Sunday, July 1, 2007

Graphic Design with Photoshop CS

Have you discovered the power of creating fully finished graphics in Photoshop CS? With the ability to incorporate all your image editing, special effects with basic layout tools, you have essentially infinite creative control in one application.

Here's a sample of an ad I did entirely in Photoshop CS2. Normally, I would normally create bitmaps and import them into Quark Xpress for layout, but to get this look, and save a ton of time and aggravation, I did the whole job in PS CS.

One-Stop - Photoshop!
Taking a stock photo, I applied a texture effect to separate it from the more real instrumentation rack. Then, I chopped out the middle for some white space to add the message and added the drop shadows. Determining the best the layout with all the various elements being visible is a real designer's joy. Editing and resizing is so easily done inside PS CS. Color experimentation was another convenience that is not easily done in switching programs and reimporting images, etc. Matching the colorization of the stock image to the text was a snap - another long step in Quark Xpress. And the fact that type is rendered as vector art in PS CS2 now is another big plus!

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Web Design with PS CS
Another well known venue for PS documents is the web. Design consists of creating logos, art, text and supporting images into one document. Layout is accomplished with a series of common elements that appear on each page and content for each webpage. Individual webpage are composed by making approporiate layers visible and saving the composite image as a JPG image. The JPGs are then imported into Dreamweaver or other web editor and treated as typical HTML pages with image links for navigation - simple, flexible, consistent and fun!

The following two samples are websites I designed entirely within PS CS2:


















Integrated Solutions


















Amberwood Custom Homes (still under construction)
In this site, we intend to include slide shows of custom home details and designs for selection and modification by customers.

The advantages of using PS CS is remarkable - every element can be created and manipulated in one document. Future edits and redesigns are easy, and output resolution can be maximized for print or web uses. Why would you use anything else?

Mule

Go Superwide - in Chicago!

Nothing beats a superwide view of life - broad, spacious, landscaping perspectives are always in vogue. Bigger streetscenes and panoramas are just waiting to be captured.

The Sigma 10-20/4-5.6 HSM DC ($499) is a great buy among the current crop of superwides. It ranks high in sharpness compared to similar Tamron and Nikon zooms - with the Sigma being the wider of the bunch. Let's take this superwide to Chicago and see what we can take in...

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The Bean is a huge metallic art form/tourist attraction... intentional distortions are addictive with a superwide. You could shoot here all day!

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Architecture is another subject you won't run out of in Chicago. With the Sigma 10-20, keeping the verticals and horizontals straight will create visually enticing scenes without obvious distortion. Getting creative is not hard work with this great optical value.

Yes, Chicago is a great place to go wide - superwide!

Superwide on the Inside: Custom Home Interiors with Sigma's 10-20 DC HSM

In preparation for a website I was commissioned to build, we shot a custom home interior for a custom home builder. I used Sigma's 10-20/4-5.6 HSM DC with all shot taken at f8 - f10 - the sweetspot for this superwide zoom. While DOF at f8 is not a problem at the 10mm setting, it becomes necessary at 20mm to go up to f16 for maximum depth.

Using your superwide with view camera techniques (swings and tilts), orient the lens to bring the image into proper alignment visually - a planoparallel relationship to the subject is needed to minimize distortion. Further corrections to straighten verticals can be made on the computer where compositions cannot be perfectly attained in the viewfinder. Then, go on to retouching and sharpening.

Fill flash was provided by my SB 600 / SB800 units and Lightspheres - in close quarters these have proven to be really effective where umbrellas are just out of the question as they cannot be hidden easily from the image area or provide the omnidirectional lighting needed for illuminating large spaces.

Without further adieu...

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You don't need to shoot an entire room if you can communicate the purpose of each room with enough details - the sideboard added the details needed in this scene...

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By necessity, I had to retouch out the feet lightstand in the hallway of this image...

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The exaggerated lines in this bathroom scene are almost uncomfortable - I'll let the photo editor decide how much ceiling they would want to show here...

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Some shadows (behind the door and by the nightstand) are needed to prevent the impression of an overlit image. My goal was to prevent the viewer from locating the source or direction of your lighting. I had a magazine editor ask me if I used additional lighting in this series - wow, each one was shot using the Lightshpere. I took that as a compliment!

Mule

A Lightsphere Wedding

As an early adopter of Gary Fong's Lightsphere flash modifier, I have touted its success to photogs looking for a better way to light at wedding and event assignments. In this blog, I include a sample image from a recent wedding that includes a simple but clear example of Nikon CLS lighting.

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Deconstruct
Using the built-in flash as the Commander, you have a 33 foot communication range. An SB800 and SB600 were used on lightstands in Remote Mode and controlled at the camera through the Flash menu. Using the SB800 as a Commander permits control through its LCD interface - easier and quicker but you lose the use of a flash unit if it isn't well placed to light the picture. The built-in flash in this series was actually used to provide some fill at close range but I often turn off this flash and just use it to trigger the Remotes.

Each unit had a Lightsphere attached. I have modified mine with self-adhesive HVAC aluminum tape as shown here. This is to increase output when positioning the flash head straight on toward the subject where no reflective ceiling or wall is available.

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Mounted on Bogen flash satnds, they were positioned in front of the group to the sides and close to the outermost individuals - with the Lightsphere/flash head assembly positioned straight up as Gary Fong recommends. This produces the least amount of shadow and maximum 'wrap' on the subjects. It worked in this instance because...

The Other Modifier
The ceiling was about 10-12 feet high - this is a major factor to consider in regard to light output - higher ceilings will force you to (1) angle the head toward the subjects for more illumination, or (2) raise the flash units up closer to your 'reflector' (ceiling) surface to reduce the length of the light path from the flash to the subject. In this image, they were placed a little over head height to cast shadows down and behind the group. As you angle the flash head more and more toward the subject, shadows will return as an issue to deal with - the Lightsphere only failing.

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This pre-ceremony candid is a great example of 'wrap' lighting where walls aid the bounce effect of the Lightsphere.

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Positioned straight up in close quarters, the Lightshere can use existing walls and ceiling to create a effective softbox effect, like here where we waited for the bride to emerge from a small room into the wedding hall.

Working Within Limits
Setting camera at ISO at 100 often pushes you to shoot near or at wide open with a slow f3.5 zoom - going to a 200 ISO adds a stop of DOF, so these units are working hard to expose well. I always set flash output by +3 in the camera's Flash menu for added available power.