M22 (Photo Editing) Academic Script
M22 (Photo Editing) Academic Script
M22 (Photo Editing) Academic Script
Introduction
Photo editing is an art and craft for effective
communication. Every photograph once edited looks like
a masterpiece, but at the same time photo editing is a
pain staking and creative job which requires both skill
and knowledge of the various tools to be employed to
give the raw pictures a final touch.
Selection:
Selection stands out as the primary and most important
function. In fact one of the pre-requisite for many of the
applications mentioned below is a method of selecting
parts of an image, and thus applying change selectively
without affecting the entire picture. Most graphics
programs have several means of accomplishing this such
as:
a marquee tool for selecting polygon shapes
a lasso tool for freehand selection of a region
a magic wand tool that selects objects or region in
the image defined by proximity of colour or
luminance.
Vector based tools
Layers:
Another feature common to many graphic application is
that of layers. Layers are analogous to sheets of
transparent acetate (each containing separate elements
that make up a combined picture), stacked on top of
each other each capable of being individually positioned ,
altered and blended with the layers below, without
affecting any of the elements on the other layers.
This is a fundamental workflow which has become the
norm for the majority of programs on the market today,
and enables maximum flexibility for the user while
maintaining non-destructive editing principles and ease of
use.
Image alteration:
Image editors can resize images in a process often called
image scaling, making them larger, or smaller. High
image resolution cameras can produce large images
which are often reduced in size for Internet use.
Image editor programs use a mathematical process
called re-sampling to calculate new pixel values whose
spacing is larger or smaller than the original pixel values.
Images for Internet use are kept small, say 640 x 480
pixels which would equal 0.3 megapixels.
Cropping an image
Digital editors are used to crop images. Cropping creates
a new image by selecting a desired rectangular portion
from the image being cropped. The unwanted part of the
image is discarded.
Image cropping does not reduce the resolution of the
area cropped. Best results are obtained when the original
image has a high resolution. A primary reason for
cropping is to improve the image composition in the new
image.
Image editors have provisions to create an image
histogram of the image being edited. The histogram plots
the number of pixels in the image (vertical axis) with a
particular brightness value (horizontal axis).
Algorithms in the digital editor allow the user to visually
adjust the brightness value of each pixel and to
dynamically display the results as adjustments are made.
Improvements in picture brightness and contrast can
thus be obtained.
Noise reduction
Image editors may feature a number of algorithms which
can add or remove noise in an image. Some
JPEG artifacts can be removed; dust and scratches can
be removed and an image can be de-speckled. Noise
reduction merely estimates the state of the scene without
the noise and is not a substitute for obtaining a "cleaner"
image.
Excessive noise reduction leads to a loss of detail, and its
application is hence subject to a trade-off between the
undesirability of the noise itself and that of the reduction
artifacts.
Noise tends to invade images when pictures are taken in
low light settings. A new picture can be given an
'antiquated' effect by adding uniform monochrome noise.
Printing
Controlling the print size and quality of digital images
requires an understanding of the pixels-per-inch (ppi)
variable that is stored in the image file and sometimes
used to control the size of the printed image.
Within Adobe Photoshop's Image Size dialog, the image
editor allows the user to manipulate both pixel
dimensions and the size of the image on the printed
document.
These parameters work together to produce a printed
image of the desired size and quality. Pixels per inch of
the image, pixel per inch of the computer monitor, and
dots per inch on the printed document are related, but in
use are very different.
The Image Size dialog can be used as an image
calculator of sorts. For example, a 1600 × 1200 image
with a resolution of 200 ppi will produce a printed image
of 8 × 6 inches. The same image with 400 ppi will
produce a printed image of 4 × 3 inches. Change the
resolution to 800 ppi, and the same image now prints out
at 2 × 1.5 inches.
All three printed images contain the same data (1600 ×
1200 pixels), but the pixels are closer together on the
smaller prints, so the smaller images will potentially look
sharp when the larger ones do not. The quality of the
image will also depend on the capability of the printer.