Digital Scrapbooking and Photography

Bump It Up...30 Second Photo Fix

Bump It Up….Thirty Second Photo Fix

So you took a picture and despite your best attempts making sure your settings were correct you ended up with something that looks much different than what the human eye was seeing at the time of the photo was taken.

In this tutorial we will take a basic & quick look at what you can do by bumping your Levels in Photoshop CS2 with the help of the Histogram. You can access the Histogram in your image editing software as well as on board your digital Point & Shoot camera as most digital cameras on the market now have built-in Histograms to help you see the Exposure/Tonal Range of the photo as the camera is reading it, thus giving you an edge to make some adjustments to correct for improper exposure before you take the photo. And, fear not if you don’t have PSCS2, pretty much every image editing software package offers the ability to tweak your Levels and access the Histogram for your Post Production Processing. So, let’s get this photo tweaking show on the road.

Saving The Overexposed:

OK, so, for this example you don’t need the Histogram to tell you this shot is Overexposed (OE). So OE there are areas that are “blown” which means the details are lost and can’t be recovered during Post Processing (PP). Luckily for me, the blown area of this shot doesn’t effect the outcome b/c it’s not the focal point of the picture and is just in the reflection of the cellophane wrapper towards the bottom of the photo.

Notice on the Histogram all the information is skewed heavily to the right which indicates OE. Or if you have a lot of whites/lights your Histogram will skew to the left. If the Histogram was in reverse & the info was skewed heavily to the right the photo would be Underexposed (which is sometimes a good thing) or contain a lot of darks or black.

Let’s do some tweaking……

In Photoshop we will be using “Adjustment Layers” so  we make all our adjustments to a separate layer above our original & don’t actually damage the original image. In your Layers Palette click on the Half White/Half Black circle to create a new Adjustment Layer. A pop-up menu will appear – click “Levels” and a window will open with a Histogram where we will do our tweaking.

In the Channel Drop Down box you’ll see a list of Options which are: RGB, Red, Green & Blue. First we will tweak our Reds.

Now onto the tweaking of our Green Channel.

Now let’s move to the Blue Channel.

I moved the Blues just a hair to give them a tiny bit more lightness. Also, take notice of the Histogram in the upper right corner and how it is slightly more evened out with each Channel we tweak. It will remain heavy on the right side because of the many light colors in the photo itself. Now we will just finish up with our RGB Channel for one last tweak.

And finally, the RGB Channel Tweak.

So with the above tweaks to Levels, this Overexposed photo has gone from blah to wow in less than 30 seconds thanks to our handy Histogram!

Before:

After:

If you go back and look at each screen shot as we bumped the Levels you will see the main Histogram window changing slightly to represent a more even photo & color information. By this happening our photo looks much better exposed and has much better color distribution through out.

Keep in mind that while my personal preferences lead me to like the end result of this photo tweak, there may be many who say it’s all wrong and not “correct”. Being the project I made at Silver Bella is at my house I know what the true in real life colors are and what the blues should look like to best represent the “real thing”. Also, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and depending on your personal style & tatstes you may like a very dark photo for added drama or a light photo to convey a happy & light feeling….it’s all up to you and your tastes. Now go get into your image editing software and start bumping those levels…you will be shocked at what you can do in less than a minute.

A little tip for using the Histogram on your camera. Having your photo slightly Underexposed is much better and forgiving than having it Overexposed as once those details are blown out you can not get them back. But, if your photo is Underexposed, more often than not that information & detail can be brought back to life by lightening the photo up a little….

Don’t be afraid of not doing it right, just get out there and create, it should be fun & reflect who you are, not what everyone else is doing.

You can download a PDF of this tutorial for easy reading and future reference right here:

Download jayner_61608sisbump_it_up.pdf .

Have fun and feel free to PM me with any questions you may have.

