Photo manipulation

Retouch Your Own Photos

2008-08-10T05:50:00.000-07:00

Step 1 File / Open the image you would like to retouch.

Step 2 - Airbrush Let's start with airbrushing the obvious details; such as pimples and other blemishes. Using the eye drop tool, click on an area which is the color you want the blemishes to be. This will change the foreground color. Then click on the airbrush tool, and change the brush type if you feel the default is too big or too small. Click over the blemishes to change them into your desired color. If you are not happy with the results, try changing the opacity of the airbrush tool, or the foreground color. It's up to you to decide on the intensity of your airbrushing. If you feel like you can't get the colors to match up perfectly, use select regions by color and then use filter blur to blur in the colors. You can also use the blur or sharpen tool to blur only certain areas.

Step 3 - Fix The Colors There are several ways to change the general color and tone of the image.

Image / Adjustments / Hue-Saturation: Hue will completely change one color to another. You can either use it to change all the colors to different ones, or pick a certain one from the palette and change it. However it's most likely that Hue will end you up with something absurd. Lightness and Saturation are more likely to be your friends; the first one adjusting the image's lightness/darkness and the second one how colorful or grayscale it is. I've darkened my image by -2 and saturated it by +25.
Image / Adjustments / Brightness-Contrast: As you can tell, it's about brightness and contrast. I've incresed both of them only slightly.

You might do a little more airbrushing after these, or try to discover the other tools on the Adjustments menu. Just be careful not to give your skin sickly colors (unless that was your aim in the first place).

Step 4 - Make Up If you feel like you've lost too much color after all the airbrushing and color changing, you can go back to the airbrush tool to put on some make up this time. Pick a tone from your lips (or an entirely new color) and a large brush size from the airbrush menu. (You can also create your own brushes through open brush selection dialog new brush). I reduced the opacity to 50 and carefully put some blush on the cheeks. You can even put on some eye shadow and lipstick using this method with smaller brush sizes.

Step 5 - Lights!

Filter / Light Effects / Lighting Effects: This is like adding a non-existant lamp to the picture. Use the tabs on the window that appears to make it perfect. It's really time to have fun here.
Filter / Light Effects / FlareFX / GFlare / Supernova: These will create camera flares on your image. You can go as cheeky as putting a sparkle on your eyes or your jewelry, or keep it artistic and cool.

Do cropping and resizing if needed, and you're done! Just don't forget to have fun and play around with the tools you have! My example is a little exaggerated to explain the tools, but now you're in control of your pictures.

Please feel free to leave comments on how useful the article was and what other tutorials you would like to see!

The copyright of the article Gimp: Retouch Your Own Photos in Graphic Design Tutorials is owned by Bengisu Kuscu. Permission to republish Gimp: Retouch Your Own Photos in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Photo Edit

2008-08-10T05:30:00.000-07:00

Cropping an image

Digital editors are used to crop images. Cropping creates a new image by selecting a desired rectangular portion from the image being cropped. The unwanted part of the image is discarded. Image cropping does not reduce the resolution of the area cropped. Best results are obtained when the original image has a high resolution. A primary reason for cropping is to improve the image composition in the new image.

Uncropped image from camera

Lilly cropped from larger image

Histogram

Image editors have provisions to create an image histogram of the image being edited. The histogram plots the number of pixels in the image (vertical axis) with a particular brightness value (horizontal axis). Algorithms in the digital editor allow the user to visually adjust the brightness value of each pixel and to dynamically display the results as adjustments are made. Improvements in picture brightness and contrast can thus be obtained.

Sunflower image

Histogram of Sunflower image

Noise removal

Image editors may feature a number of algorithms which can add or remove noise in an image. JPEG artifacts can be removed; dust and scratches can be removed and an image can be de-speckled. Noise removal merely estimates the state of the scene without the noise and is not a substitute for obtaining a "cleaner" image. Excessive noise reduction leads to a loss of detail, and its application is hence subject to a trade-off between the undesirability of the noise itself and that of the reduction artifacts.

Noise tends to invade images when pictures are taken in low light settings. A new picture can be given an 'antiquated' effect by adding uniform monochrome noise.

