LO4 Final Edited Photographs with evaluation.

Some key terms about photoshop skills and editing terminology is listed below:

Layers: Layers are part of the photoshop suit and allow separate elements of an object to be 'layered' over one another hence the name layers. These layers work in descending order, with the topmost layer being visible over every other layer. In an example of cutting out a person then changing the background black and white, the selected person would be applied to a higher layer and then black and white would be applied to the background layer. This way elements are kept apart.

Text and image: Text and image is when i photograph contains text within the final edit. This is normally used to give meaning to an image, or to tell the viewer something that they might not get from the photograph e.g the photographer. A watermark would also be an example of this which prevents the image from being copied.

Cropping and scaling: Cropping an image is where you change the original dimensions to some other dimensions. For example a 1920x1080px HD image might need to be square, so could be cropped to 1000x1000px. Scaling is when you change the PPi (pixels per inch) of a certain object or photograph, this tells a printer what size to print out at providing more quality the higher the PPI.

Green screen: A green screen is a plain, high brightness, green background that is normally almost neon green in colour. It is used to allow editors to remove the green sections from the image (as the green for the most part will contrast with the model or prop), once selected the editor can then delete the green to leave a model (or prop) against a transparent background.

I haven't used a green screen or text and image for my photographs as i don't believe they would fit my theme of identity of a city. Green screens are more commonly used to cut out a model, and as i won't be using a model there is no need for one. Text and image won't be used also as i want to leave the meaning of the image to be chosen by the viewer, creating a more dynamic image.

Planning my Editing

My unedited shots are good, but they can be made better with editing in photoshop. For my images i will edit them to fit the theme of identity more and make them different to normal. This allows the viewer to get more inspiration from the same image.

Abstract

• This image has been edited a fair bit. I feel the photo benefits from the darkened colours and galaxy like appearance shining through the different shapes of the photograph. 
• To select the area for the background to go, i used the quick selection tool. On that i pasted the galaxy layer with a purple overlay using the colour overlay tool. Then i used levels on the background to make the background of the image darker.
• I edited the photograph this way to preserve the abstract nature to the image, whilst also providing a new twist the the same photograph. This sums up identity by showing that art is universal, even in cities.
• I think the image has been enhanced by the edit, creating a photograph that people would look at over and over.

Bench Of Thought

• This image has been edited to highlight the main parts of the image, the bench and cardboard underneath. For this is preserved the colour to the bench and turned the background black and white to draw the viewer away from the background. 
• To select the area, i went around the bench and cardboard using the pen tool, then clicked make selection from the pen selected area. After than i used the refine edge tool to select more of the parts that were cut off by the pen tool and then copied the bench onto the new layer. To make the background black and white i selected the colour overlay tool with a colour of black and a blend mode of overlay.
• I edited the photograph this way to enhance the image really making it appear like a thought. The background being black and white also draws the viewer to the bench more, which further promotes the editing technique i chose.
• I think the image has been enhanced by the image, especially the bench, which also had a hue/saturation increase to it, making it stand out that bit more.

City Scape

• The 'City Scape' image has been edited to make it look more like it was taken in the morning. This really promotes the identity of the city all around the clock (as you will see later). The morning sky enhances the image even more than it did originally, and draws the attention of the viewer to both the artificial sun created and also the centre of interest building in the middle.
• To apply this edit, i put a hue/saturation layer over the whole base image to make it look lighter. I then applied a yellow gradient layer on the right side of the image; this made the sun look like it was coming from the right side. Finally i added a large lens flare which artificially acts as the sun.
• I edited the photograph this way as i wanted different images all around the clock in sheffield. The other morning photo i took could also be classed as evening so to present the identity of a city all around the clock has more meaning to the image.
• I think the image has been enhanced by the edit as it adds more `happiness` to the photograph. This way emotions are perceived better and the city looks a lot nicer. 

Colour Splash

• The colour splash photograph has a lot of edits done to it. I am extremely happy with how the photo turned out, acting like time has been frozen as the colour flows from the flowers into the seeming colour flushed background.
• I began editing this image by selecting the blows and bush using the pen tool, this allowed me to select intricate detail in the image. After selecting this i copied the flowers onto a new layer, then applied a increase in saturation to the image. Finally i toned down the colours in the background using a colour overlay of black with a blend mode of colour, and turned the opacity down to add a bit of colour back, i then applied a { NAME } filter to give the waves appearance of the image.
• I edited the photograph this way as i really wanted the main feature of the image to be the flowers, i then thought of the colour splashing into the rest of the image, so decided to go with lowering of the background colour.
• I think the image appears better due to the edit as it really does bring the colours out in the image. It enhances the connotations available for the image and overall provides a much more positive vibe towards the image.

