Figure 1: Even the subtle cropping I applied to this image improves a picture by removing distracting elements that draw the eye away from the main subject.
by Derrick Story
I own three digital cameras, and I love 'em all. But as good as they are at taking pictures, I often find myself making adjustments later with the computer to get exactly the appearance I want. Plus, I'm a firm believer in shooting pictures at a high resolution, and reducing their size later for Web publishing. Since the camera can't make these adjustments for me, I had to learn how to do them on the computer.
That's what this article is about: Taking control of your digital images using Photoshop.
As I explain the five steps that I use to create better pictures, I'll refer to the traditional darkroom techniques I outlined in part one. Making pictures in the darkroom is a physical, easy to explain activity that helps make sense of more abstract digital maneuvers. Even if you're working in Photoshop now, I think you'll learn a few new tricks to help improve your pictures.
Once you've loaded your digital pictures into your computer, open an image in Photoshop. Hopefully you recorded the picture at a high resolution. If you have a 1.3 megapixel camera, then I recommend that you capture your images at a full 1.3 megapixels. Why? Because if you're going to make a photo quality print, then even at 1.3 megapixels your print size will only be about 4" x 6". I still recommend high resolution if your primary output is for the Web, which requires only 72 dpi. Always record "big," make a copy of the file, and resample it down to Web size. You never know when you're going to need a hard copy.
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Figure 1: Even the subtle cropping I applied to this image improves a picture by removing distracting elements that draw the eye away from the main subject. |
Now it's time to crop your image. Most photographs need cropping to eliminate distracting elements. In the darkroom you would use the moveable easel blades that hold the printing paper, and raise and lower the enlarger head to find the perfect combination of magnification and cropping.
In Photoshop you simply choose the cropping tool from the floating tool palette and select the area of the image you want to keep. Double-click inside the area you've selected, and the excess image magically goes away leaving you with a clean composition (Figure 1).
Drive-by photo tip #1: If you're shopping for a digital camera, get as much resolution as you can afford—especially if you plan on making prints too. Two megapixel cameras are very affordable, and 3 megapixel varieties are rapidly dropping in price.
Discovering the Best Exposure
Now you should adjust the image's exposure—its overall lightness and darkness. When working in the darkroom, I create a "test strip" which is sheet of photo paper that I make a series of different exposures on. For example, I cover three quarters of the sheet with a piece of cardboard and make an exposure of 5 seconds at f-8. I then slide the cover over to reveal another 25 percent of the paper and make an additional exposure of 5 seconds. This gives me two test exposures—one at 10 seconds (5 seconds plus 5 seconds), and one at 5 seconds only (the second exposure). I usually make about four exposures per sheet, develop it, note the one I like best, then expose a fresh sheet of paper at that setting.
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Figure 2: Making an "exposure test strip" in the darkroom was labor intensive. Photoshop makes it easy with the "Levels" command. |
In the darkroom, the process of determining the best exposure can take up to 10 minutes per print. Even though this is a slow process, it does give me the opportunity to see the different possibilities hiding there in the image.
Photoshop greatly accelerates this process (Figure 2). Many people use the "Brightness/Contrast" control for their image exposure. This function gives you about the same control as the darkroom procedure I just outlined.
But there's a better tool called "Levels" that darkroom technicians would give their left arm for. With Levels, you get not only the highlight and shadow adjustments, you also get a grayscale control called the "gamma" setting. In the world of image control, gamma control is heaven on earth.
When you open the Levels dialogue box (Image > Adjust > Levels), you're presented with graphical representation of your picture's exposure spectrum with three triangles below it: a black one to the left, a gray one in the middle, and a white one to the right. Don't let this intimidate you!
Make sure that the Levels dialogue box isn't covering your picture, and that the "Preview" box is checked, then try this.
There are more controls in the Levels dialogue box that you can learn later. But for 90 percent of your work, these three steps will elevate your images to a new "level" of quality.
Drive by photo tip #2: Make sure you calibrate your monitor using the "Adobe Gamma Tool" included with Photoshop. That way the adjustments you make will appear properly on other calibrated monitors.
In the darkroom, I hated color balancing so much that I avoided color printing altogether. I wasn't ready to invest in expensive calibrating devices, and the trial and error method was far too expensive and time consuming.
Photoshop has completely changed my feelings on this matter. Generally speaking, I use color balancing to add a little warmth to my images that have a "cool" feel to them. In photographic terms, that means they have too much blue and cyan. This coolness becomes most apparent in Caucasian skin tones—turning normal, healthy-looking people into pale, deathly shadows of themselves. Here's how to warm up a cool person:
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Figure 3: Left, too cool. Center, too warm. Right, just right! Adjust the color balance so your image isn't too cool or too warm. Notice the color difference in the foreground rock, the sweater, the skin tone, and the background. |
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The more you practice, the easier it becomes to identify what colors your images have too much of, and how to adjust them quickly. Remember, if your picture has too much blue, you move the slider in the yellow direction. if it has too much red, you move the slider in the cyan direction.
Most digital cameras have their own "color character" and behave consistently in various lighting conditions. You'll quickly learn the character of your camera, and your correction guesses will soon be very accurate.
