Photoshop Montage

I began this project by downloading the provided files from 3D GameLab, and opening them in Photoshop.  The first step was to combine all of the pictures into the same document, because they were  all initially opened in separate projects.  I did this by creating a new document using a 800x600 image size specific for use on the web.  Once my main document was created I used the Move tool to drag each provided sample photo into my new document, and releasing the mouse.  

Now I had one single Photoshop document with the four individual pictures, but I also noticed I had five different layers indistinctly name layer 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.  I knew this was going to be confusing so I renamed each layer to something I could easily recognize: Background, Hills, Aspen, Stream, and Fence.  When I created my document I used a transparent background, but I knew I wanted to change it by adding some color.  I clicked to select my background layer, then clicked on the Paint Bucket tool to color the entire layer white.  The solid white color seemed a bit too plain, so I added a Pattern Overlay layer Style to the Background layer to give it some character.  I didn't find a pattern I cared for, so I clicked on the small button inside the Pattern Picker box to append more pattern options to the dialogue box.  I finally decided on Canvas for the pattern type.

The photos layered over my background layer looked quite boring because there was no depth to the photos.  I used the Move tool to move my Aspen picture into place, opened the layer style dialogue box and added a drop shadow to give the photo a 3D look over the canvas background.  I liked the effect, so I used Shift + Alt to copy the effect to the remaining three pictures.  Note that I sometimes use a Mac laptop with a Windows keyboard, so some of my key combinations may sound unusual.  My next step was to move all of the photos into proper position over my background layer.  I clicked on the layer I wanted to move, clicked on the Move tool icon, and moved each photo into place.  After my initial move I wasn't pleased with the results because each corner of the photo as on the same layer as the other.  Meaning, one entire photo was either completely underneath or completely over the other photo.  I wanted each photo corner to overlap different, much like you can image folding a cardboard box would look.  So, I drug each photo into different positions in the layers field until I found my desired look.

I added my name to the project by selecting the Horizontal Type tool, clicking inside the document, and typing.  I changed the font size to 36 and type to Verdana because I wanted to use a screen font to make it easily readable.  Like the picture issue I mentioned above, the text lacked depth and looked very plain.  I double-clicked on the font layer which opened the Layer Style box and added a drop shadow with a normal blend mode to help the text stand out more.  It seemed like the default settings for the drop shadow made the text too blurry, so I changed the shadow to a distance of 2px, spread of 0px, and size of 5px.  This darkened the shadow by reducing the distance of the shadow from the text while also decreasing the spread of the shadow.

With the background, layout, and text set I went back and focused on retouching the pictures themselves.  To help concentrate on a single picture, I turned off the visibility by clicking on the eye icon beside each layer except for the Aspen photo.  The photo was small so I used "Command +" on my keyboard to zoom in on the document.  I opened the Hue/Saturation settings by clicking on Image, Adjustments, Hue/Saturation and increased the hue to +5 to darken the green elements in the photo.  I also decreased the lightness to -7 to create more contrast between the light and dark areas of the photo.  Next, I turned the visibility of the Aspen layer off and turned on my Fence layer.  For this layer I wanted to increase the intensity of the green grass and the blue sky.  So I clicked on Image, Adjustments, Color Balance.  For the midtones color balance I slid the green color level to +50, which added more color to the grass for better tone.  I wanted to darken the clouds and tried using the Dodge tool, but I didn't like the results.  I chose the Magic Wand tool and clicked on an area of the sky to select the clouds.  Then I held Control and clicked, and selected "Similar" from the pop-up menu to select the rest of the clouds.  I did this because I didn't want my color adjustments to affect any other colors in the picture.  Once everything was selected that I wanted to adjust, I opened the Levels box and slid the midtones adjustment bar to the right (toward black) to darken the clouds.  I decided to save my selection in case I decided to adjust the clouds later.  I did this by clicking on Selection, Save Selection and naming it "clouds".  Then I pressed "Command + D" to deselect the selection.  The Hills photo was very whitewashed.  My first adjustment was darkening the clouds and adding more definition by using Dodge tool.  The picture also seemed to be out of focus so I used the Sharpen tool (Filter > Sharpen > Sharpen) which added more detail to the silhouette of the trees.  I actually liked the results so much that I added the Sharpen filter to all of the photos. To make the hills have a better feel I added a Vibrance adjustment and set the level to +64.  I also increased the Saturation level to +10.  For my last photo, the Stream picture, I added an Exposure adjustment and reduced the offset which removed some whitewash and increased the saturation of the trees.  To give the water more character I added a Hue/Saturation adjustment and used the eyedropper tool to set the color adjustment to match the water.  I changed the hue level to +3 which darkened the water tone.

Photoshop

Before and After Project

Before

After

Pike's Peak is one of my favorite places in Colorado.  A couple of years ago, we had someone take our picture at the sign on the summit.  At that altitude, the sun is harsh and it can be a little difficult to take a good picture.  Looking at the original picture above, you can see a few different issues.  First, there is a dark cast over the entire picture which reduces the features of the rocks and of the coloring on the sign.  The were also dark shadows on my face because the sun was behind my shoulder.  Lastly, the framing of the shot by the person taking the picture was a little boring.  

