Digital Photography Class 9

The last of our classroom based class of this term, and indeed the year. Tonight we were looking at resizing images, and the reasons why we might do this.


The size of images we take with our digital cameras are measured in pixels.  So what are pixels? In digital imaging, a pixel, or pel, (picture element) is a single point in a raster image, or the smallest addressable screen element in a display device; it is the smallest unit of picture that can be represented or controlled.


Each pixel has its own address. The address of a pixel corresponds to its coordinates. Pixels are normally arranged in a two-dimensional grid, and are often represented using dots or squares. Each pixel is a sample of an original image; more samples typically provide more accurate representations of the original. The intensity of each pixel is variable. In color image systems, a color is typically represented by three or four component intensities such as red, green, and blue, or cyan, magenta, yellow, and black.

This example shows an image with a portion greatly enlarged, in which the individual pixels are rendered as little squares and can easily be seen.

In some contexts (such as descriptions of camera sensors), the term pixel is used to refer to a single scalar element of a multi-component representation (more precisely called a photosite in the camera sensor context, although the neologism sensel is sometimes used to describe the elements of a digital camera's sensor), while in others the term may refer to the entire set of such component intensities for a spatial position. In color systems that use chroma subsampling, the multi-component concept of a pixel can become difficult to apply, since the intensity measures for the different color components correspond to different spatial areas in a such a representation.


The word pixel is based on a contraction of pix ("pictures") and el (for "element"); similar formations with el  for "element" include the words voxel and texel.


Most pictures that come out of our cameras these days are quite big, and some are about 5mb in size, some may even be bigger. The main reason to resize some of our pictures is for the purpose of emailing them. Quite a lot of us have relatively fast broadband Internet connections, but it is something we shouldnt take for granted, as other may not have. What might take our computers a couple of seconds, might take a computer on a slower Internet connection several minutes to download. So we should really consider shrinking the size of photographs the next time we are going to send a dozen or so images to a friend attached to an email.

For step by step instructions on how to do this in all versions of PaintShop Pro, refer to the notes I gave in previous classes, they can be downloaded by clicking this link.


Next week for our final class, we will be wrapping up warm, and going on a Yuletide outing to take some photographs of the Cardiff Winterwonderland. 


A reminder to those in the group, we are meeting on the steps of Cardiff Museum at 7pm on Tuesday. If the weather is terrible, then we will abandon this, and go to the school instead. I will post on this blog at 6pm Tuesday with a live update as to whether or not we are still going. The students from the group have my mobile number, but those of you who missed class and wish to join us, can email me for my number. 


See you next week!  Ho ho ho!

Digital Photography Class 8

Tonight's class was a continuation of the work we did last week, but taking it a little bit further.
We were using PaintShop Pro's Clone Brush and Scratch Remover to fix issues in pictures. 

Last week's images were scribbled on by me, and the purpose was to remove the scribbling using the Clone Brush. Its an effective way to get used to the way the tool works, afterall we're not likely to encounter anything this bad with our own images.  This week however the images I gave the class, were images were I wanted specific things removed from the photographs. There were nine pictures in total. The time permitted doesnt allow for all nine to be completed in class, but because these images are available online, they are available to be downloaded at home, should anyone want to carry on with them in their own time.


The pictures can be downloaded by clicking on this link.


The first few images were to remove various objects from the pictures. The first example was to  remove the clock tower from the Roath Park photo. Others included the removal of a Fisherman, a Lifeguard, a load of Swans, a tree and finally a burnt out car on the Knap beach!


The Burnt Car is shown below, and one of the important things to consider when fixing this picture, is the size of the pebbles. When you look at the photograph the pebbles in the foreground are naturally larger than those that are closer to the sea, so when we are using the clone brush, we need to pay particular attention to the 'lay of the land'.  This ensures that the finished picture looks correct, with right sized pebbles where they should be!

The Burnt Car on the Knap Beach - is a good picture to practice on.

Practice makes perfect, and the more you play about with this tool, the better you will become at this. To me, it is one of the most used tools in PaintShop Pro and is very powerful, and gives stunning results if used correctly.


Good bit of advice: Recognise your mistakes as soon as they happen. You will find it impossible to correct if you let the mistakes build up.  Simply click on the Undo button at the top of the screen, or choose Edit and Undo, or alternatively press CTRL and Z on the keyboard.


The remainder of images I had made for download, were images where I wanted the smallest amount of modernisation removed from the pictures. Such as satellite dishes, and that sort of thing. The next step was to make the pictures old fashioned looking, by tinting them with a sepia tone. A very nice touch, is to blur the picture as well. The reason being, is if were are to make people think that the picture is an authentic old fashioned photo, camera's of the day, would not have taken nice crisp and sharp photographs like those of today. So by applying the Blur or Blur More effect gives a very pleasing look to what appears to be an old photograph!


For specific notes on this, click this link. The notes refer to version 8, but should easily translate albeit maybe some slight variations to higher versions such as X3 and X4. They are in Adobe PDF format so you will need to ensure you have Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If you don't, you can get it from here: http://get.adobe.com/reader/

Digital Photography Class 7

Straight onto the the computers tonight! No rest for the wicked.


