-Now that we've learned a few basic principles and elements of graphic design in regards to composition, grid structure, elements and typographical composition, we can venture out a little bit and dive into some fun tips and pointers!
-I see the 'I've-always-wanted-to-be-photographer' in all of you...Okay, even if you don't there's still some great ways to really enhance photos whether you're printing them off to hang on your fridge, uploading to Facebook, using for a Christmas card, or for a design project (Yay!). There's always ways to make images look their best and improve the quality.
-An easy way to improve the visual effectiveness of a picture is to apply some techniques through Adobe Photoshop. If you don't own this program you can always download a 30-day trial from the Adobe CS5.5 website to try out before you purchase.
-If you've never used the program, check out this article for the easiest navigation and tips to get started--> http://mashable.com/2010/08/12/12-beginner-tutorials-for-getting-started-with-photoshop/
Some of the ways to improve the quality and visual appeal to a photo:
Saturation: Improves the colors the color in your picture
1. open up the saturation editor (image->adjustments->hue->saturation) in Adobe Photoshop CS5.5 (or older versions if you have although navigation may be slightly different)
2. Move the saturation slider to the right (15-25 points) to increase the overall richness of your image.
3. If the picture has too much of a specific color, select specific CMYK to adjust it
4. Changing the hue also creates an appealing look. You can change certain colors (blues or reds) to image a richer color
-Saturation and focus was utilized to make the colors on the parrot really stand out against the foreground!
Levels:
1. Open up the levels editor (image->adjustments->levels)
2. A graph will display the image data
3. Move the right-hand pointer to the edge of the graph data to improve brightness quality without losing the picture effectiveness
4. If you move the pointer closer to the graph data you wills tart seeing the quality decrease
5. Utilize the left-hand pointer and glide toward the right so the dark colors are accentuated, but be careful
6.The middle pointer changes the overall brightness (white balance) but this isn't something to play with carelessly. Only use if the quality of the original image is dark
-Practice makes perfect. Also realize that the color on screen is always different from the color when it prints, especially with a low-quality printer. The color is usually darker when on paper compared to the screen.
-Personal photograph of my newborn niece
-The image was originally dark, but by changing the levels to improve the brightness quality, the picture looks so much better!
Image Resolution: Number of pixels measured with color information within an inch
1. Low resolution images look pixelated and lack detail. It can also come across as fuzzy and is hard and rarely used in larger templates and documents
2.Super-high resolution can be used for large file sizes and need few adjustments to improve visual quality.
3. Images should at least be 300 resolution (300 dots per inch) to utilize as an image
4. Resolution and image size are inversely related
5. The settings used during the 'capture' of an image (from a digital camera for example) determines base resolution...which is usually lower for people who aren't aware of those settings
Beware: Low quality images
1. This appears in web images because it's good for quickly uploading. Do not directly download from the internet to use in a project without adjusting
a. Also make sure that you're being legal about the situation if you are! Copyright is a huge issue!
2. Do not print these images without editing and adjusting!
3. The only way resolution and quality of an image can be improved is if the size is decreased or recapturing the image at a higher quality setting
-I hope some of these tips help with the use of images and editing them to get the best out of your photo or image! Below are also some tutorials if reading the information isn't quite grabbing your understanding. I introduced these tips and videos to my mom and now she's quite the little photographer herself :)
-Another personal photograph of my niece
-Editing utilized all tips in this post, plus some paint brush application (You'll get there!)
http://vandelaydesign.com/blog/design/photoshop-photo-editing/ --> I've used this site so many times!
-Watch this video ^ for more tips!
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