Workshop Wednesdays vol. XX

At uni, I was obsessed with the darkroom and was determined to never spend anytime in front of a computer…. Well… 14 years later (eek!), I can now happily say that I love photoshop and don’t know how I ever lived without it! Of course we all strive for perfection in camera, however, it is comforting to know that our best friend, the creative cloud is there for us when we need it. This workshop will cover a few of the basics of Adobe Photoshop, as well as touch on some of the incredible features and functions of this quickly developing software that will quite frankly blow your mind. I definitely still have a LOT of learning to do!!…

Tip 1

“A truly stunning image generally has more to it than meets the eye. That’s what makes the Adjustment Layers tool so important. The Adjustment Layers tool lets you adjust the color and hue of your image by adding a top layer to it. The best part about this feature is by adding that extra layer, you can totally reverse your changes while keeping the rest of your image intact. You will find Adjustment Layers in the bottom of the the Layers Panel (a black and white circle icon).”
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Random Fact

In The News

Photo For Thought

“When anyone is in a position of power, public perception becomes either your foundation, or a tidal wave that will swallow you and your legacy whole. 

Which means, of course, that PR becomes an incredibly important tool to have in your arsenal. This is why all public figures have countless advisers and managers whose only job is to look after the images of their superior. They do not only reflect the powerful’s persona to the masses, after all; they create it.

PR gurus meticulously examine every image, tweet or video that goes public to ensure that they convey the right message. If they don’t, they are altered or thrown out.

Nowadays, thanks to Photoshop, alteration has become as quick as it is common, and virtually every image in every newspaper or magazine ever gets touched up a bit (or a lot!). But even before Photoshop was around, pictures were being altered to fool the masses and distort perception.

One of the most basic things we know about Winston Churchill is that he liked a good cigar. But modern reproductions of him giving his signature victory salute show the Prime Minister without his iconic cigar.Over the years, the removal of cigarettes or cigars in old photos has become standard practice among photoshopped photos throughout history, and it’s pretty hard to find modern photographs (or modern reproductions of old photos) where people are shown smoking.” 

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Iconic Photographers

RANKIN

“Synonymous with compelling portraiture, Rankin’s lens captures, creates and unveils icons.

Rankin made his name in publishing, founding the seminal monthly magazine Dazed & Confused with Jefferson Hack in 1992. It provided a platform for emerging stylists, designers, photographers and writers. The magazine went on to forge a distinctive mark in the arts and publishing spheres, and developed a cult status forming and moulding trends. It is responsible for bringing some of the biggest names in fashion to the foreground. Today, Dazed Media is a leading online fashion and cultural brand.

As both a photographer and director, Rankin has created landmark advertising and editorial campaigns. His body of work features some of the biggest and most celebrated publications, brands and charities, including Nike, L’Oreal, Dove, Pantene, Diageo, and Woman’s Aid. He has shot covers for the likes of Elle, Vogue, Esquire, GQ, Rolling Stone and Wonderland.

Tapping into the consciousness of the 90s and 00s with his intimate approach and playful sense of humour, Rankin became known for his portraiture of bands, artists, supermodels and politicians. Having photographed everyone from the Queen of England to the Queen of Pop, Rankin is often seen as a celebrity photographer. However, his plethora of campaigns and projects featuring ‘real women’ marked him out as a genuinely passionate portrait photographer. Always pursuing projects that push his limits, Rankin has stood out for his creative fearlessness. His work characteristically probes and questions social norms and ideas of beauty. Personal or commercial, his images have become part of contemporary iconography, evidence of his frankness and zeal for all aspects of modern culture.

A film fanatic, Rankin turned his hand to directing in the late 90s. Between 2002 and 2009, he co-directed commercials, music videos and short films with Chris Cottam, including their debut feature film, The Lives of Saints. Written by Tony Grisoni (Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas), it won the Grand Jury prize at the Salento International Film Festival.

Under the eponymous banner of Rankin Film, Rankin continues to direct dynamic and contemporary films for the likes of Nike, Neutrogena and L’Oreal. Rankin Film reps a roster of the hottest directing talent working today, creating outstanding work within the worlds of advertising, fashion and music.

In recent years, Rankin has produced and presented documentaries, primarily with the BBC, such as “The Seven Photographs that Changed Fashion”, “No Body’s Perfect”, and “Alive: In the Face of Death”, an in-depth documentary into the modern approach to death. Taking on the role of Executive Producer, he founded Collabor8te, in association with The Bureau and Dazed TV, calling on scriptwriters and directors to submit narrative film ideas, producing them for the international film festival circuit.

