Mixing digital techniques and film cameras to get creative results
One of my favorite ways to create artistic photography is with old or cheap film cameras. Many photographers use photo-editing software to create the looks that are produced naturally with these cameras.
One interesting camera I use is an old Brownie camera made by Kodak. It takes 120 medium-format films and provides images that look as though they were taken decades ago — and you don't even have to digitally alter them. When you get the film from this type of camera developed, askforthe negatives to be scanned onto a disc. This way you can open the files on your computer and make minor digital adjustments, but you don't have to go out of your way to make them look as if they're vintage. The camera naturally takes care ofthatforyou.
Consider the example in this photo. The contrast levels were digitally adjusted but other than that, the image got its look and feel from the camera.
Another camera I'm fond of using to create artsy images is the Holga. These are considered toy cameras because they're made from plastic and are inexpensive. The Holga takes 120 medium-format films and is known for having light leaks and producing unpredictable results. But don't let those so-called problems stop you from experimenting.
Try using a camera that's unpredictable. You may find it to be therapeutic to take photographs that aren't guaranteed to produce any specific quality of results. As a professional photographer, I spend so much time worrying about the technical aspects that I enjoy myself more when I'm not concerned with them.
In this photo, I put together a collage of some portraits taken with my Holga. I used Photoshop to create the collage, but the effects in the images were created by the light leaks from the Holga.
Chapter 18. Improving Composition through Postproduction Editing
Fixing composition imperfections digitally
Editing to make your subject stand out
Sometimes the images you compose have problems that you can't fix by changing your perspective or futzing with lighting. Maybe a power line runs through your shot but adds nothing to your message and isn't necessary for your composition. You obviously can't take down a power line in the real world, so you have to take it out digitally in post-production.
Photo-editing software, such as Adobe Photoshop, Google Picasa, GIMP, and Corel Digital Studio 2010, provides photographers with limitless abilities to manipulate images. This chapter shows you how to use this type of software to enhance your compositions by eliminating unwanted elements, cropping, perfecting your perspective, drawing attention to your subject, and optimizing balance and harmony. I focus specifically on Photoshop, but many of the other available software programs provide similar features with different names. Check your program's manual for more specific information. To get more detailed information on Photoshop, you also can check out any of the books in the
Try not to rely too heavily on retouching. It can be time consuming. As a general rule, always create the best image possible while shooting, and never intentionally leave yourself something to digitally fix unless you have no other choice. Sometimes taking care of a compositional issue while shooting can save you hours of time at your computer.
Whatever photo-editing software you use, experiment with it! One of the beauties of this technology is discovering your own favorite way to achieve an effect. You'll find many ways to perform the tasks in Photoshop and other software programs. This chapter simply gives you a few ideas that help you focus on the things that typically need to be fixed in postproduction.
Cleaning Up your Composition
When you shoot a scene, you probably concentrate on many things at once. You figure out what your subject is, make sure it's in focus, determine how to fit it into the scene in relation to the other elements, make yourself aware of how light affects the entire scene, pay attention to the compositional rules (see Chapter 5), and ensure that you use your equipment correctly. Whew. Even with all that attention to detail, however, chances are high that you'll still create some photographs that can use a little help looking their best compositionally. So, in the following sections, I show you the tools you can use to edit out flaws and other unwanted elements and how to change your perspective.
It's a smart move to make a duplicate of your background layer before making any changes to your image. Changes made to the duplicate layer won't affect the original image. Doing so enables you to go back if you make a mistake; it also gives you the option to compare the original with the new version of your image.
Removing unwanted elements
The first and most basic function of most photo-editing software programs is getting rid of unwanted blemishes, flaws, and distracting elements in a photograph. To use this function, generally scan your frame for anything that takes attention away from the subject. If something is distracting and serves no purpose in your message, get rid of it or blend it further into the background.
When working on images in Photoshop, you have the following tools in your editing arsenal: the Clone stamp, the Healing brush, and the Dodge and Burn tools. Other advanced programs sometimes have similar capabilities with different names. See your program's owner's manual for details. In the upcoming sections, I show you how to use the Photoshop tools to remove elements you'd prefer not to have in your shot.
No matter what tool you use to retouch a person's face, remember to keep it real. Leave enough detail in the skin so the person doesn't end up looking like a cartoon or a mannequin.
If you're a photojournalist, your images are expected to be truthful. Don't get caught compromising the integrity of news photographs by removing unwanted elements in postproduction. It's okay to remove dust and scratches and to make color corrections, but don't change the truth in the scene by altering the reality of it.
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