runnerone. Get yours at bighugelabs.com/flickr

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Quick Tip #3 - Adding a Simple Border


Redhead
Originally uploaded by runnerone
I've been uploading photos to Flickr for some time now and I've started to notice something I don't like about some of the images. When I'm showing an image with a lot of white in it, especially around the edges, it tends to "bleed" into the white background of the Flickr page. This really detracts from the impact of the image. To avoid this, I've put together a quick guide on how to add a simple border of whatever coloour best suits the image and page it's being displayed on.

Okay, I realise you can't really see the white bleed on this particular page, but if you have a look at the original on the Flickr page, you'd see how it looks with the border on a white page.

Again, I'm using CS2 for this tip.


Step 1. Using a copy of the original image, Select All (Ctrl+A) and then Copy (Ctrl+C).

Step 2. Open the New Image dialogue (Ctrl+N) and ensure the Preset is set to Clipboard from the drop-down menu.

Step 3. Depending on how thick a border you like (I used a 30 pixel border for mine) in the Width and Height selections, add 30 to the numbers there. For example the Width of 3264 pixels will become 3294 and the Height of 2448 pixels will become 2478. Once this is done, click on the OK button.

Step 4. In the new blank background, paste the copied image in (Ctrl+V).

Step 5. From the Layers box (F7), select only the Background layer and deselect the visibility 'Eye' radio button from Layer 1. You should now be looking at a blank white screen for the background layer.

Step 6. Open the Colour Box (F6) and click on the Set Foreground Colour box (the black selection in this link). In the colour box, choose whichever colour will best suit your image. Once you're happy with it, hit the OK button.

Step 7. Using the Paint Bucket Tool (key 'G'), fill the empty layer with the colour.

Step 8. Reselect the visibility 'Eye' radio button from the Layer 1 and you should now see a nice border framing the image.

Step 9. Flatten the image (menu Layer | Flatten Image).

Step 10. Save your image and upload it to Flickr or wherever you save your images and you should now be able to view the image on a white background without bleed!


That's it - happy snapping ;)

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Quick Tip #2 - Using Colour in a B&W Image


Alley Life
Originally uploaded by runnerone
Okay, I know I was going to post up the "Fake HDR" tip next but it's taking a while to finesse and thanks to another Flickr user, 'hold on', I've decided to post this up instead!

I took this photo this morning and as soon as I looked at the alleyway, I knew there was a great B&W image in it. By showing only the green of the vine I can highlight the great display of "life" in an otherwise grey and gloomy inner city alleyway. And after 'hold on' asked how I did it, I thought it was a perfect excuse for another tip!

Right, so here we go...I'm using Photoshop CS2 for this one.


Step 1. I made a copy of my base image (never work on the original!)

Step 2. Using the Colour Range tool (menu Select | Colour Range), I started clicking on the greens of the vine (holding down the Shift key) until I had the whole thing selected.

Step 3. Then I made a duplicate layer from the selection (Ctrl+J) and using the Eraser Tool (key 'E') I erased all the extra green in the new layer that I didn't want to come up in the image later.

Step 4. To bring the colour up more vividly, I played with the Colour Balance settings (Ctrl+B) until I was happy with it. Don't forget you can change the colour ranges for the Shadows, Midtones and Highlights here.

Step 5. Back in the original base layer, I desaturated the image (Shift+Ctrl+U) and then using the Brightness/Contrast sliders (menu Image | Adjustments | Brightness/Contrast), I raised the contrast a bit and dropped the brightness to try and get rid of some of the white in the top of the image.

Step 6. Once I was happy with the image, I flattened the layers (menu Layers | Flatten Image) and applied a small amount of Diffuse Glow (menu Filter | Distort | Diffuse Glow) and an even smaller amount of Gaussian Blur (menu Filter | Blur | Gaussian Blur) at about Radius 0.5 pixels to take the edge off the sharpness a bit.

Step 7. Save the image!


