Skip the Scanner - Photographing Your Layouts (part 2)

Photographing my layouts has become an easy way for me to share my layouts. With time, I have learned to master the basic principles and get good quality images of my layouts. Please refer to the original article, Photographing Your Layouts, for information on the basic principles.

As I continue to work with these principles, I have found some more methods for getting even better results. Here are some additional techniques and tips for photographing and editing your layouts.

Composing the Layout.
When composing your layout, it helps if you add just a touch of pure white or pure black. If your layout does not have white or black you could add a small temporary spot of pure white that would be “painted over” in your photo editing software later. Pick a spot that’s a plain color, not a pattern. I’ll explain the importance of the pure white and/or black later.

Taking the Photograph.
Although photographing your layouts indoors works, also consider photographing your layouts outside during appropriate weather conditions. While outside, place the layout on the ground, stand on top of something and angle the camera directly over the layout. Place the layout in a direction that avoids shadows and reflections, including from your body, over the layout. Cloudy days, morning and late afternoons work the best.

The one thing that makes the greatest difference in quality is how you were angled when the photograph was taken. If you, as the photographer, are directly centered with the layout while taking the photograph, you will have a better shot and more options in editing the photographs. A photograph shot at an angle will limit your ability to rotate and crop during the editing stage. So, if the layout is on the ground lean over and stand directly over the layout. If the layout is taped to the wall, move your body so your camera is dead centered on the layout.

Setting the camera at Auto Depth of Field works well. If you are using a digital Single Lens Reflex (SLR) you also have the option of taking the photograph on the Manual setting. Set it to f/11 or something in that range to get everything in focus. Then take a few photographs at different shutter speeds until you get something pleasing. The shutter speed will depend on available lighting.

Editing the Photograph.
While editing in a photo editing software program like Adobe Photoshop, crop tightly to the layout. Sometimes it may be necessary to cut off some of the edge. I find it more visually pleasing to sacrifice a little on the edges of the layout than to have the background visible.

If you do end up with a little bit of the background showing after cropping, here’s a fun technique. Select the eyedropper tool and select the color of the layout near the background that’s showing. For example, if the edge of the ground is showing and the adjacent edge of the layout is green cardstock, select the green cardstock with the eyedropper tool. That will now be the color the paintbrush uses. Take your paintbrush tool and color over the background. That will hide the bit of background showing. To paint a smaller area, you will want to enlarge the photo to 200% and follow the appropriate steps. When using this technique of coloring the edges you are essentially expanding the page a little bit. If it’s a small area, no one will notice but it will be more visually appealing than having the background showing.

Use the “levels” option if your photo editing software contains this feature. The levels feature is a quick and easy way to adjust the colors in your layout. In Photoshop go to Image/Adjustments/Levels and click on the white dropper, then click on the pure white part of your layout. Voila! The colors should look much better. You can do the same thing with the black dropper too. This is where it comes in handy to have a small pure white or black spot in your layout. After adjusting the levels, “paint over” any white or black you may have added to the layout.

Sometimes photographs used in the layout don't look as good as the originals. They may be washed out, dark or not as sharp. One tip to deal with this problem is to highlight just the photograph and adjust the levels for that highlighted area. Another option is available for those who take digital photographs. Open a copy of the original digital image in your photo editing software, resize it to the size it is on the photographed layout, then copy it and move it over the photograph that's there. You are essentially covering the washed-out, dark image with the original, crisp image, resized to fit.

Saving the Photograph.
For general saving, I save the completed image at the highest level. Then I save a separate copy for Scrapjazz. First I change the resolution to 72 pixels/inch for viewing on a computer. Scrapjazz limits your file size in two ways: 1) it must be no more than 750 pixels wide or high and 2) it must be no more than 100 K in size. First change the pixels to an appropriate width. Then, save it. If you have Adobe Photoshop use the "save for web" feature. If the file information says it will be more than 100K then you need to reduce the pixel width.

Sometimes I feel like I do a lot of editing of my photographs after taking the photograph. There may be some truth to that. I do like to get the best image possible. On the other hand, it doesn’t really take any more time than stitching and adjusting colors after scanning a layout.

So, take a little time and work with the images. I’m sure you will be surprised and happy with the results afterwards.

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