Name:Euan KearneyPhotography/Photoshop Portfolio

AS Media Production

Unit 2 skills development

AS Media Production

Introduction Project Evaluation

Date:10/9/09

We were given a product and asked to create a means of advertising that product. As you can see from the images, I had no experience using Photoshop, and as a consequence of this, I created the disgraceful posters shown below.This exercise was a good starting point as it allowed us to consider the various aspects of a project, and the planning you need to dedicate to each e.g. Text, imagery, messages etc.

At this stage I was only using basic Photoshop presets Filter>Distort>Twirl. You can see that both backgrounds were created by using simple combinations of presets. By looking at current media products I have been able to learn that these forms of backgrounds are not used often as they do look tacky, and since creating these I have steered clear of using such imagery. It also uses very basic text, with no adjustments having been made. From doing this exercise, I learnt the importance of blending options and character/paragraph toggles.

AS Media Production

We created a Hackney college as a start-up exercise when we began the course. We took around 18 images of someone’s face then combined multiple shots to create one image. This developed my photography skills as it was my first time using an SLR camera, and I got to grips with things like Focus and Aperture. It also worked well as a further introduction to Photoshop where I used the Transform tool to arrange the images.

Date:17/09/10

I also used various tools to create the text shown on the image as a nametag. I used the text tool by typing my name, I then advanced in terms of editing the text

as in my previous encounter using Photoshop I did not adjust the text settings, and it looked to plain. This time round I used blending options to create a blue outline and to give the text face a gradient. I also gave the text a subtle drop-shadow. This is a valuable lesson to have learned as I know use drop-shadows on every piece of text I input as it helps the text blend in with the image and avoids sharp edges being left which look very unprofessional.

AS Media Production

Our task was to create a CD Cover. We were given a band name and a CD name then told to make a CD Cover using nothing but Brushes and text.

Date:7/10/09

I used the site www.brusheezy.com to download my brushes. I was looking for brushes that would produce an outline, and I found the brush named “Voyeurs” which used retro-like outlines of female models. I chose this one as it was the only good quality stencil brush I could find. As you can see from the image, it worked quite well. I learned how to download and install brushes which turned out to be a vital part of my final products.

I used kerning when inputting this text. “THE LETGOS” text has wider spacing than the “Natural Heroes” text. I did this deliberately using the character/paragraphing toggle on Photoshop which allows you to change the character height/spacing (both horizontally and vertically) and many other textual aspects.

AS Media Production

I did this in Photoshop using Kerning and Leading. I did this by typing in the text “Examples of justified text” and then I clicked the character button at the top of the screen (character/paragraph toggle) meaning I was able to change the leading, the kerning, font size/colour, it allowed me to make the text bold/italic etc.

After I created and edited one piece of text, I started on the next and eventually ended up with various different examples of justified text. The image shows the different ways in which justified text can be used, whether it’s wide spacing vertically/horizontally or larger/smaller spaces between letters/words.

There is so much you can do with this tool and it allows you to make subtle changes to a font, meaning that you can Taylor-make text to fit the requirements of your product.

Date:15/10/09

AS Media Production

I used the pen tool to create the path, I then used the convert point tool to smooth the curves as they were angular when I had drawn them. I continued by typing in the text and selecting “Follow path” which made the text follow the spiral path that I had previously drawn with the pen tool.

This is an affective method to have learned as it allows me to create interesting patterns with text, which give you the potential to create interest with something that might not appear interesting in it’s bare form e.g. A large passage of text may be unappealing to a reader, however if you were to distribute that text in an interesting way then the reader may feel more inclined to read the piece, thus understanding the message of the product.

