To Photoshop or Not to Photoshop
Today the term “ photoshop ” is used to describe almost any photo manipulation ( even when it ’ s done in a completely different program ). When photoshop is mentioned there almost always seems to follow a discussion on if it is “ appropriate ” to photoshop an image or should it just be printed “ as is ”.
The image that is recorded by your camera sensor is always manipulated . The question is are you going to do the manipulation or are you going to allow an algorithm stored on a chip in your camera to do it for you ?
Your image sensor “ sees ” a great deal more data then can be seen on the screen or put on a print .
Coming Up ! Quarterly Advanced Contest
2 nd quarter – Open Subject ( June ) 3 rd quarter – Close up ( September ) 4 th quarter – Scenic ( November )
We will be looking for : 1 . Technical Proficiency – exposure , printing , color , etc . 2 . Composition 3 . Emotion ( did the picture elicit an emotional reaction from the viewer ?) Fell free to bring in your work prints for comments as you finish up your projects .
Someone ( or something ) is going to decide what data goes into that final image . So for you purists who insist that the image shouldn ’ t be manipulated – it already is . Image Editing Software allows us to adjust the exposure , contrast , to get the image we want . We crop the photograph to show the parts we want .
Bottom line here , every image is subject to some manipulation . You the artist should have final control and final say on how that image is going to look .
This allows you to do a couple of things – create one image where your highlights are perfect one where your shadows are perfect and layer them – using the erase tool to allow different parts of each image to show through .
This month , SHAPES
Find shapes in your subject matter and show them in your print . This one was pretty easy ( and it won ’ t be in the competition ) but you get the idea . Think circles , squares , spirals , hearts , ovals , stars , whatever . Now incorporate those shapes into your image . As always matte or mount your print and please consider allowing us to hang it at the DAV hall to help brighten up the day for our veterans .
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