Final Image

Evaluation

For this assignment we were asked to recreate a famous photograph using our own pictures and photoshop, the photograph could be from an artist or from a piece of album art that we liked the look of.
 For i  think i may have chosen the hardest piece of album art, looking at it it looks like it was all done on photoshop which was a let down for me because it was much harder to get the same likeness to the original image.


 I have had to use the knowledge from previous workshops and put that into my final image, i have needed to use things such as the burn tool and the clone tool etc.
 It has been quite an enjoyable assignment for me because we have had much more freedom in what we do for our final image instead of following certain 'protocol', this was good in a sense but also quite a burden because we could choose quite a hard piece of work which in my case i did or you could choose a really easy piece of work and not challenge yourself throughout the assignment.
 The problem that i had with this picture was that the first time i attempted to do it i couldn't get the skintone right, so i had to start it again on the last day that it had to be in which was quite stressful for me, the upside was that i did the tear the week before so i didn't have to completely do it again. To make sure that this wouldn't happen again i will give myself more time to do my final piece if i got the chance to do it again.
 I think in the short time i had to do it again i made quite a good final piece, i did however have help off friends and teachers to get the skintone right, it just wouldn't match the original picture which was annoying.

Emery album art

This is quite a comical album cover, you can tell that it has been digitally manipulated due to the fact that the persons head has been changed to a fishbowl.
 In my opinion i think that when looking at the bowl you can see it has half empty or half full in a sense.
The name of the album as well is 'the weak's end' it is a play on words, you usually think it would be week as in the end of the week but they have changed it to weak as in something physical or mental. This looks like it could be a very deep album and personal to the band perhaps, that is good to see on an album cover something that the band likes and not trying to please everyone else.


This would be quite intriguing to do for one of my final images in the fact that i have never done this before and i would like to learn something different. 

Red hot chili peppers album

This is something i would like to try, it is quite good how they have merged the tribal drawings into the faces of the band members. it is like they have substituted their tongues for the tribal which can be quite a good effect to be created.


It does look like a rather basic layout, but the post production that must have been done to get it like his must have taken some time, i could try and do something like this for one of my final images.

1&2 Skillet album art

Throughout most of this bands album covers they are very minimalist, they don't have much in yet they project something which is hard to explain.
Some are more in your face than others and some can create a sense of tension in it.


If i were to try and replicate either of these images i could try and do it without using photoshop but the whole point of this assignment was to use photoshop throughout.
 The bottom image would be easier to do in the studio, that way i will have a white background and nothing that will look out of place, i could also get a good professional image out of it.
 The top image is rather minimalist, i really like the image, it's not like i know what the image is about but i feel that it can be perceived differently by other people.
 i think that the image can be done by forced perspective, if the person is far away then it could like they are smaller than they actually are, the room would need to be rather big to get the desired effect necessary.


This is a possible picture that i could try and replicate.

research

For our task today we were asked to replicate a famous photograph or piece of album art, the picture itself can be as detailed or as easy as it wants but i want something that is in between the two that way i will not find it too easy.
 I am going to replicate one or two album covers which i think i will be able to do, here are some possible album covers that  am looking at.


Possible replications;

 1. Skillet album art
2. Skillet album art
3. Red hot chili peppers album art
4. Emery album art
5. Finger eleven album art.
6. Nickelback album art

Frozen in Time

As you can see these are some really good examples of when 3D images work, the images themselves allow the viewer to interact with the image, looking at the ones above, it is like you can almost step inside the image, there is a real sense of depth which you can not get with normal images.'Contemporary fragments of Berlin preserved in stereoscopic 3D photographs by Lars Brandt Stisen. The series was filmed using a custom made analog 3D camera, built using parts from the DDR'

photoshop workshop 3D image

For our task today we were asked to create 3D images from photos that we had taken in todays lesson. 3D has made quite a dramatic impact in recent years, it is featured in almost every film that comes out, it is almost like that is becoming the original film instead of them being in 3D. In photos it allows the viewer to interact with the image, it makes the picture really stand out and give its quite a dramatic effect.

There are a series of instructions that must be followed for an image to look 3D, they are;

 First take a photo of what you want with your right eye, and then do the same with your left eye, this way you are getting a view from each eye. This is the first step of getting the image in 3D.

  Unlike this image you need to try and get the image as similar as possible, The person in this photo would not stop moving which can change the end result quite a lot, the image may not match up and so on.
 As you can see from the images they do not look similar but it was as close as i could get, I'm not sure if it was just me but i found it much harder shooting from the left eye, it just didn't feel right.

Once you have the two images in photoshop, copy one of the picture onto the other picture so they overlaying each other, once that is done you can begin to manipulate the image.

