GRAPHIC TIPS & NEWS

This is a great way to present a photo when you want to portray a broken or fragmented look. It uses the concepts used at one point by fine and modern artists like Andy Warhol by the assemblage of individual snap shots, all taken of the same model, at the same time. It can be quite dramatic.
Reader example #1
Another reader suggested this example

We're going to show you hot to do both methods, random and organized. We'll also show how layer styles can be used, stroking inside and outside, as well as how to get a jump start using the slice method. That way you can make decisions based on which method is best for the project you're working on.
First: The Slice Method
Here we put Photoshop's SLICE function to work to make even divisions of the image a quick snap. Use this one if you plan to build a border outside the image slices, or you don't mind losing a bit of the image when you stroke inside the image.

First, we'll set up the file. This is a photo of a little girl, perfect for our Thanksgiving card. We'll set up the card to print at 300dpi, at 4.25 x 5.5 inches -- which is a standard card. We will reduce the image size a bit to allow room for borders, shadows and a textured background -- so we'll add about 100 pixels to both dimensions, using the Image > Canvas Size menu item.
















Begin the slice
Grab the Slice tool (tap 'K') and hover over the image. Right-Click for the popup context menu and select: "Divide Slice". A dialog will open where you can set "Divide Horizontally into 3 slices down..." and the same for vertically. Click Okay and it's done.

In order to actually assemble your project, you'll need all those split into layers. The fastest way to do that is to choose
File > Save for Web > and then set up your file attributes. I've set this one for "no optimization" and "BEST" quality, since I don't want to disturb the 300ppi, for printing.

When you click Okay, Photoshop will split the files apart and place them in a folder called "images" in the same directory you're working in. (I changed my name to "slice" and Photoshop auto numbered them for me.)

Bring slices together for your mosaic or collage

Now, simply select all those slice files and drag them over onto the Photoshop icon. They'll all open, one by one -- and you can quickly begin dragging each into the 300dpi work file using the MOVE tool. Don't bother about arranging them now, we'll do that later. After each drag, hit your keyboard command to close the slice file.

slices

Once you've brought all your files together, you'll see they've arrived on separate layers. Before arranging into your final grid, you'll want to set the layer style to get your photo border and drop shadow. This way, as you arrange the photos you can do so working with the shadows, etc.

setting the layer style

Since this is a large file, and the photo borders are only going to seal about 12 pixels from the edges of the photos, I'll go ahead and do an inside stroke to get the white border.

Open the STROKE Dialog now to see the settings. Notice the stroke is added to the inside of the layer image -- which effectively cuts off some image. Notice also it gives you a nice, sharp, cornet. (If we selected "outside" for the stroke, you would get a rounded corner -- not what we want here. I'll show you that one a little later.)

Now open the SHADOW Dialog to see my settings. Since these settings are dependant on your resolution settings, I'll not impose them on you. However, just adjust the settings until you get the effect you like.

Once your layer styles are perfect, you can replicate the same style to all the tile layers. There are various ways to do this -- however, I like to drag them one-by-one to watch as they affect each layer. Sometimes, after the second or third, I'll want to tweak it a bit, and bulk apply forces me to bulk remove.

Drag and drop the effect

Click the "Expand" arrow at the right of the layer in the Layers Palette to expand the styles. Now, simply hold in the Option key (Mac, Alt for Windows) click on the effect and drag the effect down to the next layer. You'll see it instantly applied. Repeat for each layer.

Add type and finish your photo mosaic card

Here's the finished card Finishing : at this point, I select all those layers and use the Layers menu to "group" the layers. This tucks them neatly away into a layer folder, getting them out of the way.

As you can see from this example, I've added a little Thanksgiving message, styled it, and also added a tan layer behind with the Texturizer filter set to a fine grain -- just for a little seasonal texture. Everything looks great, so I can save the file -- then flatten the file and save it again, using the Save As... to rename it and make it a TIF file for import into my awaiting Quark file.

At right, you can see my finished card.
Time elapsed: 20 minutes.
I've also provided you with the 300 dpi version, all ready for your Thanksgiving greeting, so you can have a little fun with it! (tgiving_card.jpg 1300 x 1650, 812K)

At this point, I must say that while this is by far the easiest and fastest method, I may not like the way the white borders cut into my image. I think I would also like a little more randomness to the tiles on the design.
Manual slicing for a mosaic or collage

As you saw before, slicing is fast and easy. It also divides the image perfectly, with Photoshop doing all the math necessary to split the image in as many cells or tiles as you want. We used the "Inside" method of stroking -- but it cut off parts of the image. In order to use the 'outside' method, the slice function won't work. We'll have to cut them out manually.

Not being particularly fond of math, I usually divide images using this little trick. It won't take but a minute.

Dividing the image

Draw a square shape into a new layer. Here I drew one, filled it, and then set the opacity for about 80% so I could still see my image. I used the Move tool to Option/drag (Alt/drag) the second, and third squares. Then I did the same to drag copies of each row until I created a grid of nine squares.

Pop open the grid.