Rankin has published over 40 books and is regularly exhibited in galleries around the world, as well as his own London gallery. He launched “The Cast” in 2016, a book collaboration with the British Independent Film Awards that documents the great and the good of the British film industry. His most provocative exhibition to date, “Naked”, launched at Kunsthuis Amsterdam in late 2017, with a collection of new nude photography.

His affiliation with charities has seen Rankin travel the world, creating powerful campaigns both as a photographer and a director. Having worked with Comic Relief in 2015, he returned in 2017 to create the t-shirts and merchandise for a record-breaking Red Nose Day. His 2017 campaign with Macmillan Cancer Support went viral as people were encouraged to Brave the Shave.

In 2009, Rankin undertook the biggest project of his career – Rankin Live, a mammoth interactive spectacle and exhibition. Always interested in the democratisation of the image, Rankin proved that everyone can look like a magazine cover star as, for 7 straight weeks, he photographed people off the street, one every 15 minutes – retouching, printing and hanging the image within half an hour of the shutter being fired. Rankin Live has been rolled out around the world, for events, campaigns, exhibitions and openings.

In 2001, Jefferson and Rankin launched AnOther Magazine, with a focus on fashion, originality, and distinction. In response to the expanding menswear market, in 2005 AnOther Man was introduced, combining intelligent editorial with ground-breaking design and style. More recently, the Dazed Group has established itself as an online authority, via AnOthermag.com, Dazeddigital.com and Dazedtv.com.

After a hiatus from the world of magazines, Rankin returned to publishing with Hunger in 2011. A biannual fashion, culture and lifestyle magazine, Hunger and its associated Hunger TV website – a video-based digital platform featuring in-depth interviews, fashion films, blogs, and previews – embraced a future that is both printed and digital. 2017 saw the celebration of Hunger’s thirteenth and biggest issue to date.

Rankin lives in London with his wife Tuuli and their four dogs, Tombi, Pickle, Beans and Squidge.”

THE NEXT THREE PHOTOS ARE AN EXAMPLE OF RANKIN’S STYLE OF PHOTOSHOP ART – HOWEVER, PLEASE CLICK THIS LINK TO SEE HIS FULL BODY OF WORK!

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Tip 2

Digital Art…

“This artwork (above) was created for a Tiger Translate event in Thailand, an exhibition and concert organised by the beer brand to showcase the work of up-and-coming musical and visual artists. It was painted by Ratinan Thaijareorn – aka Ise – a Thai painter whose art draws on fine art and fashion, as well as symbolism.

See also: 86 Best Photoshop tutorials

Ise is an artist pushing digital painting in innovative new directions, inspired by a range of creative traditions. 

In this Photoshop tutorial, she takes you through the process of how she creates her work, first roughly comping the arrangement of elements using reference photos and then applying layers of brushwork above them to produce the final piece.”

View a number of incredible tutorials HERE

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Tip 3

“Crop and straighten

Using the Crop tool, you can trim edges, change the shape and size of a photo, and even straighten a crooked shoreline or horizon. 

Improve lighting and colour

Brighten a photo and make its colors pop using adjustment layers.    

Remove unwanted content

Easily eliminate distracting elements with the Spot Healing Brush tool and the Patch tool.    

Add creative effects

Convert color to black and white, add an old-fashioned tinted look, and play with focus using the Tilt-Shift Blur filter.  

Sharpen and save

Apply a sharpen filter to give your photo a finishing touch. Then save your edited file in PSD format to preserve your layers for future editing. To share your photo online or by email, save a copy as a JPEG.” 

SEE ALL VIDEOS HERE

Our Story of the Week

Our story of the week belongs to Jacqui and Andrew. We met five years ago for their wedding at the Landing, Dockside – although little did I realise we had a long history already! Andrew went to school with my brother, and, as it turns out, my now-husband’s big brothers as well – small world!
Anyway… Their wedding was just beautiful and their adorable dog Asha was involved as much as possible. 
We met again last month to celebrate the arrival of Matilda Cassidy… their beautiful baby girl who is loved and cherished by the whole family – including Asha!
It was so wonderful to see this beautiful dog already so protective of her human baby sister. My heart melted in this photo shoot and I’m so excited to share the finished product with you very soon Jacqui and Andrew – congratulations again!! X

Thank you for getting this far! We hope it’s been a worthwhile read for you and we’ll look forward to checking in next week.

Please call or email anytime if we can help.

Best Wishes, 
The Hannah Photography Team:
Hannah, Olivia, Nic (and Charlie the Cat)