 

First select the top layer and go on image, adjustments and click on levels, if done correctly a graph should show up which will allow to change your image into 3D.

Once levels has been selected click on the option channel and select red, this is the first colour that will allow you to see in 3D, once that is selected change the output level to 0 that way you are making it a solid colour.

Once that is done you can do the same for green and blue, change the output levels for each of them and click ok. However when changing the green and blue be sure to select the bottom layer so that you are not just changing one layer, it will not change to 3D otherwise.

 (follow same instructions as above)

(follow same instructions as above)

Once those have been changed re-select the top layer and select screen on the sidebar, if all the instructions have been done correctly then the image should look 3D in the end result.

Before

After

Photoshop workshop- blur

A technique that is similar to zoom is blur, unlike zoom it gives it a much softer border, it looks less violent compared to it as well.

The same as the other pictures you will need to use the marquee tool to select the area that you want to manipulate. In this case because it will be another type of border you will be using the rectangular tool.

Looking at the picture opposite i will need quite a thick border so that i can see the after effect. the bit at the side doesn't really help if i have a thin border because i will not be able to see the results when i am done.

Like the other pictures i will have to inverse the image so i am manipulating what is on the outside rather than the inside.

Hover over select then click on inverse this will then allow to manipulate around the image, this way you can create a nice border to compliment the image.

Like the other images it is best to feather the sides so that it doesn't look out of place, have the feather around 150 that way it gives it a much softer feel and will blend in with the blur that will be going around the image.

To blur the surrounding area, go on filter and select blur, a selection of blurs will appear, the one that you want is gaussian blur. This selection gives it a much softer tone and can be quite pleasant to the eye instead  of it looking like it has been copy and pasted onto the page.

Before

After

Photoshop workshop- Borders

Sometimes when manipulating an image it is nice to have irregular edges instead of having a box surrounding a shot, that can be quite boring.

Again you will be using the marquee tool to help create the border, however, this time you will select the rectangular tool, this will allow to create an outline of where you want the border to be.

You will need to make sure when making your border that you leave a gap between the edges of the picture, this way you can leave enough space to delete what is left at the end of the manipulation.

 Like with the other image you will need to inverse the image so that you are not manipulating what is inside the border. To do this go to select and inverse that way you manipulating what is outside the image, it is key that you do this otherwise it could completely ruin the shot.

So yo can see what will be manipulated select the quick mask tool, this can be found at the bottom of the sidebar on photoshop, once you select the option, the photo will turn red, however, what ever is outside the red box is what will be manipulated.

As you can see here what is outside the red box is what will be manipulated, if you wanted to you could erase the outside and the red will stay safe.


However for this image we want to create a filter that will go around image and give it a bit of character.

To do this go to filter and select distort, the reason we use distort is so that it creates quite an elegant border instead of just being straight lines.
 Select Ocean ripple, here you can then select how violent you want the ripples to be and how large you want them. This option can work quite well on most images but on a certain few it just doesn't have the same effect.

Before

After

Photoshop workshop- zoom

For our first workshop of this assignment we focused on manipulating the surroundings of a particular aspect in a photo, it could be a landmark or something that caught your eye when taking the shot.

 The manipulation that was used in part of this workshop was zoom, this is used to draw the viewers image into the middle of the image or to something that is quite eye catching.

To start off you will first need to select the marquee tool and further select 'elliptical marquee tool' this is how you will get the circular effect in the image, almost like a magnifying glass perhaps?

Once you have selected the marquee tool and the required option for it, you can then create a circle around the image, it could be the centre or again a point of interest. When you do 'zoom' the image you will want it all to blend together nicely, to do this you feather the edges of the circle so it doesn't look like it has been cut and paste.

To feather the image you need to go to select, modify then feather. When feathering the sides you don't want the edges to e too sharp so select a number around 150 to give it a nice soft edge.

 There is another way to feather the edges as well, at the top of the screen there will be an option that says feather, if you enter in the selected number it should feather the edges. However, with most things that may not work so either you can do.

The image that you want to manipulate is the area surrounding the circle, not what is inside it, to do this select the option select and click on inverse, you will know that it has worked when you see a dashed line around the image as well as the circle.

Once that has been completed go on filter and hover blur, a variety of blurs will appear, the one hat you will want is radial blur. This will give it the zoom affect that you want.

