Photomedia in Creative Practice (MANIPULATE IMAGES)

1. VDIS10021
WORKING IN DIGITAL DESIGN
PHOTOMEDIA IN CREATIVE PRACTICE - PART 2
SANGEETA JAIN

2. 1. CREATE IMAGES
• TAKE PHOTOS
- types of cameras
- resolution of images
- colour cast, lens flare & catchlights
• MAKE DIGITAL IMAGES
- types of scanners
- file formats
2. MANIPULATE IMAGES
• EXPLORE, PLAY AND CREATE
• PHOTOSHOP
- layers, shade/light and transparency
- levels, filters and effects
- texture and gradients
- color correction
- color cast removal
- catchlights

3. 2. MANIPULATE IMAGES > EXPLORE,
PLAY AND CREATE

4. MANIPULATE IMAGES > EXPLORE, PLAY AND
CREATE
• We all have the creative energy. The secret is how to tap it. There is no magic
wand for that…creating those marvellous, breath-taking, innovative images
needs a lot of time, training and effort. The first and foremost skill one needs
to develop is the readiness to explore and play with shapes, color, space etc.
and skills to manipulate and create images. A few tips that may help to polish
your creative side are observation, asking questions, be open and aware,
don’t be afraid to fuse ideas. And remember that limitations that can only
lead to higher degrees of success.

5. https://1stwebdesigner.com/best-photo-manipulation-ideas/

6. MANIPULATE IMAGES > EXPLORE, PLAY AND
CREATE
• PLAY: Architect Frank Gehry, who designed the gravity-defying Walt Disney Concert Hall, in
Los Angeles, constructed model buildings out of crumpled paper instead of using a computer.
• BORROW IDEAS: William Shakespeare famously filched plot points for many of his plays,
including King Lear. (As French author François-René de Chateaubriand wrote, “The original
writer is not he who refrains from imitating others, but he who can be imitated by none.”)
Steve Jobs copied the idea of the personal computer from a Xerox prototype and ran with it.
• SLEEP ON IT: Salvador Dalí once said, “All of my best ideas come through my dreams.”
Sigmund Freud’s fascination with his own dreams led to exploring psychology.

7. MANIPULATE IMAGES > EXPLORE, PLAY AND
CREATE
• COLLECT EVERY SEED OF AN IDEA: Martha Graham, grande dame of modern dance, kept
copious notebooks scribbled with quotations from Plato and Virgil, alongside choreography
notes. Woody Allen stuffs scraps of paper with script ideas in a bedside drawer.
• EMBRACE CONSTRAINTS: In 1907 asthma-suffering janitor James Murray Spangler was in
search of a dust-free vacuum cleaner, so he concocted a machine from a box fan, a soapbox,
a pillowcase, and a broom handle. Theodor Seuss Geisel was challenged by his publisher to
write a book using only 50 words. Green Eggs and Ham was the result.

8. MANIPULATE IMAGES > EXPLORE, PLAY AND
CREATE
• COMMUNE WITH NATURE: Ludwig van Beethoven heard symphonic melodies in the
sounds of the countryside. In 1941 Swiss engineer George de Mestral invented
Velcro after observing the burrs that stuck to his clothing and his dog’s fur during a
walk in the woods.
• COMPETE: The Beach Boys and the Beatles had a rivalry that led to each band’s
greatest albums. Inspired by Beatles’ Rubber Soul, Brian Wilson created Pet Sounds,
which Paul McCartney tried to outdo with Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

9. MANIPULATE IMAGES > EXPLORE, PLAY AND
CREATE
• EMBRACE IMPERFECTION: Perfection is a dam that chokes the river of
creativity. Your natural output, devoid of the quest for creating something
that’s exactly right, will always result in creativity. Do not block the paths to
achieving creative flow. Imperfection is a natural part of the human condition
- nature itself is beautifully imperfect. Embrace imperfection.
• MIX AND MATCH: If there are two things you like, put them together. Mixing
is creating. It might not fly right away, but over a period of time, some of
these remixes have the capability of becoming new norms, genres, subcultures.

11. Only OPENS, if you’re open for fantasy

12. • Your photomedia capabilities are only limited by your imagination
and your willingness to experiment with both your photography
and photo editing skills. The tasks in this course ask you to explore
photography and be imaginative with photo manipulation. The key
to a great outcome is a good starting point. Using good quality
imagery as a key starting point to beautiful, imaginative, thought
provoking and interesting work. Don’t forget to have fun too.
MANIPULATE IMAGES > EXPLORE, PLAY AND
CREATE

13. • Two of the worlds most famous photographic artists are introduced
below. Annie Liebovitz has been extremely successful in the
commercial world while Jerry Uelsman has chosen to dedicate
himself to his art rejecting commercial opportunities. They develop
complex original photo media that is appreciated world wide.
MANIPULATE IMAGES > EXPLORE, PLAY AND
CREATE

