Unit 202

Unit 202 Imaging Software

Task 202.1.1 Describe what images are needed

Image 1. YouTube and Google plus profile pictures
I decided to resize the logo for Heirlooms Ever After, because it is a bitmap image I used ipiccy to edit it, I changed the width and height of the original image as you can see below to 250x250 so it would be the perfect size for a YouTube profile picture and google plus profile picture. Making it the required size makes it easier to upload to be your profile picture and it saves memory on your computer as it isn't necessarily too big of a file for the purpose needed.

Image 2. Header for Twitter
I decided to re-create the banner for Heirlooms, still using the colour purple and logo but making it simpler and cleaner by making the background white instead of a purple design as the background. Using ipiccy I made a custom template so it was 1500x500, meaning it is already the perfect size for the Twitter header.

Image 3. Photo for Instagram
An Instagram post is 1080x1080mm so using ipiccy to edit the photograph as it is a bitmap image, I scaled the photo so it fitted in the template I created and changed the hues and saturation on the photo just so it looked more aesthetically pleasing, which is important on Instagram because it is all about the photo and how nice it looks. The photograph has a high resolution making it a good quality photo so even though when zoomed in a lot it still pixelates, it is still a very clear photograph.

Image 4. YouTube thumbnail
On YouTube it is normally the videos thumbnail that attracts people to watch the video, so making sure the thumbnail is eye-catching is vital. This can be done in many ways but I wanted mine to look professional and not in your face but still eye-catching. I chose three images with high resolution to catch peoples eyes. I made sure the template was the correct size at 1280x760 making it easy to upload onto YouTube and also not wasting space on my computers memory.

Image 5. Design for a-board display
For an a-board you need the quality of the image to be good as it is going to be printed out. So this is a vector graphic which when you zoom in there aren't little squares, as they are objects instead which when scaled up don't go blurry. I used inkscape to make this as it is perfect for creating and editing vector images.

Image 6. Design for flyer
Vector images are ideal for when you want to print something off, as they will not loose the high resolution that is required for a print out. I used Inkscape to make the flyer and used vector shapes to make the boarder for the logo. The size is set to A5 (148x210mm) so it won't need resizing when printed off. I kept it very clean and simple and only included the necessary details on the flyer. But as you can see compared to raster images, when you zoom in on vector images it doesn't pixelate.

Task 202. 1.2 Obtain, input and prepare images to meet needs

When making the Etsy online shop for Heirlooms, I took all the photos myself, edited all the photos and uploaded them all. This meant I had to make sure I had all the correct settings and sizes so that the images would be the best fit and quality for their purpose.
So the image is 3000x4000 making it a large image with high quality, Etsy can take this size image and it didn't need resizing or adjusting, but this did make the size of the file 5.9MB. The image is 72dpi as it isn't an image that is going to be printed off and the colour mode is RGB again as this is an image online that isn't being printed off.
To edit this image I used ipiccy as it is a RASTER image, so I added shadows and light to make the picture more refined.

Task 202. 1.3 Describe what copyright and other constraints apply to the use of images

When using images you must always check whether they are legal to use in your business and even for you personal use sometimes. A way you can get around it is taking your own photographs because then you are the legal copyright owner of what you have created. But if you want images off of google then you can use the tool on finding images with the usage rights that allow to use them.

The meanings of:

Copy right is having control over your piece of work and deciding how others can use your work, if at all, and having control over selling of your work.

Data protection is what controls how everyone's personal information is used and your rights on knowing how your personal data is being used on the internet.

Intellectual property is someone's ideas, creations and work that are property of their copyright or trademark that others cannot copy the idea of the piece of work.

Creative commons is an organisation that encourages/helps increase the range of images available legally for people to use.

Overall when using others work always make sure you have their permission, and if it is legal to use their images make sure to acknowledge their work in mentioning their name or business, as this gives credit to them which they deserve, as you want to avoid plagiarism and saying the work is your own when it is not.

Task 202. 1.5 Describe the context in which the images will be used

The wedding photos in which are seen above would be used for online purposes as they are RASTER images (photographs) which have a set amount of pixels in the width of the photo, so the pixels stretch when scaled up, overall making the image blurry. So you could put these images on your website but they wouldn't be good for printing out.
Overall the purpose of the wedding dress photos is to show people what the dress looks like and if you used a camera with high resolution then you could print off the photos and put them into a glossy brochure.

Task 202. 1.6 Describe what file format to use for saving images to suit different presentation methods

.JPG images
It stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group
This file format is commonly used for high resolution photographs, complex images and online use. As it is a RASTER type of image, when scaled up it will loose its quality, also making it not good for printing out.

.PNG images
It stands for Portable Network Graphics
Used for transferring images online and like a jpg file it is not ideal for printing as it will loose the quality when scaled up larger than it is originally. It is another file that you could use instead of a gif file.

.GIF images
It stands for Graphics Interchange Format
It is a similar file format to png but has a lower quality image. It is used primarily for online use, as it allows animation on images which can have a transparent background too. Also it compresses the file so that it can be easily used online and support the moving image without taking up too much storage. It reduces the number of colours in your image to 256, this is a way it reduces the files size.

