WEEK 6
PRACTICAL
Cyborg Editing Exercise (Part 1)
This week, Mr, Martin made a demo for us to edit a cyborg. For me, this is a really beneficial exercise due to the fact that Project 2 involves transforming ourselves into a cyborg. The project itself is very intimidating, so I'm grateful for this exercise.
We were tasked to replace a human leg with a bionic one using a picture of a normal girl and a picture of robotic parts. The process of editing are as follows:
LECTURE
Simplified Zone System and Good Exposure
Negatives— Colors are rich and saturated where you expect them to be, and no important areas are washed out or too dark. But it's less obvious what makes a well exposed negative. First, there should be detail in all important shadow areas. In underexposed negatives, shadow areas look clear— detail is absent; there is nothing to print. Information is lost. Shadow detail is extremely important in tonally rich, satisfying fine prints. But shadow areas shouldn't be too dense. If no areas of the negative approach the film base density; if the entire negative is thick, it's probably overexposed.
Slides— The situation is reversed is slides, where overexposure is the cardinal sin. Overexposed areas are washed out and lacking in detail. Slides capture a much smaller brightness range than negatives, hence they require very careful exposure. Some detail may be lost in contrasting scenes, even in well-exposed slides.
Digital— As with slides, overexposure resulting in blocked highlights is the most common problem. Digital sensors are linear, and like all linear devices, they have an abrupt cutoff. According to Kodak Image Sensors – ISO Measurement, when a digital sensor is exposed for an 18% reflectance gray card, 106% reflectance will saturate (reach pixel level 255 out of 255). This can result in blocked highlights in contrasting scenes. Many digital cameras have tonal response "S" curves that reduce the severity of the blocking. These curves are applied when the RAW files are converted. Even so, digital photographers must be ever vigilant; they must pay attention to highlights when setting exposure.
Capture RAW images whenever the lighting is challenging and you want the best image quality. Converting RAW files to standard formats on a computer (off the camera), gives you tremendous control over the results. You can correct color, adjust contrast, and apply tonal response curves. You can also convert to 48-bit color, which allows you to do extensive manipulation (dodging, burning, etc.) without degrading the image or causing "banding."
TUTORIAL
Nothing was done for tutorial this week.
Cyborg Editing Exercise (Part 1)
This week, Mr, Martin made a demo for us to edit a cyborg. For me, this is a really beneficial exercise due to the fact that Project 2 involves transforming ourselves into a cyborg. The project itself is very intimidating, so I'm grateful for this exercise.
We were tasked to replace a human leg with a bionic one using a picture of a normal girl and a picture of robotic parts. The process of editing are as follows:
- Mask out a part of the calf of the girl and patch up the background in a new layer using the skills learnt in the previous exercise
- Mask out the robotic calf and distort it to replace the girl's missing calf
- Add texture and edges (bevel and emboss) to the calf's cross section area
- Add lines using the pen tool to the thigh, fill stroke and load selection
- Apply mask of of the line selection to the main girl photo
- Add texture (bevel and emboss)
Shown below are the before and after photos of the exercise.
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| Figure 1.0: Before Edit |
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| Figure 1.1: After Edit |
LECTURE
Simplified Zone System and Good Exposure
Negatives— Colors are rich and saturated where you expect them to be, and no important areas are washed out or too dark. But it's less obvious what makes a well exposed negative. First, there should be detail in all important shadow areas. In underexposed negatives, shadow areas look clear— detail is absent; there is nothing to print. Information is lost. Shadow detail is extremely important in tonally rich, satisfying fine prints. But shadow areas shouldn't be too dense. If no areas of the negative approach the film base density; if the entire negative is thick, it's probably overexposed.
Slides— The situation is reversed is slides, where overexposure is the cardinal sin. Overexposed areas are washed out and lacking in detail. Slides capture a much smaller brightness range than negatives, hence they require very careful exposure. Some detail may be lost in contrasting scenes, even in well-exposed slides.
Digital— As with slides, overexposure resulting in blocked highlights is the most common problem. Digital sensors are linear, and like all linear devices, they have an abrupt cutoff. According to Kodak Image Sensors – ISO Measurement, when a digital sensor is exposed for an 18% reflectance gray card, 106% reflectance will saturate (reach pixel level 255 out of 255). This can result in blocked highlights in contrasting scenes. Many digital cameras have tonal response "S" curves that reduce the severity of the blocking. These curves are applied when the RAW files are converted. Even so, digital photographers must be ever vigilant; they must pay attention to highlights when setting exposure.
Capture RAW images whenever the lighting is challenging and you want the best image quality. Converting RAW files to standard formats on a computer (off the camera), gives you tremendous control over the results. You can correct color, adjust contrast, and apply tonal response curves. You can also convert to 48-bit color, which allows you to do extensive manipulation (dodging, burning, etc.) without degrading the image or causing "banding."
References:
Koren. N., 2010, A Simplified Zone System for Making Good Exposures, Available online: <http://www.normankoren.com/zonesystem.html> [Accessed 15 July 2020]
TUTORIAL
Nothing was done for tutorial this week.
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