For class tonight, I had prepared a dozen photographs for the students to 'repair' using the various tools in Paintshop Pro X3.  I had uploaded the images to my webspace, and the first thing the students had to do, was download them from the Internet and save in their 'My Pictures' folder.  Doing this saves me a little time, in that I dont have to copy the files to individual computers, or get the school technician to put the files in the students folders, and it has the added benefit that if the students have Paintshop Pro at home, they can download the pictures on their own computers and carry on at home at their own pace.


As I mentioned, there were twelve images, and I mentioned to the group that they were not to worry about the amount of images that were their, and that I would much prefer to see 2 well done images at the end of the class, rather than 10 badly rushed ones.

Tonight's Exercise (in PDF format, so you'll need Adobe Reader to view it)

For those not in class today, you can download the Exercise sheet by clicking on the image above, and if you haven't got a copy of PaintShop Pro at home, you can download a trial version from the following website:


http://www.corel.com/corel/product/index.jsp?pid=prod4130078&cid=catalog3550067&segid=2500058


Click here for the sample files from class, and you can have a go yourself at home.

Click on the Video above to see some of the new options in Corel's new Version X4 of PaintShop Pro.

It is time limited to about 30 days, but it will tide you over till Santa can get you a copy, so get it on your Xmas lists! ;)


The Exercise Sheet contained various images, with perhaps scribblings on that needed to be removed, or some specific instruction to what needed doing. For example their was a photograph of a new Lotus Evora, and it had advertising written down the side of the car. The exercise was to remove the text off the car. Another was a snowy hillside, and the task was to remove the sledgers from the image, and so on.


With a few teething issues, which is only to be expected, the results from tonight's session were really good. The whole group did a very good job indeed - well done everyone!


For those that asked about additional pages for their Student Folders, you can find them by clicking on the link below.


Click here for Student Diary files, and click on the ones you need.


Finally, here are some pictures from the class tonight! Enjoy them.

Hard at work on the computer!

Great job of fixing the photograph of the Rose!

Huw and Colin discuss techniques to correct their images.

Busy editing images, absorbed in the tasks!

All in all, it seemed to be a very enjoyable class. Time certainly flied by, and from what I gathered, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. More Photo Editing fun next week....be sure to check back to see what we get up to!

Digital Photography Bonus: Fireworks

For those out and about this weekend, either hoping to take pictures at an organised Bonfire Night display, or perhaps your own Fireworks party in your back garden, taking some advice from the below website may well assist you in getting the best results in your photographs!

11 Tips for Sparkling Fireworks Photographs

Enjoy, and be sure to Follow the Fireworks code!

Digital Photography Class 5

Welcome back after the Half Term break!  Doesn't time fly? Class Five already!


Tonight's class started off quickly with a round up of the student folders, just so that I can cast my eye over them, and to make any comments. This keeps the people in charge happy, and also ensures that we have something to show the moderators of the centre should they wish to see examples of what the students do in the school.  So that's why it's important to keep your folders. Anyway, more about that in class next week.


The main focus of tonights session was our first look at Paint Shop Pro on the school computers. It was a demonstration of version thirteen of the software which it's full title is Corel PaintShop Photo Pro X3.

The main reason we tend to use Paint Shop Pro as opposed to the industry leader Adobe Photoshop (which quite a lot of people rave about) is that firstly, it's relatively inexpensive, and secondly it is so much easier to use that Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. I say this with experience of both products. I have to use Photoshop on my Mac computer at home as there isn't a version of Paintshop Pro available.  So for me, and those of you with Apple computers, you have no choice in the matter, it's Photoshop or nothing.

Anyway, from teaching photo-editing for several years now, if there is something most people want, is to be able to do things as simple as they possibly can. They are not interested in long-winded processes or ways to do things, and again having used both products, PaintShop Pro wins hands down....it is so much easier to use - fact!

To purchase this for your computer at home you can click on the link below, and it will take you to Amazon's website. You haven't got to go to Amazon, but it's simply a guideline to how much it costs, and at the end of the day, they are a reliable company to deal with.

PaintShop Pro X3 - from Amazon only £17

There is a newer version X4 available, but you will find version X3 more than adequate, and much cheaper.  Those on a budget, or who tend to just look for the ultimate bargains, will find copies of Versions 9, 10, 11 and 12 elsewhere online for even better prices, such as on eBay for an example.


The notes I currently use are for version 8 of PaintShop Pro, and everything in them is directly compatible with the later versions. In due course I will replace them with newer updates, however you should not be concerned by this fact as everything in them is the same in version X3. So don't panic.


Click on the link below to download a set of my notes on PaintShop Pro. There are only 11 pages, so I would highly recommend you printing these out.


PaintShop Pro Notes - PDF format


There is nothing worse than reading page after page of text, people like to see pictures with simple instructions. Here are some examples of what the notes are like:

The above screen shows what each of the tools do, and how to access them. Tools that are in the same location no matter the version of PaintShop Pro you have.

The above example shows the page for Resizing pictures, with clear simple instructions on exactly what to do.

There are many books on the market for PaintShop Pro, but I tend to find that with these simple notes to get you going, and the other things you will pick in class, you shouldn't need to spend a fortune on literature, you'll become familiar with it very soon!

Next week, I will be setting some exercises, a letting everyone have a go on the computers!