Embedded Files
Forcing yourself to shoot the same subject from a variety of angles and distances is a great way to improve your eye as a photographer. For your next project, you're going to construct a grid in Photoshop that will show a series of images, all of the exact same subject.
1) PROJECT: OBJECT STUDY (GRID)
2) STUDENT EXAMPLES
3) TUTORIAL
1) PROJECT: OBJECT STUDY (GRID)
For this project, you will submit one (1) image, assembled in Photoshop, that is a 3x3 grid showing nine (9) photos of a single subject, all taken from different angles/perspectives.
Shooting tips:
You don’t have to show the entire object in each image. Consider close-ups.
Remember that you can get nice shallow depth of field effects by being close to your subject (just not too close), tapping to focus, and then shooting.
Because you’ll be assembling these into a grid later, it’s OK to have extra space around what you want to shoot, since each image can easily be “cropped down” at the grid stage (i.e. later)
Most importantly, know that each of your images will be displayed as a square. Keep that in mind while framing your shots.
2) STUDENT EXAMPLES
Please ensure that all images are of the same subject! Here's an example that has some nice photos in it BUT this is not the point of the project:
Don't do that!
3) TUTORIAL
STEP 1) Build your grid in Photoshop
STEP 2) Take all of the photos you need. Take some extras so you have choices!
STEP 3) Insert and arrange your images into your grid
1) File > Place Embedded
2) Position your image (approximately) over the square in which you wish it to appear.
3) In the layers panel, ensure that your current image layer is immediately above the layer of the square ("rectangle") to which it should be clipped.
4) Create a clipping mask. You can either right-click on your image layer and select "Create Clipping Mask" OR you can ALT+left-click on the line between those two layers. You know this has worked because the image layer will be indented and show a little arrow pointing at the layer beneath it.
Your image is now clipped to the square behind it. You can position your image inside that square by using the Move tool, or you can re-size it (kind of like cropping) by using Ctrl-T and changing the size of the image. Try out different compositions until you find one you like!
5) Repeat the process with the other eight images.
6) You can always go back and change the composition of a single image by adjusting the appropriate image layer.
7) If you wish to change the background colour (tip: light-coloured images might look better with a black background), add a Solid Color adjustment layer by clicking on the half-black/half-white circle button in the bottom-right of your screen and choosing the top choice: Solid Color.
You just need to make sure that you then drag that layer under all of your images & shapes. You can easily change colour by double-clicking on the Solid Color layer thumbnail image.
Extra tip: You can even match existing colours from your project by using the colour picker (double-click on the Solid Color layer thumbnail to open it) and then clicking outside of the menu box and over part of your image. The cursor should turn to an eyedropper and will match the colour to wherever you've clicked!
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