unclutter the picture
Tell a “story”
Capture the “mood”
Agenda
Basics of photo management and graphic design
Basic principles of digital photography (recap from 1st workshop)
Photo Management
1. Download from camera
2. Image processing
3. Online sharing of images
Graphic Design Guidelines
4. General guidelines
5. Example of use (presentation guidelines)
. ISO 100 ISO 3200 Photomanagement
1. Download from your camera to Picasa
Time stamp on camera
Picasa
Tagging
2. Basic image processing with Picasa
3. Online sharing of images
. ISO 100 ISO 3200 1. Download from your camera
Timestamp on camera
Easy and one time setup
Makes it easy to find pictures in the future
Nicely synchronizes sequence of pictures of photographs taken by others on same event.
. ISO 100 ISO 3200 1. Download from your camera
Picasa – Your photo library
Our recommendation for RuLiv
It’s for free
Easy to use
Incl. basic options for image processing
Image sharing capabilities
Download and install Picasa*
* http ://picasa.google.com/
. ISO 100 ISO 3200 1. Download from your camera
Tagging
Give your pictures a name
Split into folders (must do)
Name/title the "event" (must do)
Use geo tagging and other tagging (optional)
"People“ (nice to have feature)
Requires Google Earth
. ISO 100 ISO 3200 Photomanagement
1. Download from your camera to Picasa
2. Basic image processing with Picasa
Rotate pictures if needed
Cropping
Straighten
Red Eye Reduction
3. Online sharing of images
. ISO 100 ISO 3200 2. Basic Image processing Rotate pictures if needed Before you upload the pictures or share them by sending them in an e-mail rotate them to their natural position.
. ISO 100 ISO 3200 2. Basic Image Processing
Cropping
Unclutter the image
Increase the impact of your picture
Crop to match the format needed for your presentation
Change from landscape to portrait or the other way round.
. ISO 100 ISO 3200 2. Basic Image Processing
Straighten
Even horizons
… or the opposite, intentionally put some dynamic into the picture
. ISO 100 ISO 3200 2. Basic Image Processing Red Eye reduction Apply at least for images which are uploaded and shared.
. ISO 100 ISO 3200 Photomanagement
1. Download from your camera to Picasa
2. Basic image processing with Picasa
3 . Online sharing of images
Setup Google Account
Selective Upload
Recommended image sizes in pixels
Sharing pictures Web and Email
Embed in Blog or Website
. ISO 100 ISO 3200 3. Online sharing of images via Picasa Web Album
Setup Google Picasa Account
Use for business vs. use for private
Each to have their own account.
Existing Google accounts work. Or add a new Google account.
Grant each other access to albums to share each others pictures.
Basic principles of digital photography (recap from 1st workshop)
Photo Management
1. Download from camera
2. Image processing
3. Online sharing of images
Graphic Design Guidelines
4. General guidelines
Combine pictures and text copy
Keep aspect ratio (don’t squeeze logos)
No more as than 3 different font types
Use grid and object alignment
No colored backgrounds
5. Example of use (presentation guidelines)
General Graphic Design Guidelines
. ISO 100 ISO 3200 4. General graphic design guidelines
Combine images and text copy
Calling for attention, more appealing
Pictures say more than 1000 words
Illiterate people can read pictures
Use meaningful pictures … choose carefully
Don’t use pictures as background image with text copy onto it. It makes the text copy very difficult to read and the image is also not displayed favorably.
. ISO 100 ISO 3200 4. General graphic design guidelines
Keep ratio of pictures and logos
Same aspect ratio for all pictures on same presentation
When scaling use “Shift key”
Don’t squeeze … it looks unprofessional.
. ISO 3200 4. General graphic design guidelines
No more than 3 different font types
Keep it clean and simple
No more then 2 to 3 different font type changes on same presentation. Count in changes of font sizes, font color, font style.
I. General graphic design
II. Keep it clean and simple
No more then 2 to 3 different style changes on same presentation. Count in changes of font sizes, font color, font style.
Too many different “font styles” are heavy on the eye.
Grids help objects to be spaced evenly, aligned and consistent in size
Use grid to position objects consistently at
same positions
Use View Grid and Guides Display drawing guides on screen.
4. General graphic design guidelines
. ISO 3200
Alignment
Have everything left and top aligned. There are exceptions to the rule.
Align picture with text copy and other elements
Btw. the left-top alignment is also a better rule for spreadsheets (rather than using the Microsoft default alignment which is “bottom”)
4. General graphic design guidelines
. ISO 3200
Simple typographic rules
Usually align text copy to top and to left. That's how you read.
Line breaks within paragraph goes without line spacing
0.5 line spacing after paragraph.
Use spell checking
4. General graphic design guidelines
. ISO 3200
No colored backgrounds
Try to not use colored backgrounds. It can be difficult to read.
For “Status” indication on spreadsheets use a dedicated column where the field of just one column uses color coding.
No colored backgrounds
Try to not use colored backgrounds. It can be difficult to read.
For “Status” indication on spreadsheets use a dedicated column where the field of just one column uses color coding.
4. General graphic design guidelines
. ISO 3200
Design templates include
Consistent use of Logo image
Presentation template and guidelines
Letterhead template
Evtl. word doc and flyer template (tbd)
5. Use available and standardized RuLiv design templates
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