Archive for the ‘101 STUDIES’ Category
Why simulate a seamless backdrop in Photoshop when you have the real thing in the original shot? How does one simulate light on paper? Both of these questions will be answered in the first video tutorial. The second video will describe a technique to eliminate banding at all sizes of output, from web banner to trade show banner, kiss your banding goodbye!
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Before you can isolate an object with a path, you have to be able to see where the anchor points should fall, and which of three types of curve will connect them. Then drag your lever points out to roughly one-third the length of the curve, and voila! Easier than it sounds, watch the video below, then download LADY_FACE.pdf, open it in Illustrator and use your Pen Tool. Good luck!
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I photographed a “cirrus uncinus” cloud last week, which means “hooked curly hair” in Latin. This is one of the pointiest clouds you’ll ever see, and it crops up again and again in the paintings of Dali. When even the clouds seem to point at Jesus, can you be confused about the subject? Dali knew how to control the human eye. He knew how to have one subject. Ask yourself these questions: Do my compositions have one subject?
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One of my favorite pictures is Nighthawks, by Edward Hopper. There’s such a vivid palette of colors that capture the way night really looks. If you look at any Hopper painting, you’ll nearly always notice a geometry that consists of tapering quadrilaterals, usually created by a doorway or a window, or an opening of some sort. The most dominant of these quadrilaterals usually points left. Why?
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Do you know how to use the lens blur filter to create the illusion of depth? Gaussian blur is a good way to visually smooth regions that need smoothing, but it’s NOT very convincing at depth of focus, because it is a “nearest neighbor” blur, rather than a blur based on optics algorithms, which take the entire image into account while calculating regression, and utilize geometries outside the rigid 45 degree constraints of gaussian. At first it is hard to see the usefulness of the lens blur filter, since the interface is slow as molasses…
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Vignettes can emphasize your subject. Here’s an image that could benefit from some contrast, since it is largely comprised of gray tonalities. At the same time, it’s hard to know where to look. Is the subject the teapot on the stove? Is it the tree? I would like to make the tree outside the window my subject, so I can lead your eye to the middle of the frame with this simple conventional photographic device called the vignette. Watch this video to understand how it can be useful.
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There’s a better way to smooth out those wrinkles, and I’m not talking about botox. This is the first of a series about retouching lines on the forehead. I’ve had this concerned look on my face since I was twelve. Here’s how to minimize lines without that costly name brand anti-age serum. If you’re thinking the answer is Gaussian, you’re wrong!
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If I had a dime for every time I had to clip a picture of a man in slacks, I’d be a rich man. The issues with clipping a subject like this are similar to tracing Lake Shore Drive. But before we clip, let’s look at some flaws, and devise a strategy to repair them. Once you have your wishlist for the image, begin with the easiest things for you to tackle.
Read MoreHey! Who clipped a hole in the fence? And why right here? I’ll tell you why, because it’s one of the best skyline vantage points in the city of Chicago. At both dusk and dawn, you’ll see film and television crews getting insert shots for news programs about “the Price of Gasoline” or “the Situation in Chicago”.
Read MoreThis image is the before & after for the “Coke Bottle Project”. I’ll post a number of video tutorials on how this image was created, and how you can create your own nostalgic ad illustration, using your photos as a starting point. The first thing I did when creating the Coke bottle image was to look for a good window. If you have a window in your home that faces North or South, this is preferable. Find a window with few obstructions.
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all contents copyright © 2016 Jay Hagstrom