Digital Camera Design Guide

by Aitken, Peter G.

• ISBN13: 9781576101841
• ISBN10: 1576101843
• Edition: CD
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-10-01
• Publisher: Coriolis Group

Summary

Hundreds of thousands of photographers, from amateurs to professionals, are moving to digital photography and they are hungry for in-depth guides that show them how to get the most out of this new and exciting medium. This guide shows readers how to master the art of digital imaging and picture taking. This four-color guide is jam-packed with hundreds of tips, techniques, stimulating step-by-step projects, and unique special effects. The CD includes a full working shareware copy of 32-bit Paint Shop Pro, a complete toolkit for image manipulation, and more.

Table of Contents

Introduction	xv
Part 1 Getting The Picture	1	(48)
Chapter 1 Photography Today, The Digital Way	3	(16)
How Computers Store Photographs	6	(3)
Computer Data Storage	6	(1)
Digital Image Storage	7	(1)
Image Resolution	7	(1)
Image Color Depth	8	(1)
How Digital Cameras Work	9	(3)
Image Storage And Transfer	11	(1)
Creating Your Original Photographs	12	(5)
Subject	12	(1)
Composition	12	(4)
Background	16	(1)
Lighting	16	(1)
Summing Up	17	(2)
Chapter 2 Using Your Digital Camera	19	(16)
Camera Basics	20	(5)
Exposure	20	(4)
Focus	24	(1)
Special Techniques	25	(8)
Flash	25	(2)
Macro Photography	27	(3)
Still Life Photography	30	(2)
Copying Documents	32	(1)
Summing Up	33	(2)
Chapter 3 Scanning Your Images	35	(16)
How Scanners Work	36	(3)
Types Of Scanners	36	(1)
Scanner Capabilities	37	(1)
Selecting A Scanner	38	(1)
Scanning Techniques	39	(9)
The Twain Interface	39	(2)
Scanner Settings	41	(1)
Selecting Color Depth	41	(1)
Selecting Scanner Resolution	42	(3)
Sharpening	45	(3)
Summing Up	48	(3)
Part 2 Making Improvements	49	(78)
Chapter 4 Too Light, Too Dark	51	(16)
Brightness In Digital Images	52	(5)
Image Contrast	52	(5)
Project 1 Candle Power	57	(4)
Changing an image's overall brightness	57	(4)
Limitations Of Brightness Changes	60	(1)
Project 2 Row Your Boat	61	(3)
Changing the brightness of part of an image	61	(3)
Selecting An Irregular Area	62	(1)
Darkening The Selected Area	62	(2)
Project 3 It's A Bust!	64	(1)
Changing image contrast	64	(1)
Other Brightness And Contrast Adjustments	65	(1)
Gamma Adjustment	65	(1)
Highlight Midtone Shadow Adjustment	66	(1)
Summing Up	66	(1)
Chapter 5 Correcting Color Balance	67	(16)
The Primary Colors	68	(1)
Colors In Paint Shop Pro	69	(5)
Project 4 The Central Park Blues	74	(5)
Cropping, adjusting brightness, and fixing color	74	(5)
Cropping The Photograph	74	(1)
Adjusting The Image Brightness	75	(1)
Correcting The Color Balance	76	(3)
Project 5 More Red, Please	79	(2)
Adjusting color	79	(2)
Selecting The Coat Areas	80	(1)
Adjusting The Coat's Color	81	(2)
Summing Up	81	(2)
Chapter 6 Retouching	83	(20)
Tools For Retouching	84	(8)
Copy And Paste	84	(1)
Painting Tools	85	(4)
The Airbrush	89	(1)
The Retouch Tool	89	(1)
Manipulating Individual Pixels	90	(2)
Project 6 Major Repairs	92	(4)
Fixing tears, scratches, and other faults	92	(4)
Repairing The Tear	92	(1)
Getting Rid Of The Scratch	93	(1)
Covering The Crayon Mark	94	(2)
Project 7 Fixing Up Great Grand-Dad	96	(5)
