Page 28 - Phonebox Magazine September 2015

Olney Camera Club
It’s been Photoshopped!
Stan Farmer
How many times do you hear someone say, “that’s been photoshopped?” Usually they are being mildly critical or in some
way implying that the photographer can’t take a good photograph without the aid of some artificial assistance.
Well, Photoshop, or any of the many other image manipulation software packages are a fundamental part of any photographer’s toolkit. Just as the traditional darkroom was a fundamental part of the toolkit of the photographers of the past. Photography is, and always was, a combination of pre and post production; pre-production being about what you do before you press the shutter release – image composition and camera control in their broadest sense; and post-production being about what is done with the image captured in the camera.
All of the contemporary photographers I admire (and there are many) make optimum use of post-production technology to stunning effect. For example, take a look at the work of Billy Currie (www.billycurriephotography.co.uk).
So, as a beginner where do you start?
1. Choose your software
The choice is wide and there is no best answer to this, and it depends on what you want to do and your budget. I started using Adobe Lightroom when I took up photography as a hobby which is one of the suite of software packages offered by Adobe. I still use this package pretty much exclusively as I have not found anything that I might want to do to a photograph that I can’t do with it. But I also use the photo editing options that you will find on your smartphone or tablet, and to good effect. If you want to check out the options of available software this article in Digital Camera World is not a bad place to start www.digitalcameraworld.com/2015/03/23/ best-photo-editing-software-photoshop-cc- and-7-photoshop-alternatives-tested/
2. Where do I start with using it?
I can only comment here in respect of Lightroom, but I suspect the process is similar in most packages. The first step is to get the images out of your camera into the software. There is a fairly simple process for importing images directly by connecting your camera to your PC/laptop/Mac. If, like me, you already have many images on your computer then you can also use all of these by browsing to the location where the images are stored and either import all, or import a selection. In addition to manipulating the image, 28 Phonebox Magazine
Before
Lightroom is also a great way of cataloguing your images so that you can easily find and retrieve them.
3. Now you have your images “in the software” what next?
I really don’t have the space here to talk about the editing possibilities. If you want to explore what is possible there are many websites, YouTube tutorials, and training courses that you can make use of. But perhaps the easiest and most enjoyable way is to find someone who is using it and ask them to show you. Joining a camera club is a good way to find such people.
To illustrate some basic editing I have provided a before and after picture of an Iris that I took whilst visiting a garden in Cumbria. It’s quite a nice image, but there is a lot of distracting background that I did not want. So the first thing I did was to crop the image – that’s bring the borders in so
After
that all you can see is the Iris, make it fill the frame and lose the background all together. I played around with this to get the image in the frame exactly as I wanted it, using the rule of thirds to get a pleasing effect. I then wanted to emphasise the richness of the blue colour of the upright blue petals (the standards) and contrast this with the fleshy yellow hairs (the beard) on the lower petal (the falls). I did this first by increasing the overall vibrance and luminance of the image. I then used a circular (radial) filter tool placing it around the beard to increase the exposure in this area slightly to make it stand out more brightly. I then checked for and removed any overexposed areas by reducing the highlights in the image and also removed any odd “spots” in the image by using the spot removal tool. There you have it. It is still the same image from the camera, no artificial effects added just enhancing the things that are already there. Make your own mind up and don’t be afraid to try.
Olney Camera Club News
Our last talk was by local professional photographer Dan Evans on “Lens Lore”. He questioned some of the received wisdom on the use of lenses and offered some new ideas on how to use lenses, and the effects they can give, illustrated with examples of his photography. A very interesting and thought provoking talk. Our print this month is “Tulip” by Lisa Winson and was the winner in our last print competition in the “Open” category. Our next meeting is on 30th September at 8pm in The Olney Centre. This is a digital images competition with judge Trevor Rudkin. If you are interested in taking part in our Image Competitions please look at our website for the list of categories and the rules. For further information please view our website olneycameraclub.co.uk or call Gina on 01234 711657.