Now, I will carefully select each tile, using this grid, but select outside the image rectangle to compensate for the width taken by the "Stroke Inside" layer style. This gets a little tedious.

Selecting oversized rectangle

Upon making the selection using the Marquee tool, I click the original image, and float a copy of that selection to its own layer. Float by hitting Command/J (Control/J). The tile on its new layer will be de-selected, so Command click its thumbnail in the layers palette, return to the original image, and still using the Marquee tool, move the selection alone (without image) to select the next tile.

Selecting oversized

After moving the selection rectangle to the next position, again, return to the original image layer and float a copy of that selection to its own layer. Walk your way through the file until you've picked up all nine tiles. If you view them all at the same time, you should see a seamless copy of the original image.

Once you have all nine tiles lifted to their own layers, you can turn of the view of the original, set layer styles and duplicate styles as described in the previous section.

This adds another 20 minutes or so to the time, but in my opinion, makes the finished piece better. The images look as if they would match up.

Now, if you don't mind rounded corners on your images, you can use the Slice method, and simply set the Stroke style to the outside rather than inside...

finished

Above, you can see the impact of rounded corners. If these are okay, then use the slice method and set the Stroke style to the outside. Notice here, I've also played with the layout a bit, slanting or tilting the images to give the presentation a more casual look. I think the rounded corners add to that as well. At this point, you know the technique -- it's just your call as to how to apply the stroke.Click to see an enlargement.

Barry Huggins writes...

resulting black and white photooriginal color photoBlack-and-white photography is as powerful today as it was when color photography was just a distant dream. A different set of skills is required when working with black and white, as the absence of color means the interplay of shape and contrast must work harder to tell the story or set the mood, but when it works, it's very effective.

Some cameras have a dedicated black-and-white mode, but even if yours doesn't, you can still work in black and white. In fact, it often works better to shoot in color and convert later on. Photoshop offers a breathtaking array of techniques for converting color to black and white (or more correctly, grayscale), and these enable you to control the process with a degree of finesse that would be difficult to match in the field.


NOTICE Method 1: Desaturation

This shot was taken early one winter's morning in New York. The sky had a dramatic quality and there was a fine haze rising to meet the colder air at higher altitudes. The image works well in color, but it also has potential for a striking black-and-white impression of the city.

The most obvious way of converting color to black and white is to convert the mode to grayscale (Image > Mode > Grayscale). This is okay, but there are better alternatives.

The first is desaturation -- removing the visible color information but maintaining the RGB status of the file. This means that if you wanted to add a tint later you could do so without having to change color mode again.

Go to Image > Adjustments > Desaturate (or press Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + U).


The problem with desaturation is that it often delivers a flat, uninspiring rendition. We can improve this, however. Analyzing the photo, we need to strengthen the texture in the sky by darkening the shadows and midtones, but the buildings below need a general increase in contrast to remove the haziness. It's best to treat the sky and the buildings as separate entities. Make a feathered selection of the sky, using the natural division of the rising dark haze as a guide.

dialogs histogram

Press Ctrl/Cmd + J to copy and paste the selection to a new layer, and rename it "sky."

Add a Levels Adjustment Layer to it, making sure the two layers are combined as a clipping mask.

To bring out the sky texture, drag the Black and Gray point markers to the right as shown.

Here are the BEFORE and AFTER images, which will pop open in a new browser window.



Depending on the amount of feathering and the position of your selection, you may see a dividing line after the Levels adjustment has been made. This is easily removed by adding a layer mask to the sky layer (set to Reveal All) and painting on the mask in black until the edge disappears. Work carefully with a soft brush at a low opacity and the result should look something like this.

dialogs

Curve dialog We could use a Levels adjustment layer to add contrast to the buildings, but there is an alternative route.
Go to Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Curves to add a Curves adjustment layer to the background layer.

Applying the curve shown increases midtone contrast, at slight expense to the highlights and shadows. This diminishes the haziness in the area of the buildings.

The final image is far more striking, and much closer to what the photographer originally envisioned.

Discuss this in the Photoshop forum
Here’s the spin on a very popular effect in Photoshop that adds perceived motion light to images. You’ll begin by using one of the extremely effective Distort filters—Polar Coordinates. This filter converts a selection from its rectangular to polar coordinates, or from its polar to rectangular coordinates. To create perceived motion, you’ll use both options. You’ll also use one of Photoshop’s Stylize filters—Wind. This filter creates tiny horizontal lines that simulate wind. Upon completion, you’ll add an Inner Shadow to the object and also make adjustments to color and intensity using the Hue/Saturation command. The end result takes a colorless, flat image and turns it into a special effect.


A liquidlibrary Tip
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http://www.graphics.com/sections/LL/08/oct/20/howto2_1.gif To work through this tutorial using the sample image, download motion.psd from the liquidlibrary collection and open it in Photoshop. Press D to set Default colors (black foreground, white background). Press F7 to show the Layers palette. Drag Layer 1 to the Create New Layer button to duplicate it.

http://www.graphics.com/sections/LL/08/oct/20/howto2_2.gif Choose Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates. Use the options in the resulting Polar Coordinates dialog box and click OK.

