Adobe Photoshop Induction - Session 1

--> In this first session we started off by looking at how we could manipulate the photo by changing the brightness and the contrast.
This process can be done in several ways, but the most effective and professional way to change the photos brightness and contrast I through adapting the levels.
In Adobe Photoshop this is a destructive process. This means that once the process has been completed and the file has been saved it is impossible to return it to its original brightness and contrast.

The second focus of the session was looking at colour and how the format needs to be changed depending on what the image is going to be used for.
If the image is to be used on screen and digitally it should be in the RGB colour mode (Red/Green/Blue). If the image is to be printed, however, it must be in the CMYK colour mode, Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Key(black). It needs to be in this mode as these are the colours of ink that are used to print.
If you are printing and image that has been designed for digital use and has not been converted then it will not print the exact colours that it appears on screen.
In Adobe Photoshop it is possible to view what the image will look like when printed in both the RGB and the CMYK colour modes. This is done through using the software’s ‘proof colours’ tool.
There are other elements of the software that aid in identifying the areas that will print correctly and the areas that need adapting. ‘Gamut warning’ highlights all colours that are outside of chosen colour range, showing which parts are possible to print and which are not.
By changing the hue and the saturation we are able to adapt the image to make it printable. This process, however, changes colour of the image. In the case of the example we were using it changed the colour form and electric blue to red.

Returning to the first process we looked at, we investigated how we could select sections of the work that we want to be affected by the changes we are making. This allows us to lighten and/or darken certain parts of the image without affecting the whole photograph. This is done through a process called ‘Layer Masking’. This is done by adding a ‘vector mask’ and then drawing the area that you do not want to be effected. This process also enables us to highlight shadows without effecting the rest of the image.

The final part of the session looked at how we could get Adobe Photoshop to do the work and processes for us.
We focused on creating a panorama image by simply importing the photographs into the software and getting Adobe Photoshop to do all of the joining for us. It is done by locating ‘Automate’ and ‘Photomerge’, importing your images, selecting the right instructions – for example, you must check that the correct boxes have been ticked:
- blend images together
- vignette removal
- geometric distortion correction (perspective)
Once this has been done you just need top wait for Adobe Photoshop to process the photos.

All of the photographs used were gathered from external sources and are not mine.