Scanners & Digital Cameras In this exercise students will use Ofoto or ScanWizard to scan photographs or other COPYRIGHT FREE graphic images. Likewise, if students wish, they will be allowed to use -- during lab time -- a digital camera to take photos of themselves, upload the image(s) to their Uhunix accounts, then download them to their computer workstations. Students will then manipulate either scanned images or digital photographs using PhotoShop, and save them as GIF files for possible inclusion on their web pages. Specifically, this week students will complete the following: Log-on to the Social Science Mac Lab Computers Learn how to scan an image using Ofoto or ScanWizard At your leasure, learn more About Digital Photography Learn how to effectively use a Digital Camera Use PhotoShop to edit graphics & save them in a Web readable format [GIF] Complete a set of tasks prior to the end of lab class Finally, don't forget to Log-out! Scanning Images Using Ofoto It is possible to scan just about any color image, black & white image or text -- from original photographs & art work to books, handouts, magazines, advertisements, newspapers, or maps. However, you may want to consider what you're using the image for [presentation, publication, or handout?] and whether or not the image is copyright-free or not. Don't scan copyrighted images for publication on web pages or class assignments unless you have permission to use the copyrighted images or if your use does not violate copyright law. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should! The Communication Department's Computer Lab has provided an excellent Step-by-Step Guide on how to scan graphics using Ofoto. Students should review this document prior to scanning any images using the Ofoto software.   PLEASE NOTE: There are a couple of settings you should keep specifically in mind when scanning graphics for the Web. Remember, for most multimedia projects, you will need images that will display on your computer's monitor. As a general rule, 72 dots-per-inch and 16-bit or 24-bit color resolution should work just fine -- you will be reducing to 8-bit later when making the graphic viewable on the web. Scanning with the ScanWizard Plug-in ScanWizard is Microtek's exclusive feature-rich scanning software for the IBM-PC and Macintosh. With ScanWizard, you can capture images placed on your scanner, adjust or enhance those images for maximum impact, then place them in your target application [such as Adobe Photoshop]. What makes the ScanWizard plug-in so useful is that it is accessable from within Photoshop -- allowing sophisticated image-editing before and after you scan an image. For instance, ScanWizard lets you "preview" precisely what your scanned images look like -- even before you scan them -- thus taking all the guesswork out of scanning! Then, after you've scanned the image, you can immediately begin manipulating the image using PhotoShop's sophisticated palette of tools, filters, etc. Accessing & Using the ScanWizard Plug-in: Launch Photoshop From the PhotoShop "File" menu select "Import" and then "ScanWizard PPC 3.2.1" The ScanWizard splash screen will appear momentarily while the plug-in is loaded. The "Preview" screen will allow you to pre-scan your image and crop it to suit your needs [if necessary] by pressing on the preview button. To select the area you wish to scan, click and drag the selection marquee to cover the exact image(s) you wish to scan. After making your adjustments, press the scan button and let the software do the rest! As is the case with Ofoto, you may need to make adjustments to the ScanWizard settings to capture images for display on a color computer monitor. The ScanWizard settings window allows for setting type ["millions of colors" meaning 24-bit color depth as well as grey-scale settings, RGB and CMYK among others] and for resolution -- whereas the default for type is fine [for now], make sure your resolution is set at 72 dpi. Once you have completed your scan, save your image file to a diskette or in the "Guest" folder for upload to your Uhunix account and subsequent download to your own Mac workstation. For most images, it is best to use either the PICT option with no compression [for relatively "small" files], or the Photo JPEG compression with a setting between "medium" and "high" quality. Later in this Lab exercise, you will use PhotoShop to change the format of your file to GIF and save it for possible use on your "bio.html" webpage. For more information on scanning, check out Getting the Best Scans [provided by the makers of ScanWizard!] Also check out Scanning for Beginners by Clark R. Thames (1998). About Digital Photography Digital photography is coming on fast. Whatever its limitations today, digital camera technology is advancing at break-neck speed, so it's only a matter of time before digital photography surpasses film-based photography in just