Choose Image > Rotate Canvas > 90º CW. Choose Filter > Stylize > Wind. Use the options in the resulting Wind dialog box (below, far left) and click OK. Choose Filter > Wind (Command + F).

http://www.graphics.com/sections/LL/08/oct/20/howto2_3.gif Choose Filter > Stylize > Wind. Use the options in the resulting Wind dialog box (left) and click OK. Choose Filter > Wind (Command + F).

http://www.graphics.com/sections/LL/08/oct/20/howto2_4.gif Choose Image > Rotate Canvas > 90º CCW. Choose Filter > Stylize > Wind. Use the options in the resulting Wind dialog box (below, far left) and click OK. Choose Filter > Wind (Command + F).

http://www.graphics.com/sections/LL/08/oct/20/howto2_4.gif Choose Filter > Stylize > Wind. Use the options in the resulting Wind dialog box (left) and click OK. Choose Filter > Wind (Command + F).

http://www.graphics.com/sections/LL/08/oct/20/howto2_5.gif Choose Filter > Distort > Polar Coordinates. Use the options in the resulting Polar Coordinates dialog box and click OK.

http://www.graphics.com/sections/LL/08/oct/20/howto2_6.gif Drag Layer 1 to the top of the Layers palette. Press Option (Alt) + Shift + Delete to fill the image with Black.

Click the Add Layer Style button and select Inner Shadow from the drop-down menu. In the resulting Inner Shadow dialog box, use the options shown (left) and click the Color Swatch. In the resulting Color Picker dialog box, enter C:0; M:0; Y:0; K:0, and click OK. Click OK again to exit the Layer Style dialog box.

http://www.graphics.com/sections/LL/08/oct/20/howto2_7.gif Click the Create New Fill or Adjustment Layer button and select Hue/Saturation from the drop-down menu. In the resulting Hue/Saturation dialog box, click the Colorize button, use the options shown (below, left) and click OK.

http://www.graphics.com/sections/LL/08/oct/20/howto2_8small.gif Our finished effect is shown at left (click to enlarge).

By Ben Kessler of the Graphics.com Network


Dateline: October 23, 2008
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Despite the many, many sweet smiles on display in the portfolio of Cathy Yeulet—or Stockbroke, as she's known on Stockxpert—its overall effect is never saccharine. Cathy gives us triumphant, loving, even silly scenes in settings ranging from hospitals to nightclubs, but all the images and spaces radiate light and warmth. Similarly, her well-chosen camera subjects win us over with modest poses and unforced gestures. The secret to her success may reside in the way her models connect with the camera—and with us.



Ben Kessler: Who are you outside of Stockxpert?

Stockbroke: My name is Cathy Yeulet and I am based in Wallingford, Oxfordshire. My previous company was Bananastock, which was a successful royalty-free agency that I sold to Jupiterimages in 2006.

Do you have any formal training in photography? If so, where were you trained? If not, how did you hone your craft?

I started in this business as a picture researcher for a rights-managed agency. Doing research every day for clients and understanding what they used taught me the subjects and styles that clients like and most importantly the images they wanted but could never find.

You came from the world of traditional stock photography. What drew you to microstock?

When I launched Bananastock it was in the early days of royalty-free and the traditional world was rights-managed. I could see that over the coming years royalty-free was going to become the primary way in which clients would buy imagery. I can see many similarities between microstock now and the early days of royalty-free, and am sure that as the quality of imagery improves more and more professional users will make the switch.

Have you had to make any changes in the way you produce imagery for microstock versus traditional RF? If so, what are they? If not, why is that?

We apply the same principles to our shoots regardless of who we are producing for. Our belief is that clients will not compromise on quality, no matter where they are searching. Having earned a reputation based on creating aspirational images that are real and natural, we continue to achieve this under any conditions.

What technological tools do you use to make your images?

We shoot on Canon and Hasselblad cameras.

How long, on average, does it take you to complete an image, from conception to upload?

It depends on the nature of the shoot. If we have been on location and have several thousand captures the editing, post production and uploading process means that we can have the images to market within 4-6 weeks. However, we recently shot some material to highlight the credit crunch in our studio, which was for sale within 24 hours.

What would you say is your ratio of pictures captured to pictures uploaded?

We use about 10% of the pictures we shoot after technical and creative editing.

Your portfolio features an extremely wide range of camera subjects. How do you find your models?

A lot of people tell us that our images are very believable. We achieve this by using a mixture of friends and their families and being very careful to choose the right models when we use professionals.

The "extended family outdoors smiling" is quite believable. Are they a real family?

Not on this occasion, although we have used real families before. It's really difficult to create the ideal family, but over the years we have understood the blend of models that work well together. Occasionally, models you have selected will let you down on the morning of the shoot and to be honest I have been known to cancel a shoot if I can't get the models I want rather than compromise.



"Young man skiing" is an impressive example of microstock action photography. How was this image captured?

Shooting in snow is such a difficult environment with the glare from the snow, the bright sunshine and getting your equipment to the location—very often you have a tiny opportunity to get the right shot. It's really down to planning to give yourself the best chance to get that one classic image. On this occasion we also used locals as models, so they really knew the lie of the land and recommended some great places to shoot.