Date:23/09/10

AS Media Production

I took the photo from Google images, opened it in Photoshop, and begun editing the image. I did this by creating a new layer then drawing a path with the pen tool. I used the convert point tool to make the lines into a smooth spiral shape (As demonstrated in previous slide). I then used a brush tool to get the light swirl shape, then created a layer mask. By doing this it allowed me to use the polygon tool to select the parts where I didn’t want the shape to appear, and I used the paint fill to do this. It was important I did this as I was using a flat one-layer-image, so in order to create the 3D effect I desired then I needed to mask the part that would appear behind the basketball player, to give the image depth. I then selected the layer with my shape on and used blend options to create a “glowing” effect. I created a new layer and used a round brush to get the dots, and repeated the process in blend options.

Date:2/10/09

This exercise was valuable experience as it meant I had the chance to edit current image, and an image of high quality as it was taken by a professional sports photographer. I feel that my Photoshop skills developed by having the chance to work on a professional image and experiment with brushes and lighting effects where I created the swirls/dots with a brush and used lighting tools to darken the background, which meant I could place emphasis on the focal point of the image which I had manipulated.

AS Media Production

Date:9/10/09

The shutter speed setting on an SLR camera controls the length of time that the shutter is left open for, controlling the amount of light it will let in – for example, if the shutter speed was ½ a second, then the shutter would open for ½ a second and let in a small amount of light in comparison with the amount of light that would enter the lens if the shutter speed was 3 (3 seconds). I used a shutter speed of 4 seconds when I took the photos shown above.

I had someone flash a torch while I took a photo. As the shutter speed was set at 4 seconds, it allowed the subject to move the torch for up to 4 seconds, and the camera would track/capture the movement of the light. This was interesting to work with as it meant various shapes could be created like the star/smiley face shown above.

It was a valuable lesson to learn as it gave me an idea of how the settings on a camera affected the capture of an image and how to use them in terms of light settings in shoot location and the type of image you want to create. On the whole it gave me an insight into the controls on an SLR and worked as practice when using these controls. This was important as I used the controls over the next few months, and especially in my final products, so it was important that I knew how to work the camera and its settings.

AS Media Production

Date:16/10/09

Broad lighting

Narrow lightingButterfly lighting

Commonly used for glamour shoots. To emphasise feminine features. Two lamps from above, illuminating subject. This form of lighting creates a butterfly-like shadow under the nose.

When the illuminated side of the face faces the camera. Makes subject look less dramatic, and more friendly.

Side of face which is facing away from the camera is illuminated. This makes the subject look sinister.

This was our first time experimenting with different types of lighting. I used Broad lighting which is used to illuminate the side of the face closest to the camera, which creates a more friendly feel than the narrow lighting which has the darker side of the face towards the camera. Lighting is very important as it encourages how the model is received by the audience as it gives them a persona. I am glad we learnt about lighting early on in the course as it meant I could plan which form of lighting I used in my final products.

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The aperture controls the depth of the photo. The higher the aperture the greater the depth of photo.

In the images above I have used aperture to control the depth of field, as you see in the first image the background is blurred and distorted (out of focus) where I used a lower aperture whereas the background is a lot clearer in the 3rd image, where the aperture is larger, increasing the depth of field.

I furthered my knowledge of the camera settings, advancing from the stage I was at when controlling shutter speed in previous slides. It meant that I had a greater understanding of the way an SLR camera works and how to use it to create the ideal settings for the image I wish to obtain.

Date:25/10/09

Aperture F 4.5 F 11 F 29

AS Media Production

Date:2/11/09

I created this image using Photoshop; following a tutorial we were given in class.Within this tutorial I focused mainly on brushes and layers (the distribution and blending options of those layers).

This exercise consisted of taking the various images provided separately e.g. Woman/background(s)/Butterfly shapes and vectors, and combining them to make one final image, shown on left.

Completing this tutorial helped me develop my skills as it involved the use of brushes, developing the little knowledge I had prior to this activity. I learnt the importance of layers, and how great an effect they can have on an image. I also learnt how to use and layer brushes to create a complex image, in this case, brushes were used around the outline of the woman to create the shapes around her.