Assignment 3 - Photo Manipulation Assignment

Why Do We Manipulate Photos?

While the debate over whether photographers should be manipulating their photographs remains a topic for debate, I believe that photos can be altered and manipulated for positive reasons. Editing photos allows the photographer or artist the opportunity to further express themselves, convey a message or illustrate a point that normal, unedited photos would not be able to do. It also allows them to add or remove elements from a photo. For example, the photo in the link below has obviously been manipulated. Its goal is not to accurately represent the world, but has more implicit meaning. Despite the face that there are many different people, cultures and languages in the world, the photograph serves as a reminder that we as humans, share the same planet and that we are not as far apart, or from "different worlds" as we think we are.



For the photos I have chosen, my goal was to highlight and communicate what the focal point of my photos are. I did this by highlighting certain features and manipulating the photographs accordingly. I wanted to maintain a sense of realism in my photographs as opposed to conveying a meaning. I want the audience to see the photographs the same way I perceive and appreciate about the subjects in the photographs.

Photo 1: Intimacy

I began my manipulation of this photograph by using the crop tool. Cropping the picture also repositioned the horizon line, giving the photo a more horizontal composition. This horizontal composition creates a more peaceful and intimate feel. I also experimented with the shadows, midtones and highlights to bring out the details in the hands and place more emphasis on the hands. I increased the saturation in the photograph to give it a warmer feel. This also creates more intimacy in the photo as the restaurant that can be seen in the original photo is not as visible in the edited version of the photograph. This prevents the audience from getting distracted from the focal point of the photo. These effects I used exaggerate the point of focus and the details within them.

Photo 2: Historical City

Unlike the first photograph, I chose not to crop this one because I like the placement of the horizon line and the way the lines intersect in the middle of the photograph. Cropping the photo would change the horizon line and in turn, the focal point of the photograph. For this photo, I chose to bring up the reds and greens which highlighted the yellow tones, giving it a warmer feel. I also in creased the vibrance and saturation (slightly) which created a contrast between the colours, in turn making the building stand out more. I basically experimented with the existing colours and effects and exaggerated them slightly.I intentionally did not "over do" the effects in order to maintain a sense of realism in the photograph.