It can be hard to make food come across as appetizing on camera, but you pull it off marvelously. Do you have any techniques for shooting food that you can share?

We can't give away all our secrets because, as with many things, there really is a very thin line between a food shot that works and one that doesn't. If I had to sum it up, it's between ensuring that all the ingredients are freshly prepared, composition is well thought out and the lighting is just right. We were able to use a professional chef to prepare the food, and it's fair to say that everyone was eating very well when we were doing these shots and were disappointed when we finished this project.



Your hospital shots convey a reassuring atmosphere, which isn't easy to do in that environment. How did you create this mood?

It's very difficult to create hospital shots that are both realistic and reassuring. Of course, it's vital to get the right location and models and do your research to make sure that all the medical equipment is being used properly! We try to view the shoot sympathetically through the eyes of the patient and always remember that these images need to focus on the positives.



"Family walking through poppy field" is an idyllic scene. Where was this shot?

This was shot locally to our office in Oxfordshire on a rare UK day when it wasn't raining.



"Nightclub" photos in your portfolio feature realistic lighting. How was this effect achieved?

It's always tough to recreate a realistic nightclub scene. The lighting needs to be pretty carefully controlled, but often the real key to a great nightclub shoot is making the sure that the models look like they are genuinely enjoying themselves—even if it's mid-morning outside.



Do you have any advice for people starting out in the microstock industry?

Pick your subjects and develop your own style. You've mentioned several times that our images look natural and believable and it's something we try to bring out in all our shoots.

Adapted from Practical HDRI: High Dynamic Range Imaging for Photographers (Rocky Nook)

By Jack Howard

Dateline: October 24, 2008
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The beauty of SLR photography is the ability to swap optics as often as you like for many different photographic feelings and situations. Certain lens types truly lend themselves to High Dynamic Range Imaging. Here are some breed-specific tips for making the most of your glass for High Dynamic Range Imaging.
Rectilinear Wide-Angle Lenses

Rectilinear wide-angle lenses are very popular for landscape and cityscape photography, and the same holds true in High Dynamic Range Imaging. The expansive field of view combined with the virtually unlimited depth of field when stopped down at hyperfocal distance can make sweeping vistas that envelop the viewer. Think about lines such as a country roadway, a meandering river, or the strong architectural details of a skyscraper, which can be employed to really pull the viewer into the details of the image.

The apparent magnification and close focusing can spotlight a particular foreground element in its environmental context, from wide to medium apertures. Whether it’s a desert plant on a rolling hill or a chef in his kitchen, an off-center foreground-intensive composition can have big impact.

Ultra wide-angle lenses can capture expansive views, and can keep a lot in focus from near to far, even at medium apertures. This source image was shot at f/5.6.


Rectilinear wide-angle lenses keep straight lines straight (or near-straight), but the expansive angle of view gives the keystone/vanishing point effect to lines that are not parallel to the sensor plane. This is particularly effected and effective as a compositional element with manmade, right-angled constructions. Make sure that one of the axes is plumb with the sensor plane—for example, when shooting up at a skyscraper, make sure the horizontal lines of the ascending stories are parallel with the top and bottom of the frame. When shooting a long structure, such as a train on a straightaway, make sure that the vertical lines of the train are parallel with the sides of the frame.

Stopping down to f/8 softens the rolling dunes behind this desert plant, but close focusing allows for the plant to be the main focus.

Two Flavors of Fisheyes

Fisheye lenses let the idea of rectilinear correction go out the window, warping straight lines into bowed curves, with the effect becoming most extreme the farther you get from the center of the image. Full-frame fisheyes matched to a particular sensor size will take in up to 180 degrees along the wide axis. Circular fisheyes capture a round image in the center of the frame that usually covers 180 degrees. Some photographers enjoy the warped perspective of these extreme images as-is; but there’s a whole subculture of photographers remapping fisheye images into rectilinear projections and computer video virtual reality (VR) environments. VR remapping, even when combined with HDRI is a little outside the scope of this book, but HDRI plus VR mapping can offer a richness of detail and luminance experience lacking in single-shot VR movies.

When you cannot eradicate keystoning, use it as an element to imply distance and scale. And be sure to keep one of the axes parallel with the edges of the frame! (And there’s a very real chance you may run into Seetharaman Narayanan on the 16th floor when he’s in town!)


Both fisheye flavors can usually close-focus to within a couple of inches (if not closer) and have very deep depth of field even at wider apertures—meaning almost everything from near to far in the immense angle of view can be acceptably sharp when focused properly. Use your camera’s depth of field preview (or simply take a test shot) to determine depth of field range. Be aware of the extreme “dog nose” effect with fisheyes, which can be used creatively to amplify the importance of objects very near the lens, but which can also be very unflattering to human subjects.

This 10 mm full-frame fisheye image shows the bowing effects of a fisheye lens, along with warped keystoning. Notice how prominent the Fish and Chips sign is in the foreground, due to my proximity to the sign during capture.

