Creative Art & Photography » Art

What is Photomanipulation?

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:37:45 +0000

Although you will constantly hear photographers scold and nag about the photomanipulation process, it is actually one that has been used for many years, and one which is able to offer a variety of benefits. It has also existed throughout the art of photography in many different forms, including everything from different angles, how to use different lights and settings, hiding imperfections, and so on.

Especially in the situation we live in today, where everyone and everything is expected to be 100% perfect, like in the magazines that glaze back at us from the shelves, photomanipulation has been playing an incredibly large role.

What is it?

Photomanipulation is basically the art of taking a normal photograph and then manipulating it the way that you want it, namely through use of a computer and various tools and applications on the computer. Photomanipulation modifies photographs either by analog or digital means, and is also commonly referred or related to what is known as ‘Photoshopping’, which is the slang term for the digital editing of photos, and although it is not directly aimed at the Adobe Photoshop application, it was named after it. Adobe’s Photoshop is only one of the big bunch of the many different digital editing apps that are available however, and for example there is Corel PhotoPaint, Paint Shop Pro, and even Paint, although this is one of the less advanced programs and is rarely used in the photomanipulation processes of today.

Ethics

There has been a lot of controversy surrounding the issue of photomanipulation, and although there are definitely many people who have good, positive things to say about it, there are also those who feel that there are concerning issues surrounding it. For example on the covers of mags, when celebs’ heads are pasted onto different bodies (think Oprah), this in the past has stirred up a lot of mumbo jumbo. One situation wa when the O.J. Simpson trial was taking place and the Newsweek magazine posted his mug shot as their magazine cover picture, while Time Magazine posted the exact same picture only used photomanipulation to alter it, and ended up making Simpson appear much darker than he was in the actual picture, and as well they removed the serial number and darkened the area around him. The Reuters’ Lebanon incidents (they photoshopped in burning buildings and extra rockets) is just another prime example.

The ironic part was that the magazines ended up side by side on a newsstand, and it was incredibly clear what a significant amount of photomanipulation had taken place in Time’s version of the photograph.

Journalism is just one area using a great deal of photomanipulation, and fashion mags are definetely dominating the list as well. One of the biggest problems with these photomanipulated photographs is that they alter the opinions and views of the public who, for the majority of the time, have no clue that the particular photo was even altered at all. Therefore there really needs to be certain standards set in the field of photography when it comes to something such as photomanipulation.

Author Info:

Domen Lombergar uses photo manipulation to create his canvas art prints and also runs a digital photography community.

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Selecting Your Art Easel

admin — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 07:59:10 +0000

If you’re an artist along with your palette and brush your easel is the most important equipment you have. It could be considered the very backbone of the painting process.

The easel may seem trivial in that it only holds the canvas, however no artist starts without one, unless of course the work that is being done on a medium other than canvas. Something like a wall or mural.

An easel is the apparatus that you’ll find in the studio of every artist and is used to display or hold up the canvas.

It works by providing a tripod that can be manipulated to obtain a virtually any desired angle when painting. For example, if you choice of angle is the watercolor angle, which is 35, then the easel can be adjusted to that exact angle.

Just like most other products of this nature easel prices vary greatly. You’ll want to choose the of that best fits the type and style of art you paint. You should choose your easel based on it’s ability to suit your own needs and nothing else.

The easel you select should be sturdy enough to endure the wear and tear of fairly constant use. Brass, steel, or aluminum easels are recommended. Wood easels are the classic standards, however after a short time of constant use wooden easels tend to show signs of aging and tear.

Table top easels are small, compact, foldable, and easily used virtually anywhere. However it’s lack of bulk in size unfortunately means it’s not an easel that can be counted on for long term stability. Also if you enjoy standing up you’ll probably find the table top easel more than a little inconvenient for ongoing daily use.

Studio easels are generally the choice of professional artists. They are big and are able to accommodate a much larger canvas. They are floor standing fixtures that are known for having great stability and durability. You should be aware though, they are not portable. These easels are pricey, and heavy. But if you are dead set on painting professionally or on working on large canvasses, this is the easel for you.

