Editing process of Waiting at the Stop

Original photo

As always, I started with duplicating the original layer

I didn't like the big space on the upper half of the photo and I wanted to concentrate on the people in the photo so I cropped the photo using the cropping tool.

After cropping the photo, I wanted to select around the subjects and as I was not selecting simple rectangular shapes, I used the Magnetic Lasso Tool which I felt was effective for this job.

After selecting, I saved the selection in case I was going to use it again. Because I wanted to select the background instead of the people, I inverted the selection so the background was selected.

I wanted to desaturate the background to decrease the colour in the photo to emphasise the significance of the people in the photo whilst adding to the depressed tone that I was going for.

After desaturating the background, I wanted to tone down the vibrance of the photo as a whole. To do this, I deselected my selection then I went to Image > Adjustments > Vibrance and brought the vibrance value down to -40. I also desaturated the photo a little to enhance the neutral colours showing more definition.

To give a depressed looking atmosphere in the photo, I added a photo filter by going to image adjustments. I chose the cooling filter as the colour of the blue has annotations of coldness and depression.

After adding the photo filter, I felt the photo wasn't dark enough so I decreased the brightness of the photo and increased the contrast a little.

Here is the finished product.

Process of edit of Tube Station Sign

Here is the original photo that I took

To start, I duplicated the original photo into a new layer to prevent the original file being compromised.

I began with correcting the Levels in the photo as I felt the lighting was not balanced.

Using the Black Eyedropper Tool on the Levels window, I picked the darkest least light-exposed part of the photo, in this case under a ledge on the station building.

Then, I used the White Eyedropper Tool to select the brightest part of the photo, in this case the light breaking through behind the sign from the sky.

After selecting these values, I changed the Input Values between black and white, from 1.00 to 1.40.

Afterwards, I wanted to change the hues in the Underground sign so I went to Selective Color in Image Adjustments to be time-efficient (alternatively I could have selected part of the sign but I did not need to).

Here, to the average person, they would not see much difference as the hue of the red seems similar. However, I changed the values of CMY and made the red ring in the underground sign orange, not a vibrant distinct orange but more subtle. This is to make the viewer question the photo if they recognise the slight difference.

I also changed the colour of blue that accompanies the 'UNDERGROUND' title to a purple navy colour. 

I wanted to crop the photo to emphasise the focus on the sign. I used the Crop Tool (C) to do this.

To keep the scale, I held shift whilst selecting how much I would crop of the photo.

This is how the photo looked after cropping.

Next, I wanted to change the Saturation of the metal and concrete surrounding the signs. To do this I used a variation of Lasso Tool, Magnetic Lasso Tool, Quick Selection Tool and Magic Wand Tool. These are all types of selection tools and each one is useful depending on the subject of selection.

After a few minutes of selecting and refining, I completed my selection, ready for editing.

Going to Layer Adjustments, Hue/Saturation, I decreased the Saturation to -51 to increase the contrast of the colour in the sign. I didn't want to completely desaturate the selection as it would look cheesy and unoriginal.

I wanted to give the photo a warming and sentimental feel to it so I decided to give it a Photo Filter. I went to Layer Adjustments and selected the Photo Filter option.

I chose a default filter, Warming Filter (81) and increase the density from 25% to 50%. This gave the photo the effect I wanted. This makes the photo look like it was taken as the sun was setting.

This is my completed edit of the photo:

Some developmental photos

Concepts for final photos

My first photo concept is to take a picture of a traffic light, portrait orientated CU, and change the Saturation/Hue lightly, maybe even desaturating the background to emphasise the colour of the light.

My second photo concept is to take a CU of a bus stop, and change the colour again, perhaps slightly, to make the look for the little change in the photo.

My third photo concept is to take a MS of traffic light crossing, changing nothing but the colour of the green man.

My fourth photo concept is to take a LS of a bus at a bus stop, subtlely changing the colour of the subjects, maybe even desaturating the background.

My fifth photo concept is to take a LS of road signs and change hues of them.

Focus for the final outcome

David DuChemin has inspired me with his use of vibrant and rich colours in his photography. I would like to use contrasting and complementing colour photography as well. In the upcoming weeks, I will experiment with colour in photography, take pictures with bright colours and also play around with it in PhotoShop. These photos will be set outdoors, focusing on what we see everyday on the street e.g. street signs, buses etc. I will develop my research into colour photography and photographers like William Eggleston that encompass the theme of colour, introducing image manipulation too.

My 'Photo Essay' to do over the weekend

My Photo Essay plan. I will change my first shot to a wide shot of Clapham Common.

1. Establishing Shot - Wide Shot

2. Medium Shot - High Angle Shot

3. Detail Shot

4. Moment Shot

5. Closer Shot