Swinging, Bending Optics

Big, Expensive, Perspective-Fixing Lenses
There are only a handful of these perspective-controlling optics available for DSLRs, and they are universally expensive. These bulky lenses usually communicate with the camera to set aperture and support in-camera metering, but they are shifted and focused manually. The primary purpose of this breed of specialized lens is to allow for focal plane shifts off parallel from the sensor plane to correct for keystoning and other quirks of optical physics that manifest in captured images when it is not possible to take the picture from a location that would present a more truly utilitarian, representational rendition of the scene.

Keystoning: Keystoning is a type of distortion that results when the film or sensor plane is not parallel to the subject's vertical surface (such as a tall building) when the exposure is made. The parallel vertical lines on this surface will no longer appear parallel but will appear to converge towards the top of the image. The resulting shape (a horizontal trapezoid) resembles the keystone at the top of an arch. This effect may be desired or it may be corrected with specialized cameras or lenses or during post-processing.

Employing a 24 mm tilt/shift lens, I was able to correct for keystoning in the steeple of the same church as seen in the fisheye image. Notice how much less prominent the Fish and Chips sign is, because I had to move my shooting position back several yards to take in the whole church with the longer, non-fisheye lens.


In plain English: tilt/shift lenses not only keep straight lines straight, but can be employed to keep right angles at or near right angles when photographing architecture under many conditions where keystoning will occur with a lens that cannot shift the focal plane.

Architectural shots are usually captured at small apertures, so that there is sufficient depth of field to keep the entire structure in focus; however, opening a tilt/shift wide while skewing the focal plane gives a zone of sharp focus that can wander across the image, from near to far. This can give an interesting perspective to rooftop photography, for example. And in the studio, this non-parallel focal plane can be exploited to pull the viewer’s eye right to the most important details of a product.

In this aerial view of Paris, a tilt/shift lens was used to both level the horizon and add a meandering focal plane across the middle ground.

A More Economical and Super-Fun Way to Mess Around with Focal Plane Shift and Curved Field Lenses

Lensbabies are fun little lenses that can be pushed, pulled, bent, swung, and shifted around a curved-field “sweet spot”. The introduction of the locking Lensbaby 3G opened up a whole new world of Lensbaby imaging including HDRI. Lensbabies feature magnetic aperture disks that sit in front of the lens element, and in addition to the normal circles, Lensbabies offers pre-cut shapes such as stars and hearts (as well as blanks for your own custom shapes) that will turn specular highlights off the focal plane into those cool creative aperture shapes. These “toy” lenses are starting to have a major impact in the world of photography and cinematography, and can make some interesting HDR compositions. Add the fact that a Lensbaby 3G will only cost a couple of hundred bucks, instead of thousands for a brand-name tilt/shift lens, and it’s a way to bend your focus without breaking the bank.

The Lensbaby 3G has a curved “sweet spot” and a locking mechanism, allowing for creative blur effects.

Macros: Make the Little World as Big as All Get-Out!

If budget allows, invest in a prime macro with 1:1 magnification and a fast maximum aperture. If not, many zoom lenses offer a “macro” setting which will close focus and give decent magnification, maybe up to 1:2; but if the macro bug really bites you, you’ll want to upgrade to a prime 1:1 as soon as possible!

Magnification of 1:1 means that an object that is 1 cm wide will be recorded as 1 centimeter wide on the camera sensor—when the camera is focused at its 1:1 focal distance. Changing the focal distance of a macro lens also changes the magnification of the lens. So, to keep your magnification constant at 1:1 (or any magnification), either the camera or the subject is moved until focus is achieved.

Bracketing several exposures of this tabletop composition of jewelry shows deep sparkle in the gems and very few hotspots on the shiny surfaces.


Magnification of 1:2 means that a 1 cm wide object will be recorded as 1/2 cm on the sensor. Magnification of 1:3 will record a 1 cm object as 333 mm. And, magnification of 5:1 will record that 1-cm object across 5 cms of the sensor. Even stopped down, depth of field is extremely shallow in macro photography, and the slightest camera movements will be amplified. If you’re thinking of combining HDRI and macro, a steady tripod is a must!

High Dynamic Range Imaging techniques can be very useful for macro photography when specialized macro ringlights or dual-head strobes aren’t feasible, practical, or within the budget. But when it comes to small, shiny objects, you’re actually sometimes better off using a longer telephoto lens zoomed in as close as you can. Yes, you sacrifice some absolute magnification, but the reflections of the tripod and camera aren’t nearly as prominent when the object is farther from the camera.
Normal and Telephoto Lenses—Both Zooms and Primes

Midrange lenses and long lenses, both primes and zooms, can be used in the field for portraits, wildlife, details of flowers, or to gain more reach to capture distant buildings or landscape elements. At wide apertures, medium zooms and telephoto zooms offer shallow depth of field and wonderful background separation, which can really make a subject pop from the background. Conversely, longer telephoto lenses appear to compress distances when stopped down to smaller apertures. Longer lenses amplify camera movements, so a sturdy tripod is very much advised for any HDRI attempts with telephoto glass.