Because it will be such a constant fixture in your daily life as an artist selecting the proper easel is a very important step in enjoying painting as a job or as a hobby. Choosing the wrong one will inconvenience you or and make you feel uncomfortable while you work. A condition that is clearly detrimental to creating your art.

Time invested initially selecting your easel pays off handsomely in your future as an artist.

Author Info:

Easel
Easels Online is home to Easel Society, the #1 online store for people who want the best when purchasing an easel. Easels online carries hand crafted American made children’s easels, artist easels, and display easels! Its clear to see why the professionals choose Easels Online for all of their easel needs.

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The good and bad in the Evolt 510 Digital SLR

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 10:49:30 +0000

The new Evolt 510 is a great camera for its price. Continuing on Olympus successful Evolt 410 the Evolt 510 brings more features and fixes some bugs found in the Evolt 410. Here are some random good and bad things found in the Evolt 510.
There is no doubt that two of the good things about the Evolt 510 are its well spoken of features the image stabilizer and the live LCD view. The image stabilizer implemented in the Evolt 510 is an in-body image stabilizer that can work with any lens that is mounted on the camera. Although not the same quality as gyro-optical based in lens image stabilizer the Evolt 510 image stabilizer can help turning many of those blurry photos into sharp and crisp professionally looking digital photos.
The live LCD view on the other hand will help you take pictures in conditions where the optical view finder can not be used. There are many angles and compositions that can be very compelling and are executed with the camera far form your face and your eyes. With the live LCD view you can now hold the camera farther from your body while composition a photo by simply looking at the live video stream on the camera color LCD screen.
One of the problems with the Evolt 510 is the lack of a focus ring or focus buttons on the lens. Many times when you have to use manual focus using a focus ring is the natural thing to do. The next best thing are buttons on the lens. Both are not available with the Evolt 510.
Another Evolt 510 problem is its interface to the advanced features. If you are a professional photographer and need to often set the advanced features then the Evolt 510 is not your best choice as you would waste time going through many menus. It would have been nice if the Evolt 510 had macros or shortcuts to get to those settings.
The Evolt 510 also has problems with white balancing. In extreme conditions the camera white balance can be off and result in wrong colors. The Evolt 510 auto focus is slow and although the focus eventually is set right the slowness can be annoying and sometimes you might be losing a photo opportunity.
The Evolt 510 is bigger than its ancestor the Evolt 410 and also has an additional grip which makes holding it easier and taking pictures more stable. The extra grip is also rubber coated which further helps in keeping the camera stable. One of the weird design flaws of the Evolt 510 is that its weight is not balanced. When holding the camera it feels like it is leaning to the side where the battery and memory card are. Although it sounds like a minor problem when using the digital Evolt 510 SLR for a long day of photo shooting this can get annoying and after a whole day of work also put more stress on your hand as it needs to constantly compensate for that imbalance.

Author Info:

Jacob Georgeson writes the digital world and business. Jacob Georgeson is an amateur photographer and business guru. Visit Olympus Evolt E510 10MP Digital for more information about this and other topics. This article can be published as long as the resource box including the backlink is included.

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Digital Camera Buyers Guide

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 23:43:04 +0000

Time to get started on this topic. Take a few moments to read every aspect of this paper hopefully it will be of great help.

We use cameras to take pictures of a diversity of things. These can be special events in our lives or marvellous sights that we want to see time and time again. To take these pictures we can use a diverseness of cameras. These can be of the normal cameras where you wait for the picture to develop or they can be digital cameras. To buy a good calibre digital photographic camera these days it helps to look at a digital photographic camera buyers guide.

There are many unlike types of digital photographic camera buyers guide magazines that you can buy. While they will look unlike in styles and formatting they are all configured to help you select the best digital photographic camera for you. These digital camera buyers guides should not be that expensive and sometimes you can get one for free with a picture taking magazine.

