Digital Photography and Imaging - Task 3: Digital Imaging Exercise

Week 4-5 (12/5/2026-22/5/2026)

Emily Wong Jing Lin | 0394765

Digital Photography and Imaging | Bachelor of Design (Honours) in Creative Media | Taylors University

Task 3: Digital Imaging Exercise

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TABLE OF CONTENT

1. Lectures
2. Instructions
3. Process Work - Exercise1: Photo Manipulation

4. Process Work - Exercise2: Recolouring Black and White

5. Feedback
6. Reflection

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1. LECTURES

Lecture 4: Introduction to Photoshop (Adjustment Layer & Filter)

12/5/2026 (Week 4)

1. Introduction to Adjustment Layers

• Definition: Adjustment Layers are a collection of highly useful, non-destructive image editing tools in Photoshop. They allow you to apply color and tonal corrections to an image without permanently altering its original pixel data.

• Workflow Benefits: Users can edit, discard adjustments, or fully restore the original image at any time, making the Photoshop workflow significantly more flexible, efficient, and professional.

• How It Works: Adding an adjustment layer creates a new layer above the image and opens a dedicated Properties panel. Modifying the settings within this panel applies visual changes to the image beneath it.

2. Key Adjustment Layer Tools

• Brightness / Contrast: Adjusts the overall tonal range. The Brightness slider targets the highlights, while the Contrast slider alters the shadows.

• Levels: Modifies tonal values by precisely adjusting the shadows, midtones, and highlights. It is one of the most frequently used tools for standard image correction.

• Curves: The most powerful and precise tool for tonal editing, allowing users to adjust unlimited control points across the entire tonal range.

• Exposure: Adjusts exposure levels using three main sliders: Exposure (highlights only), Offset (midtones), and Gamma (dark tones only).

• Selective Color: Selectively modifies the amount of a primary color without impacting the other primary colors in the image.

3. Introduction to Filters

• Purpose: Filters are essential components in Adobe Photoshop used to change colors, add blur effects, or create entirely new artistic image enhancements.

• Versatility: Photoshop provides a virtually limitless variety of filters to meet different creative editing needs.

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2. INSTRUCTIONS

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J4OzNjT7yVjyR0306N4rmBXDz4ny8oaF/view?usp=sharing

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3. PROCESS WORK - Exercise1: Photo Manipulation

In the first exercise, we focused on Photo Manipulation, which required learning how to cut out a character from one photo and place it into another scene. The steps were as follows:

1. Use the Quick Selection Tool to cut out the character (Shazam).
2. Place the character into the Heart Mansion scene.
3. Adjust the character’s size to fit the composition.
4. Modify the character’s colour tone to match the scene (since the background was predominantly blue, the character’s tones were adjusted accordingly to blend in).
5. Apply a Noise Filter to the character for consistency.
6. Add a shadow, then apply Blur Effect and reduce opacity to make it more natural.
7. Create a reflection on the water surface of the scene, lowering saturation and lightness appropriately.
8. Finally, apply a Ripple Filter to the reflection, giving it a realistic water ripple effect.

These were the main steps for Part 1.

For Part 2, the photo manipulation exercise required us to integrate our own photograph into the same scene. The overall process was similar to Part 1 with Shazam, but the colour adjustments needed to be adapted to match the tones of our personal photo so that it blended naturally into the environment.

Final Outcome

Figure3.1 Final Outcome of Exercise 1 Photo Manipulation (Part 1: Shazam)

Figure3.2 Final Outcome of Exercise 2 Photo Manipulation (Part 2: My Reflection)

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4. PROCESS WORK - Exercise2: Recolouring Black and White

In the second exercise, Recolouring Black and White, the task was to transform a monochrome portrait into a coloured image. The process involved the following steps:

1. Prepare two sets of materials: a black‑and‑white portrait (to be recoloured) and a coloured reference image (to sample tones from).
2. Sample specific areas from the coloured photo, such as hair or skin, and paint them onto a new layer. It was essential to capture highlights, midtones, and shadows for accuracy.
3. Use the Quick Selection Tool to roughly select the hair area of the black‑and‑white portrait, then refine the selection in the Select and Mask workspace.
4. Switch the view mode to Overlay for clearer visibility of the selection.
5. Employ the Refine Edge Brush Tool to adjust fine details, particularly individual strands of hair.
6. Output the refined selection as a Layer Mask.
7. Create a new solid layer and use the Colour Picker to apply the sampled tones.
8. Transfer the hair layer mask onto the solid layer’s mask.
9. Change the blending mode to Soft Light so the colour integrates naturally with the monochrome image.
10. Repeat the process for other areas such as skin, clothing, and accessories, adding appropriate colours to each.
11. For the background, select all layer masks simultaneously using Ctrl + Shift and invert the mask.
12. Ensure that any parts of the subject are deselected to prevent background colours from overlapping onto the figure.

These were the main steps for Part 1.

For Part 2, the exercise required us to select one of the lecturer’s prepared black‑and‑white photos and apply the same recolouring process. The workflow was similar to Part 1, but adjustments had to be made according to the specific tones and details of the chosen image.

Final Outcome

Figure4.1 Final Outcome of Exercise 2 Recolouring Black and White (Part 1: Demo Exercise)

Figure4.2 Final Outcome of Exercise 2 Recolouring Black and White (Part 2: Extra Exercise)

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5. FEEDBACK

Week 4

General Feedback: Mr Shamsul’s general feedback was to make effective use of the available tools in Photoshop. While the demonstration in class used the Quick Selection Tool to cut out Shazam, I realised that Photoshop also provides other convenient options such as Select Object, which can speed up the workflow and improve accuracy. This highlighted the importance of not relying on a single method, but instead exploring different tools to achieve the best results.

Specific Feedback: No specific feedback was given. 

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6. REFLECTION

Experience

During these exercises, I gained practical experience in applying Photoshop tools to manipulate and recolour images. In the first task, I learnt how to cut out a character and integrate it into a new environment, adjusting tones, shadows, and reflections to achieve realism. In the second task, I explored recolouring techniques, which required patience and precision in sampling highlights, midtones, and shadows. Both exercises challenged me to balance technical accuracy with creative decision‑making.

Observation

I observed that the success of photo manipulation depends heavily on attention to detail. For example, the shadow and ripple effects in the first exercise made the integration more convincing, while the careful refinement of hair edges in the second exercise determined the naturalness of the recolouring. I also noticed how colour tones influence atmosphere: cooler tones blended characters into blue environments, while warmer tones created stronger narrative impact.

Findings

From these tasks, I found that effective image editing is not only about technical skills but also about understanding composition and visual hierarchy. I realised that colour adjustments and layering techniques can guide the viewer’s attention and enhance storytelling. Most importantly, I discovered that flexibility in using materials—whether textures, tones, or masks—allows me to adapt creatively to different challenges and produce more compelling results.