about every category. However, I wouldn't throw away my film-based camera just yet if I were you. A film-based camera is still better for some jobs than a digital camera. For example, taking really detail-orineted pictures -- especially, pictures you might want to have enlarged. On the other hand, a digital camera is better for other jobs, such as emailing pictures to Grandma or posting them on a Website -- going from "snap-shot" to "desktop" without having to develop film [& wait for the photos to come back] or scan a photograph. The picture to the right was captured by a camera. Was it a regular film-based camera or a digital camera? It really doesn't matter. When presented on the Web and viewed on a computer monitor, you'll be hard-pressed to tell the difference [However, you would see a real difference if you were looking at a printed image]. Where digital pictures really shine is in the ease with which they can be transformed when they are digitally manipulated in a computer. This is where you can start to see the magic of digital photography! For example, the second image has been digitally enhanced using PhotoShop -- an artificial background has been added, layers used to add depth, glare was reduced using dodge & burn tools, even turned the image into a stylized 3-D button! With the use of a computer we can also eliminate red-eye . . . or make a black & white image out of a color photo . . . or make it look like a modern-art portrait . . . or manipulate the image and change it in hundreds of different ways. All this is possible with the click of just a few buttons! However, exploring this aspect of digital photography is the subject of subsequent lab exercises . . . Below are some useful links for further exploration of digital photography: A valuable site for understanding digital photography is the New York Institute of Photography's Digital Photography Primer [everything you wanted to know about digital photography... and then some!]. Take a Short Course in digital photography [by Dennis Curtin]. Digital Photography.com is a website dedicated to providing valuable online resources. For informative reviews of high end equipment and their use in professional photo shoots, visit digital-photography.org. For definitions of technical terms used in digital photography, visit Olympus America's Terms of Digital Imaging [or get the pdf!]. Even though this site is oriented more toward FILM-based photography, Kodak's Guide To Better Pictures provides a great introduction to photographic techniques, lighting and composition. Using a Digital Camera The Communication Department's Media Lab has available for student check-out [after a 1/2-hour certification!] two (2) Olympus D-200L digital cameras. These cameras can store up to 20 "High Quality" images [640 x 480 pixels] or 80 "Standard Quality" images [320 x 240 pixels] depending on the user selected resolution mode. The D-200L is powered by either four (4) AA batteries or an AC power cable [you must supply your own batteries]. Basic features include red-eye reduction, image management, and macro capabilities. Image courtesy of Olympus America. Students wishing to use the D-200L digital camera should familiarize themselves with its operation prior to using it for the first time. Review the following documents and get certified! Olympus D-200L Digital Camera Online Instructional Guide Olympus D-200L Orientation Guidelines Downloading with the Olympus Plug-in The Olympus Digital Camera comes with software which allows you to connect the camera to a computer [Mac or IBM-PC] and transfer picture data. You can then use your imaging software [e.g., Adobe PhotoShop] to manipulate the photos and add them to projects [such as Web pages]. The process is as follows: Take pictures using the Olympus Digital Camera. Connect the camera to the computer. Access your imaging software. Select the Olympus plug-in [or install & access the Olympus 3.0 application]. Download the picture(s) you want. Use your imaging software to edit your pictures and prepare them for use in your project(s). When you download pictures from the camera to your computer, they are immediately available for use in your imaging software. You can either save the pictures as files or edit them for use in projects. Connecting the Camera to a Mac: Turn off the camera by closing the lens barrier/cover. Connect the two cables provided with the camera to make a single communications cable [skip this part if you are using an IBM-PC]. Connect the short end of the serial communication cable to the computer's printer or modem serial port [on an IBM-PC connect the serial plug to the appropriate port on the back of your computer]. Connect the other end to the camera. [the D-200L uses an RS232C Jack] Turn on the camera. To save battery power during extended downloads, plug the Olympus C6AU AC Adapter into the AC Adapter jack. For battery power use four (4) fresh