Removal of unwanted elements

Most image editors can be used to remove unwanted branches, etc, using a "clone" tool. Removing these distracting elements draws focus to the subject, improving overall composition.

Notice the branch in the original

The eye is drawn to the center of the globe

Selective color change

Some image editors have color swapping abilities to selectively change the color of specific items in an image, given that the selected items are within a specific color range.

An example of selective color change, the original is on the left.

The original car is on the right.

Image orientation

Image orientation: left–original; center–30° CCW rotation; right–flopped .

Image editors are capable of altering an image to be rotated in any direction and to any degree. Mirror images can be created and images can be horizontally flipped or vertically flopped. A small rotation of several degrees is often enough to level the horizon, correct verticality (of a building, for example), or both. Rotated images usually require cropping afterwards, in order to remove the resulting gaps at the image edges.

Perspective correction and distortion

Main article: Perspective correction

Perspective correction: left–original, uncorrected
right–perspective distortion removed.

Some image editors allow the user to distort (or "transform") the shape of an image. While this might also be useful for special effects, it is the preferred method of correcting the typical perspective distortion which results from photographs being taken at an oblique angle to a rectilinear subject. Care is needed while performing this task, as the image is reprocessed using interpolation of adjacent pixels, which may reduce overall image definition. The effect mimics the use of a perspective correction lens, which achieves a similar correction in-camera without loss of definition.

Lens correction

Photo manipulation packages have functions to correct images for various lens distortions including pincushion, fisheye and barrel distortions. The corrections are in most cases subtle, but can improve the appearance of some photographs.

Sharpening and softening images

Graphics programs can be used to both sharpen and blur images in a number of ways, such as unsharp masking or deconvolution.^[1] Portraits often appear more pleasing when selectively softened (particularly the skin and the background) to better make the subject stand out. This can be achieved with a camera by using a large aperture, or in the image editor by making a selection and then blurring it. Edge enhancement is an extremely common technique used to make images appear sharper, although purists frown on the result as appearing unnatural.

Selecting and merging of images

Merged Image

Orginal Image

Background Image

Many graphics applications are capable of merging one or more individual images into a single file. The orientation and placement of each image can be controlled. The two images shown here were once individual studio portraits.

When selecting a raster image that is not rectangular, it requires separating the edges from the background, also known as silhouetting. This is the digital version of cutting out the image. Clipping paths may be used to add silhouetted images to vector graphics or page layout files that retain vector data. Alpha compositing, allows for soft translucent edges when selecting images. There are a number of ways to silhouette an image with soft edges including selecting the image or its background by sampling similar colors, selecting the edges by raster tracing, or converting a clipping path to a raster selection. Once the image is selected, it may be copied and pasted into another section of the same file, or into a separate file. The selection may also be saved in what is known as an alpha channel.

A popular way to create a composite image like this one is to use transparent layers. In this case, the "background image" shown at left was placed as the bottom layer. The layer marked "Original Image" at left was then added as a second layer in a multi-layer document. Using an image layer mask, all but the girl are hidden from the layer, giving the impression that she has been added to the background layer. Performing a merge in this manner preserves all of the pixel data on both layers to more easily enable future changes (such as adding the second individual) in the new merged image.

[edit] Slicing of images

A more recent tool in digital image editing software is the image slicer. Parts of images for graphical user interfaces or web pages are easily sliced, labeled and saved separately from whole images so the parts can be handled individually by the display medium. This is useful to allow dynamic swapping via interactivity or animating parts of an image in the final presentation.

See also: Slicing (web design)

[Special effects

An example of some special effects that can be added to a picture.

Image editors usually have a list of special effects that can create unusual results. Images may be skewed and distorted in various ways. Scores of special effects can be applied to an image which include various forms of distortion, artistic effects, geometric and texture effects, and combinations thereof.

Change color depth

An example of converting an image from color to grayscale.

It is possible, using software, to change the color depth of images. Common color depths are 2, 4, 16, 256, 65.5 thousand and 16.7 million colors. The JPEG and PNG image formats are capable of storing 16.7 million colors (equal to 256 luminance values per color channel). In addition, grayscale images of 8 bits or less can be created, usually via conversion and down-sampling from a full color image.

