For this exercise, you will be editing digital photographs of yourself.
Step 1: Run Photoshop Step 2: Open your picturePhotos for Larry Krieg's sections are on the Novell local area network, at:
t:\faculty\krieg\inp152\
Look for your section's folder - for example, Winter 2001 Sec 99. In the folder for your section, you should find your picture(s) listed in alpha order by last name. Open all the pictures of yourself.
Step 3: Save to your diskSave the original image(s) to your Zip disk (or diskette if necessary). If you use your Zip disk, create a new folder for the images and the variants you will create.
Keep these as backup in case your work messes up the picture!
Step 4: Crop the images 
and adjust sizePhotos almost always start out with more background than is needed. For the Web, it's especially important to trim (crop) the image to eliminate irrelevant background areas. This helps reduce download time.
The Cropping Tool is part of the Marquee group of tools.
Even after cropping, a digital photo may be too large for practical use on the Web. In general, "portraits" of people more than 300 pixels wide are too big.
Get size information from the Info pad (Menu: Window | View Info) using the rectangular marquee tool. If the information on the Info pad is not displayed in pixels, click the X:Y: crosshairs to change the measurement units to pixels.
Reduce the size of the cropped image to somewhere between 150 and 250 pixels in width. (Menu: Image | Image Size...)
About saving your files:
Save each of the cropped and re-sized images as a Photoshop (.psd) file. Use a different name than the original, so you can tell by the name what's what. The original was a JPEG image, but the changes you make to the image are preserved better in Photoshop's special file format.
Note: Photoshop files take up a lot of disk space because they preserve all the image quality. If you don't yet have a Zip disk, the files may be too big to fit on diskettes. If you must, save the images as JPEG images (which are much more compact, but lose quality) on your diskette (Menu: File | Save for Web...).
Step 5: Adjust the color and contrast
of your imagesFor each of your images, adjust the brightness and contrast to bring out your features clearly and sharply. (Menu: Image | Adjust | Brightness/Contrast)
Save the images as Photoshop .psd files with descriptive names when you're satisfied.
Step 6: Create a "feathered"
oval imageDecide which is the best image of your face. We'll be making a "cameo" image of your face with a "feathered" edge. Feathering allows the edges of an image to fade into the background, and is a useful technique in many situations. Feathering is done with the selection tools. The illustrations below show the difference between feathered and normal selections after they are pasted into a new image. Both have their uses, but we'll practice feathering in this exercise.
No feathering
20 pixel feathering
Here's how to do it:
- Choose the Elliptical Marquee Tool
. from the Marquee group of tools.
Make sure the Marquee Options pad is open, and set the Feather number to about 20 pixels.
- Select an oval around your face
- Copy the selection
- Create a new document, accepting the default sizes
- Paste the copied selection into it
Save the new file as a Photoshop .psd file when you're done.
Step 7: Apply at least 10 filters
or effects to your image, and save the best 5One of the most interesting features of Photoshop is its selection of "filters". A filter applies a mathematical algorithm to the image that results in a different visual effect. Filters can be used for many purposes, including making an image look better, or distorting it to produce an interesting effect.
Filters are found on the Filter menu and are divided into several classes. Photoshop 5.5 has 13 categories and nearly 100 different filters available. For this exercise:
- Try as many filters as you like (at least 10) on your pictures. Use any of your pictures, but the cropped and reduced pictures that aren't feathered are probably the most practical ones to work with.
- Filters usually apply to the entire image, but if you have a marqueed selection it will apply only to that. This makes it possible to apply different filters to different parts of the same image.
- Each filter often has several adjustments. Spend some time experimenting with each of these adjustments; there is often a preview feature to speed up the process.
- If you don't like the effect of the filter, Undo it or use History to revert to an earlier version.
- Choose 5 (max) filtered images of yourself to save as Photoshop files. Use a file name that briefly indicates the filter used, or keep notes - you'll be asked to tell which filter you used in each version.
Step 8: Remove blemishes On one or both of the original images, you will probably find blemishes. These may be skin problems or the effects of the flash. There are several tools in Photoshop that can clean up these problems, but they require skill and practice to get good results. Use this exercise to get started with the following tools (you may use more tools if you like):
Smudge Tool Smudging can be used to "average" colors in an area. Blur Tool Softens the edges of blemishes to make them less apparent; an alternative to smudging. Dodge Tool Lightens dark spots; bleaches or streaks hair. Rubber Stamp Tool Copies "good" portions into "bad" areas; perhaps the most useful of the "repair" tools. Tips:
- View the Brushes pad so you can choose the size and edge effect of your tools
- Zoom in to work on the area you're repairing, but zoom out to see how your work looks at normal viewing size
- Make notes of which tools you found most useful for your purpose(s)
Save your repaired image with a different Photoshop file name.
Step 9: Show the results to the
class Unless your instructor directs you to submit your work in a different way, this exercise is completed by showing the results to the class at a scheduled time. Notes:
- Plan to take no more than 2-3 minutes to show your pictures; otherwise, the show-and-tell gets long and boring!
- Be ready to bring your Zip or diskette to the projecting machine when called on, to reduce everyone's waiting time.
- Open all the images for the project at once in Photoshop - this saves a lot of time! (Instructor will demonstrate how.)
- Start with the original image, and plan to show each image for about 10 seconds unless someone has comments or questions. You should be showing these 9 or 10 images:
- One or more originals
- Cropped and reduced version
- Feathered oval
- All 5 of your best filtered versions - mention which filter you applied
- A "repaired" image - tell which tools you used
- Close each image after you've shown it, to prevent confusion.
Audience: This is for people who know how to use computer
application software, and want to learn more about Photoshop.
Objectives: When you successfully complete
this lesson, you will be able to...
About this document...
Module D13h: This document is part
of a modular instruction series in computer technology. For more information,
see the overview
or the list of modules in this series, D: Desktop Publishing
and Computer Graphics. This document has been used in the following classes:
INP 143 Imaging for the Web.
