Digital Image Manipulation Investigation
ICT: INVESTIGATION REPORT
Digital Image Manipulation
February 2006
In our ICT unit, Art Gallery, we have had to do a bit of research on Digital Image Manipulation. We will then be creating our own.
In this report, you will probably learn something new about the world of Digital Image Manipulation.
What is Digital Image Manipulation?
Digital Image Manipulation is altering, trimming, colouring, layering, basically changing an image. This may be done using computer software of programs like Adobe Photoshop. Digitally Manipulated Images are sometimes made for good purposes like advertising. Sometimes, users of Photoshop will change and/or recreate images to offend others, purposefully.
The final result of an image that has gone through this process sometimes are so well done and are of very high quality so we question them as to whether or not they are genuine.
Since when has Digital Image Manipulation been used?
Digital Image Manipulation has been around since photography started but now Digital Image Manipulation is becoming more and more popular. This is mainly due to the falling rates of the software and programs needed to alter an image as one likes.
Where are Digitally manipulated images found?
Digitally Manipulated Images can be found anywhere, from bus stops to magazine covers, from bill boards to movie posters. Nowadays, with all the technology we know, humans can make just about anything using computers and Photoshop and are not try to show their art to the rest of the world.
Who and why was Photoshop created for?
Photoshop was originally designed for the industry purpose, not for private owners wishing to play around with their images. Therefore if you buy Photoshop or any other 'up to industry standard' software you will be paying very high rates for some tools and features you may never use.
The Knoll brothers, Thomas and John, created Photoshop. The first version, Photoshop 1.0 was shipped out in February 1990.
Why do people enjoy Digitally manipulating Images so much?
I think that we enjoy using Photoshop and altering images because it is fun. On a rainy day, it can be a great pastime. 'I like the competition. If I don't win an award, I try again but if I do, I have to beat my best next time.' says one user I interviewed in a www.worth1000.com chat room. Another said that you don't need to get out all your painting material and start from scratch, just switch on the computer! "Having the power of a God", was ...
This is a preview of the whole essay
Why do people enjoy Digitally manipulating Images so much?
I think that we enjoy using Photoshop and altering images because it is fun. On a rainy day, it can be a great pastime. 'I like the competition. If I don't win an award, I try again but if I do, I have to beat my best next time.' says one user I interviewed in a www.worth1000.com chat room. Another said that you don't need to get out all your painting material and start from scratch, just switch on the computer! "Having the power of a God", was another answer.
How do you make digitally manipulated Images?
Digitally Manipulated Images are made by adding together two images or changing/altering one image. Depending on which technique you want to achieve, you can use different tools on the software you are using.
Artistic Techniques
This list shows what some of the artistic techniques to 'Photoshopping', the term now used for making digitally manipulated images, and art with a few notes about what they are and how they are used in art.
Political Art: Caricatures of Political Images or people. Play of words on political subjects. Political Awareness
Texture: Texture can change the mood or ambience of an image.
Perspective: A point of view. Often has a vanishing point where all lines meet. The closer an object, the larger. The farther the object, the smaller and the fainter.
Humour: To make fun of certain people or societies. Play of words used in images.
Patterns and Repetition: Repetition- repeated many times, doesn't have to be exact. Pattern- also repeated many times but has to be more precise. Patterns and repetitions can be found in the nature, on tiles, on arabesques, in geometric drawings, etc.
Colours: Primary colours {red, blue, yellow} are very strong colours. Colour can change a mood or feeling of art. Colours can be used to attract attention or focus on a certain object in the image.
Composition and Use of Space: Layout of the image. Make the object that you want to be focused the first thing that the viewer would see.
Analysis of one product
This Digitally Manipulated Image shows dry, cracked land, a sunset, and a translucent hand conjuring up water from the index. The water is in the form of an upward whirlpool. The sky looks as if a storm is going to break out and the sun is shining through the black clouds. This image is an advertisement for Adobe Photoshop.
The positive aspect about this image is that they used the advertisement to show exactly what Adobe Photoshop can do to an image with a few touches here and there. The negative aspect about this image is that the hand could be 'God' but not all religions believe in this God who would send water down to earth, when needed, from his fingertips. I like this image because the colours are very contrasting and the blue and yellow stand out very much. The hand is also very well done.
