Digital Photography and Imaging Project 2 / Digital Imaging

27.4.2022 - 25.5.2022 (Week 5 - Week 9)

Takuto Hozumi / 0354047 / Bachelor Of Design (Hons) In Creative Media

Digital Photography and Imaging

Project 2 / Digital Imaging

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LECTURES

Double Exposure & Image Blending Mode

What Is Double Exposure Photography?

Double exposure photography refers to merging multiple images. The goal is to make them surreal, emotional, or humorous. They usually feature silhouettes.

Fig.1-1: Double Exposure

1. Tilt-Shift Effect - Filter > Blur Gallery > Tilt-Shift

Fig.1-2: Example of Tilt

2. Create fake reflection - A double-exposure with the help of a separate window photo

Fig.1-3: Example of Reflection

This is an example of main subject surface with raindrops and bokeh. This help to add interesting textures to a multiple exposure photography.

3. Experiment with simple portraits and details textured - Combining something plain with something complicated

Fig.1-4: Example of Portrait and Texture

4. Convert your results to Black & White

Fig.1-5: Example of Black & White

A lack of color will strengthen the emotions in your double-exposure images. 

5. Work with silhouette

Fig.1-6: Example of Silhouette

Any silhouette can be combined with textures or different objects to create an interesting image.

6.Pick two random photo - Free thinking

Fig.1-7: Example of Random Photo

Sometimes an accident can lead to the completion of a great work of art.

7. Make simple objects look fascinating

Fig.1-8: Example of Making from Simple Objects

On a daily basis, photographs everything and looks for interesting shapes. This technique will enhance your imagination.

8. Use Shadow

Fig.1-9: Example of Use Shadow

In this genre, shadows are as effective as silhouettes. The outline is flexible. Shoot some shadows and turn them into something beautiful.

PHOTOSHOP : Blend Modes

A particular blending mode works really well on more difficult subjects like glass, smoke, fire and lightning.

Fig.1-10: Blend Mode

1. Select the Layer 1 (Fire) to be on top of the Background (Musicians)
2. Go to the Blending Modes option 
3. Select “Screen”
4. As a result, all of the pixels on the fire will be selected as Screen blending mode

Photo Manipulation Ideation

What is Photo Manipulation?

Definition: Photograph manipulation involves the transformation or alteration of a photograph using various methods and techniques to achieve desired results.

Fig.1-11: Example idea of Photo Manipulation

Widely accepted as an art form, photo manipulation requires skill as well as an active imagination to create an illusion.

Fig.1-12: Example idea of Photo Manipulation 2

Tips for Imaginative & Creative idea

1. Illusion that is created by a combination of 2 objects (As shown by the photo).
2. Pinterest to view lots of photo manipulation works, pins them.
3. Find objects in your surrounding that you can use for the project.
4. Sketch your idea.

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INSTRUCTION

Double Exposure Practice

Fig.2-1: Crop the Image

To crop the background, using selection tool to roughly select the woman.

Fig.2-2: Crop the details - 1

Fig.2-3: Crop the details - 2

After setting the mask, the "Refine Edge Brush Tool" can be set to crop out small details such as hair and outlines.

Fig.2-4: Contrast Adjustment by the Curve

Black areas are more clearly defined.

Fig.2-5: Compose with other Image

Compose a new forest image according to the selected area of the mask. Then eliminate boundaries on the photo of forest by using horizontal inversion.

Fig.2-6: Put the Face over

Composite the face part to the front again.

Fig.2-7: Gradient Editor

Color and adjust the gradient for the entire screen.

Fig.2-8: Double Exposure Practice Final ver.

PROJECT 2A: EXERCISE

Fig.2-9: Imported my photo to Photoshop

Photographed my own figure. In this case, the timer was used to take it.

Fig.2-10: Crop the Outline

To composite the background after this, only the portrait image is cropped to remove the extraneous background.

Fig.2-10: Added the Background

Since this canvas had a vertical ratio, I added a composite of two backgrounds below.

Fig.2-11: Background - 1

Fig.2-12: Background - 2

Fig.2-13: Layered Grayscale

As described in the assignment description, the main motif is represented in grayscale. Use an adjustment layer to make the entire screen gray.

Fig.2-14: Double Exposure

Clothing and landscape photos were combined as double exposure. The logo and text on the clothing were removed, while wrinkles and other textures were adjusted to remain.

