Part 7.2 The Course

The different editing techniques available.

The digital camera allows the photographer to preview and pre-manipulate and perform image alterations whilst an image is still within the camera. The modern digital camera cames pre installed with various programs which assist to enhance, alter or drastically improve the end result of the image whilst also giving it an artistic quality if desired. An image can be captured, saved and then altered and changed without changing the original image. Thus eliminating mistakes and lose of artistic experimentation and quality. This is cost effective and saves a lot of time. As manipulations and alterations can occur almost a few seconds after an image has been captured in any environment. The digital camera in respect of its individual capabilities is a portable dark room in itself. As a result of instant technology being on hand, by means of a simple switch to a set of pre-programmed buttons on the camera itself. The programs available within the digital camera which allow this to occur are easy to understand and apply and require the would be photographer only to read and apply to memory their individual specifications for later use. These programs are easily accessible and can be previewed at various stages of manipulation and alteration to be undone or saved in various formats. These programs allow editing to occur to certain individual specifications that they allow artistic scope and originality.

The programs within the digital camera which allow these editing techniques to be carried out are:- Image size mode selector:- this allows the photographer to set before hand the required size for which the end result of the image can be set, so that quality and clarity is obtained when the image is printed:- 3.1m image size 2048 x 1536 (Printing A 4 size images), 2.0m 1632 x 1224 (Printing A 5 size images) or VGA 640 x 480 (Creating your own home web page). The photographer is also able to preview captured images (by means of an index:- triple image screen) and manipulate it by zooming further into the image on the preview LCD screen to capture a more close up or macro defined aspect if required for the end result. The scale of the required zoom is indicated on the LCD screen. The digital camera also has the capability to decide if a flash should be used and will on occasion fill in the flash for the photographer when there is not enough light. Thus reducing dark and out of contrast images form being captured. The photographer is able to pre-define the end result before moving the image onto a computer for further manipulation and alteration. In other words, they are able to set specific requirements so that the camera knows what the photographer is trying to achieve beforehand, and this is can allow scope, carte blanche for changes to occur later. These programs make life much easier for the photographer, by means of the LCD screen they are able to set the required specifications for different environments in which they might find them self trying to capture the image in. And to achieve the end result they will have to alter the settings of the camera to do this. These can either be the auto program mode, the program mode and the night scene, portrait, landscape and sports mode. these modes alter the various setting within the camera, so that each image will be captured in pristine and a in clear quality. Either by altering its brightness, clarity, contrast and exposure. Once an image has been captured, the photographer is able to preview the image and the information pertaining to that image on the LCD screen. This information is useful to a photographer as it gives a guide later once transferred to a computer by which degree of sensitivity they may change and alter an image before it actually becames a blur and out of focus. The programs within the camera affect the overall degree at which editing and changes can occur at a later stage i.e. An image captured at 1.2m at a size of 1280 x 960 can only be enlarged by computer software to the size of a postcard. If the image is enlarged any bigger it will appear out of focus and a mass blur. By pre-setting the individual scene modes (twilight mode, twilight portrait mode, landscape and snow and beach mode before hand we allow the digital camera full capability to absorb light and fill and balance exposure, brightness, contrast and depth within the individual image qualities, drawing on each modes specification to achieve the required result i.e. the modes will prevent the image from losing colour and tonal balances for each colour in contrast with each other (a subject wearing a red jacket whilst standing on snow) or ( a bright green palm tree hanging over a bright clear blue ocean) . One built in capability which gives a varied degree of artistic quality to the digital camera is its special effects mode. The four basic modes solarize (gives an illustration appearance to an image while delineating the bright and dark portions), black and white, sepia ( which to a certain extent can give an image a grainy affect to achieve that old photo look), and then the negative art effect ( which makes an image look like a negative). The built in exposure compensation allows the photographer to preview an image and alter its exposure by means of 13 steps in 1/3 increments -2EV to +2 EV i.e. -0.6 EV for shots of dark foliage (dark backgrounds), +0.9 EV for very bright scene's (sky, snow scenes) etc's. The digital camera allows the photographer to change and customize the white balance settings within an image so the white balance is fixed for the surroundings and lighting when an image is captured. The photometry settings (Multi) on the digital camera allows the camera automatically to recognize and analyse the subject and scenery to provide optimum exposure in various conditions, (Spot):- subjects of contrasting light and dark where the photographer wants to achieve correct exposure for a particular scene, (Average):- the exposure for this editing technique tends not to change for different colours, compositions or subjects, great for black and white image editing. The digital camera is able to fine tune its sharpness to an image by means of editing its set requirements on screen. This can vary on various digital cameras. The three basic ones are, Hard:- used to emphasize outlines (Used when capturing sharp images such as buildings), Soft:- Softens the outlines (best for capturing people), Normal:- ordinary photography (Provide edge sharpness that is ideal for ordinary images). These are the basic editing setting and specifications used within a digital camera.

Once the image has been captured saved and given a few minor alterations within the digital camera, it is then ready to be connected to a computer. Once transferred to a computer via a USB cable the image is stored and can be further altered, manipulated, and the photographer is able to put his individual stamp on the image. This is done by means of using up to date modern software packages such as adobe, photo shop, photo-wizard, paint shop and many others in the market today. These software editing programs, allow the photographer to totally manipulate and change every aspect of the image. The software is designed to be user friendly so a novice may begin to learn the basic technique of image alteration within days. The original is safe and multiple copies of it can be made. This allows for more software editing experimentation to occur. Same of these editing techniques allow the photographer to create 3 d animations, zoom and crop and even move and add images on top of each other. With assistance of the magic wand in paint shop pro the photographer is able to select and crop the image and paste the image within a an entirely different scene i.e. a student standing on the pavement can be made to look as if she is standing on a beach in Spain. Photography magic or editing can assist the photographer clone and even replicate an image in its negative form. The editing software available today allows the photographer to manipulate colour replacement, erase certain aspects, objects in the picture frame and replace them with objects or subjects. While editing we are also able to airbrush, fill in text, shapes and the best function of all, if you mess up or make a small mistake. By the click of a button, the editing software allows the photographer the option of undoing the previous command. Thus by trial and error even a novice can became a professional in no time at all. The editing software allows the photographer the option of increasing the image from 2:1 to 16:1 and decrease it back, the editing software will provide step by step image information as the photographer makes alterations. The photographer is able to fill in colour where it is lacking, add borders to give it definition, resize and perform deformations such as punch and skew, to give the image undefined individuality, add special effects such as buttons or a chisel etc to classify it. The image can be blurred, motion blurred given an edge or even given noise artificially noise distortion to make it despeckled. The images clarity and overall colour adjustment quality can be sharpened, various styles artistic qualities added or imposed within the image such as dilate, embross, erode or mosaic and hot wax coating applied. The photographer is able to do just about any thing with the assistance of modern software and image editing techniques. The photographer is even able to adjust the colour, brightness, contrast, hue and gamma correction of the image whilst altering the grey scale on certain aspects in the back ground. In a negative manipulated image the photographer is able to increase or decrease colour depth, duplicate layers, paste them together in a visual animation with 3 d text. The options are endless. The modern digital camera and various photography software and programs available today has made image manipulation and control more cost affective and accessible to the public.