steph manipulation of photographs

This was the original photograph that I took. I decided to take this photograph as I wanted a side-on image for use within the Double

Page Spread of my magazine. I used various lighting targeted at the artists face, as I felt this would

highlight and distinguish the artists face more than the rest of the

photograph, thus drawing attention to the artists expression. I liked the photograph, but I felt that certain aspects could be enhanced for a

more professional looking image. Therefore, I decided to edit the

image so that all features of the photograph collaborate more

effectively together.

The first step in editing my photograph was to alter and

enhance the colours in the photograph. I inserted the RAW

image into Photoshop, and began by increasing the Red and Yellow

aspects of the RGB colour spectrum. This added a slight hue of pink to the photograph, which I felt would work well with the Eastern parasol. Then, I

increased the brightness of the image and slightly increased the contrast to create a brighter and

more appealing image. I also created an overlay of lilac onto the artist’s

iris, which altered the colour slightly to fit in with the image’s colour

range.

Next, I decided to focus on several imperfections within the photograph

and alter them to create a more professional image. This included

the removal of the shadow created by the parasol by painting over the

shadow with the colour picked from the background. Then, I decided to

change the colour of the artist’s lips. This was because I felt that the

artists features would look better if they were more defined, as they

were quite pale and blended in with the light coloured background. I

achieved this by creating an overlay layer of colour #c34e3e with an

opacity of 70%.

This was the final image result. The last steps that I took to edit the

photograph was to alter some minor aspects of the photograph. I slightly changed the artist’s fringe to make it more straight, as there was a minor

wave in it. I did this by using the clone stamp tool within Photoshop. I

also used the same technique to darken the side of the artist’s hair to make it more distinguished against her skin. Finally, I smoothed out the colours of the background to create

a more monotone background, subsequently drawing attention to the artist. I like the final image, as I

feel the colours all work well together as they are variations of a

common shade of pink/purple.