Fig.2-15: Composed Photo

Fig.2-16: Applied Gradation Map

As with the practices, a gradation map was applied to the entire screen. The final deliverables is below;

Fig.2-17: Photo Manipulation Final Outcome

Even after a trial and error process, it does not result in a very interesting arrangement. Compared to the quality of the examples and tutorials, I feel that the compositional interest is not as good as the quality of the examples and tutorials. This appears to be more of a problem caused by my taste than my use of Photoshop.

I should learn how to solve the problem when I cannot come up with any creative ideas at all. This time, I searched the Internet for images and looked at examples. I can copy them, but it is not original works of art.

First, the overall color scheme is very uninteresting. It should be possible to create aesthetic works of art within a monochrome-based design. I thought the reason was that my work had no concept. I somehow chose photos that looked beautiful and synthesized it, but I think I should have examined the material a little more carefully. I will do my best to improve my sense a little more in the next assignment.

PROJECT 2B - PART 1-1: Hearst Mansion

This project combines a person from one photo into another without any sense of discomfort.

Fig.2-18: Selection Tool

Crop only the person and paste it into the background image you wish to composite.

Fig.2-19: Paste into the Background

Fig.2-20: Color editing

The color tones of the background image are also reflected in the person layer.

Fig.2-21: Add Noise Effect

Adds noise that melts into the background.

Fig.2-22: Draw the Shadow

Draw the background on a new layer.

Fig.2-23: Addition of reflection

First, the person is duplicated in horizon symmetry and placed on the water surface. Then correct the color tones and adjust the image as if it were reflected on the surface of the water.

Fig.2-24: Ripple

Add ripples to express the shimmering reflections on the surface of the water.

Fig.2-25: SHAZAM! Final Outcome (14/5/2022)

PROJECT 2B - PART 1-2: My Reflection

Taking a picture of myself as an eye level photo. Ensure that the camera position is the same as the eye position.

Fig.2-26: Eye Level Photo

Fig.2-27: My Reflection Final Outcome (14/5/2022)

The same process as in Part 1 is followed to compose the photo.

PROJECT 2B - PART 2-1: Recoloring Black and White

In this assignment, we will edit a black and white photo into a color photo using Photoshop.

Fig.2-28: Black and White / Skin Color sample

Extracting color tones from another photo. Open a black and white photo in Photoshop while paste another photo that will be used as a skin color swatch on a separate layer.

Fig.2-28: Hair Color sample

Hair color sample is also provided.

Fig.2-29: Create the Mask

First select it to add color to the hair. The procedure for selecting fine tips is similar to the Double Exposure Practice above.

Fig.2-30: Soft Light Layer

Use a soft light layer to add color. This layer can be applied sticky, and the color will be beautifully applied as shown in the mask.

Fig.2-31: Skin Color

As above, select the skin, create a mask, and color it with a soft light layer. The color is extracted from the skin color sample presented in the 1st step using the eyedropper tool.

Fig.2-32: Some Details (Eye, Lip, Clothes, Earrings, Background)

Select the area to be colored and follow the same procedure.

Fig.2-33: Recoloring Final Outcome 1 (14/5/2022)

PART 2-2: Recoloring of selected photo

This is a recoloring assignment in which you choose your favorite from several options.

Fig.2-34: The photo I chose

I chose this photo because of its elegance. And also I found the mixture of light and dark areas to be ideal for practicing the selection tool.

Fig.2-35: Hair Selection

I believe this Caucasian, as you can imagine from the black and white photo, is definitely light blonde in hair color.

Fig.2-35: Color Layers

I have tried to paint the details. I am especially concerned with the detail of the glasses. The frames are painted in silver and amber areas, and the scenery reflected in the glasses is painted in different colors for the sky, grass, tree leaves, and tree trunks.

Fig.2-36: Recoloring Final Outcome 2 (14/5/2022)

I also elaborated on the way the background was painted. This is because the scenery reflected in the glasses has multiple colors, such as blue sky and forest, whereas I thought it would look incongruous if I painted the background in a single color. Since the mask allows only the background area to be colored, the background coloring layer is painted in a random gradient of green, blue, yellow, etc.

I thought the color of the clothes would be black, but simple black would not be interesting, so I decided on dark navy.

Project 2C: Photo Manipulation

This project is an exercise in creative ideas, compositing all manner of everyday objects to create interesting composite photographs.

