CDisco Part 3: Cameras for Documentation

Having a camera is an essential tool to capture your design process, inspirations, and artifacts. But the camera market can be very confusing and reviews are not necessarily tailored to the type of work we do. I propose here a list of recommended cameras based on a thorough trade study of the current market. In general the cost, speed, image quality, and feature set are linear.

Enthusiast Point and Shoot (less than $500)

Canon S90: 10 MP, RAW, 28-105mm equivalent lens
Lumix LX5: 10 MP, HD video, 20mm equivalent Leica lens

Entry level DSLRs (less than $750)

Canon Digital Rebel T1i w/18-55mm lens: 15 MP, RAW, full HD video, live view
Nikon D3000 w/ 18-55mm lens: 10.2 MP, RAW, Nikon’s entry level SLR

Enthusiast DSLR (less than $1500)

Canon 50D: 15 MP, RAW, live view
Nikon D90: 12.3 MP, RAW, HD video, live view

Prosumer DSLR ($1500+)

Canon 7d: 18 MP, RAW, live view, full HD video, magnesium body
Nikon D300s: 12 MP, RAW, live view, HD video, magnesium body

For most students an entry or enthusiast DSLR will provide an appropriate level of features, speed, performance, and flexibility to enable you for years to come. Remember that megapixel count is not necessarily equal to increased quality. Go to your local camera store and get a feel for each model. In the end the best camera is the one you have with you, so spend some time researching before making a purchase. For more information dpreview has a good DSLR buying guide.

CDisco Part 2: Processing Design Project Images

After images, drawings, illustrations, et al. have been captured and backed up they need to be prepared in Photoshop. This tutorial aims to give the essential skills for processing images for entry into your portfolio.

Step 1: Image Size

Start by verifying that your image resolution is at least 150ppi, 300ppi is preferred. To do this in Photoshop select Image > Image Size. If your image is below 150ppi go back and photograph (model) or export (drawing) at 300ppi. In the photo process setting your camera to JPEG Fine will ensure a high quality image. When exporting drawings from Illustrator go to File > Export and select the filename and filetype and select Save. In the resulting dialog box select 300 dpi. Note that dpi, dots per inch, and ppi, pixels per inch, are often interchanged although they are not technically synonymous.

Pixel Dimensions: file size, width and height of the image
Document Size:print dimensions and image resolution in pixels per (ppi)
Scale Styles: layer styles are scaled when resizing or resampling the image
Constrain Proportions: original proportions of the image are maintained
Resample Image: pixel dimensions will be maintained

Step 2: Color Balance

Setting the white balance and hue matching your photos is possible by several methods in Photoshop. If your images have white whites and black blacks you can skip this step. But most of the time it is worth a few steps to bring them into line. I recommend first opening the image in Photoshop and go to Image > Adjustments > Levels. Double click on the balck eye dropper and make the color RGB: 8,8,8 and select OK. Next, select the black dropper icon and place it above the darkest spot on the image and click. The image is adjusted to pull that selection to black. Double click on the white eye dropper and make the color RGB: 244, 244, 244. Next, select the white dropper and place it above the lightest spot on that image and click. The image is further adjusted to pull that selection to white. The video below demonstrates this process on a slightly discolored photograph.

If you have a series of photos that all require the same modifications you can use a batch process to save yourself a lot of time. Batch processing has the advantage of editing a series of images exactly the same and can make a series of images visually congruent. Be careful, however, that all of the photos in a batch were shot in the same lighting conditions with the same settings before processing them in this method.

Additional methods of color correction can be done through the Curves, Hue/Saturation, and Color Balance dialog boxes. They are all found under Image > Adjustments and you can experiment with each to see which one works best.

Step 3: Saving With a Purpose

After the photo is color corrected and edited to your satisfaction it is a good idea to save two copies of the image. First save the 300ppi image for printing purposes then go to Image > Image Size change the resolution to 72ppi and click OK. Be sure to have the Resample Image box checked when changing the resolution. Finally, select File > Save As to save the 72ppi image for web and screen use. Be careful not to save over the original 300ppi image!

You image is now ready to import into InDesign, post on the web or insert into a presentation. If you need to change the size (resize) of the image for print use deselect Resample Image and change the dimensions or resolution to the desired values. For changing the size of the image for the web or screen (resample) select Resample Image and change the pixel dimensions to the desired values.