Restoring an old photograph	96	(5)
Preparation	96	(1)
Scanning	97	(1)
The Project	97	(4)
Summing Up	101	(2)
Chapter 7 Fixing The background	103	(26)
Tools For Background Manipulation	104	(1)
Using Masks	105	(7)
Viewing And Editing A Mask	106	(2)
Creating A Mask	108	(1)
Editing A Mask	109	(1)
Using A Mask	109	(3)
Project 8 Soft Focus!	112	(4)
Blurring the background	112	(4)
Project 9 Background Be Gone	116	(5)
Replacing the background	116	(5)
Project 10 Changing The Weather	121	(4)
Improving the sky	121	(4)
Summing Up	125	(4)
Part 3 Get Creative	127	(72)
Chapter 8 Combining Photographs	129	(20)
Filling The Background	130	(1)
Flood Fill Options	130	(4)
Project 11 Turning Three Into One	134	(8)
Creating a collage	134	(8)
Project 12 The Wider, The Better	142	(5)
Creating a panorama	142	(5)
Summing Up	147	(2)
Chapter 9 Text In Photographs	149	(16)
The Text Tool	150	(5)
Rotating Text	152	(1)
Other Text Effects	153	(2)
Project 13 Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due	155	(4)
Creating a title shot	155	(4)
Project 14 Fancy Text	159	(3)
Creating text from an image	159	(3)
Creating Text From A Geometric Pattern	159	(1)
Creating Text From A Photograph	160	(2)
Project 15 Drop It!	162	(1)
Text with drop shadows	162	(1)
Summing Up	163	(2)
Chapter 10 Special Effects, Part 1	165	(16)
Techniques For Special Effects	167	(4)
Posterizing	167	(2)
Solarizing	169	(1)
Negative Image	170	(1)
Project 16 Arch Impact	171	(2)
Creating a concept poster	171	(2)
Project 17 Bring Out The Picasso In You	173	(6)
Making a photo look like a painting	173	(6)
Painting A Landscape	173	(4)
Painting A Portrait	177	(2)
Summing Up	179	(2)
Chapter 11 Special Effects, Part 2	181	(20)
Other Color Models	182	(2)
The HSL Color Model	182	(1)
The CMYK Model	183	(1)
Creating Monochrome Images	184	(3)
The Grey Scale Command	184	(1)
The Colorize Command	185	(2)
Applying Deformations	187	(1)
Project 18 Aging Gracefully	188	(3)
Making a photograph look "old fashioned"	188	(3)
Project 19 Boss Man	191	(2)
Embossing techniques	191	(2)
Project 20 Over The Edge	193	(5)
Working with edge filters	193	(5)
Summing Up	198	(3)
Part 4 Final Touches	199	(52)
Chapter 12 Printing Your Photographs	201	(16)
Printing Technologies	202	(4)
Ink Jet Printers	204	(1)
Laser Printers	204	(1)
Dye Sub Printers	205	(1)
Printing In Paint Shop Pro	206	(3)
Getting The Most From Your Ink Jet Printer	209	(5)
Choosing A Printer	209	(2)
Selecting The Right Paper	211	(1)
Tailoring Your Image To The Printer	211	(3)
Working With A Print Shop	214	(1)
Specialized Techniques	215	(1)
Summing Up	216	(1)
Chapter 13 Desktop Publishing	217	(18)
Software For Desktop Publishing	218	(2)
Project 21 Happy Mother's Day	220	(9)
Creating a photo greeting card	220	(9)
Project 22 For Sale By Owner	229	(5)
Create a brochure to advertise your house	229	(5)
Summing Up	234	(1)
Chapter 14 Digital Images And The Web	235	(16)
Web Graphics File Format	236	(4)
GIF Files	236	(3)
JPEG Files	239	(1)
Image Size And Download Time	239	(1)
Working With GIF Files	240	(4)
Working With GIF Palettes	241	(3)
Working With JPEG Files	244	(1)
Optimizing Images For The Web	244	(3)
Adding Images To Your Pages	247	(3)
Summing Up	250	(1)
Appendix: Paint Shop Pro Basics	251	(12)
Index	263