Project 3a: Redo

Apparently I did this assignment incorrectly, so here is the redone image. The first thing I did after creating a new document with size 8" x 8" ,72dpi and white background was to view the rulers on both the new document and the image to duplicate so I could get the approximate sizing and alignment.

I first selected the rectangular marquee to create the cross shape in the center and the four squares. I drew a rectangular bar down the center and with the shift key added the other horizontal bar. This created the cross. I then continued to hold the shift key and added the four squares around the perimeter. When I did this I would cross check with the completed image using the ruler to make sure I was getting the correct sizing.

Next I switched to the elliptical marquee tool to create the circle. I selected the subtract from selection option and drew the circle by holding down the alt key. I also used the spacebar to position the circle in the middle of the image. This seemed more tricky this time then when I did it the first time and I'm not sure why. I discovered the edit ->step backwards function which was helpful when I wanted to undo a selection mistake.

I then selected the polygonal lasso tool to draw the triangles. I started at one corner and drew one edge, clicked, drew the second edge, clicked, and drew the last edge and closed the triangle when the 0 appeared. I also would view the rulers while I was doing this to verify the sizing.

Lastly, I chose a foreground color, right clicked on the image and then filled the entire image with color.

Project 3b

The Rita Hayworth and Ginger Rogers dancing photos were not my cup of tea, so I tried to find a base image to superimpose my head on. I found one on Flickr that allowed reuse through a Creative Commons license, and proceeded to take a picture of myself. The results were absolutely hideous, and I almost gave up on this project. I really do not like doing self portrait type things. So you are getting a picture of a flower instead. The photographs are pictures that I took. This is what I ended up doing:

Here is the base image:



















Here is the selected image:



















Here is the end result:



















I first tried using the lasso tool to select the flower which really was a pain and didn't work very well. I then tried the magnetic lasso tool, which was wonderful. You could trace around the flower and it would easily attach itself to the edge. I dragged the flower selection to the picture of the rocks and pressed the ctrl key to move it into place.

I then went into match color adjustment and chose the flower image as the source and checked use selection source to calculate colors. I was then able to adjust the fade and color intensity settings so that it looked like the two images matched in terms of color.

Project 3a: Selection Mania

For this assignment I had the had the rulers display on both the image I was working on and the image to copy. That helped me a lot with making sure I was getting approximate sizing and that the shapes were aligning.

I used the rectangular marquee tool to draw the four squares on the perimeter. I then picked a foreground color to use and then right clicked and filled with the foreground color. I used the polygonal lasso tool to draw the cross in the center. I also filled that shape in with the foreground color. I clicked on the add to selection button that was used with the polygonal tool to add the triangles and the circles inside the cross.

For the triangles I again used the polygonal lasso tool. I right clicked on each triangle and then filled them with the background color to make them white.

For the circle in the center I used the eliptical marquee tool. I picked the center of the image and then pressed the Alt and shift keys to draw from the center out and also the shift key to make the ellipse a circle. These were some things that were suggested in our text. I then right clicked on the circle and filled in again with the background color.

Project 2: Adjustments / Color and Balance/ Adjustments 1 & 2

Here's the original image:




Here's the target image:




Here's my adjusted image:



For this assignment I started out by following what the text suggested for colorizing a grayscale image. I changed the original image to grayscale, then converted it to RGB color. I chose the gradient map command and loaded the gradient file that came with the lesson files from the text DVD. I chose a gradient called "wooden boy" because this was the closest coloring to the target image. I then went into Hue/Saturation and adjusted the yellow and red levels. I then went into the Levels command and then adjusted the overall RGB values to give the image more contrast. Finally I went back into Hue/Saturation and reduced the overall saturation level.

I came pretty close with the coloring but I couldn't figure out how to bring out the detail in the road and the trees on the mountain. Also my image looks a little dark compared to the target image. However it could just be how it looks on my computer. I was looking at the photos on this blog I posted yesterday on a computer at work, an my adjusted image looks lighter in comparison to the target image than it does on my computer at home. That's another thing for me to figure out.

Project 2 Adjustments/Color and Balance/Color 1 and 2

Here is the original image:

Here is the target image:

Here are my adjustments:



I first tried adjusting the colors using the Levels command and adjusting with the individual Red, Blue and Green channels. That didn't seem to make a huge difference and was frustrating because I couldn't seem to isolate the individual objects in the room. I couldn't seem to change the color of the bedspread from the warm orange to the cool red. I liked how Marlene's image turned out so I decided to try adjusting the reds using the Hue/Saturation like she did. That made a big difference with the bedspread, but I could not get any Hue/Saturation change for blues, greens or cyan.

What I ended up doing was first adjusting the Levels Blue channel. I changed the input white slider triangle to 64, which brought out the blue in the curtains, table, and part of the couch.
I then adjusted the Green channel middle grey slider to 1.29.

I then went into Hue/Saturation and adjusted the red hue and saturation. I discovered that adjusting the Blue Channel in Levels first made it possible to make some adjustments Hue/Saturation for blue. I then adjusted the blue hue and lightness to bring it out a little more.

I went back into Levels and adjusted the Red and Green channel midtone grey slider. Then back to Hue/Saturation to adjust the yellow saturation. Then back to Levels to adjust the Green channel again.

Next I went to Shadow/Highlights and adjusted the tonal width for highlights to 5% so I could reduce the amount of light coming from the lamps. This exercise made me understand the tonal width adjustment more than what was explained in the text. Finally I went back to Hue/Saturation and adjusted the yellow saturation and lightness.

It didn't end up perfectly. I couldn't get the enough of a greenish cast for the light on the wall around the lamp and ended up with a reddish cast in the light and the curtains. But not enough red on the sofa!

I think what I have learned most from our text was using the individual color channels in Levels to adjust colors in the photograph. I had used Levels before with just the RGB Channel but not the individual color channels. I am finding the Curves command tricky. I was able to follow the example in the text but I am not sure I could utilize this on my own yet.