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Ancestry Daily News
12/18/2003 - Archive
RootsWorks: Basic Photography, Part IV—Using Photoshop Elements to Enhance the Photo
We're talking about basic photography. We've discussed common mistakes that beginners make, ways to make your photos into artwork, and photo enhancement using the scanner. This week in our final installment, we're talking about using Adobe Photoshop Elements to enhance the image.
First, let's follow up on the previous articles. Last week I started to see 10x optical zooms show up on 3.1 megapixel cameras priced between $400 and $450. Most cameras have a 3x optical zoom, and this is impressive. Hard to hold still without a tripod, but impressive. Also, when describing ways to make artwork from your photos, I didn't describe one of my favorite methods: fooling with the levels. I'll describe that technique below. And finally, loyal ADN reader David Springer wrote to tell me that the Microtek 6800 is not the only flatbed scanner equipped with the Digital ICE. Microtek has shipped the i300, which not only features ICE but handles slides and negatives, and has a price tag under $200. It's on my Christmas list.
On to the topic of the day. Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 (PE2) is not the only photo editing software that you might use. There are many programs for this purpose. I use PE2 as an example because it's not expensive ($99), it runs on PC and Mac, and it has a lot of features.
Cropping
Sometimes the best way to improve an image is to get rid of part of it. Before any historians or archivists have a heart attack, let me say that you don't have to lose the original image. You can save an archival copy of your original and then work on a copy. Cropping is the electronic equivalent of taking a pair of scissors to the photo—you trim unimportant or distracting material from the edges. If the top half of the picture is all sky, or bottom half of the picture is a huge empty field, you might only need 25% of that. Crop it. The purpose is to give the image a focus, to make it be “about something.” One of the cool things about PE2 is that you can undo your cropping if you don't like it. Also, as with many other programs, you can always revert to the last saved version, if you want to scrap your current efforts without saving.
Levels
Adjusting levels is something that I do to almost every image, whether it comes from my digital camera or my scanner. I described the process last time, and I'll refer you there for more detail. Basically, you view a histogram and move the sliders until they are right. I do this for the blue, green, and red layers separately, and suggest that you experiment with it if you are curious.
PE2 has an “auto levels” function on the Enhance menu that works okay in most cases. I haven't used it in some time, because I like to set the levels myself, but you may prefer to use “auto levels.”
You don't have to set levels for the entire image. Sometimes a photo of a person contains dark pants, a bright white shirt, and a face somewhere in between. If you lighten the image, the white shirt will be washed out. You can use the marquee tool (rectangular selection), the lasso tool, or the magic tool to select a portion of the image and only change the levels for that part. A shirt isn't very square, but you can practice selecting and adjusting levels for a portion of an image until you develop a technique that you like.
Perspective Skew
On the Image menu, you will find TRANSFORM / PERSPECTIVE. This is the “perspective skew.” Maybe you have been to a cousin's house and photographed a document or artifact because you couldn't take it home to scan it. Maybe the object in your photo has “keystoned”—it has a wide bottom and skinny top, for example. This happens when the camera isn't exactly perpendicular to the object. A perspective skew will fix this.
First, turn on the grid (VIEW / GRID) so that you can tell when the photo is “squared up.” Rotate it if you need to. Then use the perspective skew to “pull the top out” until the document or artifact is square.
Layers
Layers are not for the faint of heart. They are one of the more complicated parts of photo enhancement. PE2 will allow you to use layers to blend photos together. You can make “fill layers” and “adjustment layers.” Sometimes I duplicate a layer as an “adjustment layer” and then use the “multiplier” adjustment to improve the contrast.
Layers can be really effective if you have a cracked photo. You can scan it twice, at 90-degree angles, and use Photoshop to put the two images together. The crack will shrink, and occasionally disappear.
Summary
I haven't even gotten to my favorite tool, the “clone stamp” tool. Or removing red-eye. Or the smudge tool. PE2 is a very powerful photo editing tool, with more features than we can find time to discuss here. Try them all, and have fun.
More Information
For links and more information about basic photography, as well as examples of some of these PE2 techniques, please see the RootsWorks site. If you want to discuss your photography challenges, please drop by the RootsWorks Forums. Registration is free, and I'd be interested to know what kinds of issues you are facing.
Beau Sharbrough is a product manager at Ancestry.com. His articles contain his own views and opinions and do not reflect any corporate policy or statement by the company. The RootsWorks series of articles focuses on genealogical applications for generic technologies. Beau would like to hear from you. Whether you have something to add or something to ask, please point your browser to www.rootsworks.com/forums and discuss this or any topic related to the use of technology in family history. Tell us about your experiences. Please note that Beau cannot assist you with your individual computer problems. Visit the RootsWorks website for links to previous articles and Beau's lecture schedule.
Copyright 2003, MyFamily.com. All rights reserved.
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