Hope

• The Hope image really does portray a beautiful sunrise / sunset and the edits just enhance the image. The lens flare looks part of the image and the increased saturation just adds to the natural beauty of the photograph. 
• I began editing this image by adding a quite large saturation increase to the overall image. Once done i found the sun and added a lens flare on it. I didn't do much editing to this image due to the natural beauty the image had to begin with.
• I edited the photo this way to enhance the natural beauty of the original photograph. the lens flare complements the enchanted morning sky; making the image that bit more lovely.
• I think the image appears better because of the edit. The lens flare added enhances an already beautiful looking image. and the more colourful sky makes the contrast even more noticeable between the sky and land.

Water Splash

• The water splash image has had a lot of behind the scenes edits done to it. The natural beauty of the image has been maintained, whilst different aspects of the image have been moderately changed to produce more of an outcome. 
• I began editing this photograph by applying the normal hue-saturation overlay as i did with most other photographs. Following this i then proceeded to remove people who were in the background using the spot healing brush / content aware filter. I then modified the colour of the water to be more clear, i did this using a colour overlay tool with a white colour mode and lowered the opacity on this layer. Finally i added a small lens flare to the top right which acts as an artificial sun.
• I edited the photo this way to enhance the natural beauty of the original photograph. The removal of people prevents copyright issues, but also makes the image look a lot cleaner, and more natural. 
• I think the image appears better because of the edit. The lens flare added enhances an already beautiful looking image and the water colour makes the photo look super realistic. 

  

  
  

  Example of editing my photograph in photoshop.

  
  

  

  
  

  Firstly i take the base (default) image and then select the Hue/Saturation editing tool using the pop up menu below the layers panel.

  
  

  

  
  

  Once the menu has popped up i use the second slider to control the saturation of an image. Saturation is the colour in the image and so by increasing it i am making the colours more vibrant and hence more contrasting.

  
  

  

  
  

  Finally i use the brightness slider to increase the brightness to the default image. This removes the only problem with the unedited image. Finalising the photograph.

  
  
  
  Curved World
  
  
  

  • The curved world photograph has been edited quite a bit. I believe that the edits done to it correct the biggest problem compared to the original image.
  • I began editing this image by applying a hue/saturation layer to the image, and increasing the brightness of the photo using the brightness slider. After this i applied a levels adjustment to turn the tones of the blues up a bit, creating a more blue sky.
  • I edited the photo like this as it corrected the only problem with the original photograph (that it was too dark). The blueness of the image really does add another level to the photograph which provides a beautify overlay to the original. 
  • I think the image looks better because of the edit, the brightness of the sky really does finish off the image overall and the lightness adds a new perspective to the previously dark photograph.

  
  

  

  Out of reach
  
  
  

  • The Out Of Reach image has been edited the most out of all my other images. Turning the image from day to night, the edit really does add a different perspective to the previous photograph.
  • I began editing the photograph using a curves adjustment layer to increase the blues by a lot in the original photograph. Following this i used the RGB curves to lower the overall lightness, until it became how it is above. The photograph then followed a hue/saturation increase which made the building a little bit more bright.
  • I edited the photo like this as it is the final image of my around the clock theme. This is the night time image and i chose this image to become night as the 'behind bars' style which provides more of a negative positive contrast similar to how night is connoted.
  • I think the image looks better because of the edit, the night time theme finishes off a rather contrasting photograph.

General Evaluation

I selected these eight images for editing because I feel that they carry the most meaning for a viewer. I also feel that they promote the theme of identity and consist of different photographic techniques. Due to containing the photographic techniques it shows that my photos consist of variety which would attract the viewer. Editing conducted on the images creates a new meaning to previous images which creates a dynamic change.

My photographs before editing do fit the theme of identity, however i believe with the edits finalised it creates a new meaning to the same images. One of my favourite examples is the day to night change on my 'out of reach' photograph which came out better that i would have expected.

If i had more time, i would ensure my photographs were 100% perfect through more in-depth clarity and contrast techniques that would just finalise the image. However i am happy with the turn out of my photo's edited and non-edited, hence would be happy to promote this photography to viewers in a gallery (LO5).