Alternative Digital Photography

305 Pages·2007·37.2 MB·English

by  John G. Blair

Alternative
Digital
Photography
John G. Blair
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“The most beautiful thing we can
experience is the mysterious.
It is the source of all true art and science.”
—Albert Einstein, 1930
For Mom and Dad,
who taught me that making mistakes is
always part of the learning process
Alternative Digital Photography
iv
Acknowledgments
I
n every book project
there is a group of
people working behind the scenes to make this all happen. My agent, Carole
McClenden of Waterside Productions, was the one who first suggested that I write a
book on alternative digital photography after we had kicked around a few ideas. For
those not familiar with an agent’s duties, they include coaching, advising, and counsel-
ing in addition to the more mundane business side of things. Carole proposed the idea
to Megan Belanger, acquisitions editor at Thomson Course Technology PTR, who we
had worked with on an earlier project. Megan really liked the concept and carried it
through along with having a baby part way through the process just to add in some
extra special excitement. Jenny Davidson was the project editor and her hard work
shows throughout. Lensbabies, LLC. and Life Pixel Digital Infrared Conversion
Services provided products and services to enable me to write the chapters on Selective
Focus and Digital Infrared. Randy Smith of HolgaMods.com speeded up my order of
a Holga lens so that I could meet deadlines for this book. I appreciate their generosity.
Finally, a special thanks goes to my parents, Mary and Bud, to whom I dedicate this
book. They taught me it takes plenty of mistakes to learn and grow. I can directly
trace my love of experimenting back to them, allowing me to fail without shame and
to get up and try again. I love you, mom and dad.
About the Author
v
About the Author
J
ohn G. Blair
began writing and photographing in elemen-
tary school, publishing and selling his own newspaper at age 10. He has been a profes-
sional photographer for nearly 40 years. He has written earlier books including Digital
Boudoir PhotographyandAdobe Photoshop Lightroompublished by Course Technology
andA Glossary of Digital Photography. He is experienced in boudoir, portrait, wedding,
commercial, editorial, stock, and fine art photography. He has worked in various
aspects of digital photography since 1991, starting in Photoshop 2.5! His boudoir
photography and scenes of him at work were featured on the French television pro-
gram,This Crazy World.
He has taught courses, presented seminars, and lectured on photographic and business
topics to groups of all ages from middle school children to professionals. He has pre-
sented a number of boudoir and makeup courses to professional photographers as
well. John’s award-winning work has led to his being named Photographer of the Year
twice in five Northern California counties. He has received a number of awards and
honors from the Professional Photographers of California. His studio is located in the
redwood forests of Northern California, which he shares with his wife and three large
dogs. In his spare time, he is a volunteer firefighter.

Contents
vii
Contents
Introduction xii
How to Use this Book xv
Chapter 1
Creating Black and White from Color 1
Lesson 1.1—Creating Black and White with
Photoshop Grayscale 3
Lesson 1.2—Creating Black and White with
Photoshop Desaturate 4
Lesson 1.3—Creating Black and White with
Photoshop Lab Color Mode 6
Lesson 1.4—Creating Black and White with
Photoshop Channels 7
Lesson 1.5—Creating Black and White with the
Channel Mixer 10
Lesson 1.6—Creating Black and White with Lightroom 13
Lesson 1.7—Creating Black and White with Aperture 16
Comparison of Different Conversion Techniques 20
Gallery of Black-and-White Images 23
Chapter 2
Creating Sepia from Black-and-White
or Color Images 27
Lesson 2.1—Creating Sepia with Photoshop, Method 1 28
Lesson 2.2—Creating Sepia with Photoshop, Method 2 32
Lesson 2.3—Creating Sepia with Photoshop Elements 33
Lesson 2.4—Creating Sepia with Lightroom 35
Lesson 2.5—Creating Sepia with Aperture 38
Gallery of Sepia Images 40
Alternative Digital Photography
viii
Chapter 3
Hand-Colored Black and White 45
Lesson 3.1—Starting with a Color Image in Photoshop,
Method 1 46
Lesson 3.2—Starting with a Color Image in Photoshop,
Method 2 47
Lesson 3.3—Starting with a Color Image in Lightroom 49
Lesson 3.4—Starting with a Black-and-White Image in
Photoshop 52
Gallery of Hand-Colored Black-and-White Images 56
Chapter 4
Hand-Colored Sepia 59
Lesson 4.1—Starting with an Image in Photoshop 60
Lesson 4.2—Starting with a Color Image in Lightroom 63
Lesson 4.3—Using Photoshop to Create a Sepia Image 67
Gallery of Hand-Colored Sepia Images 69
Chapter 5
Abstract 73
Lesson 5.1—Defocusing 74
Lesson 5.2—Shadows 76
Lesson 5.3—Silhouette 79
Gallery of Abstract Images 82
Chapter 6
Pleinart 87
Lesson 6.1—Using a Brush in Photoshop and Elements—
Example 1 88
Lesson 6.2—Using a Brush in Photoshop and Elements—
Example 2 90
Gallery of Pleinart Images 95
Contents
ix
Chapter 7
Mosaic 99
Lesson 7.1—Creating a Panoramic Image in
David Hockney Style 101
Lesson 7.2—Creating an Entire Image 103
Lesson 7.3—Creating a Wide Format Panorama Image 109
Gallery of Mosaic Images 113
Chapter 8
Fresco 117
Lesson 8.1—Applying a Single Filter 119
Lesson 8.2—Applying Multiple Filters 123
Gallery of Fresco Images 126
Chapter 9
Photoimpressionism 129
Lesson 9.1—Photoshop Filters 131
Lesson 9.2—Photoshop and the Smudge Tool 132
Lesson 9.3—Photoshop Liquify Filter 134
Gallery of Photoimpressionism Images 137
Chapter 10
Sequences 139
Lesson 10.1—Sequence Example 1 140
Lesson 10.2—Sequence Example 2 144
Gallery of Sequences Images 148