14. MANIPULATE IMAGES > EXPLORE, PLAY AND
CREATE
ANNIE LIEBOVITZ
• Annie Leibovitz was born on October 2, 1949, in Westbury, Connecticut. Annie Liebovitz does fine
photographic portraits and is most well known for her work with Vanity Fair and Rolling Stone magazine. Her
photographs are intimate, and describe the subject. She was unafraid of falling in love with the people she
photographed. Widely considered one of Americas best portrait photographers, Annie Leibovitz started her
career as a staff photographer for start-up rock music magazine Rolling Stone, in 1970. Two years later,
Leibovitz was chief photographer for the magazine, a position she would hold for 10 years. Leibovitz is noted
for her use of bold primary colors and surprising poses. Many of her Rolling Stone covers have become
collector’s items. In 1983, Leibovitz accepted a position with Vanity Fair, which gave her a wider pool of
subjects to work with. She has made many memorable covers, including two of Demi Moore, naked, and one
of Whoopi Goldberg, half submerged in a bathtub of milk. In 1987, Leibovitz won a Clio award for her
portraits of celebrity holders of “American Express” cards.
• Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/annie-leibovitz#ixzz36Sjdnr5w

18. MANIPULATE IMAGES > EXPLORE, PLAY AND
CREATE
JERRY UELSMAN
• Jerry Uelsman created unique images with composite photographs. Being very talented in the darkroom, he
used this skill in creating his composites. He never used digital cameras, since he felt that his creative process
was more suited to the darkroom. Uelsmann was born in Detroit, Michigan in 1934. Uelsmann produced his
composite photographs with multiple negatives and extensive darkroom work. He used up to a dozen
enlargers at a time to produce his final images, and has a large archive of negatives that he has shot over the
years. Uelsmann didn’t care about the boundaries given by the Photo Secessionists or other realists at the time,
he simply wished to share with the viewer the images from his imagination and saw photomontage as the
means by which to do so -“allegorical surrealist imagery of the unfathomable”. Despite his works’ affinity with
digital techniques, Uelsmann continues to use traditional equipment. “I am sympathetic to the current digital
revolution and excited by the visual options created by the computer, “however I feel my creative process
remains intrinsically linked to the alchemy of the darkroom.”
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerry_Uelsmann

23. Go On Your Own Road

24. 2. MANIPULATE IMAGES >
PHOTOSHOP

25. MANIPULATE IMAGES > PHOTOSHOP
The Adobe Photoshop family of products gives you everything you need
to bring out the best in your digital images, transform them into anything
you can imagine, and showcase them in extraordinary ways.
http://www.adobe.com/in/products/photoshop.html

26. MANIPULATE IMAGES > PHOTOSHOP
• Adobe Photoshop is the software of choice for professional-level art, design
and photography. You can seamlessly compositing disparate elements into a
beautiful photomontage or make your photos look even more stunning (or turn
those photos into vector portraits). You can directly draw and paint beautiful
artworks – or digitally colour works drawn on paper and scanned in.
• Read more: http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/features/illustration/86-best-
photoshop-tutorials-updated/

27. • When editing your photos in Photoshop the key tasks and tools that you will
use/address are: Colour correction , Levels, filters & effects , Colour cast
removal, Catchlights , Layers and transparency, Masks, Texture, gradient &
noise, Light & shade, Compositions etc.
• ONLINE TUTORIALS - It is a great way to learn software. I have provided a
PDF file with links to tutorials for Photoshop. Alternatively post your questions on
a thread TASK 2 in the forum and I will post an answer or tutorial to instruct you.
MANIPULATE IMAGES > PHOTOSHOP

28. 2. MANIPULATE IMAGES >
SOFTWARE OPTIONS

29. If you are looking for free software alternatives, the following options have good reviews.
• For Photography:
• GIMP - GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program. It is a freely distributed piece of
software for such tasks as photo retouching, image composition and image authoring.
http://www.gimp.org/
• Portrait Pro - PortraitPro is new portrait airbrushing software that has been “trained” in
human beauty. Exceptionally fast and easy to use, and capable of the highest quality touch
up, it lets you improve your photos instantly, just by moving sliders.
http://www.portraitprofessional.com/
GET CREATIVE > SOFTWARE OPTIONS

30. • For Page Layout:
• Scribus - Scribus is an Open Source program that brings professional page layout with a
combination of press-ready output and new approaches to page design. Scribus supports
professional publishing features, such as color separations, CMYK and spot colors, ICC color
management, and versatile PDF creation. http://www.scribus.net/
• PagePlus Starter Edition - Create posters, flyers, business cards, save and edit PDF files, and much
more. PagePlus is versatile and easy-to-use desktop publisher. An integrated word processor, logo
designer and photo editing lab make it easy to create attractive documents, while intelligent
alignment tools give you neat layouts effortlessly. http://www.serif.com/desktop-publishing-
software/
GET CREATIVE > SOFTWARE OPTIONS

31. RESOURCES:
https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/key-concepts/color-cast.html
https://www.realsimple.com/health/mind-mood/how-to-be-creative
https://1stwebdesigner.com/best-photo-manipulation-ideas/
http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/
http://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/tutorials/photoshop/