~jayne

a.k.a. NellieRose

SMASHUP Tutorial: Cute Canvas Tote Bags

Hybrid Totebag Tutorial
by Audrey Neal

Even though we usually do a big grocery store run on Saturday or Sunday, it never fails that we end up needing one or two things here and there throughout the week. Instead of amassing another pile of plastic bags, why not make a great little totebag – with a “Go Green!” reminder – to carry your groceries when you’re just grabbing a few things?

 

Supplies:

totebag, ribbon, iron-on letters (March Style Phyle)

“Apple of My Eye” digital kit

iron-on transfers for dark fabric (Avery)

buttons (3 brown, 11 red)

embroidery floss (white, brown, red)

 

Instructions:

1. Open a      new blank file with the following specs:

width: 11 inches

height: 8.5 inches

resolution: 300 ppi

color mode: RGB

background: transparent

2. Open      the school paper and drag it onto your blank document * see picture below
3. Now      we’re going to make a quick scallop border. Create a new layer      (Ctrl+Shift+N) on top of your school paper. Select a 300 pixel brush and      make 5 overlapping dots, then duplicate this layer (Layer>Duplicate      layer, OK). Move the layer over so that it lines up with the original      layer. Repeat until the line of dots is as long as your background layer.      Arrange your scallop along the top border of your paper. (screen2)      Duplicate it twice and arrange these borders along each side. Make sure      your top scallop layer (in your layers palette) is highlighted, and then      merge the 3 scallop layers (Ctrl+E on each layer). Make sure that you      don’t merge the scallops with the background paper.
4. Open      the red dot paper and drag it above your scallop border. Click Ctrl+G to      group it with your border, then Ctrl+E to merge the layers.
5. Open      the green circles paper. Select your Magnetic Lasso Tool. Starting about      halfway down the page, drag your lasso tool along the circle shapes. As      you move across the page, angle farther down so that you are creating a      sloped background. Once you get to the other side of the paper, trace up      along the upper edge of your paper. (screen1)
6. When      you get back to your starting point and click, “marching ants” will appear      around your selection. Click “delete.” Click Ctrl+D to deselect the image.      If necessary, take your eraser tool and erase any stray portions of the      image. Drag and drop the green paper onto your school paper. If you      choose, use your Magic Wand tool to select the black lines in your green      paper and then click “delete.” This will remove all the black lines in the      pattern.
7. Open      the tree stickers and drag them onto your paper. Arrange them to your      liking and add a slight drop shadow if necessary. Repeat with the      sunflower stickers.

**Note: To add drop shadows:

Under “Styles and Effects” on the right side of your screen, make sure “Drop Shadows” is selected from the drop-down menu. With the layer you want to shadow highlighted, click on the “Low” shadow box. A small symbol that looks like an “f” inside a circle will appear next to the layer name. To adjust the shadow, double click on that symbol. I prefer to use a distance setting of 4 to 5 pixels, rather than the default of 21.

8. Open      the red label and drag it onto your paper.
9. Open      the staple and drag it on top of the label. Position it where you want it      to go, and then merge it with the label (Ctrl+E). Duplicate the label      three times and arrange as shown.
10. Select      your type tool and position it on top of one of the labels. Choose your      font and size, then type your text. I used the font “1942 report” and      typed the

    New England

    proverb: “Use it      up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.”
11. Open      the blackbird sticker and drag it on top of one of your labels. Add a      slight drop shadow.
12. Flatten      the image and save it.

Print the image onto your transfer paper, making sure to follow the manufacturer’s instructions. Apply the iron-on to the totebag as directed.

Add the iron-on letters. You’ll want to remove the letters from their protective backing, because the paper will otherwise stick to the first iron-on. With careful attention, these letters will peel directly off the backing; just place them where you want them to go on top of the background image. Once your letters are arranged, cover them with a sheet of tissue paper (you might want to use a couple of additional sheets to cover the entire image, just for the sake of being careful) and apply steady pressure with a hot iron. After 1-2 minutes of pressure, remove the iron and let the image cool before removing the tissue paper.

Embellish with ribbon, buttons, and additional stitches.

A great variation of this project would be to print each component (trees, flowers, frame, labels, etc) onto printable fabric, and then applique it onto the totebag.