The digital age increases the importance of Adobe Photoshop in yearbook photojournalism. Photoshop makes all the difference in the world in getting images ready to sparkle on the yearbook page. However, before discussing techniques to help in using this powerful program, let me start with some basic photo advice.
Photoshop/Illustrator
The first step in using lighting effects is to make sure image is in RGB mode even if you have a black and white picture. Perform all the basic tonal adjustments.
Before even getting to Curves, one of the first things Craig Sands recommends in Photoshop is for photographers to change the assigned Profile of the image from whatever the camera setting is to Adobe RGB (1998).
This tutorial will teach you the intricacies of using and adjusting levels in Photoshop.
Create a simple spray paint effect that can be used to spice up fonts and graphics.
A unique way to make images pop is to contrast them. The staff at J.W. Mitchell High School in New Port Richey, Fla., combined the techniques of cut-out-backgrounds, color/black and white, drop shadows and repetition on several spreads, including this cross country spread featured in Caught Our Eye on page 38.
Photoshop CS2 and CS3 have an option called File Info that can save time in writing and placing captions for photos while helping pho tographers improve their skills.
When photographers open File Info, they should fill in their names under author, then write a standard caption for the photo in the description box. When they close the box and save the file, the information is attached to the photo. Page editors never have to ask who took the photo, and the information about the photo is accurate.
The staff at Dunwoody High School in Dunwoody, Ga., used several photo illustrations in their 2006 yearbook, as seen on page 19 in the Caught Our Eye feature. You can follow these steps to turn a photograph into an illustration:
Adobe Photoshop software is a great tool for working with yearbook photographs and digital images. Like most software, it performs many functions that either cannot all be learned or do not apply to yearbook. Tutorials are great for learning more; there are some at Adobe.com, and more will be appearing in Idea File and on our website, walsworthyearbooks.com. So be prepared to hone your Photoshop skills.
This effect can be done with many types of elements. The staff of the 2006 Epic of Lee’s Summit West High School in Lee’s Summit, Mo., used it to help illustrate their theme, “Not So Obvious.” See more about this yearbook in the Caught Our Eye feature in this issue.
