Before and After 0654

7/29/2019 Before and After 0654

1/18

Continued

Before&After XiBAmagazine.com U

Pix Trix 3 0654

Scrapbook-style photos

PixTrix3Here are six easy waysto add depth and realismto your digital photos.

Continued


2/18

Before&After

2of11

XiBAmagazine.com U

Pix Trix 3 0654

Make scrapbook-style photosHere are six easy ways to add depth and realism to flat digital photos.

Dexter and Leilani are making a Web site for their upcoming wedding and have

10 years worth of photos to share with family and friends. They want their images to

convey the warm, lived-with quality that youd find in a scrapbook or photo album. Yet

digital photos are by nature cold, flat and hard-edged, so theyll need a little help. Here

are six techniques to add borders, shadows, fasteners, the illusion of a curl and so on

to turn those computerized pix into ones that you can almost touch.

Pix Trix 3 2of11


3/18

Before&After

3of11

XiBAmagazine.com U

Pix Trix 3 0654

Open your photo and increase the

Canvas Size enough to accommodate a

border and a shadow.

Apply a white stroke to the outside

of the photo. Its pixel width will depend

on your resolution.

Add a shadow. Click the layer, and add a

very thin drop shadow to make the photo

appear to be on the page, not floating above it.

Add a border

The easiest thing to do is simply add a white border, which will make your photo look like a

traditional print. Widths vary; older photos generally had wider borders. In Photoshop . . .

Pix Trix 3 3of11


4/18

Before&After

4of11

XiBAmagazine.com U

Pix Trix 3 0654

Look for points of interest. Your upper photos will crop

the lower ones by covering some parts. Look for artistic parts.

Its obvious with portraits that you want the people to

be visible (above), but other images will have

different possibilities. Also, skew your photos

only slightlybetween two and four degrees.

Much more than that and theyll look strewn,

not stacked (right).

Save file size. One photo can look

like a dozen! Save file size by substi-

tuting a solid color for the underlying

images (right) and flattening the file.

Stack em up

A stack of photos slightly askew looks naturally casual; two or three in a stack is usually plenty.

Technically, upper photos would have softer shadows, but in practice this usually isnt necessary.

Pix Trix 3 4of11


5/18

Before&After

5of11

XiBAmagazine.com U

Pix Trix 3 0654

Clip it! Photo of a binder clip is cut from its background

(left), shadowed and simply set atop the photos.

(iStockphoto.com image: Binder clip | Push pin | Paper clip)

Use a decorative element An object that youd find in

the scene makes a lifelike ornament. A cast shadow (not a

drop shadow) makes the pine cone appear to be sitting on

a tabletop. (iStockphoto.com image: Pine cone)

Select

Shadow

Cut

Add an object

Clips, pushpins and other photographic objects add realismand theyre fun. When looking for an

object photo, pay attention to its lighting, which must match your shadows (or vice-versa).

Pix Trix 3 5of11


6/18

Before&After

6of11

XiBAmagazine.com U

Pix Trix 3 0654

Draw corner tabs What saysphoto album more than

those little corner tabs? Just draw, fill and apply a very thin

shadow. Make all the tabs in your album the same size.

ShadowFillDraw a triangle. Reduce its opacity

and apply shadow.

Fill with white.Draw a shape. Note

serrated ends.

Draw your own fasteners

Triangle scrapbook corners and translucent tape are easy to draw and look great.

Draw translucent tape In real life youd rarely tape your

photos like this, but hey; it looks good, and you can use a lot

of varietywhite tape, beige, thin, wide, long, short and so on.

Pix Trix 3 6of11


7/18

Before&After

7of11

XiBAmagazine.com U

Pix Trix 3 0654

Curved shadow creates the illusion of the photo curling

without distorting the image. Drawing a freehand shadow is

about as effective as any mechanical technique and yields

shadows that are slightlyand naturallyirregular.

Draw a shape with

corners like these.

Fill, then blur

the edges.

Place the image. Lighten the shadow.

Add some curl

Paper photos are rarely perfectly flat. Create the illusion of a slight curl by drawing a curved shadow.