Drive-by photo tip #3: You'll save yourself lots of color correction work by learning how to manually adjust the White Balance setting on your camera. The five minutes you spend learning this function will save you hours of Photoshop production.
At this point, you have a pretty good looking "master" of your photo. If you're going to publish this picture on the Web, or send it to a friend via e-mail, then you need to reduce its size. That's what I'm going to show you now.
Before image sizing, however, I want you to save the work you've done to this point as a "master file." This gives you an archival image at its largest size to return to at a later date for other uses.
To create your master file, use the "Save As" command and choose either "Photoshop" or "TIFF" under the Format options. Why? Because these are uncompressed formats that will preserve the maximum integrity of your picture. File your image away in a master directory of pictures. I'll discuss cataloging a little later in the article.
After I show you the image sizing, I'm going to have you Save As again, only this time as a JPEG. So you'll end up with two images: a master you can use for printing or for resizing in other applications, and a compressed picture suitable for Web publishing.
In the darkroom, your master file is the negative. You can make a 5" x 7" inch print from that negative today, then file it away, and come back to it 10 years later and make an 8" x 10" print from that same master source.
For some reason, many digital photographers ignore the concept of the master file. They download the image from the camera, adjust and resize, publish it and send it on its way. By not saving a copy at the highest resolution, they have nothing to go back to years later if they need to repurpose a high-quality version.
You're not going to make that mistake because you're going to have a master file of every image you publish or share with a friend—just like the darkroom photographer who has his or her cherished negatives filed away in a safe place.
Now, back to the desktop. Open the Image size dialogue box (Image > Image Size). If your picture is from a digital camera, you'll see that the number in the "Resolution" box is 72. That's the resolution we use for Web publishing, so you're set there; no changes are necessary. Make sure that the "Constrain Proportions" and the "Resample Image" boxes are checked.
Turn your attention to "Pixel Dimensions" box. If you have a 1.3 megapixel camera, you're going to see pixel dimensions close to 1,280 wide by 960 tall. A picture this size, at 72 dpi, is about 3.5 MB—that's far too big for a Web page!
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Figure 4: Pictures for the Web need to be smaller not only in pixel dimensions, but in file size too. Here, I've used the Image Size command to adjust the picture to be completely Web-ready. |
Change the width to 240 pixels and you'll see that height automatically adjusts to 180. Notice that the file size drops all the way down to 127k. Click OK.
Drive by photo tip #4: Burn your master images onto CDs. Give each file a descriptive name, or at least each folder of files a name that makes sense to you. Then catalog your CDs using a utility such as Iomega's "FindIt." When you need to retrieve an image, FindIt will search through all of your CDs and pinpoint the location of your file. Over the years you'll pat yourself on the back for having this system.
Resizing images in Photoshop seems to soften them a bit—even when you make them smaller. This doesn't happen in the darkroom where the smaller you make the print, the sharper it appears. However, resizing in the darkroom does have a downside. Since you're moving the enlarger head down, closer to the paper (remember the flashlight example), the exposure changes, and you have to recalculate your time/f-stop combination.
On the other hand, resizing in Photoshop has no bearing on the exposure of the picture. All you have to do is sharpen it a little, then save it as a Jpeg. I'm going to show you a great method for sharpening that works better than any other I've tested. Here's how it works:
When it comes to improving picture sharpness, making a few subtle adjustments preserves more image integrity than making one big change. Now it's time to reformat the photo using Save As.
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Figure 5: It's much better to make two or three subtle sharpening adjustments than one big one. Reduce your "amount" from 50% to 12% and you'll notice a quality improvement. |
Choose Save As and select JPEG in the format box. Click Save. You're now greeted with a second dialog box allowing you to set the image and format options. I usually set my images to the "8" setting at choose the "standard" format option. Those are the most versatile JPEGs. Progressive scans are fine for Web pages, but sometimes other applications have a hard time decoding them. The file size of your picture is now a very reasonable 25k. Click OK.
This finished photo is now suitable for Web posting or sending to a friend. Plus, there's the peace of mind knowing that you have the master image tucked away safe and sound for reuse at a later date.
Drive by photo tip #5: If you don't already own Photoshop and can't afford to shell out the $650 for the professional version, don't fret. You can purchase Photoshop LE 5.0 for $99, and it can perform all of the functions outlined in this article (and plenty more!). If you're shopping for a digital camera, pay attention to the bundled software. Sometimes Photoshop LE comes bundled with the purchase.
For Web publishing, the desktop is clearly the place to be. But if you want a beautiful black and white print for framing, a darkroom-produced image is still beyond compare.
Personally, I respect both environments. The darkroom was my imaging sandbox for many years, and I've always believed that learning Photoshop has been easier for me because of the knowledge I gained under the red light. By the same token, I've discovered techniques in Photoshop that I've taken back to the darkroom and tried with great success. In my case, each world has enriched the other.
I hope this article will help you take more control of your pictures. Now it's time to grab your camera, make beautiful images, and share them with others. Have fun out there and experiment like mad.