Unit 28

Digital Image Manipulation

Techniques
IMAGE MANIPULATION:
Image Manipulation is a process of bringing changes to a digitized image for transforming it
to a desired image. The changes are made possible by resorting to image processing.
Image manipulation in the past
• Image manipulation dates all the way back to 19th century. The first ever
photograph was taken in 1813, yet it was around 29 years later when
image manipulation was invented. One of the first images was taken in
1841, William henry fox Talbot patented calotype, the first practical
photographic process that created a negative that was able to generate
multiple copies. Calotype consisted of a sheet of paper coated with silver
chloride, was then exposed to light in a camera obscura; those areas hit by
light became dark in tone, creating a negative image. This process was
very time consuming, as the paper had to be exposed to the camera until
the image was fully visible. The photograph on the top right, which Calvert
Richard Jones took of five Capuchin monks on the roof of a building, in
Malta; but while four of the monks were congregated in a group, the fifth
one was set a few feet behind them. The negative produced was, when
Jones did not like how this fifth monk pulled down the uprightness of the
outlook and painted over the figure on the negative using Indian Ink. In a
positive print, the place where the fifth monk stood began to look like
a white patch in the sky. 
Daguerreotype
The daguerreotype was the first commercially successful
photographic process in the history of photography, this
was used from the years 1839-1860. It is named after the
inventor, Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre, this is a good
technique as each daguerreotype is accurate and
detailed, along with a unique image on a silvered copper
plate. The daguerreotype is a direct-positive process,
creating a highly detailed image on a sheet of copper
plated with a thin coat of silver without the use of a
negative, the silver plated copper has to be polished and
cleaned until the surface looks like a mirror, then the
plate will be sensitized in a closed box over iodine until it
looks a shade of yellow-rose. After that, the plate that
was held in a lightproof holder was transferred to the
camera. Once exposed to light the plate was developed
over hot mercury until it appears. Since the creation, a
great number of daguerreotypes, especially portraits,
were made in the mid-19th century; this is an example of
the technique, on the top right. Then the technique was
then replaced by the wet collodion process. 
 Retouching/airbrushing in the past
Before digital airbrushing, it was done by hand, the artists had to clean up the
photos by using airbrushes as well as paintbrushes, dyes and other materials
to correct imperfections. Before digital editing was introduced, negatives and
prints were altered directly through techniques, airbrushing being the most
popular. Touch up’s on pictures were needed to create high quality images.
Before the 1860’s airbrushing wasn’t invented, so hand brushing was the most
common technique, although this was good at the time, the images were
often left with visible brush strokes. It wasn’t until around the 1870’s when
Abner Peeler invented the first practical airbrush, he used this to colorize
photos. Colouring
Colour saturation is the strength and power of a colour and its lightness;
referring to how light or dark the colour is. James Clerk Maxwell supplied the
first coloured photo, in 1855, taken by Thomas Sutton. He took a white and
black photograph, through three filters- green, red and blue, and then
projected and overlaid the results the results through the same filters. A lot
of images that were taken in the past were also hand painted to add colour,
watercolours, oils or dyes were the most common to use, they were applied
using brushes, fingers or airbrushes. Artists colour in their images to add a
more realistic look to the image, or even just for artistic purposes.
 Dodge and
Burn
• It’s a technique is used to lighten or
darken areas of a photo. 
• Dodging is used to lighten a spot on
the photo and burning is used to
darken a particular area. You can
use just about any shape or pattern
for the specified area.  The first picture is the original image, and the one next to it, is
• Dodging and burning photographs the edited that has the use of dodge and burn.  The technique,
is a process of manipulating the enhances his nose, cheekbones, chin, the leather of his jacket and the
exposure on a print during the designed rims of his hat; which makes the audience capture their
post-processing phase. You can attention, on his face. In addition, it also creates the allusion that he
create dodge and burn
was standing under the sun.   The person also defined the branch of
photography effects manually in a
dark room. If you are using digital the trees, by darkening them, whereas the orange leaves on the floor,
photography , you can use a he lightened them  and also darkened some of the leaves, for it to
program like Photoshop. look like areas of the soiled ground.  So, he could build contrast
between the tree branches and the leaves, by defining them, so
people can clearly realize that he is in a forest, which adds to the
aesthetic they were looking for.
 Digital Blemish Removal Techniques
Digital blemish removal is a very common thing to do on pictures today, it is
majorly used for beauty and fashion magazines or adverts. To remove blemishes
digitally, the software to use is Photoshop, to accomplish  this you have to use the
‘spot healing brush tool’ to remove the blemishes, this technique is best to use on
small blemishes that need clearing such as spots or a mole. The example on the
top right clearly shows how Harry Styles  face has been dramatically changed to
give him a very clear skin complexion compared to the original image. Companies
tend to remove things such as wrinkles, dark circles, spots etc. they do this to
make their subject look the ‘perfect’ way. 