Pix Trix 3 7of11


8/18

Before&After

8of11

XiBAmagazine.com U

Pix Trix 3 0654

Lift three corners by enlarging the

shadow and offsetting it horizontally.

Lift the top by shortening the

shadow as shown.

Lift more. The larger and softer a

shadow is, the farther above the surface

it appears to be. To modify an existing

shadow, enlarge it more, then in Photo-

shop select the eraser tool, a soft brush,

and start erasing (above). A slight tilt

(left) makes it more dynamic.

Try different curls

Modifying the shadow slightly lifts the photo higher off the page. Note in all cases that

only the shadow is altered; the photo remains untouched.

Pix Trix 3 8of11


9/18

Before&After

9of11

XiBAmagazine.com U

Pix Trix 3 0654

No old photo collection would be complete without a Polaroid-looking print that has that

characteristically wide bottom margin. Image-to-frame proportions vary; just get close.

Great America ,98

The classic snapshot No photo looks more

informal than an old-fashioned, self-developing

Polaroid print. Just draw a white field and lay the

photo atop it; the wide margin leaves room to

add a scrapbooky note. Below, apply styles from

the previous pages.

31/2

41/4

Image: 3 x 31/8

Stacked Tacked Taped Curled

Make your own Polaroid

Pix Trix 3 9of11


10/18

Before&After

10of11

XiBAmagazine.com U

Pix Trix 3 0654

Select one style and repeat it.

Create a Photoshop Action

Actions save time by recording

repeated steps. In the Actions pal-

ette, click on the Create new action

button (above). Specify a name (and,

optionally, a shortcut Function Key),

and click Record. Stylize your image,

and click Stop when youre finished.

To apply the Action to another image,simply open that image, and either

click the Play button or your speci-

fied shortcut Function Key. (Note:

You will need to create separate

actions for your portrait and land-

scape images.

If you have many photos from different years, you can bring them together beautifully by using just

one style. To minimize making repetitive steps, this is a good time to use Photoshops Action feature.

Fill the page

Pix Trix 3 10of11


11/18

Before&After

11of11 | Printing formats

XiBAmagazine.com U

Pix Trix 3 0654

Pix Trix 3 11of11

Before & After magazine

Before & After has been sharing its practical approach

to graphic design since 1990. Because our modern world

has made designers of us all (ready or not), Before &

After is dedicated to making graphic design understand-

able, useful and even fun for everyone.

John McWade Publisher and creative director

Gaye McWade Associate publisher

Vincent Pascual Staff designerDexter Mark Abellera Staff designer

Before & After magazine

323 Lincoln Street, Roseville, CA 95678

Telephone 916-784-3880

Fax 916-784-3995

E-mail [email protected]

www http://www.bamagazine.com

Copyright 2007 Before & After magazine

ISSN 1049-0035. All rights reserved

You may pass along a free copy of this article to others

by clicking here. You may not alter this article, and you

may not charge for it. You may quote brief sections

for review; please credit Before & After magazine, and

let us know. To link Before & After magazine to your

Web site, use this URL: http://www.bamagazine.com.

For all other permissions, please contact us.

Subscribe to Before & After

Subscribe to Before & After, and become a

more capable, confident designer for pennies

per article. To learn more, go to

http://www.bamagazine.com/Subscribe

E-mail this articleTo pass along a free copy of this article to

others, click here.

Join our e-list

To be notified by e-mail of new articles as

they become available, go to

http://www.bamagazine.com/email


12/18

XiBAmagazine.com UBefore&After

Back | Paper-saver format

For paper-saver formatPrint: (Specify pages 1318)

For presentation formatPrint: (Specify pages 111)

Before & After is made to fit your binder

Before & After articles are intended for permanent reference. All are titled and numbered.

For the current table of contents, click here. To save time and paper, a paper-saver format of this article,

suitable for one- or two-sided printing, is provided on the following pages.

