In This Issue: November 19, 2003

"RootsWorks: Basic Photography, Part II—Making Art from Your Family Photos"
by Beau Sharbrough

We spend a lot of time and energy talking about how to make old photos look better, more like the people that are in them. Next month, we'll have an article about using Photoshop Elements to enhance your photos. But sometimes, you might want to make the pictures look less like the people and more like artwork. Maybe it's for the cover of the family cookbook. Maybe it's for chapter headings in your family history. And maybe, it's just for fun.

You need three things to turn your photos into art:
— Some photos
— A graphics program that can "filter" images, such as Photoshop Elements. We're using Photoshop Elements as an example because it's relatively inexpensive, has good filters, and has versions for both the PC and the Mac. You can even download a free trial version from Adobe.
— Some imagination

Filters are software routines that change images. Here are a few filters that I have tried in the past, and liked the results. Examples can be found on the supporting webpages for this article, at the link listed below under "More Information."

Edge Detect
If you have an old black and white photo, you can make it look like a pencil sketch by using the Edge Detect filter. Just as its name implies, the filter attempts to detect edges. Then it draws them as pencil lines. You want to use this on a fairly simple photo, one that isn't so complicated that the lines all run together. It works fine for color photos as well, but the image should be a simple one. You can easily recognize the people in the photo after applying this filter.

Watercolor
One of my favorite filters is the watercolor filter. It divides the image into splotches of a particular color, sort of a "paint by numbers" effect. Like many of the Photoshop filters, there are several variables you can play with to change the effect. You can adjust the settings for detail and texture to get different final results. You can try this on any photo, not just simple ones. And of course, as the name implies, it works great on colors. The watercolor filter doesn't make it any more difficult to recognize the people in the photo.

Cutout
The cutout filter makes a photo look like it was made with construction paper. It's especially good for simplifying a complicated image. There are several knobs on this filter, too. Try low and high values for each one, and see what you like. I have a sample image on the site and I was especially impressed with the way it rendered the computer monitor in the background. Unless the people in the photo have really distinctive appearances, this filter makes them look somewhat anonymous, in my opinion.

Sometimes you want that effect—to take attention away from the specific person in the picture and show the image as a more general image. I sometimes call it making "Everyman." Imagine that you have a picture of a wedding or a person laying flowers at a gravesite. That type of image can be "generalized" very effectively, by stylizing the picture so that the people look like everyone else.

Colored Pencil
The Colored Pencil filter makes the photo look like it was drawn with colored pencils. You can choose the pencil width, stroke pressure, and paper brightness. I tend to like the smaller pencil widths. Be careful about photos with a lot of contrast—it gets amplified. You can get some very dark eye sockets if you aren't careful. This is great for color images, and the people's recognizability is about halfway between anonymous and normal.

Canvas
The Canvas picture makes the image look like it was painted on canvas. There are a few variables here too. I have enjoyed the way that outdoor photos look on canvas. It is very easy to recognize the people in a photo that has had this filter applied.

Mosaic
Mosaic is especially good for making people look anonymous. You can turn a specific man into Everyman. Experiment with the tile size. Smaller tile sizes look more realistic, large ones look less realistic. Find something in between; you'll probably like it. Try to find a photo of kids on swings and then apply this filter to it.

Summary
There are many more filters available for Photoshop Elements. The program contains other "artistic" and textural filters, such as charcoal. There is a whole cottage industry built around "plug-in" filters made by people other than Adobe. Whatever filter you decide to use, be sure to play with it, and have fun.

More Information
For links and more information about basic photography, 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.

Copyright 2003, MyFamily.com. All rights reserved.

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