Contrast change and brightening

An example of contrast correction. Left side of the image is untouched.

Image editors have provisions to change the contrast of images and brighten or darken the image. Underexposed images can be often be improved by using this feature. Recent advances have allowed more intelligent exposure correction whereby only pixels below a particular luminosity threshold are brightened, thereby brightening underexposed shadows without affecting the rest of the image.

Color adjustments

An example of color adjustment using Photoshop

Color retouched photo (cycles every 3 seconds)

The color of images can be altered in a variety of ways. Colors can be faded in and out, and tones can be changed using curves or other tools. The color balance can be improved, which is important if the picture was shot indoors with daylight film, or shot on a camera that with an incorrectly adjusted white balance. Special effects, like sepia and grayscale can be added to an image. In addition, more complicated procedures such as the mixing of color channels are possible using more advanced graphics editors.

The red-eye effect, which occurs when flash photos are taken when the pupil is too widely open (so that light from the flash that passes into the eye through the pupil reflects off the fundus at the back of the eyeball), can also be eliminated at this stage.

Printing

Control printed image by changing ppi.

Controlling the print size and quality of digital images requires an understanding of the pixels-per-inch (ppi) variable that is stored in the image file and sometimes used to control the size of the printed image. Within the Image Size dialog (as it is called in Photoshop), the image editor allows the user to manipulate both pixel dimensions and the size of the image on the printed document. These parameters work together to produce a printed image of the desired size and quality. Pixels per inch of the image, pixel per inch of the computer monitor, and dots per inch on the printed document are related, but in use are very different. The Image Size dialog can be used as an image calculator of sorts. For example, a 1600 x 1200 image with a ppi of 200 will produce a printed image of 8 x 6 inches. The same image with a ppi of 400 will produce a printed image of 4 x 3 inches. Change the ppi to 800, and the same image now prints out at 2 x 1.5 inches. All three printed images contain the same data (1600 x 1200 pixels) but the pixels are closer together on the smaller prints, so the smaller images will potentially look sharp when the larger ones do not. The quality of the image will also depend on the capability of the printer.

2008-07-19T06:58:00.000-07:00

Photo manipulation

Photos composited and manipulated in an image editing program

Photo manipulation is the application of image editing techniques to photographs in order to create an illusion or deception (in contrast to mere enhancement or correction), through analog or digital means Its uses, cultural impact, and ethical concerns have made it a subject of interest beyond the technical process and skills involved.

For more details on the technical processes involved, see Image editing.

Types of photo manipulation

In digital editing, photographs are usually taken with a digital camera and input directly into a computer. Transparencies, negatives or printed photographs may also be digitized using a scanner, or images may be obtained from stock photography databases. With the advent of computers, graphics tablets, and digital cameras, the term image editing encompasses everything that can be done to a photo, whether in a darkroom or on a computer. Photo manipulation is often much more explicit than subtle alterations to color balance or contrast and may involve overlaying a head onto a different body or changing a sign's text, for example. Image editing software can be used to apply effects and warp an image until the desired result is achieved. The resulting image may have little or no resemblance to the photo (or photos in the case of compositing) from which it originated.

History

Before computers, photo manipulation was achieved by retouching with ink, paint, double-exposure, piecing photos or negatives together in the darkroom, or scratching Polaroids. The 1980s saw the advent of digital retouching with Quantel computers running Paintbox, and Scitex imaging workstations being used professionally. Silicon Graphics computers running Barco Creator became available in the late 1980s which, alongside other contemporary packages, were effectively replaced in the market by Adobe Photoshop running on the Apple Macintosh.

Political and ethical issues

Stalin and Nikolai Yezhov, before and after retouching.

Photo manipulation is as old as photography itself; the idea of a photo having inherent verisimilitude is a social construct. Photo manipulation has been regularly used to deceive or persuade viewers, or for improved story-telling and self-expression. As early as the American Civil War, photographs were published as engravings based on more than one negative.