My first goal was to brighten the overall image by removing the dark cast.  I began by adding a Levels adjustment and moving the mid tone slider towards the right, from 1.0 to .94.  This was a small adjustment, but it gave the picture better contrast between the color ranges.  Next, I added a Brightness/Contrast adjustment. I moved the Brightness slider from 0 to +78.  This was a big adjustment, but it brightened the overall image substantially and did a lot to remove the cast.  However, when I increased this setting I had to adjust the Contrast level from 0 to -5 to compensate for the increased brightness.  At this point the picture looked much  brighter, but it seemed to have a whitewash look to it.  So, I added a Vibrance adjustment and moved the vibrance setting from 0 to +10 and the saturation from 0 to +9.  This gave the picture more warmth and a better feel, while revealing a lot more detail.  

Overall, I liked the looks of the clouds in the background.  But, they seemed to be lacking a certain amount of character because some of the highlights were too bright to show much definition in the clouds.  I selected the Burn tool and went over the clouds to make them darker.  Doing this brought out more definition and improved the appearance of the clouds by creating more contrast between them.  It helped make the clouds look more like individual clouds rather than one big cloud. While I was working on the clouds, I noticed the framing of the picture and how there was quite a bit more space on the left side of the sign compared to the right side.  I'm aware of the Rule of Thirds, but I didn't feel this picture looked right by not being centered.  I used the Crop tool to take out the extra space and even out the distance between the edge of the picture to the rock sign on both sides of the picture. It seemed to give the picture better balance by centering the focal point to the middle of the picture rather than to one side. 

If you look closely at the rocks in the before image, you'll notice much less detail than what they show in the after photo.  One reason for this is because the cast was hiding some of the detail.  But, I also use the Sharpen tool by dragging it over the rocks as well as our faces.  This gave the illusion of the picture having better focus than it actually had when the picture was taken.  Zooming in much closer and using the bracket keys to enlarge and shrink the tool selections saved a lot of time and made the adjustments much easier.  I was glad I learned those tips in the reading materials. One of the most satisfying accomplishments of this project for me was removing much of the shadow that was hiding my face.  To do this, I selected the Dodge tool, adjusted the size of the brush, and drug it over my face, especially concentrating underneath my eyes.  While this wasn't a perfect fix, I was very surprised to see how much shadow it did remove.  It greatly enhance the overall quality of the picture.

Another big difference between the pictures is the coloring in the sign.  The colors in the original image are dull.  I liked the contrasting colors and wanted to make them pop more.  So, I used the Dodge tool to go over the sign to make it brighter.  I also used the Sharpen tool to make the text a little more crisp.  

After finishing the color editing, I wanted to add the Polaroid effect I discovered on http://www.picturesocial.com/video/how-to-convert-a-digital-photo.  Unfortunately, when I tried following his tutorial I couldn't do the exact steps he showed because my images behaved differently.  For example, I imported the Polaroid image onto my picture and used the Magic Wand tool to select the center area of the image where I wanted to expose the picture underneath.  But, when I tried to delete the selection it wouldn't do anything.  I re-watched the video and noticed he went to Edit > Paste Into to reveal the underlying photo into the selected area.  When I tried this method, it would only paste whatever was copied on my clipboard into the image.  I still don't really know how I finally got the images to reveal because I worked on it for quite some time.  Once, after selecting the center area with the Magic Wand too, I clicked on the Move tool and began dragging the section to another locating.  I could see the picture so I pressed the Delete key and it went away.  I tried that again on the second Polaroid effect but it didn't work.  So on the second picture I think I used the background eraser tool to reveal the photo through the Polaroid template. 

Following the Polaroid confusion, changing the background color seemed fairly easy.  First I tried creating a new layer and using the Fill tool to add color to the entire layer.  But that didn't work at all.  Next I tried going into the Layer Style properties box and adding a color overlay to the layer, but that didn't work either.  Finally, I used the Magic Wand tool to select the background area I wanted to hide and then used the Paint Brush tool to paint the selected area black.  In comparison to the original photo, I think this helped focus attention on us and the sign instead of on the clouds and background in general.  

This was a challenging, but rewarding project.  As I mentioned earlier, I faced several situations where I really didn't know how to solve a problem, but I was able to find answers to these problems by utilizing Google searches and re-reading the reference material supplied on 3D GameLab.  I have used Photoshop for years, but mainly for specific reasons that haven't pushed my skill level.  I was glad to learn more about the Dodge, Burn, and Background Eraser tools because those helped me a lot during this project.  Having the ability to use the Dodge tool to brighten specific, and the Burn tool to darken areas, areas are great assets.  One of the biggest takeaways from this project for me though are the keyboard shortcuts.  I found the brackets to enlarge/shrink the brush sizes extremely helpful.  Generally, my uses for Photoshop are to slightly enhance photos for our district website, or to create graphics for banner ads on our website.  The skills I've learned will help me do these tasks quicker and easier.