Adapted from Digital Infrared Photography (Rocky Nook)

By Cyrill Harnischmacher

Dateline: October 28, 2008
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To a large degree, infrared photography equates to landscape photography. This is where we find some of the most amazing things to see in infrared light. While the principles of conventional photography fully apply, we may of course, from time to time, forget about the rules and go wild with creative freedom. But the qualities of classic photography—composition, abstraction, and focusing on the essential—have the same importance in infrared light. However, there are a few special considerations: For one, we must consider the Wood Effect and pay close attention to contrasts that are likely to result from it. As an example, let’s think about colorful flowers on a green, grassy meadow, which would look great as a color photograph. Using appropriate filters, this could also make an interesting black and white picture. But in infrared, the same meadow will yield only a bland area with little structure, because the colorful flowers and the grass reflect infrared light in quite similar ways. But, what if we choose a different perspective and shoot the flowers from below and against the clear sky? In infrared light the flowers will contrast well against a dark background. This example demonstrates the importance of the camera position. The best course of action is to contemplate several perspectives before taking a shot. One reason is that we just might find a better angle, but another benefit is that this kind of thinking ahead makes us more aware of why we chose a particular perspective in the first place.


In this shot, the rainbow colors of the kite disappear and the kite is reduced to a graphic symbol. This kind of shot is only possible with modified cameras capable of high shutter speeds. With longer exposures, even the smallest movements of the kite would cause motion blur.


Another aspect of infrared photography is the tendency toward motion blurring, which is a result of the longer exposure times in infrared. Then again, this problem can be turned into a creative tool. A blurred swish can depict the movement of objects in a still picture by pointing out the contrast between moving and stable elements. In this way, the flow of water in a creek or trees moving in the wind in front of a building can suggest motion while at the same time accentuating the static part of the picture. Since modified cameras will use fast shutter speeds even in infrared light, a gray filter on the front lens would have to be used when playing with these motion shots.

The motion blur caused by long exposure times in windy conditions can produce patterns similar to brush-strokes in modern paintings.

The Moonlight Effect

Shooting the clear sky with the sun behind our backs will produce an almost black sky. With low exposure, this can create the impression of a night shot, and something we call the “moonlight effect”. This effect can be amplified by choosing the appropriate subjects. Because too much sunlit foliage does not work well with these kinds of pictures, the winter months can provide the perfect occasion for this type of photography, contrary to the myth that winter is not “infrared season”. It is a good idea to experiment with several varying shutter speeds.

Even though this picture was taken in bright sunshine, the moonlight effect makes it appear to be a night shot.

The Soft Focus Effect

The Kodak HIE 2481 is a popular film in analog infrared (IR) photography. It lacks a protective layer and delivers wonderfully smooth light overwash. With digital capture, we can approximate the effect of this film (at least partially) either while taking the shot, or through later processing. The simplest method at the time of shooting is the use of a suitable soft filter attached to the front lens.

Another interesting possibility to achieve a softening effect is the double exposure. This technique exposes the image twice: the first time in normal focus, to be followed by another shot with the lens set to be more or less out of focus. Not all cameras allow double exposures. But as long as the focus can be set manually, we have another option. First, we place the camera on a stable tripod and focus normally. After setting a small aperture to correspond with several seconds of exposure time, it would be a good idea to take several test shots to make sure the settings are correct. After making sure we are good to go, we can release the shutter. Now here comes the trick: at the midpoint during the exposure, we “defocus” the lens by carefully turning the manual focus ring. Of course, this will cause some camera shake, but this is quite irrelevant because the picture resulting from this technique will be blurred anyway. The softening effect can be adjusted by defocusing earlier or later during the shot, which leaves the picture at varying degrees of base focus. In addition, the level of defocusing also plays a role. By noting all the settings together with the shot number we can reproduce the same effect on future occasions.

A deliberate defocusing during the exposure draws a shining aura around the bright parts of the picture.


Whatever we do, special effects should never cause us to forget about classic photographic techniques. We should think about unusual perspectives and make them an integral element of our composition. The viewer can be guided into the picture by making use of existing lines, which can direct the viewer’s eyes to the most important details. We should also think about how to integrate the foreground into our compositions. Let’s not shoot only from eye level. Instead, we should look for camera positions and angles that not only show the subject in the best way, but also eliminate unwanted details. We should not only incorporate contrasts between bright and dark, but also between emotional tensions and opposing shapes. We can try both the vertical and horizontal formats and experiment with various focal lengths to find the combination that gives our subject the best depth and appearance.

Try as we may, there will always be an element of uncertainty and surprise. After all, with infrared we are photographing something “invisible”. Of course this is exactly what makes infrared photography so fascinating and exciting.

Shot through a short telephoto lens, from an elevated location across the street, this shot includes all the important elements, but looks rather bland.


This shot, looking up from the tower's base, was taken with a wide-angle lens. The vertical format works much better; the shorter focal length and the different perspective lend a much more dynamic quality to this image.


This picture shows not only tension between opposing forces, it also tells a story.


