Photo Restoration, Graphic Design and Photography by Marshall P. Reyher

I did this retouching job for a body painter who must like to draw on people with Sharpies too. He wanted me to remove all writing and doodling from the man’s head except for the eyes and eyebrows, as those were his works of art. I mainly used the clone stamp to remove the “extra” drawing on this guy’s head, as the healing brush and spot healing brush tools don’t work too well when trying to clone colored or shaded areas. They do, however, work wonders at blending the cloned areas with the natural skin.

To any and everyone out there. I once worked with a guy who claimed he could increase the dimensions of a digital image without decreasing its resolution. Basically, we had files that were not good enough to make nice prints out of and he came up with what he thought could be a solution. Out of pretend curiosity I asked “how would you do this?” He then proceeded to show me that all he does is “leave the resolution alone and increase the dimensions in Photoshop under image size.” If you have a digital file that is a certain size at a certain resolution, never try to “just make the dimensions bigger while leaving the resolution the same.” If the pixels are “not there” in the original image, don’t think you can just create them. The result will be the same every time… a pixellated, crappy-looking image. Image file below is 72 pixels per inch (web resolution) at 150 pixels wide. Above is what happens when you try to turn that image into a 540-pixel-wide photo.

The larger photo above was created from this tiny image.

When it comes to silhouetting (or cutting-out) objects or items (in Adobe Photoshop – Versions 3.0 and higher) in a digital image, the pen tool is much more useful than the eraser tool. Using the pen tool enables the user to create a precise path around whatever is being silhouetted and also provides feathering options, to make the edges look natural. The eraser can be useful but not in situations where details are important. To get the job done right, use the pen tool and NOT the eraser. If you’re an amateur and just want to play around, you can use the magnetic lasso if you really want to.

Do you need to size an image for something in particular? Whether you need to size an image for upload to the web or to print a portrait of someone, Adobe Photoshop is the only program you’ll need to edit your image.

If your main image-editing purpose is to size an image for the internet or email, then follow these few steps. First you will open the image in Adobe Photoshop. Then, under the image menu at the top of the screen, go to image size. Here, you will de-select or uncheck the “resample image” box at the bottom of the window, then you can change the resolution without affecting the dimensions of the file. In the resolution box, enter the number 72 (make sure pixels/inch is selected to the right of it). Now you should check the “resample image” box at the bottom of the window. How big do you want your image to be? If you want a typical, email-able image, make the longest dimension of your file 10 inches and hit the okay button. Go to the file menu at the top of your screen and go to Save As. Once there, you will name the file however you’d like, and save as a JPEG (under quality, choose 9 as it will preserve the important detail without making the file too big). Now you have a file that you can either email to someone or upload to the internet.

If you would like to print a portrait and need your image sized accordingly, then follow these steps. When printing an image, the resolution must be good (much better than for the internet or email) and ideally will be 300 dots (or pixels) per inch (dpi/ppi) at the printed size. Open your file in Adobe Photoshop and go to the image menu at the top of the screen in Photoshop. Then go to image size and uncheck “resample image” at the bottom of the window. Now, enter the number 300 in the resolution field (make sure pixels/inch is next to it). See what size image you have and if large enough, move forward. If your image is now too small (dimensions), you can change the longer dimension of your digital image (in either the width or height fields) – I suggest the resolution go no lower than 225 dpi (for color prints) and 200 dpi (for black and white prints) if you really want a quality print. Some images may print fine at lower resolutions, but generally, the rules above should be followed. Now you have your image sized, do you want borders? If you would like to add border space to your image, you must pick how much border you want and size your image accordingly. Let’s say I have an image I want to print as an 11×14-inch print. First, I would make the longest dimension of my image 11 inches (allowing for 1.5-inch border on both sides). Then, under image menu at top, go to canvas size and enter dimensions of final print size (in this case 11×14-inches) in the two windows. Now, your print is ready to print. You should now save your file as either a tiff (if uploading to ftp or printing yourself) or jpeg (save at maximum – 12 – quality) if sending by email.

Using Adobe Photoshop, you can do absolutely anything you’d ever need to do to a digital image. If you need to size an image to print or email, follow my simple steps and you’ll have no problems.