Digital Photography Composition For Dummies

Some things to keep in mind when using the Clone stamp include the following:

• Pay attention to texture. You don't want viewers to notice that you cloned something out of an image. Even though everyone knows photo-editing programs exist and are used frequently, people still like to believe that what they see is real.

When cloning over something, use a source area that has a similar texture as the area you're retouching. If you want to clone a pimple off someone's face, for example, duplicate pixels from skin that's as close as possible to the problem area. The forehead, cheeks, nose, and neck all have different textures.

• Keep focus in mind. If the area you want to fix is in sharp focus, select pixels from another area with similar texture that's also in sharp focus (and vice versa). A blurry area doesn't blend in well when surrounded by sharpness.

• Avoid creating patterns. Because you duplicate areas when cloning, you need to mix up your source points enough that you don't create a pattern. To do so, select a source point that's similar to the area you want to clone and begin to make your changes. Before cloning the entire area, occasionally select a new source point that's also similar to the area you're changing but is different than your original source point. Doing so helps create a new, original area rather than simply duplicating the one from your initial source point.

A journalist was busted once for cloning extra smoke into a photograph of a hostile environment. He wanted it to look more dramatic than it actually was. People knew what he did because the smoke had easily identifiable patterns.

To see how you can use the Clone stamp to your advantage, compare the two shots in Figure 18-1. The top image has a cleaner composition. My client wanted this photograph to seem as if it had been taken in someone's home. Using the Clone stamp, I made the following changes to the original picture (bottom) in order to give the message of the image center stage:

Removed spots on the ceiling that had been caused by light fixtures: The spots weren't recognizable in the image and distracted the viewer's eye from the monitor, which is the subject of the image.

Took out the dark reflection in the computer monitor: This reflection showed up in the image as a flaw in the screen, so taking it out was important to eliminate distraction.

Scrubbed out the writing on the wall behind the monitor:

The writing on the wall gave away our location as an art gallery instead of a house, which is where the client wanted to portray the photo as being taken.

24mm, 1/30 sec, f/3.2, 320

Figure 18-1: If something in your frame is distracting and unnecessary, you can remove it to create a cleaner composition.

Using the Heating brush to Blend the tonality of duplicated pixels

Similar to the Clone stamp, the Healing brush uses a source point to copy pixels and duplicate them in a separate area. However, the Healing brush also blends the tonality of the resulting pixels with their immediate surroundings. This tool is useful when you need to make a change in an area with varying shapes and tonalities. With the Healing brush, you can choose a source point that's much brighter and darker than the area you want to retouch. As long as the textures are similar, your results will be fine.

In Figure 18-2,1 removed the model's tattoos by using the Healing brush. I chose to use this brush rather than the Clone stamp due to its ability to blend the tonality of changes with their surroundings. The Clone stamp provides literal duplications and would have been more difficult to work with in this instance.

I selected areas of skin that were ink free and then painted over the tattooed areas. Also, I cloned out the cloud merging with the model's head in the background. (Read more about merging background elements in Chapter 9.)

50mm, 1/1000 sec, #3–5,50

Figure 18-2: Tattoos removed from a model with the Healing brush.

Amending exposure utith the Dodge and Burn toots

The terms dodge and burn are borrowed from the darkroom, where light is directed through a negative and onto a piece of photo paper to create a print. Dodging is the art of lightening an area on a print by blocking it from the light for a time period during the exposure. Burning is the art of allowing light to affect one area for a longer period of time than the rest of the image in order to darken it.

Similarly, the Dodge and Burn tools in a photo-editing software program such as Photoshop come in handy when you want to brighten or darken specific areas in an image without affecting the entire thing. For instance, you may want to brighten a person's face but keep the background dark in order to make the face stand out more.

Use the Dodge tool when you want to lighten something in comparison to its immediate surroundings. For instance, if a person has dark bags under his eyes, you can lighten them and cause them to be less apparent in the photograph. Similarly, tracing wrinkles with the Dodge tool can reduce their appearance. Also, blotchy areas in an otherwise smooth surface can be smoothed out.

In Photoshop, you can use the Dodge tool as if it were a brush. Be sure to select the brush size that works best for the area you're working on. A smaller brush, for example, can help control the effects when working on a tinier area. You also can feather the brush, which means that you soften its edges so it doesn't create defined lines.

The Burn tool is similar to the Dodge tool, but it darkens areas instead of lightening them. If the problem area you want to fix is too light compared to its immediate surroundings, use the Burn tool to make gradual changes until you reach the desired effect. The Burn tool often comes in handy when you want to darken a distracting background element or darken the edges of your frame just a bit to draw viewer's eyes to the center.

You can control how strong the Dodge or Burn tool's effect is in the Exposure drop box. The higher the percentage, the more quickly the tool lightens or darkens an area. I never set either to anything above 3 percent; these tools work best when used gradually. Make your corrections in small amounts until you achieve the result you want. A dodge or burn stroke that's too strong looks obvious to viewers.

You'll usually combine dodging and burning to smooth out the appearance of shapes and textures. By darkening the edges of a shape and lightening the middle, you create more dimensionality. By lightening dark spots and darkening light spots, you smooth out the texture of a surface. Notice, for example, the subtle differences in the man's face in Figure 18-3. The top image appears much smoother and draws you into his eyes better than the bottom image.

Dodging and burning can affect the color of an area as well as the tonality. Sometimes, after making changes, you may notice that the colors aren't quite right. One simple way to avoid this problem is to create a duplicate layer of your image and set the blending mode to luminosity. Doing so creates a layer that affects only the tonality of your image. It doesn't affect color at all. Here's how you do it:

50mm, 1/250 sec, f/4, 50

Figure 18-3: Dodge and burn to smooth textures and emphasize shape.

1. Open your Layers palette.

2. Right click on your image's background layer and select Duplicate Layer.

You now have a background layer and a background copy layer.

3. Set the background copy layer to luminosity.

You now can dodge and burn on this new layer to lighten and darken areas while preserving the natural colors.

Chanqinq your perspective

Sometimes the shot you want means you have to act fast, such as when you shoot a moving subject or have little time to get a shot. When photographing celebrities, for example, you have only minutes to get the perfect