You will see this box appear when you select radial blur, the blur method that you want will be zoom, the amount you want it to blur is entirely up to you i went for 55

Research-Josh Sommers

 The first image by Josh Sommers is called desperation, i think that title is significant to the photo itself and can be used to relate to life itself perhaps. Looking at the image you can see that Josh is rooted to the ground but is trying his hardest to move. That can be related to life in a sense because we as people can get rooted to one location or way of life and not be able to find a way out, i think that the image sums that up very well.
It is almost like a portrait photo but again that can be disputed, their are factors that need to be taken into consideration like the location for example.
The image was made in August 2007, again like i said about Stephanie Bennett for an image to get this type of recognition is quite admirable and can help other people to try and get images as good as this.
Josh Sommers says that he got his inspiration for the photo from Patrick Von Hoff, so using aspects from a friend of his he was able to create an image that explains itself without using words.
 The work has been digitally manipulated and to a very good standard at that, the way that the roots blend into the muscle is very good and creative, you can see the veins of the wood running through his body and that is very creative and nice to see in an image.
He has used several layers to create this image, it looks like a tree to start of with and then himself. A soft brush may be used to reduce the sharpness of the image, to give it that softer more surreal feel to the image.
The images can be viewed online, Flickr to be exact, i think this is to be more in tune with the modern generation, todays younger audience don't really read newspaper so to reach out to them through the internet is a very smart way of promoting their work.

Stephanie Bennett continued

 This is some more of stephanie Bennett's work, again you can see the dream like scenario being played out in the two images.
In a sense again the images are portraiture but have been manipulated in a sense that it could be disputed what they are.


The first image is called Limits, which i think fits very well for this image, the quality of our images are only stopped by our imaginations. I feel that imagination is key in this image to think up something again that is surreal that it is perceived in different ways and isn't wrong is always good.
The first piece of work was created between 2006 and 2007, again it is quite admirable that it is still a popular piece of work it gives you the feeling that you could create something of the same quality of work and not be judged.
 Nothing has really been said about this image by the artist but i feel from looking at it that there is a theme running throughout the images, a sense of surreality in each image giving you that dreamish thought process when looking at them.


Again the image has been digitally manipulated, it is quite simple what they have done, but they have done it to an extent that it looks really professional. They have done this on several layers one with the close up of the smashing bulb, another layer of the arm reaching out , another for the ink blotches and finally another for what looks like flour.
To get the arm to look more in place they may have used a soft brush to erase the sharpness of the appearance giving it that softer more surreal feel.
 It looks like the image was done in a studio, this way they can manipulate the lighting to how they want it that way their are not any extraneous variable to worry about. The use of the soft lighting in the image again gives it that surreal feel, that word (surreal) is key to her images she doesn't want to be like other photographers she wants to be in her own world and by doing this i think she is.




The second image is called 'what's good is better here', again when looking at the image you can see that it is quite fantastical again allowing you to perceive that it is quite a surreal image.
In my opinion i don't think that the title has any relevance to the picture, it may have relevance to the photographer, but i don't see any relevance myself.
 You can clearly see that the image has been digitally manipulated, i think this image is much more playful than any of the other images, the fact that there are fish drawn into the image is quite nice. They are not anything special just a comical take on life i think in my opinion.
 The work is quite inspirational in my opinion, to be that playful and get a quality image is something that i would like for my final piece, i don't want it to be all serious i want a sense of ease throughout.

Research-Stephanie Bennett

One person that i have researched for this assignment is Stephanie Bennett, although their isn't much information about her, i think her own personality emanates through the images that she produces on photoshop.

What i like about this image is the surreal nature of what is happening, you can see that it is a person sitting in a chair, however when looking up at the models head it starts to manifest itself into a plant giving it that fantastical feel.

The style that the photo is made is almost like portraiture it looks like the image are all from different locations to create one dream like location.

The title of the image is 'you create' this really supports the dream like scenario of the picture, in my opinion i think that it means you get to interpret the image however you want and you won't be wrong with what you see, different people see different things.

 The work was made in 2006, with it still getting this type of recognition is very admirable and can be a source of inspiration for some people.

The photographer has said that the work is about dreams and nightmares and how things are not always as they seem, again she created the image in a way that gives people different perceptions of what is happening. I think the image is what the photographer has said its quite a nightmarish image but different people will see the image differently to how i see it.

The image has been digitally manipulated unless a person has actually grown a plant out of his neck which is unlikely, it is very good how they have manipulated the image you can not see anything that is out of place in the image.

The lighting that is used in the image is quite dark and eerie, i think again that is to create that surreal dream like nature in the mage, the positioning  is key to this image in my opinion, the fact that the person is in the middle of the shot your eyes get drawn to the middle and then they wander to the surroundings and you can see how surreal the location is.

The work reminds me in a weird way of inception, the dream like sensation is what makes me think that and that how in dreams anything can happen and be manipulated. It is quite inspirational in my opinion and if i can pull something similar off for my final piece i will be quite happy.