Photoshop

       First, we were divided into groups to take pictures within 20 minutes. We then individually used Adobe Photoshop to edit and produce a thriller poster. I used several tools such as dodge tool, cropping and desaturation to help create my poster.

       It helps to manipulate the image. We used the picture of  Holly standing at the backyard of the house and desaturate the colour of the image into a very dull black and white image. This helped to create an effect of her as a ghost or someone who is dangerous and a serene atmosphere. Using saturation was easy and effective for me because I have used saturation before for my personal pictures and it helped to create mood through colours. I use Lasso tool to help me cut a specific piece of picture which I want to have on my poster.


     Using  Photoshop is hard for me and that is probably because I am not use to the tools and I believe if  I practice often  then I  will be able to use it well. 
However, it is very useful to help create impossible shots for poster and Adobe Photoshop makes it happen. For example, you can't take a picture of human drilling his head and blood squirting out but Photoshop can help us to do that by using Lasso tool, dodge tool and saturation.

        It is also useful when designing posters and DVD covers because it helps us to give us hints on the movie's genre and the plot.

What is Photoshop?
Phottoshop is to alter image (as a digital image) using an image-manipulation computer software. The software which we use here is called Photoshop CS2  and it contains various types of graphic,editing tools that has an ability of changing, manipulating and creating images either from existing photos or even using bits and pieces from different images and combine them into one image.

The basic tools that we use in Photoshoop are :

Clone Stamp Tool

It allows you to duplicate part of an image. The process involves setting a sampling point in the image which will be used as a reference to create a new cloned area.

Aligned-  If this option is selected, the new cloned image will be drawn continuously even if you release the mouse button while drawing. If it is deselected, the clone will begin drawing from the sampling point each time you release the mouse and resume painting.

After going through once more, and spent some time practice using these tools, I began to feel more confident using these tools and began to realise how magical the photoshop is. Although it can be time consuming at times but it makes everything so convenient and extraordinary. For example, you don't have to retake pictures and then stick them together, with Photoshop, you can use Lasso Tool or Clone Stamp tool to help.

This is my new photopshop pic

• Select the Clone Stamp tool , then check the settings in the options bar. Make sure you have a brush size appropriate for the job.

 

                                 Before

            

                              









 After

The Lasso Tools

The lasso tools allow you to select precise areas of an image by drawing or tracing the selection outline. It was one of the first tool which I have learnt to use in photoshop. It is easy to use because it is not complicated as you just have to trace the outline of specific part of the image and cut and paste it.




There are are three lasso tools available:

Lasso Tool

This is a freehand selection tool. Click and hold your left mouse button on the image and draw your selection.

Polygonal Lasso Tool

Similar to the lasso tool, except that instead of holding your mouse button down to draw, left-click on various points to create a selection with a series of straight edges.
You can also hold down the Alt key (Windows) or Option key (Mac OS) to draw freehand sections.

Magnetic Lasso Tool

This is a very handy tool for selecting areas which have reasonably well-defined edges. Left-click at the starting point of your selection and simply move the mouse along the edge.
"Fastening points" are automatically made at various points along the edges. Left-click at any time to add a fastening point manually.

To Complete a Selection

To finish drawing a selection, either click on the selection starting point or double-click anywhere.

Photoshop Healing Brush

This is my favourite tool because it allows you to fix image imperfections such as scratches, blemishes, etc. By sampling the surrounding area or using a predefined pattern you can blend the imperfections into the rest of the image. It is very easy and fun to use too. Thanks to this tool, I now understand how celebrities have such flawless skin.

Note: Use All Layers: If this option is selected, information will be used from all visible layers. Otherwise only the active layer will be used.

Basic Settings: Adjustment Layers

The final basic setting (the circle with a diagonal line through it) lets you decide whether the clone stamp tool should sample adjustment layers when cloning. Adjustment layers, such as Hue/Saturation and Levels, are meant to be a non-destructive way to change the appearance of layers. So, you can make drastic changes to a layer or group of layers without destroying the original pixels.
Because of this, turning on Ignore Adjustment Layers When Cloning is almost always a good idea. This allows you to clone the original image, which can then be affected by an ever-changeable adjustment layer. If you do not choose to ignore the adjustment layer, the adjustment becomes permanent in the cloned areas.
In the layer set-up below, turning on Sample All Layers would by default clone pixels from both the background layer and the adjustment layer in the foreground. Turning on Ignore Adjustment Layers prevents this.