Unit 35

In this unit I will be talking about how to undertake the technical adjustments of images. There are two types of colour models and those are RGB and CMYK. RGB is used for uploading photos on the internet. So when you're making a design in Photoshop or Inkscape you need to make sure that when you open a new page you choose the RGB format if you're planning to upload the image to the web. RGB means Red, Green and Blue and these are the three primary colours of the colour model. The main purpose of using RGB is for the sensing and the display of images on an electronic device i.e the computer. RGB isn't just used on a computer though, it is an input system on most electronic devices such as a colour television and video cameras. I say most electronic devices because obviously on non colour television then you won't need an RGB input device because their is obviously no colour. RGB is also an output device because its what comes out of the electrical devices such as the televisions (LED, Plasma,CRT, etc) and computer monitors. Colour printers on the other hand aren't RGB colour models but they are in fact the subtractive colour devices or typically know as CMYK devices. CMYK is used for printing simply because it looks better when you print in CMYK. If you're printing off documents or images for a client or the company or even yourself then you want them to look good and they need to be clear. If they aren't then the client or company won't be best pleased with the image. If it is good quality and clear then this shows that you know the difference between RGB and CMYK colour models it also makes the customer happy because they can see exactly what you have produced as it will be clear enough to see. CMYK comes from RGB and just like RGB the letters for CMYK have a meaning to. Cyan (Green and Blue) Magenta (Red and Blue) Yellow (Red and Green) The K stands for Black or Key and is therefor added to the model because black can't be made by the three subtractive primaries. (when they're all added together they create a dark brown). As I said before CMYK is used in the printing process. It is a four colour printing process and this is obviously because of the four colours. When the colours are combined on paper they're actually created by tiny little dots. You then see the completed image as it looks on the screen but on paper. Graphic designers also use CMYK. Yes they see their work on monitors as RGB but when they come to finally printing it, it will be CMYK. They must make sure that they convert their digital files to CMYK format before they send their work to the printers. Because of this issue it's a good idea to use swatches.

When designing you want your work to look at its best and what a swatch does is makes sure that the colour matching is exact. Swatches also provide the designer and the client with a preview of what the colour would look like when its on paper. Then a selected swatch could then be chosen in Photoshop, Inkscape or any other design program. With a monitor being RGB and printing being CMYK BMP or .TIF file. If you wish to reduce the file size (the number of mega bites required to save the file) then you would save the image as a .JPG or a .PNG file. This way you can choose the amount of compression you want before saving the image.

It is important to consider compatibility of images when designing. If you are creating graphics online then the file needs to be set at 72dpi saved as a jpeg, however if it is going to print the file needs to be 300dpi saved as a tiff. Another thing to remember about pixels and resolution is that the bigger an image is then the more mega bites are required to save the file obviously because its a larger file. Think of it like a money box, if you have a money box that allows you to save 100 £1 coins and you need to save more because you have more than 100 £1 coins then you will require a bigger money box. You also need to remember than when a file isn't compressed its quality is good but when you compress an image yes it does mean you won't need as much mega bites to save the file but you are risking the quality of the image. It doesn't matter how big you want to print something. It can be as big as you want it to be. If you have an image that is 800X400 then you can print it like that but if you want it bigger then you will start to see blocks. We call this pixelization. If you played computer games such as the first Sims game then you will know what pixelization is. You should make sure that when you're printing something off that the printer can handle it. This is where DPI comes into everything. DPI means Dots or Pixels Per Inch. If you want to print an image that is 800X400 and you want to print that to 200DPI you do this equation. Length divided by DPI and height divided by DPI. So that is 4.0X2.0. If you print that at 200DPI then the quality would be good. 200DPI is what is recommended as the minimum for good quality printing.

It is important to have accurate metadata being both technical and descriptive. Technical being metadata stored on a camera such as shutter speed, aperture and make etc.. This can also be searchable metadata when using images on the web with specified data relative to the image. Descriptive could be relevant to copywrite status or the name of photographer or designer.

Finally we must talk about the copyright issues of photography. There are five points that I will list so that you understand the copyright laws.


1. Who owns the copyright on photographs?


The photographer owns the copyright on any photo that they have taken unless they work for a company and they take a picture for them on their behalf then the company that the photographer works for will own the copyright to that particular photo. The other way that the photographer wouldn't own the copyright would be if they sold their work to another party, then that particular party would own the copyright of that photo. No matter what, if it is any other case then the photographer who took that photo will own the copyright to it.


2. Copyright registration.


You're probably thinking why register? Well this is a simple answer. If someone else or another party tries to steal your work and you want to sue them for copyright, if you have registered then you have the proof to show that its your work. You can also submit loads of photos and only pay a single fee so if you want your work protected then it's really worth it.

3. Using the work of others

No matter what work you want to use that belongs to someone else, be it a font style, an image or a piece of writing you should obtain permission from the owner to use it. You should also be prepared to pay a fee of some sorts because its very unlikely that a copyright owner will let you use their work for free when they have put all the effort into doing it. A copyright owner can refuse to let you use their work for any reason, no matter how silly it may be. It's their work and if they don't want you using it then that's final.

4. Marking your work.

If you're a photographer and you submit work to a company and then people call that company and ask to use a certain photograph and it isn't makers then they won't know what to tell that person calling up as they won't know who has submitted it. You should also place a copyright notice on your work so that people know its copyrighted. Doing this will help to deter infringement. If you are uploading a image to the web and you wish to copyright it then you should just edit it in Photoshop and place a copyright notice on it.

5. Model release forms

An individual has certain rights to control how their image is used. This varies from country to country depending on laws. The general rule is to protect from defamatory or to use the image as something offensive.