The Neckar River in Germany. Even in infrared light, reflections make an interesting and rewarding picture. In this case, the viewer’s eye is drawn into the shot by a nearly symmetrical arrangement and the central perspective. Nikon D70S, 24 mm, aperture 8, 3 sec., ISO 200, Heliopan RG780.

Enhance visual impact with these tips and tricks for getting more out of imagery in electronic environments.
by Rita Amladi
August/September 2005

Most of us have spent our careers focused on design and production for print. But we’ve reached a point where we’re routinely asked to create or share artwork in other media that we might not be completely familiar with. You may be asked to send design comps to a client by e-mail, or to “throw the images on a CD,” create a quick slide show or PDF document that can be viewed by clients on any platform. Or maybe you’d like to create an online portfolio of your best pieces to be e-mailed or posted to a website for potential clients or employers.

In each of these cases, you’ll have to process your artwork in different ways than you would for prepress. In this article, I’ll share some ideas on how to prepare and present your visuals in electronic form.

Familiar … but different
When prepping files for digital media, you’ll be performing some familiar production tasks such as cropping and resizing, contrast and color correction, sharpening, and choosing a file format—although the kind of correction and sharpening you’ll do here is different from processing images for print.

You can perform these functions in any image-editing program such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, etc. I’ll be showing these techniques using Adobe Photoshop CS2.

File size trade-offs
First, a few notes on file sizes: Digital media offer an unexpected bonus. When the viewing is to be done online, final file sizes are miniscule compared to what’s required for high-quality printing. This is to match the resolution of monitors, which tend to be around 72 dpi, and to ensure that artwork can be speedily e-mailed and uploaded/downloaded from websites. Happily, this also translates to smaller archived projects.

On the flip side, you’ll need to master the art of balancing image quality with file size. Improved quality inevitably means a larger file size, which can be a no-no. Unfortunately, there are no simple rules for determining optimal file size. Optimal size depends on the purpose, resolution, and dimension of the final piece. For example, a comp for a DVD menu might feature a full-screen image at 72 dpi, with only a few selected colors. In another case, a rich-color photograph shot on location and e-mailed to a client might need to be proofed on a color printer, requiring a larger file size. Each situation has unique requirements based on factors like the transfer medium, appearance of colors, final resolution, storage, etc.

Work on a duplicate
It’s very important that you edit a copy of your original artwork, which may have been created for a different purpose. You can either duplicate the file on the hard drive, or choose Duplicate from the Image Menu in Photoshop and save it with another name.

Crop and resize
The goal for resizing an image is to end up with the “ideal” file size—that is, the smallest possible file size on disk and the best image quality at an appropriate viewing size. Unless your resulting image will need to be printed as well (or you’re aiming to stay inside of a standard printable size such as 8x10 in.), you should be thinking in terms of pixels. (Standard units such as inches, cms and points aren’t relevant to this medium, which uses pixels as building blocks).
Prepping Images for On-screen Viewing (cont'd)



Before resizing your image, try to anticipate how it will be viewed. If you plan to e-mail the image, it should fit into a standard browser window. In this case, make the image no wider than 600 pixels (the height does not matter here), and set the image resolution at 72 ppi, since this is the most resolution a computer monitor will display. But if your client will need to print the art to, say, a desktop color printer, set the resolution to roughly 150 ppi.

Crop your image to keep the best parts, rotate creatively, straighten crooked lines, or simply set the final size. The Crop tool in Photoshop will do all of these tasks very effectively.

Alternatively, you can crop the image and then use the Image Size dialog (Image>Image Size) to specify the final dimensions and resolution. Use the Bicubic Sharper option (available in Adobe Photoshop CS and higher) to keep the image looking sharp despite the (sometimes drastically) reduced size. Tip: Save yourself some time by creating an Action to replay these settings on every image that will be saved for this medium.

Size and slice
If you are prepping a high-resolution file for uploading online, learn how to slice an image. Slicing is a way to make a large image load as many smaller ones, making it appear to load faster. You can also use the slicing feature in these programs to optimize some parts of the artwork differently from the rest. For example, a part of an image that contains photographic imagery might compress better as JPEG slices, while a text-heavy part of the image can be optimized as GIF slices. A slice can also contain hotspots and links.

Select a color standard
Images that are to be viewed on screen still need to be edited for contrast and color flaws. The first order of business is to set up some basic parameters for the display of colors in the image. This is because there isn’t any “standard viewing environment” on the web, nor will e-mail applications and browsers color-manage your artwork to your satisfaction. A common approach is to convert the colors in the artwork into a smaller color space that will display colors in a somewhat muted, albeit consistent fashion to all viewers.

Choose Convert to Profile from the Edit menu in Photoshop CS2 (in previous versions, choose it from the Image>Mode menu), and choose the sRGB IEC61966-2.1 profile as the destination color space. This color model represents all the colors available on any standard monitor, which makes it a suitable “one-size-fits-all” choice for this purpose.

Correct tone and color
This is where you can let your artistic talents shine. Unlike in correcting print images, you need not set up highlight/shadow endpoints, as these images will not interact with ink and paper. You can use your favorite tools to create pleasing exposure and color balance in your images.