Near enough every magazine or advert has a photo shopped image as the main
cover, they do this to make the person fit into the ‘perfect’ stereotype and to make
the buyers purchase it, or they could be promoting a product, but by using
Photoshop to do so there are a lot of ethical concerns, such as the unrealistic
perceptions about the ideal body image. This then leads to many people to be
sceptical of the photographs they see because they don’t trust the product to
work due to false advertising.
 Digital
Airbrushing
Today, airbrushing is done digitally, and isn’t really known as airbrushing, it is mainly known
as photo shopping or editing, but airbrushing is still used when talking about models who
have flawless skin and bodies. Digital airbrushing is an easy way to rid the look of things like;
wrinkles, dark circles or acne, it’s a way to make the subject look younger and ‘nicer’. Within
editing, there are a number of tools to use on different aspects of the face. For example, a
clone tool is used to copy exact details or colour from one area of the image to another,
lighting brushes are used to paint with light, colour and shadows, they can alter the
appearance of the image and add a new light source, skin smoothing is designed to give
natural results by making the skin smooth with no blemishes
 Digital Colour Correction
Digital colour correction is the process of using colour mapping, this is a very popular technique and is used mainly on; stage
lighting, photography, television, to accomplish this you have to use colour gels or filters to change the overall colour of the
light. Digital colour correction is applied once the photo has been taken, people do this to make the image look more fun and
appealing. There are different ways to adjust the image, such as changing the hue and saturation, instead of modifying the
primary colours of light, it adjusts the overall colour of the photo, based on how rich the colours are and the
lightness/brightness of the colour. In Photoshop, the main colour-correcting tools include; auto colour, colour balance,
variations and curves. In this example (bottom left), the image of a magazine shows before it has been edited. The edited
one has a high saturation, enhancing increased tone on her skin and on her hair; making her hair have a golden blonde shine
to it. This creates the illusion that she is under natural sunlight. Furthermore, the person decreased the saturation of the grass
and the bushes, making it darker and pigmentated. Finally, the person reduces the saturation of the flower alters behind the
subject.
 Creative Digital Manipulation
Pre-digital use of photomontage:
• Photomontage is a series of individual photographs. You take various photos of one subject and
organize them together to create a single image, for artistic effect.. This can include shapes,
words/letters  and colours. The first and most famous example of manual photomontage, then
called Combination printing,  "The Two Ways of Life", invented by Oscar Rejiander. The image is
a complex tale, of the choice between vice and virtue; represented by a bearded sage leading
two young men from the countryside onto the stage of life.
• Reijander photographed each model and background section separately, adapting more
than thirty negatives, which he carefully merged into a single large print
 Digital photo compositing
Digital photo compositing is where multiple photographs are combined together so it makes one final image.
This photographic technique is most commonly used for advertising, editorial, fashion, fine art, landscape etc.
photo compositing is done through Photoshop, to do this you have to isolate your chosen image and place it
onto a different background. Digital photo compositing is typically used for print, motion pictures, or for screen
display . An example of this is in the image below where the combination of a snowscape has been combined
with and image of snowboarders and a large ice-cream to create a final image that is effective in its creativity.
 Digital visual effects and filters
• Within visual effects and filter, there are many different ways to alter an image. For example, there is the
brightness, saturation, colour balance, dodge and burn. Filters are majorly popular today, as you can use them
as a faster photo editor, they can make your skin look better, change the colouring of the image or just for
creative purposes. Visual effects are used for movies, as they can make impossible things look real. Filters
are separate computer algorithms utilized to change the exterior of an image. This is in the example below,
shows Star-Lord looking away, but behind him is a plain green screen. However, in the edited film, the
background consist of a burned deteriorating planet in space, with a spaceship also breaking to pieces, like
a stimulation.
 Legal and ethical
• Photo manipulation is frowned upon, when it is
constantly used in non-fiction professions, such as
journalism and advertising. Photo manipulation is used
to swindle, convince and manipulate viewers into
having faith in false information. This is evident in this
newspaper, where only three of the missiles
successfully launched; fourth was photoshopped in to
hide the missile that failed.  An American blog, Little
Green Footballs, established the manipulation the day
of the photo's publication, calling it a "Photoshop
fake".  
• Another example, is in Time magazine with OJ
Simpson. Time's cover had considerably
darkened Simpson's skin. The photo presenting a
case already infused with racial tension,
caused numerous complaints.
• Both examples, agitated the relationship between
companies and the public, as they cannot feel secure
of the truth of the image utilized. 
 Legal and ethical
• Photos and images are legally secured by copyright, which is a kind
of wisdom property, giving creators the authority to have copies of their
works, in a resources. Even if you change a copyrighted photo or image, it is
still considered copyright infringement or theft, which may result in being
sued. To prevent from being sued, you should run through usage
regulations, which can support the stoppage of infringement, specifically
from big companies. Finally, you should be discerned on whether it is not
your work, for warning. 
• Ethically, photo manipulation ruins the way society viewpoints people and
themselves, manufacturing the idea of beauty in skin care and its perfect
standards. This outcomes insecurity, anxiety, stress and depression etc. For
many are not fulfilled or content with how they appear. 
• The fashion industry are often criticized, as they encourage an
unrealistic quality of facial beauty, which misinterprets the real norm of
people. As well as this subject, overwhelming the youth, as they are on
heavily on social media. This can motivate people to take dangerous
unprescribed treatments and be down casted that they did not come to the
idea of this society's perfection of skin, or a worse than they felt before,
if they have ruined their skin.