Sunday 12 December 2010

Assignment 4: Review of feedback

This module appear to have two threads running through it – the first is about developing the skills needed to manipulate digital images, the second to consider the ethical implications of these manipulations.
My original submission is here and for simplicity the end result is shown below:

Comments from Peter include:
“This one is going to be very difficult to comment on because it is so very well done. The book cover, as you say in your notes, is obviously fake because you have added later members of your family to the original image dressed in modern dress and in color.”
and:
“For me, the photograph itself could be tidied up around the edges to make it look as though it has been kept in perfect condition over the years. The fraying corners are a bit distracting although it does emphasize an old photograph. However I would crop off the border area of the image so that the viewers eye concentrates on the subjects themselves, then it would appear that you have an old photo on a modern book cover. As it is it looks like you have glued the image onto the cover. I would also add a bit more contrast to the color bits, particularly the mans blue shirt on the right so that it catches the eye of a potential buyer.”
Initially, in responding to these suggestions, I tried simply removing the soft white border from the photo, and retained the corner fixings, but it looked unconvincing, so in the end I went for a much more formal crop, as follows:

As I was unable to crop the layer which contained the photo I simply selected it using the rectangular selection tool, inverted the selection, and deleted everything on the layer within the inverted selection. This is a useful technique as the non-selected area is not deleted so you get a nice clean edge to the deletion.
On reflection I think I prefer this later version, and it will be included in my final assessment submission. My initial thought was that it lost the ‘family album’ feel I was attempting to produce, but it is certainly more like a book cover, so I’ll stick with this version.
I conclude that other than potential copyright issues there was little of ethical concern in this image – it is clearly a fake aligned with the title of the book – which was the intended result.
For the record – the small boy in blue is my son at age 5-6, the gentlemen in the blue shirt is my Dad, I’m in the red footie shirt, my granddad is 2nd left on the back row in the military uniform and my great-granddad is seated in the centre.

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