|
|
|
Channels:
|
Search for:
|
Author: Scott_Burkett, Contributing Editor
 | If you find yourself struggling to capture images which show your paintings lined up appropriately, don't fret! Here's another technique I've used. Put your paintings on the ground, and stare straight down on them with your camera.
In the image to the left, I've taken two paintings that were done on small canvas panels and placed them in the lid of a banker's box. This allows you to carry them around without fear of smudging them if they are still wet. Oh, and make sure your feet are well out of the way. :-) |
 | If you are working outdoors to begin with, take a shot of it right on the easel! Of course, provided no direct sunlight is interfering. The painting on the left was done outdoors, but was painted from memory, not from what was in front of me. |
| Tip: I usually take up to 10 different shots of the same piece. That way, I can choose the one with the best representation of my work, and crop it accordingly to get rid of the brick walls, the ground, etc. Sometimes, what you see through the lens, and what you end up with on your computer, are two different things. :-)
Once you have some images that you are fairly satisfied with, dump them off to your computer. Don't worry, the hard part is over with! Capturing the images to begin with is much more difficult than cleaning them up for presentation on the web. Everyone uses a different set of programs and tools for image editing. And not everyone has the same type of computer (i.e. PCs vs. Macs, etc.). However, most good image editing programs have the same basic features. If you aren't using the same tools I am demonstrating with, just poke around in your own image editor for the same functionality (the help feature usually reveals a lot). The tools I use are: Photoshop This program is the de-facto standard when it comes to image editing. It can cost you a pretty penny (several hundred dollars the last time I checked). The great thing about PS is that once you have it installed, you pretty much have the same image editing abilities as the professional design shops. Photoshop is available for both the Macintosh and the PC. Polyview This is a great program for performing a variety of different functions, including cropping, scaling, and converting images from one format to another. In addition, it has some pretty decent filters for adjusting the brightness, sharpness, and other sundries associated with your images. It also has a nice thumbnail viewing mode, which is great for viewing all of the images you've just taken at once. You can purchase it online for only $25. Frankly, unless you are doing some serious graphic design work, this is a much better tool (in my opinion) than Photoshop. Why? It's cheaper, easier to use, and has most everything you'll need to clean up and edit your images. Check out their web site at www.polybytes.com. I don't believe they offer a Macintosh version yet - but for PC users, this is a fabulous tool. There are a bazillion other tools out there for editing your images, but these are the two that I recommend. |
| Once you have your images dumped onto your computer, you are ready to begin. We'll now discuss some commonly performed tasks, their effects, and how to perform them, including:
|
| Cropping an Image:
Cropping an image is an operation that removes unwanted parts of the image and retains the rest. This is great when you want to remove background objects from a photo of your art. This is one of the most commonly performed tasks you'll need to master. Most image editing programs allow you to "grab" part of the image using a "lasso" or "marquee" type of tool. What you are doing is selecting the areas that you want to keep. Everything "outside" of the selected area will be removed when you perform the actual cropping action. For the specifics, use your image editing program's online help to see the exact procedure. Tip: When saving images that you cropped, be sure to save it as a new file, with a different filename. You always want to keep your original photos around, in case you need them later. Trust me! |
| Quick Jump: | ||||
|
Google Sponsored Links
|
Sponsored Links
|
Featured Links
|
 |
||
|
||
Copyright © 1998-2009, F+W Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. FA |
||