Joseph Stalin made use of photo retouching for propaganda purposes. On May 5, 1920 his predecessor Lenin held a speech for Soviet troops that Leon Trotsky attended. Stalin had Trotsky retouched out of a photograph showing Trotsky in attendance. Nikolai Yezhov, an NKVD leader photographed alongside Stalin in at least one photograph, was shot in 1940 and subsequently edited out of the photograph. See images altered by Soviet censors for more information.

In the 1930s, John Heartfield used a type of photo manipulation known as the photomontage to critique Nazi propaganda. The pioneer among journalists distorting photographic images for news value was Bernarr Macfadden and his composograph in the mid-1920s.

The style and techniques of modern digital photomontage were anticipated as early as the late 1960s, particularly by the surreal album cover photography of the British design group Hipgnosis.

Some ethical theories have been applied to image manipulation. During a panel on the topic of ethics in image manipulation Aude Oliva theorized that categorical shifts are necessary in order for an edited image to be viewed as a manipulation. In Image Act Theory,Carson Reynolds extended speech act theory by applying it to photo editing and image manipulations. In How to Do Things with Pictures,William Mitchell details the long history of photo manipulation and discusses it critically.

Use in journalism

OJ Simpson magazine covers

A notable case of a controversial photo manipulation was a 1982 National Geographic cover in which editors photographically moved two Egyptian pyramids closer together so that they would fit on a vertical cover. This case triggered a debate about the appropriateness of photo manipulation in journalism; the argument against editing was that the magazine depicted something that did not exist, and presented it as fact. There were several cases since the National Geographic case of questionable photo manipulation, including editing a photo of Cher on the cover of Redbook to change her smile and her dress. Another example occurred in early 2005, when Martha Stewart's release from prison was featured on the cover of Newsweek; her face was placed on a slimmer woman's body to suggest that she will have lost weight while in prison.

Another famous instance of controversy over photo manipulation, this time concerning race, arose in the summer of 1994. After O.J. Simpson was arrested for allegedly murdering his wife and her friend, multiple publications carried his mugshot. Notably, TIME Magazine published an edition featuring an altered mugshot, removing the photograph's color saturation (which some accused of making Simpson's skin darker), burning the corners, and reducing the size of the prisoner ID number. This appeared on newsstands right next to an unaltered picture by Newsweek.

There is a growing body of writings devoted to the ethical use of digital editing in photojournalism. In the United States, for example, the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) have set out a Code of Ethics promoting the accuracy of published images, advising that photographers "do not manipulate images [...] that can mislead viewers or misrepresent subjects."Infringements of the Code are taken very seriously, especially regarding digital alteration of published photographs, as evidenced in a recent case in which a Pulitzer prize-nominated photographer resigned his post following the revelation that a number of his photographs had been manipulated.

Photoshopping

Digitally manipulated image used in an "early computing" See also: Photoshop contest

"Photoshopping" or just "Shopping" is slang for the digital editing of photos.The term originates from Adobe Photoshop, the image editor most commonly used by professionals for this purpose; however, other programs, such as Paint Shop Pro, Corel Photopaint, Paint.NET, or the GIMP, may be used. Adobe Systems, the publisher of Adobe Photoshop, discourages use of the term "photoshop" as a verb out of concern that it may undermine the company's trademark.

Despite this, photoshop is widely used as a verb, both colloquially and academically, to refer to retouching, compositing, and color correction carried out in the course of graphic design, commercial publishing, and image editing.

In popular culture, the term photoshopping is sometimes associated with montages in the form of visual jokes, such as those published on the fark.com website and in MAD Magazine. Images may be propagated memetically via e-mail as humor or passed as actual news.An example of the latter category is "Helicopter Shark," which was widely circulated as a so-called "National Geographic Photo of the Year" and was later revealed to be a hoax.

Photo manipulation

Retouch Your Own Photos

Step 5 - Lights!

Photo Edit

Cropping an image

Histogram

Noise removal

Removal of unwanted elements

Selective color change

Image orientation

Perspective correction and distortion

Lens correction

Sharpening and softening images

Selecting and merging of images

[edit] Slicing of images

[Special effects

Change color depth

Contrast change and brightening

Color adjustments

Printing

Photo manipulation

Contents

Types of photo manipulation

History

Political and ethical issues

Use in journalism

Photoshopping

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia