In workshop 6, we were instructed on the methods of taking RAW file photographs and their usefulness in better capturing detail and improving picture quality. RAW file images are also better for post-production work as they contain more information per pixel than JPGs (more information to manipulate therefore more editing options.) As my phone’s camera is quite a downgrade from DSLR cameras, I will attempt to use a better camera during the week and take some better RAW file photos so that I can edit them and post them here to better improve my research.

Pre-Production

This first image was taken using my Android S8 using a RAW file setting. I thought that the car and the boat were quite dark and not will coloured so I attempted to fix this in post-production. I also felt that there was a general grey undertone to the image so I aimed to improve the vibrance, saturation and contrast using Photoshop.

Post-Production

In post production, using Photoshop, I attempted to brighten the image using the Brightness/Contrast and Exposure adjustment layers. I set the brightness to 24 and the contrast to 19, brightening the image while ensuring the clouds we still visible. I then set the exposure to -0.28, the offset to +0.0042 and the gamma correction to 1.02. To add some colour to the image, I used the Vibrance and Hue/Saturation adjustment layers. I set the vibrance slider to +18, the saturation slider to +20. I then also set the hue to +12, the other saturation slider to -3 and the lightness slider to +3. This brought out the colour of the grass, the boat and the car while subtly brightening the background, thus making the image more aesthetically pleasing.

In today’s workshop, we began practicing with picture editing on photoshop. We used some of the photos taken in the last few weeks of this module to crop, brighten and saturate our images to make them more aesthetically pleasing. I have previously edited photos in photoshop using basic techniques, however, I haven’t previously used adjustment layers.

Image 1

In editing this image, I decided to change the saturation, the vibrance, the brightness and the contrast. Using the vibrance adjustment layer, I set the vibrance to +41 and the saturation to +8, thereby boosting the warm colours in the image. Using the hue/saturation adjustment layer, I further emphasised the intensity of warm colours in the image by setting the saturation to +7 and the lightness to +4. I felt that the image was too dark and that the colours still weren’t as aesthetically pleasing as they could be so using the brightness/contrast adjustment layer, I set the brightness to 43 and the contrast to -17. This brightened the image and drew more of the colours out. I then cropped the image to a 4:3 ratio and moved Rosie to the side to better fit the rule of thirds.

Image 2

My second photo, taken as part of workshop task 1, needed a lot of work as it was not very well lit and was too large to be aesthetically pleasing. I first used the vibrance adjustment layer to edit the images colours. I moved the vibrance slider to -7 and the saturation slider to +4, a slight but noticeable improvement. I then created a brightness/contrast layer. I set the brightness to 49 and the contrast to -11. I then cropped the image using the golden spiral to draw more attention to the construction workers while simultaneously focussing the image onto the building more. In doing so, I believe the image worked better with the story it was linked to.

Aperture is a very useful tool for photojournalists as it allows us to target certain depths of field to focus on, making either the foreground or the background stand out. I aimed to test this by taking photo of my colleague Rosie in a large open space and changing the aperture type so that I could get a high aperture, a low aperture and an aperture between the two. I did so but I slightly skewed the focus on the first image resulting in the van standing out more than Rosie or the building.

My first photo was taken with an aperture of F-5, my second photo with an aperture of F-16 and my third photo with an aperture of F-25. There is a noticeable difference between the photos, as evidenced by the brightness of the image, and the resolution of it’s subjects.