Manipulation of Images - Album Cover (ANCILLARY TASK)

Here is the original image that we took of the lead singer. We chose to have it as a close up of the artists face as too fit into the typical conventions of a album cover for a pop artist. We thought it would be important to do this because we wanted the audience to be able to identify straight away what genre of music would be on the album.

The first thing we did to this image was too open it in photoshop. We changed the size of it to 12cm by 12cm so that it was the appropriate size for an album cover. The next thing we did was use the spot healing tool to even out her skin and to remove any spots or blemishes.

As you can see here, we have removed the mole that is on the artists neck. We also removed any spots and red blemishes that are on her face. We then decided to put a slight blur on the image which effectively is airbrushing the image. To do this we clicked on the filter tab in the top bar, went down to blur and clicked on Gaussian Blur.

We then used the rubber to rub out the blur on the artists hair, eyes, eyebrows and mouth which helped to create a flawless/airbrushed look. By doing this, it helped to define the artists eyes and mouth making them stand out in the image.

After this, we used the Polygonal Lasso tool to select the artists mouth. We then changed the saturation of the mouth so that the lips became a brighter pink.

We then used the dodge tool to brighten the eyes of the artist. To use this tool we just selected it and then clicked the area that we wanted to lighten. Using this tool helped to define the eyes so that they would stand out abit more.

After this was complete, the only thing left to do was to delete the background of the image and enter it onto a new background. To do this we used the Polygonal Lasso tool to select the artists head and then used the rubber to rub out the background. We then used the rubber to go around the edges of the artists head carefully to ensure there was none of the original image left on the final image of the artist.

We then coloured in the background a dark grey. We chose to use this colour for the background as it is quite dull so that the image would stand out and also the text that we would add would also stand out. We chose to use pink text for the album name to match the bright pink lips of the artist.

Once this was created, we then realised that we were not allowed to use Diana Vickers name as all our work needed to be original. We accidentally saved the image as a JPEG which meant we could not edit the text as the layers had been merged together. This meant that we had to use the clone tool to remove the text but still keeping the artists hair in place. We then replaced the name with 'Katie Cooper'.

Here is the final front cover that we have created.

Practice with Photoshop

 As I have to create an album digipack along side my music video, I decided to practice with photoshop before creating the real thing. Here is the original image that I took of the singer.

After taking this photo, I opened it in photoshop and used the rubber tool to delete the background of the photo. This left me with just the singer which I could then put onto any other background that I wanted.

As this was a practice, I went onto google and saved an image of a sunset. On my real album cover I will not do this as it will break copyright laws and all of the images I use need to be taken by me.

I imported the sunset image into photoshop wear I could then place the single image of the artist on top of the sunset. I adjusted the size of the person so that it fit into and looked realistic on the background of the sunset.

I then used a exposure tool that I ran over the top of the image of the singer that made the image darker. This helped to give the effect of shadow that would really happen if the person was in this surrounding. She is also too big to fit into the sunset image effectively.



Here is the final piece, as you can see it is not perfect. It does not look as if this is real as the singer has still got slight white edging surrounding her.

As a practice, this has been successful as I have learnt the main skills in how to use photoshop. I know how to remove a background from an image and how to insert one image on top of another.

Settings, Costume, Make Up and Hair

Here is my settings, costume, hair and make up board. I decided to make a video explaining all of the reasons for choosing the different settings and costumes because it would be easier to show the setting through using some of the footage that features in my music video. By creating this I have understood why I have used certain costumes for the artists to wear and why the settings I have used are appropriate for the style of the song/video.