One of my favorite techniques for creating professional-looking art under a deadline is to use the automatic color correction options available in the Levels/Curves dialog in Photoshop. Click the Options button in either of these dialogs and experiment with each of the three settings in the dialog. I’ve found that most images are enhanced by using one of the last two items (Enhance per Channel Contrast or Find Dark & Light Colors), especially when combined with the Snap Neutral Midtones setting.

Photoshop CS2 gives us a nifty feature called Exposure, which lets you make minute changes to the exposure and mid-tone scale of an image. Choose Exposure from the Image>Adjustments menu.

Sharpen
Whenever you reduce the size of an image, you’ll need to add some sharpening to enhance the details in the image. In Photoshop CS2, you can use the new Smart Sharpen Filter to add prodigious amounts of sharpening to your images, while minimizing sharpening artifacts and halos. As in earlier versions of Photoshop, you can use the Unsharp Mask filter to enhance contrast along the color transitions in the image. Tip: Apply sharpening to a duplicate layer for greater flexibility, and view the main subject at a 100 percent zoom to verify that it is not over-sharpened.
Prepping Images for On-screen Viewing (cont'd)

Choose a file format
As a rule, JPEG is the best format for photographic images, whether intended for e-mail, websites, or PDF documents. The GIF format handles solid color art, vector illustrations, and type-heavy artwork better than JPEG. I like to use the Save for Web dialog in the File Menu for saving files. This dialog lets you to choose a file format by previewing and comparing the effect using large thumbnails. You can also make some quick decisions by checking image download times on a standard dial-up modem.


PDF is rapidly becoming the format of choice for sending comps and proofs via e-mail. The format allows you to present your artwork in a variety of professional ways while creating a file that can download speedily. The viewer will need to use Acrobat Reader, available free on Adobe’s website. Designers and photographers can present layouts and comps with sharp-looking type, single or multi-page documents, even slide shows with transitions. In other words, you can make your art as fancy as you want.

With PDF you can also create documents with some security measures such as password protection and built-in print permissions. This is a good way to safeguard your artwork from being copied or printed.

If you follow this general workflow, you’ll produce good-looking and professional images for on-screen viewing. You’ll win your client’s gratitude for creating art that travels well as e-mail attachments, and is ready to post to a website with minimal download times on your client’s web browser.



Type on the web
Specify appropriate, legible typefaces. Sans serif for body type and sans or slab serifs for display type work best. For more on selecting type for the internet environment, see Allan Haley’s article “Type Rules for Web”.
When choosing a type color, check the Only Web Colors checkbox in the color picker. This will keep the type from dithering or shifting in a browser on an 8-bit display.
Use anti-aliasing on display type, which will minimize the jaggies on low-resolution displays. Don’t use anti-aliasing on type that’s smaller than 10 pt. Also don’t use anti-aliased type on patterned or transparent/fuzzy backgrounds, which make the type hard to read.
If your artwork is text-heavy, optimize using the GIF format with enough colors to represent anti-aliased edges smoothly.
If you’re creating a mockup of a web page, set the HTML text to be aliased so the viewer has a good idea of what the page will look like if a visitor’s browser does not show font smoothing.


Showing (off) your art on screen
It’s important to display your images professionally, whether you’re e-mailing one image or a set of comps. Experiment with these techniques to wow viewers as they download your art.

Instead of sending artwork as a plain e-mail attachment, take time to prep it first. Create a colored canvas or background that make the colors in the image ‘pop’ while keeping the viewer’s attention focused on the art. Many photographers like to set their images against a black background for this purpose.
Frame your artwork to give instant “distinction.” Add a simple black keyline, use rules or white space to border artwork and create a “poster” appearance. Use creative edge effects to make art stand out.
Create a PDF slide show from Photoshop or Adobe Bridge CS2. This sets up in a snap and can provide pizzaz to your presentation.
Quickly create a customized online portfolio using the Web Photo Gallery feature in Adobe Bridge or Photoshop. Photoshop CS2 provides many well-designed Web Photo Gallery templates that you can use to create attractive portfolios (also useful for collaborating with clients online). Two new Flash-based templates can make dramatic presentations, and you can gild the lily by adding a background audio track for your client’s listening pleasure. Just rename any mp3 file to “useraudio.mp3” and drop it into the template folder. Avoid audio, however, if you’re creating a permanent professional portfolio–see “www.MeMeMe.com” for the reasons why.

Both John and I have subsequently served on juries for a number of shows during the time we’ve been in the business. I have been privileged to judge STEP inside design, How, Graphic Design: USA and nearly two dozen American Advertising Federation shows. John has juried many of these same competitions (in different years), as well as Communication Arts and many AIGA chapter exhibitions. Even with experiencing this other side of the awards-show fence, for us, deciding what projects to submit for consideration still feels like a crapshoot. The fact is, we are still sometimes surprised at what gets into an exhibition and what the various judging panels do not acknowledge. Yet, in looking back over nearly two and a half decades, there seem to be some commonalities among the pieces and campaigns that have won the greatest number of honors and accolades.