top of page

Workshop Starter

Introduction to Post Processing 

Post Processing involves the use of a computer or phone to adjust the light, colour and sharpness of photos after you have downloaded them from your camera. More advanced processes enable you to make adjustments to parts of your images and the combining or blending of more than one image or adjustment effect. ​

​

In this Starter Session we will look at the adjustments commonly used on phones and all editing software applications such as Apple Photo, Snapseed, Affinity Photo, Lightroom and Photoshop. 

​

To introduce these adjustments we will complete some tasks using Apple Photo for iPhone and Mac users, or Snapseed for Android and PC Computer users. All iPhones and Macs come with Apple Photo.

 

For Android and PC users upload Snapseed from your application store or Snapseed for free.

​

Snapseed

Snapseed.jpg.webp

Apple Photo

Image 6-7-2023 at 3.21 pm.jpeg

Common Adjustments

These are the adjustments common to all photo editing applications and software we explore:​

​

  • Light

    • Exposure

    • Brilliance

    • Highlights

    • Shadows

    • Contrast

    • Brightness

    • Black Point

  • Colour

    • Saturation

    • Vibrance

    • Warmth

    • Tint

  • Details

    • Sharpness

    • Definition (Structure)

Definitions​

 

We will go through these adjustments and work out the differences between them.

​

Choose Snapseed or Apple Photo, depending on what device you're using and go through the following Tasks

Snapseed

Adjusting Light

  1. Open Snapseed on your device

  2. Click Open From Device select an Image then Use.

  3. Select Tools

  4. Select Tune Image

  5. Note that Brightness is selected

  6. Above the image swipe left and right and note the changes in the image. To reset swipe back to centre

  7. On the image swipe up and down and stop on contrast

  8. Swipe left and right and notice difference. Keep an eye on the dark, mid and light tones. Avoid losing dark areas and washing out light tones

  9. Do the same for each of the options noting the effect. To see the difference reset by sliding back to the centre 

  10. Hold down on the top right button to compare with the original photo

  11. When finished click the tick at the bottom right

 

Explain the difference between Brightness, Contrast, Shadows and Highlights​

​

Adjusting Colour

​

  1. Open another image in Snapseed and select Tools

  2. Choose White Balance and make sure Temperature is showing

  3. Swipe left and right to change the temperature. Left is cool and right is warm

  4. Swipe down and up and choose Tint

  5. Swipe left and right and observe the effect. Reset to zero if you don't like the effect

  6. Click the tick and return to the Tools

  7. Select Glamour Glow and Glow (Vibrance)

  8. Swipe left and right and note the effect

  9. Swipe down and select Saturation

  10. Swipe hard left and note the image is nearly black and white

  11. Swipe hard right and note the intensity of the colours

  12. Swipe down and choose Warmth

  13. Swipe left and right and observe the effect. How does it compare to using Saturation in Glamour Glow

  14. Click tick when you're done

​​

Adjusting Detail

​

  1. Open another image in Snapseed and select Tools

  2. Select Structure (Definition)

  3. Swipe to the right and note the effect

  4. Swipe back to zero

  5. Swipe down and select Sharpening

  6. Swipe left and right and note the effect

  7. Compare with adjusting Structure

  8. Click tick when you're done.

​

Apple Photo

Adjusting Light on Ipad and iPhone

​

Select an image from your Photo file and click Edit in the top right corner

  1. Go through the following sliders on the right of the screen

    1. Exposure​

    2. Brilliance

    3. Highlights

    4. Shadows

    5. Contrast

    6. Brightness

    7. Black Point

Compare the effect of each change on the image​ then resetting by double tapping on the button. 

​

Adjusting Colour on Ipad

Select an image from your Photo file and click Edit in the top right corner

  1. Go through the following sliders on the right of the screen

    1. Saturation​

    2. Vibrance

    3. Warmth

    4. Tint

​​

Adjusting Detail on Ipad​

​

Select an image from your Photo file and click Edit in the top right corner

  1. Go through the following sliders on the right of the screen

    1. Sharpness​

    2. Definition

    3. Noise Reduction

    4. Vignette

​​

Adjusting Light and Colour on a Mac computer

​

Select an image from your Photo file and click Edit in the top right corner

  1. Click on the Wand beside the Edit button

  2. Note the changes to the image

  3. Click on the drop down button on the left hand side of the Light and Colour categories and note how the Application has automatically set each of the options for you

  4. Slide each slider left and right for each adjustment and note the effects.
    Note you can reset each option to zero by double clicking on the vertical blue line for the option. To reset to the Wand setting click on the Auto button at the top of the category

  5. If you want to see what the original image looked like click on the "Show Photo before Edits" button at the top left of the screen. Or you can reset the image to how it was in the first place y clicking the reset button in the top left.

