Assalamualaikum and Hi! Hope that everyone’s well.

For this week, I was tasked to do learn to use the Adobe Photoshop software to do two tasks. The first task which is the warm up assignment is to appropriate two photos, manipulate them and juxtapose them to create a new meaning. I also need to post the original photos as well as the juxtaposition in my blog. The second task is to combine text and images to create a unique, 1 page visual communication. For this, I also was tasked to include the original photos as well as the reflection in my blog.

Let’s begin with the first part of the assignment. In this part, I followed the instructions that is to find a picture and find its association. So, I chose the image of the love birds seen below. I just love birds! This image captures the emotion between the two birds superbly.

Here’s the link for this image :

http://wallpapersol.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/forest-birds-parrots-love-bird.jpg

As you can see, the original image was beautiful but something was missing. The color of the background was green similar to the branch on which the birds are sitting on. This gives a dull feeling for me. Thus, I changed the branch color from green to the normal brown color. This gave a more natural look to the branch. Next, I changed the background color from green to purplish-pink.This enhanced the aura of sexuality in this picture. It drastically changed the overall impact given by the image. I also tweaked the brightness and exposure of the background color to get a more appealing color.

Next, I chose the association for the lovebirds to be the forest. As we know, these birds live in the forest. The relationship of this forest image and the lovebirds should be easily conjured by the viewers, I hope. As you can see below, the original image seemed dull in a way. The green color of the areas except where some light is shining seemed dark and gloomy. I opt to change this in my editing.

Here’s the link for this image :

http://factsabouttherainforest.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/RainForest-bvsdvsd.jpg

So, for this image, I changed the saturation, color balance and exposure of the green color  surrounding the light. I made it in such a way that the green color now pops out more of the screen. It is more brighter, giving a more lively look compared to the original image. I selected the area that the light is shining and increased the exposure as well as, brightness to give it a more lively effect. The light is now more visible compared to the old image. The green color is maintained in this image as I did not want to take away the image of the forest. Instead of changing the color, I improved on other things such as the exposure, brightness and etc in this picture.

Finally, I came up with this image. I juxtapose those two images side by side leaving no room for the background color to be present. I did so to attract the viewers full attention to the two images instead of being distracted by the color of the background itself. So, what is the relationship between those two images? As we all know, most birds live on trees; many of them in forests and I believe this final image which I call ‘Love Birds in a Forest’, suggests this perfectly. The relationship in nature between the two could also be recalled by the viewers when they look at this image. Last but not least, some viewers may also recall a song like the Earth Song by Michael Jackson and so forth.

Let’s move on to the second part of the assignment, shall we? So, for this part, I was tasked to create a 1 page visual communication containing words and images. I searched through many objects or sceneries in the internet to get the best image to fit the idea that I had. Finally, I found a picture that I liked. The image that I chose was the picture of a man walking on a road surrounded by a desert scenery.

Here is the original photo :

Here’s the link for the original photo:

http://img.mota.ru/upload/wallpapers/source/2012/12/20/17/00/33938/rKcGLuYmgb.jpg

As you can see, the image was really nice as it is but yet again something was missing. So, I brainstormed what can I do to improve it and convey the message that I had thought about. I was thinking that I could do something that is related to life. I coined the phrase “Life is just dull, If you choose to let it be”. This proved to be the fundamental message that I wanted to portray in the image. As I thought about how to edit the image, the black and white concept took my attention. I felt attracted to use this concept as it creates a nostalgic atmosphere and also a sense of uncertainty to the image. I experimented with several tones and exposures of colors before making the last draft to be the black and white color. After experimenting with much colors and the quick selection tool, I finally decided that the black and white color was apt for the job, making the last draft my final draft. Deciding to go with the black and white concept, I then made nearly 70% of the image to be black and white. This then, creates a significant difference in color between the 70% and the other 30% of the image. I experimented further with many other colors to fill in the other 30%.

After going through pretty much an array of colors in the color spectrum, I chose the color red. Red seemed apt for the task of making a shocking presence to the viewer. The color red portrays seriousness and conveys presence very well. I adjusted the exposure and saturation of the red color to give it a more striking color. I also made the red to surround the man in the picture. This makes the man also very visible in contrast to the black and white background.

Next, I inserted the phrase “Life is just dull, If you choose to let it be”. I chose the Myriad Pro typeface as this looked very suited for the task. It is very clear and easy to read. I chose to put the “Life is just dull,” text at the top and followed by the rest of the phrase under it. I made the upper text (Life is just dull) to be greyish-white in color. This is to show the dull color associated with the part of the phrase. Then, for the lower part of the phrase (If you choose to let it be) I made it to be an array of colors such as yellow, purple, green and etc. These colors suggests that if you let life just to be as it is, it is quite dull but if you do something, it will be more colorful that is more lively. This in relation with the man below, suggests that if we do something to the dull life ahead of us, we will change it and make it red, a color. I hope that what I did portrayed clearly my message.

 Here’s the final image :

Here’s also my Lynda training completion screenshot :

As a conclusion, I had learned many things this week. It took real time and a huge effort just to come up with just an edited image. I will never look at an edited image the same again. I just love this class!

That’s all I believe for me this week. Till we meet again next week. Thanks for reading! 🙂