Friday, May 12, 2017

Monday, May 8, 2017

Merger Photo

Merger photo, looks like this:


To make this photo, you will take at least 5 images (you can take as many as you want, as long as you are careful, usually 7 or 8 is about all you can get) of the exact same background, but you will have to physically move around in each image. As you can see above this student took 5 photos and moved from left to right across the background as she went.

Students have done a variety of things through the years of doing this assignment, from spelling out words with their arms (think YMCA), to writing words on a paper and showing a different word in each photo. Also, you should think about how you can position yourself besides across the plane of the photo, think about height and depth as well.

In a blog called Merger Photo, please answer the following questions.

1. Is there something you see in the photo above that you think could be a problem when you take your photos? Look carefully.

2. Where do you think would be a great place to take this type of picture here on the Bowie campus?

3. Can you think of something creative to actually DO in the photo when you take yours?

4. Is there something you could wear that would help you when you do this photo?











Steps to follow during Merger Photo Shoot:

Select a partner. 

Pre-plan with your partner. What are you going to do in each photo? 

Beware of shadows! 

Make sure the camera does not move between each photo. Even a slight jiggle of the camera can throw it off. 

Your merger photo must include at least five different poses.

Merger Photo Photoshop/Submission Directions

SETTING UP LAYERS:

Open each of the photos that you want to merge in Photoshop.

ONE AT A TIME, separate the photos from the bar on top

Starting with the second photo, drag the Background Layer to the first photo. 

Then go to the third photo, drag the Background Layer to the first photo. 

Then go to the fourth photo, drag the Background Layer to the first photo. 

Then go to the fifth photo, drag the Background Layer to the first photo.

USING LAYERS and ERASER TOOL: 

Once you have combined all four layers onto one photo you are ready to begin erasing the background.

Select the Eraser Tool from the Toolbar 

Click on Layer 4 (or the last layer you added to your image) 

Using the Eraser tool, look for the position of your subject on Layer 3 (or the second to last layer you added) and begin to erase where the subject is positioned. YOU SHOULD SEE THE SUBJECT SHOW UP. Erase the entire background fully EXCEPT the original subject.

NEXT, using the Eraser tool ON LAYER 3, you should erase in the area where the subject is on Layer 1 as well as the Background Layer. YOU HAVE TO ERASE THROUGH ALL THREE, R FOUR OR FIVE LAYERS (depending on how many you have) TO SEE ALL FIVE OF THE SUBJECTS IN ONE IMAGE.

NEXT, when you are finished erasing ON LAYER 3, you should erase in the area where the subject is ON LAYER 2. 

Repeat this process until you have finished with all of the layers and you don't see any problems with LIGHTING or ALIGNMENT. 

POSTING DIRECTIONS: 

YOU CANNOT POST A PHOTOSHOP (or .psd) format file to Blogger. You must save your final product as a JPG format. Before you can save your file as JPG, you must FLATTEN your PSD file.
TO FLATTEN: Click on LAYER at the top of your Photoshop Menu Bar and then click on FLATTEN IMAGE.

Save your final product as a JPG with the following format for the name: LastName_FirstName_Merger.jpg. MAKE SURE YOU ARE SAVING AS A JPG FORMAT. 

When you are done POST YOUR MERGER PHOTO on your blog.

GOOD LUCK!

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

Portfolio and Car Raid Extra Credit

FINAL PORTFOLIO

All of the items on this exam appear on your blog and should be archived in your folder on the server. If you are missing any items on the list – on that page please just put MISSING. You will lose points for any missing items, unless you were not in my class at the time of the assignment. If you were not enrolled in my class for any of the assignments, please just put NOT IN CLASS on that page. These are two very different things - missing and not in class....FYI.

If you pull photos directly from you blog - they will be pixelate and you will lose points for each pixelated photo, but if that is the only place you have the photo, you should get something on each page if possible. If you pull photos from your server drive files they will not pixelate and those will be acceptable for this assignment. 