  6. When you finished playing and completed edits click the Done button in the top right.

​​

Adjusting Detail with Photo on a Mac computer

​

Select an image from your Photo file and click Edit in the top right corner

  1. Click on the Wand beside the Edit button

  2. Go to the bottom of the adjustments and select Definition

  3. Try it out.

  • Click this button to see Udemy's course designed for beginners to Affinity Photo. Even if you have zero photo editing experience, you will feel confident working in Affinity Photo by the time you finish.

  • Click here to download Affinity Photo Version 2 for Win, Mac or iPad. It s the platform used for these tasks. At $119.00 for Mac and Win and $49.00 for iPad it is excellent value for money compared to Lightroom or Photoshop. There is a 30 day free trial offer.

Workshop 1 - Affinity Photo

Introducing Affinity Photo

On Wednesday, 24th May, Beechworth Camera Club introduced Affinity Photo for Computer and iPad. Russell and Rick described how to open new photos for processing and the features of the Editing screen including:

​

  • Personas

  • Tools

  • Studios

 

The following  processes were introduced:

 

  • Cropping

  • Adjustments

  • Filters

  • Opacity

  • Masking

  • Blending

Image 9-5-2023 at 1.10 pm.jpeg

The following document management processes were explained:

​

  • Saving

  • Exporting

Workshop Images

We will use these images as we progress through the task described below

Images

Workshop 2 - Layers

Introducing Layers in Affinity Photo

In this workshop we will explore how to edit photos with  Affinity Photo for Computer and iPad.  Russell will describe the process on an iPad and Rick on computer.

​

The basic workflow is:

​

  • Open

  • Edit

  • Save

  • Export

​

Our primary focus in this Workshop is Layers

​

What is a layer? Think of a layer as tissue paper or acetate sheet that lays on top of an original image. It is like a filter that changes the appearance of the original, or background layer without disturbing that layer itself. These filters can change the level of light, contrast, colours and sharpness of the original. They are in a stack and influence the other layers and the original below. The use of layers won't damage the original and is said to be non-destructive.

​

Here we will introduce the concept of layers. There are plenty of them so be prepared for some confusion as you work through the examples below.

​

Task 1a - Open an Image and Create a Curves Layer

​

  1. Hover over Image 1 above and click the download button to download

  2. Open Affinity Photo

  3. Select Open and locate Image 1 in your download folder

  4. Note how the images appears in the workspace and a layer called Background appears in the Layers panel

  5. Click on the Adjustment icon at the bottom of the Layer panel on the computer or on the adjustment icon on the right of the screen on iPad  and select Curves. 

  6. Note: A curves layer appears in the Layers panel

  7. Click on the Curves Graph

  8. Insert a node where the diagonal line intersects the centre

  9. Insert another node at the top third point and drag upwards

  10. Note how this lightens the highlights of the image 

  11. Insert another node on the bottom left third and drag downwards

  12. Note how this darkens the shadows and increases the contrast of the image

  13. Play around with the nodes and see the effect

  14. On the Layers Panel observe the Curves Layer 

  15. Click on the grey dot to the right of the curves layer to turn it off. Note the effect. Turn it on again.

​

 

Task 1b - Add Clarity, Save and Export​

​

  1. Click on the Effects icon and select Clarity

  2. Drag the Clarity slider to the right and note the effect

  3. On a computer go to the File menu and select Save As..
    On an iPad Click the Return to Homescreen in the top left then click on the submenu button for the image to name it.
    Note: The image is in an Affinity Photo format (xxx.afphoto) which can only be opened in Affinity Photo

  4. On a computer give the image an appropriate name and save it to a folder for your Camera Club images. Once saved you can open it in Affinity agin with all changes intact and able to be changed.
    You may need to create a new folder

  5. You need to Export to create a JPEG image. On an iPad click on the 3 dash icon in the top left of the screen and choose Export. Choose JPEG and give it a filename. Click OK and find a place to Export it to.

  6. To Export on a computer Go to the File Menu and select Export. Choose a quality, noting the file size and export it to your folder

​​

Task 2 - Add Vibrance, Save and Export​

​

  1. Download Image 2 above and open it in Affinity Phorepeat the all above processes then add another layer for Vibrance from the Adjustment list

  2. Below the Vibrance Slider you will see Saturation. Slide it back and forward and see the effect. To reset it double-click on the dot in the middle.

 

Note: Use Saturation sparingly. It can create unnatural colour very quickly.