Print

Format: Landscape

Page Size: Fit to Page

Save

Presentation format or

Paper-saver format


13/18

Before&After|www.bamagazine.com

1of6

PixTrix3:Scrapbook-style

photos0654

0654PixTrix3:Scrapbook-stylephotos

DexterandLeilaniaremakin

gaWebsitefortheirupcomin

gweddin

gandhave

10yearsworthof

photostosharewithfamily

andfriends.Theywant

theirimagesto

conveythewarm,lived-with

qualitythatyoudfindinascrapbookor

photoalbum.Yet

digitalphotosarebynaturecold,flatandhar

d-edged,sotheyllneed

alittlehelp.Here

aresixtechniquesto

addborders,shadows,fasteners,theillusionofacurlandsoon

toturnthosecom

puterizedpixintoonesthatyoucanalmosttouch.

Sc

rapboo

k-style

photo

s

Pix

Trix

3

Herearesixeasyways

toadddep

thandrealism

toyourdigitalphotos.


14/18


2of6


photos0654


Openyourphotoandincr

easethe

CanvasSizeenoughtoacco

mmodatea

borderandashadow.

Applyawhitestroketotheoutside

ofthephoto.Itspixelwidthwilldepend

onyourresolution

.

Addas

hadow.Clickthelayer,andadda

verythin

dropshadowtomakethephoto

appeartobeonthepage,notfloatingaboveit.

Addaborder

Theeasiestthin

gtodo

issimplyaddawhiteborde

r,whichwillmakeyour

pho

tolooklikea

traditionalprint.Widthsvary;older

photosgenera

llyhadwiderborders.InPhotoshop...

Lookforpointsofinterest.Yourupperphotoswillcrop

theloweronesbycoveringsomeparts.Lookforartisticparts.

Itsobviouswithportraitsthatyouwantthepeopleto

bevisible(above),butotherimageswillhave

differentpossibilities.Als

o,skewyourphotos

onlyslightlybetweentw

oandfourdegrees.

Muchmorethanthatandtheylllookstrewn,

notstacked(right).

Savefilesize.Onephotocanlook

likeadozen!Save

filesizebysubsti-

tutingasolidcolorfortheunderlying

images(right)and

flatteningthefile.

Stackemup

Astackof

photossligh

tlyaskewlooksnaturallycasual;twoorthreeinastackisusually

plenty.

Technically,u

pper

pho

toswouldhavesoftershadows,butin

practicethisusuallyisntnecessary.


15/18


3of6


photos0654


Clipit!Photoofabinderclipiscutfromitsbackground

(left),shadowedandsimplysetatopthephotos.

(iStockphoto.comimage:Bin

derclip|Pushpin|Paperclip)

Useadecorativeelemen

tAnobjectthatyoudfindin

thescenemakesalifelikeornament.Acastshadow(nota

dropshadow)makesthepin

econeappeartobesittingon

atabletop.(iStockphoto.com

image:Pinecone)

Select

Shadow

Cut

Addanobject

Clips,pushpinsandother

photogra

phicobjectsad

drealismandtheyrefun.Whenlookin

gforan

objectphoto,payattentiontoitslighting,whichm

ustmatchyourshadows(orvice-versa).

Draw

cornertabsWhats

aysphotoalbummorethan

thoselittlecornertabs?Justdraw,fillandapplyaverythin

shadow.Makeallthetabsin

youralbumthesamesize.

Shadow

Fill

Drawatriangle.

Reduceitsopacity

andapplyshado

w.

Fillw

ithwhite.

Draw

ashape.Note

serratedends.

Drawyourown

fasteners

Trianglescrapbookcor

nersandtranslucenttapeareeasytodrawandlookgreat.

Draw

translucenttapeInreallifeyoudrarelytapeyour

photoslikethis,buthey;it

looksgood,andyoucanusealot

ofvarietywhitetape,beig

e,thin,wide,long,shortandsoon.


16/18


4of6


photos0654


Curvedshadow

createstheillusionofthephotocurling

withoutdistortingtheimage.Drawingafreehandsha

dowis

aboutaseffective

asanymechanicaltechniqueandyields

shadowsthatareslightlyandnaturallyirregular.

Drawashapewith

cornerslikethese.

Fill,thenblur

theedges.

Placetheimage.

Lightentheshadow.

Addsomecurl

Paper

photosarerarely

perfectlyflat.Createtheillusionofaslightcurlb

ydraw

ingacurvedshadow.

L

iftthreecornersbyenlargingth

e

shadowandoffsettingithorizontally.