The best practice for sizing images is to use Photoshop to make them fit, but some of you know shortcuts - if you hold the command and shift button at the same time you grab the corner of your photo you can change the size of the photo without making the photo look funny. If you photos look funny (i.e. skinny or fat) you will lose points, so please do this correctly.

Here you go!! Good luck!!

Please launch InDesign

Create a new document

Make the document 21 pages long (unless you have Extra Credit photos, then make it 22)

The document size should be letter size (should be the default)

Place the following items on the correct pages:

Page 1 – name and period number
Page 2 – the first photos you took in my class (at least 2 photos of the 4 or 6 you turned in)
Page 3 – your Happy, Metal, Bowie, Square photos (4 total photos)**We did not do this assignment but you could take these photos for Extra Credit or skip this page
Page 4 – your academic photos (there are 3-5 including the intentional avoiding merger photo you should have taken which shows a merger image)
Page 5 – Mural Project photos (1-3 images, just place your best images here not all of them)
Page 6 – your self-portrait AND portrait (2 photos)
Page 7 – your Cold, Purple, Electric photos (3 photos)
Page 8 – your magazine cover with your portrait - you can copy and paste the .jpeg directly across
Page 9 – your magazine cover with your self-portrait - you can copy and paste the .jpeg directly across
Page 10 - Edge, Tiny, Numbers, Circle (2 photos)
Page 11 - your Yearbook images (at least 2, you may have more include what you want)
Page 12 - Phobia Photos (3 photos)
Page 13 - Footprints, Yummy, Eight, Pause, Pose, Connected, The End (4 photos)
Page 14 – action/motion photos (4 photos)
Page 15 – architecture photos (5 photos)
Page 16 - Student of the month story (just copy and paste into a story box)
Page 17 - Graffiti AND found objects (2 photos)
Page 18 - Infographics (3 .jpegs)
Page 19 - Merger photo (1 photo)
Page 20 - HDR (1 or 2 images)
Page 21 - Extra Credit - Car Raid, Architecture,  2nd Merger, or 2nd HDR images. If you have more than one of these, you may need to add an additional page to this document. Ask for help if you cannot figure it out.
Page 22 (or 21 if you don't have extra credit) – Please answer the following questions, I expect you to write at LEAST 3 sentences for each question so you will have to answer WHY for each of the questions:

1. What was your favorite assignment this year?

2. If you were telling an eight grader about this class, what would you tell them?

3. Which photo that you took was your favorite this year?

4. Why was that photo your favorite?

5. What rules of photography did you follow in that photo?

6. What was your least favorite photo you took this year?

7. Why was it your least favorite?

8. What one thing will you take from this class into the real world with you?

Please convert this InDesign document into a .pdf at the smallest file size and email the entire document to me at bowie.comm.photo@gmail.com. This assignment is due by the end of the semester, you will have two class days to work on the assignment. Grading will basically be 5 points per page.

Extra Credit opportunity below:


Car Raid

Basically you will be writing a story about someone, a personality profile if you will, based on what you find in their car and interviewing them IN THEIR car. The main subject of your story doesn't have to be about their car, but the story should develop from what you found in their car.

Here is the assignment:


This assignment will be DUE on the last day of the semester which is Wednesday, May 24th.

Tuesday, May 2, 2017

HDR Photography Preview

Our next assignment is called High Dynamic Range photography.

Here is information on shooting HDR images:

http://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/what-is-hdr-beginners-guide-to-high-dynamic-range-photography/

And here are some great examples:

http://digital-photography-school.com/19-beautiful-examples-of-hdr-done-right/

http://www.thephotoargus.com/inspiration/50-incredible-examples-of-hdr-photography-done-right/

Next class, if the weather cooperates we will go out and shoot an HDR image together and process it in Photoshop.

On your blog, pick a couple of images you found that were processed in HDR and post them on your blog in a post titled HDR photography.

Please answer the following questions:

1. What manipulations to the camera will you need to make to create an HDR image?
2. What equipment will we use to take this type of image?
3. What is the reason someone might take an HDR image?
4. What can we expect to happen with the images once we merge them together, what will we see that we might not have seen with just one photo?