 

Task 3 - Add Levels, Save and Export​

​

  1. Repeat the all above processes for Image 3 and add another layer for Levels.

  2. Slide the Black Level and White Level sliders left and right taking careful note of the highlights and shadows, making sure they are not clipped causing a loss of detail.

  3. Slide the Gamma left and right to see the effect on exposure and contrast.

  4. Turn off the Curves adjustment and see if it makes a difference.

  5. Turn off Levels and turn on Curves and compare the effect of both adjustments

  6. Once finished save and export the image. 

Workshop 3 - Masks

Introducing Masks in Affinity Photo

When editing images in Affinity Photo layers are used to change their light, colour and details. ​When we want to change parts of images only masks are used. Masks are placed on layers to prevent them from imposing changes on areas on the layers below, including the background image. For instance when editing a landscape we may want to darken the sky only without darkening the rest of the image. In this case we put a mask over the non-sky areas to prevent the darkening process from affecting them.

 

The basic workflow is:

​

  • Select Layer

  • Choose the paint brush

  • Select a colour for the brush

  • Paint over the areas you want excluded from the Layer effect

​

Our primary focus in this Workshop is creating Masks on Layers

​

Task 1- Adding a mask to an Adjustment Layer 

​

  1. Hover over Image 6 above and click the download button to download

  2. Open Affinity Photo and open the image.

  3. Duplicate the background layer

  4. Go to Adjustments and choose Exposure

  5. Slide or swipe the exposure to -3

  6. Click on the Paint Brush Button and set the colour to Black

  7. Adjust the size of the brush to 400px and Hardness to 60%

  8. Make sure the Exposure Layer is selected.

  9. Brush over the dog and not how it becomes lighter against the background

  10. Click on the Exposure icon and darken the exposure to -20

  11. If you have brush the background by mistake change the brush to white (shortcut on computer is X) and brush over the mistake.

  12. Save and export your work.

Workshop 4 - Blending

Introducing Blending in Affinity Photo

WORK IN PROGRESS

In this workshop we will explore how to edit photos with  Affinity Photo for Computer and iPad.  Russell will describe the process on an iPad and Rick on computer.

​

The basic workflow is:

​

  • Open

  • Edit

  • Save

  • Export

​

Our primary focus in this Workshop is Blending

​

Task 1a - INTRODUCING BLENDING

​

  1. MORE LATER

 

Task 1b - Editing Glencoe

​

  1. More Later

​​

Task 2 - Using Black and White Layers for Blending

​

  1. More Later

Workshop 5 - Panoramas

Wide Workshop Wednesday

This Wednesday, 31st May, 7:30pm at the Quercus Hall we are going to explore how to create panoramas using Affinity Photo. If you have purchased a copy or have a trial copy bring your laptop or iPad along and well going through how it's done. If you haven't got the software but are still interested come along anyway.

Bring along some images that you want to merge to create a panorama and we'll stitch them together. 

 

Here are a few guidelines for when you capture the images:​

IMG_5673.jpeg

Composing your images

When you take photos for a panorama, you must include a reasonable amount of overlap from one image to the next.

Without this overlap, Affinity Photo can’t seamlessly stitch the photos together. 

But how much overlap should you include? Generally, we recommend around 25% or 30% overlap for great results.

When taking photos for a panorama, look at an element in each frame about 25% from the edge. Include that element in the next frame (also about the same distance from the edge). As you move your camera across or up and down while taking pictures, be careful to line up the non-joining edges as evenly as you can. Trying to keep a straight line helps to make a panorama that will crop well.

Using a standard focal length lens, such as 50mm or longer is best. If you use a wide-angle lens, you will run into problems lining up the images due to edge distortion.

​

Camera Settings

If you use automatic settings on your camera the focus, exposure and colour balance will change with each shot. This will be evident in the stitched product.

For best results set your camera to Manual, including your lens and use Outdoor or 5000K Kelvin. 

Set your aperture to around f16 with an ISO of 500 (depending unavailable light) and set the exposure from a representative location in the shot.

Focus about a third of the way into your shot between the foreground and the horizon if you are taking a landscape.

If your shutter speed is slow use a tripod and make sure the camera is level.

 

Taking your shots

Once you have adjusted your settings, have your camera level and have a thought about what you want to include start from your left, usually with your camera in portrait mode start shooting. Don't go any further than necessary to get a well balanced shot with the rule of thirds and relevance in mind.

​

Getting Ready for Processing

Save your shots to an appropriate place on your computer so that they are easy to find.

If you have shot in RAW process the shots making sure the exposure, colour and sharpness in consistent across the shots. 

Export them as JPEG and you are ready to start stitching.

bottom of page