If I had to change or improve on this product, I would make the land more visible so that it is easier to understand why the hand is sending water down to earth. I also would have tried to make the hand come from somewhere because right know it just stops where the cloud begins but where there is clear sky right above the hand, the wrist cannot be seen.
The Bigger Picture (Society and the Environment)
But it also has a negative effect because we learn not to trust every image we see and even the genuine ones go through the same questioning. Another negative aspect of Digitally Manipulated Images is that they may offend certain people, depending on their beliefs, likes and habits.
Digital Image Manipulation has affected society by us having to get used to different things, things that we would never see for real, which is good because it prepares us in the event of something extraordinary happens!
Comparison of Products
Image 1
Product Description: This image shows four birds sitting on a branch with their beaks open but their bodies are upside down pineapples. The leafy bit of the pineapple is the birds' tails. The background is a clear, blue sky.
Similarities: This image is similar to the strawberry/kiwi image because pineapples, which are also fruits are used in this digital manipulation.
Differences: This image is different to the rest because it depicts living objects, birds. The other two images that I have used in this 'Comparison of Products' depict inanimate objects, still life.
Positives: This image's positive aspects are that it may encourage others to make extraordinary animals and it may even evoke wonderful ideas for our community.
Negatives: This image may offend people- bird lovers for example because this type of bird does not actually exist. It may also cause less people to eat pineapples because they had been pictured as birds' bodies and tails.
Image 2
Product Description: This image shows milk being poured into a a glass but the glass seems to blend into a bone. The background is plain blue.
Similarities: This image is similar to the rest because it's background is blue in colour to make the focus more visible and something that the viewer sees immediately.
Differences: This image is different to the rest because it advertises milk drinking, the other two were probably made just for fun.
Positives: The positive aspects of this image are that it may encourage people to drink more milk by showing them that they will build up strong bones.
Negatives: This image is not so well done because the first thing I noticed was "How is the bone standing straight?" I'm not sure what they could have done to it but it looks strange!
Image 3
Product Description: This image shows a few strawberries. One of the strawberries is cut open and you can see that the inside is the texture of the interior of a kiwi. The background is grey.
Similarities: This image is similar to the rest because it's background is blue in colour to make the focus more visible and something that the viewer sees immediately.
Differences: This image is different to the rest because the background is a light colour. I think that dark or light coloured backgrounds make the focus stand out more.
Positives: The positive aspects of this image are that the strawberries and the kiwis are red and green. On the colour wheel, red and green are complimentary colours, which means that they form a strong combination.
Negatives: This image makes me want to eat this 'fruit' even though it doesn't exist! Also, in a close up of this image, the strawberry skins look very much like plastic.
Specification
Based on what I have learnt about Digital Image Manipulation from writing this report, I have come up with a list of Specifications for my future products.
My product should be a clear image, not blurry.
My product should stand out from the background - the background should be light or dark in colour and not the same colour as the main objects.
I should try to make my product in such a way that it doesn't offend anybody.
My product should encourage bad actions or words.
My product will look good and be visible from faraway, therefore it must be colourful.
Bibliography
McGarrigle, Juanita. Personal interview. 14 Feb. 2006.
"Adobe Photoshop." Advertisement. Mac User: 23.
York, Millie. "Digital Image Manipulation." M/Cyclopedia of New Media . 24 Nov 2004. 15 Feb. 2006 <http://wiki.media-culture.org.au/index.php/Digital_Image_Manipulation>.
"Quality Milk." Advertisement. Canadian Living Aug. 2005.
"The Ethics of Digital Photo Manipulation." About. 15 Feb. 2006 <http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/digitalphotoethics/>.
Story, Derrick. "From Darkroom to Desktop-How Photoshop." Story Photography. 18 Feb. 2000. 20 Feb. 2006 <http://www.storyphoto.com/multimedia/multimedia_photoshop.html>.
"Why Photoshop?" Worth1000. 20 Feb. 2006. 20 Feb. 2006 <http://www.worth1000.com/stories/thread.asp?cid=30&eid=262353>.