.PSD images
It stands for Adobe Photoshop
Photoshop is used for editing your photographs and also web design, as it has so many tools and techniques that you can use. When importing and exporting an image from Photoshop, you can only open up the file if you have Photoshop downloaded onto your desktop, narrowing down who you can share these images with.

.EPS images
It stands for Encapsulated Postscript File
Used to save vector images, for example logos for a business and other vector illustrations made by using shapes and not pixels, making it re-sizable to any size without loosing its quality. Furthermore this makes it that these files are perfect for printing off your image, even if the image is large it will still have great quality. Supports transparent background, perfect for using on websites, so it gives a clean look without borders as the pictures appear to be floating.

.PDF images
It stands for Portable Document Format
Used to import and export documents, while keeping the images quality as it is a vector file. It can be used to send digital copies of hard-copy images by email for example.

.AI images
It stands for Adobe Illustrator
This is a file that saves layered images and graphic designs. An example of this file format being used is for an original piece of work that a graphic designer would make for a businesses logo. Overall supporting vector images that are in the formats of EPS or PDF.

Task 202. 1.7 Store and retrieve files effectively, in line with local guidelines and conventions where available

After you have created an image or document it is always important that when saving you name the file a name that is relevant to the work, so that you can find the file again more easily. You can also organise your files into folders which allow you to place similar files all together.
Importing and exporting data can be easily done by just copy and pasting. You can also after saving your work, attach the file onto an email.
Version control is where you have a file that already exists, and you edit the document or image and when saving it, the computer adds a number or character to the existing file name so that you can tell the difference from the original file and the altered file.

Task 202. 2.1 Identify what technical factors affecting images need to be taken into account and how to do so

When creating a image, it is a good idea to set the canvas to the size that is required for the images purpose, so for example if you are making a image that will be used for Facebook cover photo, you would set the canvas to 851x315mm so that when uploading to Facebook it would except the image and you wouldn't have to crop any of the image out for it to fit.
Colour mode is another factor to take into consideration, if the image is going to be used for online purposes then the colour mode should be set to RGB, as this is what computers work with. However if you are creating a image that is going to be printed off then you should set the colour mode to CMYK as this is what printers use.
When saving your image the file size can be made smaller by having the canvas at the required size that is needed for its purpose, then this way you are not wasting unnecessary data by creating the image larger than what is needed. Also some file formats compress the files so that they are smaller for use online.
The difference between the resolution on screen and print is that screen resolution is 72dpi and print is 300dpi making it quite a difference as for print the resolution needs to be higher as the quality needs to be higher as it is a vector image.

Task 202. 2.2 Select and use suitable techniques to create images

There are so many different types of images that you can create using different tools. You can make simple shapes and text or you can create intricate images that are realistic.

Using Inkscape I used the star and circle tool to make simple shapes, and then filled them in with colour. I also used a paint brush that was in the same style as a calligraphy pen. And finally I used a text box to type in some text and changed the font and size to make it more aesthetically pleasing. All these techniques are very simple and can be achieved on most photo editing and painting software.


When editing a photo there are so many tools and techniques that you can use to make the image your desired look. Below is an example of editing a photograph on ipiccy. I changed the exposure which involved adding highlights and shadows and the colour contrast to make the image stand out more in certain areas, such as the face was made lighter and the edges of the photo darker, creating depth.

Task 202. 2.3 Use guidelines and dimensioning tools appropriately to enhance precision

When editing or creating images, various tools can help you achieve exactly what you want in a image. Here I am showing how to group images, use guidelines and changing other factors.

Above I have made two simple vector images, and I have decided to group them so that they become one image. You can do this by selecting both images and then right clicking and then simply selecting the group option as highlighted in the screen shot. You can also ungroup the images if you wanted by doing the same.
Changing colour and text options are easy to do by clicking on the shape and changing the colour and with the text you can click on the text and then all the options become available at the top of the screen.

If you want to rotate the image then you double click on the shapes and then two points will appear as you can see in the screenshot, you then use your mouse to rotate the image into whatever position you want.
If you wanted to flip the image then you can do this easily by clicking on the shape and then the options appear on the top right of the screen and you can choose the option flip, you can also rotate the picture this way too.
When resizing an image, you simply click on the image and then when the dotted lines appear with little boxes at the corners, you can use these to drag the shape into a smaller shape or a larger shape.

Above is examples of using filters on the shapes to create different effects making them a desired look. You can achieve this by clicking on the filters tab at the top and choosing which filter you want to add to your selected image.
Also shown above is how to use the layers, I have two layers on this simple example, but I wanted the smaller star to be on top of the larger star, so I clicked the smaller star, chose the layers tab and clicked 'move selection to layer above'.

Task 202. 2.4 Select and use appropriate tools and techniques to manipulate and edit for images

So when saving my image, I chose that I wanted to change the file format into a pdf so that I could email it to other people easily.

Before I saved the file, I made sure everything was correct like the dpi which was at 72dpi perfect for online use. And double checking that it was to be a pdf file.