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June 28th, 2008
| You discover a wonderful old photo in the attic, but there are creases and scratches on it. With picture-editing software, you can lessen the ravages of time and improve color.The steps given here can be used as a general guide for restoring a picture with picture-editing software. |
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| Software features for repairing damaged photos |
| Knowing what you want to fix in your photographs will help you to decide what software application you should select. If you plan to restore old family photographs—images that are faded, stained, tattered, and torn—consider selecting a picture-editing software application that contains these features: |
| Feature |
Description |
| Layers |
Lets you stack elements in your digital image on top of each other. Each of the elements is independent of the other. The application determines how you can manipulate the layered elements. |
| Selection tools |
Includes tools that allow you to choose elements within your image or on an individual layer. They may include a magic wand, a pen tool, a lasso, a rectangle, and an oval. The number of tools and their names depend on the software. |
| Filters |
Lets you apply special effects to a selected image element or a layer. Different software applications offer various types of filters. Third-party software companies also sell “plug-in” filters for different picture-editing applications. The most common filters in a picture-editing program are blurring filters, painterly effects, sharpening, image distortion, noise, and pixelation. |
| Color adjustments |
Lets you adjust the colors (Red, Green, or Blue, or all simultaneously) of your image elements or layers. The tool usually contains “sliders” for red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow. Some applications provide you with a “color ring-around,” multiple variations of the original image with color corrections for shadows, midtones, and highlights. |
| Brightness and contrast |
Allow you to adjust the darkness/lightness of an image. You can also change the relationship of bright and dark areas by increasing or decreasing the difference between them. |
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Making a duplicate picture to work on
1 - Scan your original photograph on a flatbed scanner. Be sure to scan the original as an RGB image. If you select gray scale, or black and white, for the scanning mode, you cannot make color corrections to the image. |
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2 - Save the scanned picture on your computer, and open it in your picture-editing software. |
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3 - Create a duplicate of the scanned image by clicking Save As or Save a Copy from the Edit menu. Type in a new name for the copy and click OK. This preserves the original for future use. |
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4 - Open the copy of the picture in your picture-editing program. It’s better to make mistakes on a duplicate than on the original. |
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5 - Make any adjustments to the picture, like rotating, cropping, or resizing, and save it. |
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Correcting the color
1 - Select the color-adjustment feature of your software, such as an Instant Fix or Auto Levels command. In some software programs, you can preview the adjustment before accepting any changes. |
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2 - Adjust the color further, if your software has that option. |
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Eliminating scratches, creases, and dust marks
1 - Select the cloning tool. |
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2 - Place your cursor in the area near the scratch to take a sample of the surrounding area. You’ll use this sample to cover up the scratch, crease, or spot so that it blends in. |
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3 - Press the Alt key on a PC (Option key on a Macintosh computer) and click on the sample area. |
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4 - From the Brushes Palette, choose a brush size that is equal in width to the scratch. |
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5 - Place the cloning tool over the scratch. |
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6 - Click and drag the mouse to ‘paint’ a copy of the sampled area into the scratch. |
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7 - Repeat the process for all the other problem areas until you are satisfied.
8 - Be sure to save your restored photo. |
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June 21st, 2008
The most important thing to understand about photography, whether it’s digital or film, is that it’s all about capturing light. So by understanding how different light affects your picture, you can significantly change the way your pictures turn out. Ideally, whenever possible, ensure that there is enough ambient light - the light that is already available whether it’s natural sunlight outdoors or indoor light fixtures. The more that is available, the easier it will be to take a picture without having to be concerned with aperture, shutter speed, or flashes.
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The most obvious area where this isn’t always possible is indoors. No ceiling light or table lamp can be as bright as the sun, so you will almost always have to add more light with a flash. Most professional photographers prefer to have more control over the lighting so they will use a variety of stronger lights to help them. By adding more light to an indoor scene, you can avoid the need for a camera flash, which can be distracting to the subject, particularly when you are trying to capture unposed or natural shots. |
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When it isn’t practical to add more light to an indoor or low-light scene, you can often rely on a flash to help add to the available light. A common mistake with a flash, however, is to misunderstand the reach of the resulting light. Most portable cameras can only light up a subject within an average of 10 to 15 feet – so, if the subject of the photo is further away than that, then either move closer, or look for an alternate light source or option. Professional photographers will often use an external flash, which can be synchronized with the camera like a built-in flash, but can be much brighter, as well as having the ability to position it separately from the camera itself. |
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Where lighting is less than optimum, you also have a number of options at your disposal if your camera provides more manual control over its functions. Many of these options simply allow for more light to enter the camera (more depth into these features is discussed on the next page covering ADANCED TECNIQUES. By adjusting the aperture, you can widen the lens opening to let more light in at one time into the camera, thereby taking more of the existing light in than you would otherwise. You can also adjust the shutter speed – by using a longer shutter speed, you allow more time for the available light to enter, however the disadvantage of doing this is that your shots are more prone to camera shake and blurring, so be aware and mount the camera on a flat surface or use a tripod. Many cameras also offer the ability to adjust the exposure which can help to compensate for having either too much or too little light available. A more dramatic example of these kinds of adjustments is with night shots, where photographers will often use a combination of all three, sometimes with shutter speeds of 20 seconds or longer, to effectively capture nighttime traffic, starry galaxies, or unique images of popular monuments. |
| As you become more comfortable with lighting, you can change the feeling of a photo by controlling the way light hits different parts of the scene or subject. For example, having the light hit the side of a subject can add more contrast between facial features and shadows, making for a more dramatic pose. Having the light behind a subject can allow the background to be lit while the foreground is dark, which can completely change the mood of the photo. If you want to ensure that everything in your photo is visible, then try and ensure that the indoor or outdoor light is hitting from the front for the most even view of the scene. Many studio photographers will use a variety of techniques, including multiple light sources and bouncing a flash off of a ceiling or object, to further control the lighting of portraits and other staged scenes. |
June 14th, 2008
Direction of light
The direction of sunlight, especially hard sunlight, changes how people look. Which direction is best? That depends on the effect you’re trying to achieve.
- Front light: Harsh sunlight shining directly into a person’s face flattens the face and causes squinting.
- Overhead light: At midday, the sun is overhead and casts unpleasant facial shadows. Use the camera’s flash to lighten harsh facial shadows.
- Side light: Early and late in the day, position your subject so the sun strikes only one side of the face. With one side of the face brightly lit and the other side in shadow, you will create a dramatic effect. To reduce the shadow effect, use fill flash.
- Back light: Occurs when you position your subject facing away from the sun. This places your subject’s face in shadow, eliminating squinting and often adding an attractive glow to hair. Use fill flash to lighten your subject’s face.
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Photo Retouching Tips
