Photoshopping Images I'm a firm believer in taking a photo and getting it right the first time. For me it is all about getting the right light, the right angle, capturing the exact moment and freezing it in time forever. There are more and more software programs becoming available to the public that allow you to completely change a photo once it's been taken and turning it into something that is nothing like the original photograph you took. I don't like the idea of having to change a photo you have taken to that degree. If you took a bad photo, learn from it and move on. The next time you will remember what you did wrong and you may just end up nailing it the first time you hit the shutter button!  However there are times where certain aspects of editing or photoshopping software can be extremely useful. The first example is of a photograph of my father that was taken when he first entered the Royal Airforce of England. This photo was carried around by my mother for years after they married in South Africa in 1945 and my father was returned to England with my mother to follow afterwards. This photo was my mothers treasured reminder of her first and only love. As you can see from the first image, it certainly bears the pressures of being carried around in my mothers wallet for many many years. It has fold marks on it, tears along some areas, the ink has worn off in other areas etc. For me, this is what makes it invaluable. These marks remind me of just how very much my mother loved my father from the moment they married until the moment my mother passed away in 1988.  For the purpose of this blog, I have photoshopped this image and removed all the creases and bits of missing ink etc and the second image will show you one that is more than likely one that resembles the original photograph as it was first taken so many many years ago, when it was first given to my mother. This second image is now something that can be put into a frame and displayed for many more years to come without having the distraction of all the wear and tear it has suffered over the years. Personally, I prefer the first and original image. It shows character, it tells a story in itself by the weary state that the viewer finds it in. For me it shows the love in each crease and each fold and makes me smile at the thought of my mother carrying it with her over the years, travelling with her wherever she went and knowing how very much she treasured the first photo of her new husband. Obviously there are a wide variety of digital enhancing tools available for you to use now. Another example is the photo below which is of a wreck on a beach at Woody Point, Brisbane. I had gone there to capture the sunrise and utilise the fantastic resource of this shipwreck being there and incorporating it into some photos, adding increased interest into each image as I tried to capture the various effects of the suns rays as it rose in the morning sky.  Unfortunately in this particular photograph you will see in the foreground my own shadow as I was taking the photo. A mistake that I will blame upon my having not had any sleep since the previous day!, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. So for the purpose of sharing knowledge, I have once again ventured into the digital world of photography and the tools that are available to all of us now to use and edited the image removing my shadow from the original photograph. The result is what I had originally had in mind when I first took the shot.  The next bit of editing was simply cropping the photo to make the shipwreck more of the main focal point when you look at the image.Cropping can be very useful in removing the distractions that were captured when you took the photo and it can make items larger, it can remove other items from the photo that perhaps detract from the atmosphere or ambience that you were trying to create when you first had the idea to freeze a moment in time or frame a particular piece of landscape that has artistic features placed in that spot either by man or by nature herself.  In any case, cropping is one of the most simplistic tools to use, but do not underestimate it's power in helping to create the perfect photo!I hope you found some of these hints interesting as well as helpful and you enjoyed reading today's blog. |
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