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Digital Photography

Learn about digital photogrphy and photo editing.

Crop a Photo

Cropping a photo can be helpful in many ways. It can be used to remove an unwanted subject, help put focus on the main subject or to improve the overall composition of the image.

In this project your will learn how to:

  • Crop a photo using either Photoshop or GIMP 

Use the links below to either download GIMP, a free software, or try out the seven day free trial period photoshop offers. The Idea Lab has both of these software available for use on our design computers. 

 

Now try to edit one of your own photos in GIMP using the Crop Tool. 

  1. Open GIMP
  2. Click on File - Open
  3. Select the photo you want to edit. 
  4. Click on the Crop Tool 
  5. Crop your photo
  6. Click Enter on the keyboard to complete the crop.
  7. How to save your photo:
    • To save as a JPEG click File - Export Image
    • To save it to be edited more in the future click File - Save (.xcf file) 

Now try to edit one of your own photos using the Crop Tool. 

  1. Open Photoshop. 
  2. Click on File - Open 
  3. Select the photo you want to edit. 
  4. Click on the Crop Tool 
  5. Crop your photo
  6. If you would like to save your photo click File - Save As and choose a file type
    • JPEG or PNG for sharing/printing. 
    • PSD if you would like to come back to edit the photo again. 

 

Congratulations!

You have finished this project. Wondering what to do next? Here are a few suggestions. 

  • Try out more of the beginner level projects. 
  • Check out the photo editing software section to learn more about Photoshop & GIMP. 
  • Head over to our class page to see what free classes are available online.
  • Take a look at the books section to see what items the library has available.

Simple Photo Edits

Do you have a photo that needs a little improvement? Want to add a little more pizzazz to the last family photo? Then this project is for you!

In this project you will learn how to:

  • Use the adjustments: Brightness/Contrast, Vibrance and Black & White 
  • Apply a filter with the filter gallery 

For this project, you will need access to Photoshop. Try out the one-week free trial below or use the design computers available in the Idea Lab.

Now try to edit one of your own photos  

  1. Open Photoshop. 
  2. Click on File - Open 
  3. Select the photo you want to edit. 
  4. Try out one of the adjustment layers shown in the video or use the filter gallery. 
  5. If you would like to save your photo click File - Save As and chose a file type
    • JPEG or PNG for sharing/printing. 
    • PSD if you would like to come back to edit the photo again. 

Congratulations!

You have finished this project. Wondering what to do next? Here are a few suggestions. 

  • Try out more of the beginner level projects. 
  • Check out the photo editing software section to learn more about Photoshop. 
  • Head over to our class page to see what free classes are available online.
  • Take a look at the books section to see what items the library has available.

Green Screen - Adding a Background

Interested in learning more about green screen editing?  Use GIMP and a green screen to change the background in a photo. It could be another country, outer space, in a cartoon, etc.

In this project you will learn how to:

  • light a subject with a green screen background 
  • edit in a new background using GIMP 

Supplies:

  • Camera 
  • Green Screen 
  • Lights 
  • Computer with GIMP installed 

For this project you will need the free software GIMP, the download link is below.

Before you edit a photo, first you need to take a photo with a green screen background. When taking a photo with the intent of editing out the green screen, you should try to remove any shadows, wrinkles, etc. from the green screen. This will make the editing process easier. Watch the video below to learn more about how to properly take a photo when using a green screen. 

With our photo ready we can start editing. Upload your photo to GIMP. Watch the video below to learn how to replace your green screen background with a photo of your choice. 

Before 

 

After

 

Congratulations!

You have finished this project. Wondering what to do next? Here are a few suggestions. 

  • Try out more of the beginner level projects. 
  • Check out the photo editing software section to learn more about GIMP.
  • Head over to our class page to see what free classes are available online.
  • Take a look at the books section to see what items the library has available.