Corrine Vionnet in “Photo
Opportunities”, trawled the internet for images of well-known
objects like the Eiffel Tower and the Taj Mahal posted in social
networking sites. Each image was carefully overlaid with the main
feature in register as much as was possible. The effects are
surreal and ethereal.
Freeman Patterson is an analogue film worker and produces images
composed of many short exposures of the same subject each slightly out
of alignment with the exposure calculated in total to equal a
"correctly exposed" image.
The similarities between the styles are very close. The aim is not to
give realism, but more to give a feeling or impression of the
subject. If you’ve ever looked at a field or meadow of flowers,
photographed them, and then looked at the image after processing to see
a few flowers dotted in the grass, but your memory was a carpet of
colour, you’ll empathise.
The purpose of this tutorial is to emulate the Vionnet style. The
clue as
to the method lies in the light ethereal quality. The closest
blending mode is that of screen blend.
Using a spreadsheet like EXCEL it is possible to calculate and display
the way in which adjacent layers will interact with each other.
The maths of the way in which Paint Shop Pro makes adjacent layers
interact, shows that this blend always produces a lighter result than
each of layers contributing to it, hence being close to our needs.
I've a rhododendron bush that always flowers well but photos never give
the impression that satisfies me. I took nine images of it, each
from slightly a different angle and then partially aligned them using
the stem of the bush as the guide. The accuracy of the WACOM
tablet is essential in achieving the objective. The overlap of
the images is not critical, so your camera can be set to “auto
everything”.
Preparing The
Images
Paint Shop Pro can be
very unforgiving if you try to open too many RAW images, or many large
sized JPGs, especially if you've being doing a lot of
photo-editing. So the best line of approach is to limit the size
of the files. The intention is to produce a “feeling” for the
scene, not an accurate record, so we are not looking for extreme detail
in the subject.
If you are working from RAWs or large JPGs it might be worthwhile
recording a script and then batch-processing the folder of files.
Since the effect we're looking for does not demand fine detail, the
dimensions of the images need not be large.
Also, if you like the Vionnet
process, you have the batch instructions for another occasion.
But beware; trying to re-size a portrait image using a batch file
written for landscape images can produce some bizarre results.
There are scripts published on the web, which can help you in limiting
file size.
Starting
To Assemble The Images
Just one of the nine images to show the starting point; the other eight
are similar, but taken from a viewpoint nearby!
Make a new blank image (your masterpiece) using File > New, with the dimensions
slightly larger than the picture you’re processing at 300pixels
(suitable for printing later) and as a white image.
File > Open to open
the
first image
Copy it Edit > Copy.
Then switch to the blank background image you created and paste it as a
layer Edit > Paste As New Layer.
Then close down the first image you loaded to save memory. Set
the blend mode to normal.
In turn load each of the images, using the following procedure.
File > Open to open
the
next image
Copy it Edit > Copy.
Then switch to the masterpiece image you created and have been working
on, and paste it as a layer Edit >
Paste
As New Layer.
Then close down the image you loaded to save memory.
In the masterpiece, set the blend mode to screen and the opacity to
50%. A simple way of achieving this is to highlight the opacity
bar by clicking halfway along it, and using the left and right arrow
keys to gain the value.
Select the Pick tool, click onto the recently added layer in the layers
palette, and use the pick tool to move the highlighted area in the main
image window until you align an area of interest in the two
layers.
The WACOM tablet is invaluable in this process, the mouse achieves this
very poorly.
Completing
The Assembly
In turn the rest of the images should be added.
File > Open to open
the
next image Copy it Edit > Copy.
Then switch to the masterpiece image you created and have been working
on, and paste it as a layer Edit >
Paste
As New Layer.
Then close down the image you loaded to save memory.
In the masterpiece, set the blend mode to screen and the opacity to 50%.
It’s a good idea to do this operation stepwise, image by image, since
if you load all images in one go, the alignment is very difficult.
Completing
The Masterpiece
Step four – completing the Vionnet masterpiece
When you’re quite satisfied with the alignment, you need to merge the
layers down Layers > Merge >
Merge
All.
I wanted a little more contrast in the image, so I added a curves
adjustment layer Layers > New Adjustment
Layer > Curves
I like the straight edges from the layers still showing, but you could
use the Crop tool; a frame is also a possible enhancement.
Layers > Merge > Merge
All and then Image >
Picture Frame
There are many other possible ways of combining images in the Vionnet
style ...
Slight rotation using the pick tool will produce a
spiral effect
Overlaying similar but slightly unrelated images
will give a carpet of colour