Liftthetopbyshorteningthe

shadowasshown.

Liftmore.Thelargerandsoftera

sh

adowis,thefartherabovethesurface

it

appearstobe.Tomodifyanexistin

g

shadow,enlargeitmore,theninPhoto-

shopselecttheerasertool,asoftbrush,

a

ndstarterasing(above).Aslighttilt

(left)makesitmoredynamic.

Trydifferentcu

rls

Modifyin

gtheshadow

slightlyliftsthephotohigheroffthepage.Noteinallcasesthat

onlytheshadowisalte

red;thephotoremainsunto

uched.


17/18


5of6


photos0654

0654PixTrix3:Scrap

book-stylephotos

Noold

photocollectionwouldbecom

pletewithou

taPolaroid-lookin

gprintthathasthat

characteristicallywide

bottommargin.Image-to-framepro

portionsvary;justgetclose.

GreatAmerica,9

8

Theclass

icsnapshotNophotolooksmore

informalthananold-fashioned,self-developing

Polaroidp

rint.Justdrawawhitefieldandlaythe

photoatopit;thewidemarginleavesroomto

addascra

pbookynote.Below,applystylesfrom

theprevio

uspages.

31/2

41/4

Imag

e:3x31/8

Stacked

Tacked

Taped

Curled

Makeyourown

Polaroid

Selectones

tyleandrepeatit.

CreateaPhotoshopActio

n

Actionssavetimebyrecording

repeatedsteps.IntheAction

spal-

ette,clickontheCreatenew

action

button(above).Specifyanam

e(and,

optionally,ashortcutFunctio

nKey),

andclickRecord.Stylizeyourimage,

andclickStopwhenyourefi

nished.

ToapplytheActiontoanothe

rimage,

simplyopenthatimage,and

either

clickthePlaybuttonoryour

speci-

fiedshortcutFunctionKey.(N

ote:

Youwillneedtocreateseparate

actionsforyourportraitand

land-

scapeimages.

Ifyouhaveman

yphotosfromdifferentyears,youcanbrin

gthemtogetherbeautifullybyusingjust

onestyle.Tominimize

makin

grepetitivesteps,thisisa

goodtimetousePhoto

shopsActionfeature.

Fillthepage


18/18


6of6

PixTrix3:Scrapbook-stylephotos0654

0654PixTrix3:Scrap

book-stylephotos

Before&Aftermag

azine

Before&Afterhasbeensharingitspracticalapproach

tographicdesignsince1990.Becauseourmodernworld

hasmadedesignersofusall(readyornot),Before&

Afterisdedicatedtom

akinggraphicdesignunderstand

-

able,usefulandevenfunforeveryone.

JohnMcWadePublis

herandcreativedirector

GayeMcWadeAssociatepublisher

VincentPascualSta

ffdesigner

DexterMarkAbelle

raStaffdesigner

DesignadvisorGwen

Amos

Before&Aftermag

azine

323LincolnStreet,Roseville,CA95678

Telephone916-784-3880

Fax916-784-3995

E-mailmailbox@bama

gazine.com

wwwhttp://www.bam

agazine.com

Copyright2006Be

fore&Aftermagazine

ISSN1049-0035.All

rightsreserved.

Youmaypassalonga

freecopyofthisarticletoothers

byclickinghere.Youm

aynotalterthisarticle,andyou

maynotchargeforit.

Youmayquotebriefsections

forreview;pleasecreditBefore&Aftermagazine,and

letusknow.TolinkBe

fore&Aftermagazinetoyour

Website,usethisURL

:http://www.bamagazine.com.

Forallotherpermissio

ns,pleasecontactus.

SubscribetoBefore

&After

Did

youlearnfromthisarticle?Subscribe,and

becomeamorecapable,confidentdesigner

for

penniesperarticle.Tolearnmore,goto

http://www.bamagazine.com/Subscribe

E-mailthisarticle

Topassalon

gafreecopyofthisarticleto

others,clickhere.

Joinoure-list

Tobenotifiedbye-mailofnewarticlesas

theybecomeavailable,

goto

http://www.bamagazine.com/email

Documents

Before and After 0654