Assessment Task: Photographic Composition

Combining Images using Layer Masks

See no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil!

For this task, we were required to blend and combine images of ourselves into one image.

I went with the theme, see no evil, hear no evil and speak no evil!

It also looks like I'm really depressed! Could be one of those depression or anxiety design messages!
So I went with that and did a black and white theme as well to suit the images mood.

I found this task to be very great and useful using pixel masks.


Black and white version

Colour version 

Flash video module (PRL)

Embeding my video

 

 

Shooting motion

My best three shots

1) My father using a cutting saw - This one includes Meta data.
2) Slinky - Took a few shots but this one is my favourite. Starring mum! :)
3) Balloon - Was very hard to take a photo of a balloon in the air, as it moves so slowly and every shot was more blurry than expected! I like this one because I feel I really captured it in the air, the colours looked good and has a different motion feel compared to the other photographs.

Resubmission

Here I added a radial blur and used the burn tool to outline the balloon more :)

Web image formats

  Project draft

 

  For this task, we are required to create a collage representing living in an eco-friendly manner.
  We are also meant to detirmine what image format for the web results in better quality.


  We were required do create a draft for our environment collage.
  All 10 of my pictures plus a little text or heading would be included.
  One photo would be within the background with an opacity or overlay gradient.

 



 

  Grid screen capture

 

   Here is a screen grab with the grid I used like in my draft, placing everything dead centre and even.

 

  Design rationale and best image format

 

 

   I chose for the best image format that maintains image quality, the PNG file.
   It's file size was larger (11MB compared to the JPEG of 1MB)

   The JPEG would be the best option if the intent was for the image to be uploaded faster. 
   And recognised by any browser as it is commonly used.

   However in image quality, the PNG format file is designed to be a good for web graphics 
   (and was meant to replace the GIF format)


   To sum up, really depending on what is best (image quality or for accessibility) my answer differs!



  Design rationale

  My ten images included elements of how my family lives in an eco friendly way.

  My background image includes trees. We own a forest and my father plants trees regularly.

  (heading down from left to right)

• I have an image of some tomatoes in our veggie garden, we sometimes grow our own food.
• There is an image of a water filter.
• Recycling bins
• Clothes line
• Small car
• Chickens
• A green bag for shopping
• Compost bin
• Eco friendly lights

  
  These are all small things in which I feel we live in an eco friendly way.

 

PNG logo

   Screenshot

   Here, we were required to create a logo and save the image format as a PNG image file.
   I made up a random logo.
   (UNI - pretending it's a clean up the land day or awareness logo 'You and I' or could stand for something)

   I saved the logo using the same dimensions and resolution as the original logo template.
   Then I replaced the existing original with my own, sitting at the top left corner.
   I wanted to introduce a new colour to the page, so I went for a light teal against the burgundy below.
   (Also added a dropshadow to make the logo pop a bit and not look so flat)


  

Adjustment Layers

Full light photo

For this task we needed to image enhance photographs using adjustment layers.

I took my first photograph at mid-day, with an over cast sky using a timer (being careful not to move the camera)

Even though it appeared to be bright outside, my photo didn't seem to have all the highlights and shadows or vibrant feel I wanted.

However, I feel the image looks improved when I (really ever so slightly) adjusted the levels, tweaked the exposure and added more vibrancy to the image.

I really did this so slightly. I want the colours to still be true and not have 'too' dark shadows, or too many highlights. I wanted to keep the grass, a lush grass green, but not so much that you don't believe it.
I didn't play with brightness or contrast. With the levels, I could manually control the blacks and whites within the image and I didn't want to over-do it.


Adjusted image

Low light photo

 

 

Here I have taken another image but in the evening where the image is dark and there is very little clarity.

Again, I have adjusted the levels and brought the whites up a tad, added some more vibrance and a bit of contrast. At first, I felt I adjusted my first image better as the colours (in my view) are a little more true.

But enhancing a darker image, made my image also enhance the blues within my image. 
It made it look... very blue! Not very balanced.

So for this one, I felt it necessary to use a colour balance adjustment layer. 
I increased the warmer tones and shadows (yellow and red) slightly, to balance it out.
It's still a cool image with a blue evening feel but more believable than it was without the colour adjustment.


I feel there is more clarity from my adjustment layers, the details of the lush grass and leaves on the trees are more visible.

Resubmission

I had lost a bit of detail within the sky on my submissions which I didn't notice!
For the low light submission, I used my original and the edited photo together, got the colour range selection tool to select my highlights, used a quick mask adjustment layer and began to erase keeping the skies detail.