Idea Sketches

Fig.2-37: Idea Sketch 1 (19/5/2022)

I came up with the idea because the teeth resembled corn kernels. Teeth that have been brushed are white cones. There are many different colors of cones, so I will try to put them side by side. It would be interesting to turn toothbrushes into farming implements?

Fig.2-38: Idea Sketch 2 (19/5/2022)

It represents the dark side of social networking. Plan to create a beautiful person and an ugly person from the same image. I detest the recent trend of exaggerating and trying to make oneself look good on the Internet. This is its antithesis.

Fig.2-39: Idea Sketch 3 (19/5/2022)

Unlike the plots where buildings and houses grow, the roads are empty. Like hair and beard, it looks trimmed with clippers. It's like the hand of God.

Final Idea Sketch

Fig.2-40: Idea Sketch 4 (28/5/2022)

To me, the new lipstick looked like a finger. It is not a simple cylinder shape, a slightly chipped part looks like a fingernail. From this, I conceived the idea that instead of lipstick, it would be interesting if fingers grew out of the lipstick base.

Fingernails can be decorated with nail tips to reproduce various colors. There are various shades of lipstick, which are expressed in nail art. Since it is difficult to prepare a finger model, I might use your own fingers, edited in Photoshop.

Both motifs are based on the themes of beauty and femininity, and can bring a sense of unity to the work. The background will be white or warm color as well, but the details of the hue will be determined as the photos are combined. I want it to be beautiful, a little grotesque, and bewitching.

Fig.2-40: Mood Board (3 reference)

Fig.2-41: Product Photo Shooting

I made a simple photo booth with front lighting to ensure that the shapes would appear accurately in the photographs and a white background for easy cropping.

Fig.2-42: Chosen Photo

Reflections and minor scratches on plastic surfaces were repaired with the Spot Healing Brush Tool.

Fig.2-43: Erasing Hair

Hair was deleted by Spot Healing Brush Tool and Healing Brush Tool.

Fig.2-44: Deleted

Fig.2-45: Finger shape for women

Compared to men, women's fingers are thinner. The thinness, especially at the joints, creates a feminine suppleness. At the same time, the overall angle is changed for compositing.

Fig.2-46: Nail chip

From another image, cut out the nail tip section and paste it onto the finger image.

Fig.2-47: Deformation of the Nail

The nails in the original image are thick and wild, so the shape is transformed.

Fig.2-48: Small Shadow

Since simply pasting the image would make it look like a composite photograph, I added shadows to the junction of the nails and fingers and adjusted the image to make it look natural.

Fig.2-49: Prepared Items

Clipping mask is applied for each material in Illustrator and prepare to create the final composition.

Fig.2-50: Progress 1

In this case, the finger or lipstick itself looks a little floaty, so added a shadow.

Fig.2-51: Progress 2

In Photoshop, a shadow was rendered on the original image using the Brush tool.

Fig.2-52: Final Ver.1 (28/5/2022)

The result is this Final Ver.1. I think that by making the fingers too long, it is moving a little too far away from the actual shape of the lipstick.

Fig.2-53: Final Ver.2 (28/5/2022)

Shortened fingers. Finger shadows are a little too strong, will be adjusted. Also, the overall composition is a little bad, so I will adjust the frame so that the lipstick is centered.

Final Outcome

Fig.2-54: Final Ver.3 (29/5/2022)

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REFLECTIONS

Experiences

In this project, we mainly learned about Photoshop's overall functionality in photo compositing. How to crop an image, rearrange it, and blend it with another image (color, shape, etc.), these will serve as the basic operations in the production of future works.

Observation

The functionality of the automatically determined areas, such as hair clippings, is especially wonderful. Works that were difficult to produce in the past, now anyone has the chance to create advances in technology.

Findings

I considered that not only synthesis techniques but also creative ideas were very important. Especially in the last Project 2 C, I felt it was necessary to capture the essence of things, such as shape and movement. For example, in the images of the paintbrush and light bulb in the example, the "painting" action of the "paintbrush" is replaced by a banana, and the "cracking" action of the "light bulb" is replaced by an egg. It is not only do they look similar, the associations are based on the use of the objects and the related actions, which makes the photos convincing even though they are unrealistic. In the future, I would like to observe a variety of things and increase our stock of ideas.