Uncropped
Cropped
Some thoughts by Genevieve Shiffrar, College of Letters & Science web developer, May 2001
Photoshop has lots of tools. Generally, the better the picture, the less need to Photoshop it. Let's touch on the minimal Photoshop modifications one can make to an already-great picture for web application.
Cropping
Uncropped |
Cropped |
A lot of other things were done to the original image on the left to the final image on the right, but the cropping created the final composition. This image was made for a specific location on a web page. The subject looks out of the image's edge and to the other elements on the page.
Defining the edge: Dodging and Burning
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| Wisconsin, 1979 Ken Josephson |
Photographers are taught to "burn" the corners of an image, ie darken them, to keep viewer's eyes within the picture plane. Here, the entire bottom edge is burned a lot.
An alternative to or supplement of burning the edges is making a border with the line tool.
Defining an edge is often especially important in web applications when the image sits on a page and must relate to the other elements.
Adjustment Layers
Use these always-adjustable layers to set highlights and shadows, contrast, color balance. Generally, you will want to crank up the contrast a bit for the web to deal with low-res environment.
Sharpening and Blurring
Sometimes, you have to use an image that is busy. You can use the sharpening tool on the main subject to bring it forward and the blur tool on the remainer of the image to receed the distracting stuff to the back.
The Unsharp Mask is important whenever you have resampled an image, reducing
total file size.
Filter -> Sharpen -> Unsharp Mask allows you to adjust the function.
Blur tool can simulate shallow depth of field in a film camera.
Composition page Digital Cameras Page
Photo credits: For better or worse, I took the color photos. Most black and white images from the catalogue of the corporate collection of Consolidated Freightways, Inc. (Truckers rule!)