Alkaline or Lithium AA batteries. The Olympus Digital Vision Plug-in software is accessed through imaging application software like Adobe's PhotoShop. The image editing software and plug-in or the Olympus 3.0 application must be installed before you can download images to your computer. Downloading Guide: After connecting the camera to your computer, turn on the camera by opening the lens barrier/cover. Launch the PhotoShop program. From the PhotoShop "File" menu select "Import" and then "Olympus." The Olympus splash screen will appear and display Loading # of # in the bottom left corner. After all of the "thumbnails" are downloaded, a" Contact Sheet" will appear and display all the images currently in the camera. Click on the images that you wish to download [a blue box will appear around the selected image]. To select multiple images, hold down the shift key while clicking on each image. To select all images, click on the Select All button. After the desired images have been selected, click on the Download button, A "Download Options" dialog box will appear -- you can either download pictures to disk, or download them to an image window in PhotoShop. After the image(s) are downloaded, the "Contact Sheet" will re-appear -- click on done. The images can now be opened from the folder in whch they were downloaded, or edited in the PhotoShop. Be sure to save your edited/selected image(s). Using PhotoShop: Some Basics Adobe PhotoShop software is the de facto standard for digital image enhancement, photo retouching, and image compositing, commanding the loyalty of more than 3 million designers worldwide [including your instructor!]. PhotoShop has been called the world-standard photo design and production tool for good reason; it is a very sophisticated, powerful piece of creative software! However, we will leave it until another Lab class to explore some of the powerful tools PhotoShop has to offer the multimedia graphics designer -- for now, we will have to be content to use the program to change the "mode" of our scanned image &/or digitally captured photo and then save it as a GIF file for possible use in a Web document. Still, feel free to experiment with the functions of PhotoShop -- even if you are just "playing around," you can still learn! To Make Your Images Web-Readable: Load your image file into PhotoShop [if you haven't already] After "playing around" with your image and getting it to look "just right," you will need to change its mode from "RGB Color" by slecting "Image" from the menu, then "Mode" and finally the "Index Color..." option. If prompted to "Flatten Layers" select "OK." When presented with the "Indexed Color" dialog box [see below], be sure to select Adaptive from the "Palette" option, 8 bits/pixel for "Depth," and Diffusion under "Dither" [also insure that Best is selected for "Color Matching"]. When you've finished making your adjustments, click "OK." Then, under the "File" menu option, select "Save As..." Change the file name to your "first_initial_lastname.GIF" and under the "Format" choice select CompuServe GIF. Make sure the file is saved to either your diskette, or the "Guest" folder on your Mac, then click on "Save" and you are finished! Or, Alternatively: Preform steps 1 thru 3 as outlined above. Then, under the "File" menu, select "Export" and then the GIF89a Export... option. Make sure the "Interlaced" box is ticked. If you wish to make the background of your image invisible on your web page [so your background color/graphic shows through], us the "eyedropper" icon to select a color to be made transparent. When you are finished making your selection(s), click the "OK" button, rename the file with your "first_initial_lastname.GIF" and make sure the file is saved to either your diskette or the "Guest" folder on your Mac, click on the "Save" button and you are finished! [Well, not quite... read on!] Tasks You Must Complete . . . Scan your graphic(s) &/or use the digital camera to capture an image and transfer it/them to one of the computer scanning stations in the back. Save your image(s) either on a Zip Disk or -- using Fetch -- upload the image(s) to your Uhunix account so that you can then download it/them to your own computer. Manipulate your graphic(s) [if you wish] with PhotoShop and, under the "Save As..." File menu option, save it/them in the "CompuServe GIF" format or export it/them as GIF89a [as described above]. If your graphic is for your own web page, use Dreamweaver to insert the proper HTML code into your document. Upload your new graphic(s) as well as your revised HTML [if appropriate] file to your personal directory. Login to the "www.soc.hawaii.edu" server and upload a copy of your GIF file to the "_all_pau" sub-directory. OK, NOW you're finished!   [ Syllabus ][ Lab Assignments ][ Downloadable Resources ][ Back to Home ]   Copyright © 1999-2000   By: M. R. Ogden -- ogden@hawaii.edu   (Rev. 14 June 2000)