When you look at a digital camera buyers guide cover you will be able to see the versatile products that will be reviewed and if they can be of any use to you in your photographic pursuits.

You will be able to see purchasing selective information about digital cameras, compact cameras, camera printers, lenses and some of the accessories that are requisite for photography. You will also see the types of digital cameras that are presently hotӔ.

You can also find tips for purchasing these cameras as parts of kits in the digital photographic camera buyers guide. The table of contents of the digital camera buyers guide will show you the main articles and product features that you can expect to read about when you buy this magazine.

Sometimes you will get worthful purchasing data about the newest digital cameras and the best types of camera lens. These articles will cover in-depth the assorted features and procedure abilities of the unlike devices. You will be able to see which digital and compact cameras are well thought out to be good value for your money and what you can expect to see from these products.

With a digital camera buyers guide you will be informed about the cost of the different compact cameras, digital cameras, lenses and even the latest photographic camera printers. Also looking at the purchasing advantages and prices of these products a digital camera buyers guide will also let you know what are the high end digital cameras and what can be reasoned as bargains… to find more on this subject, please check our web site by clicking on our link below…

I hope you enjoyed reading this article and found the information useful and interesting.

Author Info:

Michael Malega presents several Digital Camera Buyers Guide articles for your information. You can visit Michael’s web site at: Digital Camera Buyers Guide www.canon-cheap-digital-cameras.com/Digital-Camera-Buyers-Guide.php

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Free Photo Editing Glossary

admin — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 03:57:46 +0000

Learning to use new technology is always a confusing experience. They are often full of complex jargon and you may feel lost without some kind of reference. If youre interested in trying your hand at editing photos in order to share them online, then read on for some definitions of common terms you might find.

Cloning Tool

A cloning tool is a basic copying tool that allows you to copy a part of an image to essentially create a ғbrush. Once youԒve copied the part of the image that you want, you can just use your mouse to paint that same like you would draw a line in a basic paint program. This is most useful when you have a specific texture that somehow ended up with some sort of blemish. You can simply paint over the blemish and, if done correctly, it will look like the natural texture. Some software programs have a feature that can automatically do this for you.

Fill-Flash

Fill-flash is sometimes referred to as a highlight or shadow adjustment tool. This tool can help you fix a photo in which the background is too dark, or the subject of the photo is too light (or vice versa). As with the cloning tool, many software programs have an option to perform this automatically for your convenience.

Adjustment Layers

Adjustment layers are a fairly advanced feature that allows you to edit a photo with affects without actually altering the photo itself. That is, instead of making changes to the picture itself, you create additional layers that are superimposed on top of the standard picture. You can edit the main photo or any of the additional layers at any point, or even delete the extra layers without affecting the main picture. Depending on what software youre using, you may even be able to adjust the transparency of the extra layers to whatever level you desire.

Type Effects

This term refers to effects that can be placed on text entered on your image. Depending on the type of software youҒre using, you may have to use a text tool to input your text, or you may be able to add text directly onto the image. In either case, type effects allow you to add effects like shadows, 3D effects, warped text, and many more.

Selection Tools

Selection tools are the tools that you use to select a part of an image that you want to manipulate. For instance, basic selection tools might commonly come in shapes like squares or circles. However, there are also advanced selection tools that allow for more unique interactions with the image youre editing. For instance, one type of selection tool might allow you to select all parts of an image that have the same color. Or, for maximum flexibility, you can use a lasso type tool to select exactly which parts of the image you want to work with.

Obviously the world of photo editing is very complex and these are just a few basic terms. If you run across other terms that you donҒt understand, you should just make a backup of your picture and experiment to find out what they do. You may be able to really improve the quality of some pictures and make your online photo sharing experience all the better.

Author Info:
MJ Johnston writes for a variety of websites, including Onlinedigitalphotoprinting.net, a photo site that offers advice on the quickest and easiest way to enjoy online digital photo printing, as well as how to get a free online photo album.

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