And that's it. Just remember to use the History window to step back if you ever make a mistake, and if it's really bad, there's always your original tucked safely away ;)

Happy snapping!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Faking a HDR shot


Southbank: Fake HDR
Originally uploaded by runnerone
This is my first attempt at an HDR (High Dynamic Range) shot in CS2. I'm not entirely happy with the way it came out, but I thought I'd post up the first shot as an indication of where I'm starting from.

The shot I based the effect on can be found here. It's had some contrast and colour work done but isn't too different from the original.

I'll put up the "how to" guide over the next day or so once I've refined it and figured out how to get the colours right!

For more info on HDR, have a look here.

BTW, I've just figured out how to properly post urls, so this should be a bit cleaner now!

Monday, November 12, 2007

Bring out the GIMP

Well, since the use of photo editing software is the big driver behind this blog I'd better point some of you at a great frewware, opensource application called GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program).

This great application can pretty much do everything that Photoshop CS does and some of it a little more intuitively. It also seems to run quite well on slower machines and laptops. A great application if you want to edit on-the-fly out in the field.

The latest stable version (2.4.1) can be found at the site's downloads section as well as a bunch of plugins.

I've downloaded this myself and I'll be running it on my machine alongside CS2 to see how similar they are. I'll post the next tip up with both CS2 and GIMP instructions and if that goes well, I'll continue on with it or split off a separate blog perhaps. Remains to be seen how well this one goes first ;)

Anyway, the next tip is on "How to cheat at HDR using only one JPEG image as a source." Should take a few days to get it right, so I'll see y'all back then!

Tuesday, November 6, 2007

Quick Tip #1 - Saving an image with Black and White


Halftone Kashgar
Originally uploaded by runnerone
Just quickly too! If you've got a shot you really like but it's slightly blurred / out of focus / not quite right; try desaturating the image or using a black and white halftone paper effect.

This pretty much masks any major defects in the image and gives it a totally different feel and effect for the viewer.

This particular shot had great colour and skin tones but lost detail due to judder and blurring. By desaturating (removing all colour) and then applying a very light haltone effect I'm able to keep the image rather than bin it and I think it's actually better than the original.

Give it a shot!

Monday, November 5, 2007

An Ever Changing Canvas


Venom
Originally uploaded by runnerone
Urban Artwork, Graffiti or vandalism; no matter what you call it Melbourne is a great place for this type of photography. You can find great examples of stencil work and freehand art just about anywhere from Footscray to Carlton and in almost every laneway in the CBD.

One of the best things about this type of photography is its impermanence. The canvas is always changing, whether it be regular cleaning by councils or constant changes made or overlays by artists, you can be guaranteed you'll always find something different each time you venture out with a camera.

I'd have to say, out of all the various types of graffiti out there, stencils would be my favourite; anything done by or inspired by Banksy. The fact that an artist can have a work sprayed up on a wall in perfect detail before anyone notices is a great advantage for this type of art. This means you can find fantastic examples in almost any location but you'll still probably find the best examples in small out of the way alleys.

Some of the best places I've found (so far) in Melbourne to shoot great graffiti and stencil art are Hosier Lane in the CBD, De Graves Street, Caledonian Lane, Canada Lane and Maribyrnong Road in Footscray.

I'd definitely recommend a good tripod if you want a nice wide shot, especially when shooting in darker alleys as the light isn't always good. Also, a lot of the shots can be made to look more vivid and grittier by simply upping the contrast and dropping the brightness of the image in Photoshop or whichever app you prefer. You might prefer a more raw style of image but I find a lot of the shots have a "washed out" look to them that needs some touching up anyway.

Melbourne has a fascinating and growing urban art scene so get out there and start shooting but remember, if you see a great shot stop and take it, because it might not be there tomorrow!

Why is it here?

I guess the first post should explain a bit...

This is only going to be a place online for me to share my photography and experience outside Flickr. I'm not sure if it'll be of any use at all but I'm going to give it a try anyway.

I'd like to be able to share tips and techniques on both photography and post processing as well as both give and receive criticism on any and all photography, art, etc.

So it'll be very infrequently updated and pretty light on content for a while but if it works out for me then I guess it'll grow.

Bear with me ;)