Transformative Interpretations
02/05/2012
It’s true that things are not always as they seem, and this is particularly relevant with digital photography. But like other art forms, what something is, verses what it appears to be, can also be irrelevant. The digital medium as much as any other is about expressing an idea, and how you get there is much less important than why. But with this said, digital photography enthusiasts need to know the how in order to bring the why to fruition. With this post I’m going to show you how I use Photoshop to execute my transformative interpretation of an idea.
Original Image
The image above represents the original capture from my Canon 5D Mark II. In the simplest terms, it’s a picture of a window to a Buddhist temple in Chiang Mai, Thailand. But what I wanted to express with this image was the beautiful ornate design surrounding the window.
The first step is to correct for perspective distortion. This image shows the classic keystoning effect caused from tilting my camera up toward the subject, and for my purpose it’s undesirable. Fortunately Photoshop has an excellent tool to correct this. Before I began my edits, however, I dragged the background layer to the new layer icon at the bottom of the layer palette to create a duplicate layer. This is the layer from which all further edits occurred. Along the top menu bar I selected the filter pull down menu, and then chose distort, then lens correction. In the resulting dialogue box I pulled the vertical perspective slider to the left until the desired result was achieved.
Step One: Perspective Correction
A downside to this approach however, is while you correct for the keystoning at the top of the image, a keystoning crop is created at the bottom. Unfortunately this leaves you with is a six sided geometric shape that must be transformed into a rectangle. For a visual aid, I deselected the original background layer to clearly reveal the cropped area. In step two I’ll explain the how and why behind my method of transforming the image back into a rectangle.
There are several methods to bring this image back to a rectangle. But because my original desire was to highlight the intricacies in the window’s ornate lintels and cornice, I chose a means which suits this purpose; the free transform command. To access this tool I used the Photoshop shortcut Ctrl+T (Win) Command+T (Mac). Next I grabbed the center left handle then while holding the Alt (Win) Option (Mac) key I dragged the handle until the image filled the canvas on the left and right sides. Then I grabbed the center bottom handle and pulled the image down to fill the remaining canvas. Lastly I pressed the return key to commit the transform.
Step Two: Free Transform Command
You’ll notice this transformation reduces the image area to the left and right of the window. Additionally it changes its proportions thereby increasing the prominence of its detailed trimmings; and that was exactly my intention. The final step will go even further toward emphasizing the window relative to its background.
Now that I’m satisfied with the window’s proportion relative to the rest of the image, my next goal is to distinguish the window from its surrounding wall. I’ll do this by framing the subject. There are three techniques I employed to create the framing; colorization via the photo filter adjustment, density curves, and vignette masking. Each of these steps involves details beyond the scope of this tutorial and for the sake of brevity I’ll refer to these steps in general terms.
Final Step: Framing the Subject
As with any art frame that complements rather than competes with its subject, I chose a wall color which showcases the window without overpowering it. While I could have chosen any color, finding one that appears naturally within the context of the subject requires a bit more thought. Fortunately I had a source that worked out fine.
Using the eye dropper tool from the tool palette I sampled some windblown dust found along the window sill. I saved this color as a swatch then chose it when I opened the photo filter dialog box found in the adjustments palette. Next I used the paint brush tool to mask out the window and its trimmings leaving only the surrounding wall with the new color. Creating the contrast between the wall and the window allowed me to highlight my subject by framing it with this new color.
After finishing the wall I turned my attention to the window sill. Continuing with my desire to emphasize the window I accessed the curves dialogue box from the adjustment palette. There I created a density curve to darken the sill, then used the paint brush tool to mask out everything else. Darkening the bottom of this image had the effect of both anchoring the picture while further framing the subject.
The final step was to add a simple vignette to the entire image. The careful application of a vignette is an excellent way to subtly focus the viewer’s attention to the intended subject. There are several ways to create a vignette but the simplest way is found within the lens correction dialogue box.
Before I proceeded further however, I copied and merged the image layers into a new layer to be placed at the top of the layer stack. This allows me to apply the effect on the entire image without losing the ability to access the original layers. I did this by holding down the Alt (Win) Option (Mac) then selected the layers pull down menu and chose merge visible. With the layers preserved for possible future editing, I then chose the filter pull down menu from the menu bar, and then selected distort, then lens correction. Within the lens correction dialogue box there’s a vignette tool with slider options. I moved the amount slider to the left until I found the desired result. And now with the application of the vignette my subject framing is complete.
Before
After
From examining the before and after images you can see from start to finish the image has gone through quite a transformation. But every step along the way was chosen for the specific purpose of highlighting my subject—the beautiful detail of the window’s trimmings. With the original image the subject is less clear; with the final image it’s properly defined. You may or may not agree with the process, but it’s hard to disagree that the end results reveal a more clearly articulated message. And that’s what effective art is—communicating a message.
