Case Study: Shipshape Photography

Photography has become an essential element of the communication mix for the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), and is used to reflect the diversity and international nature of the business. If executed properly, a photograph can help explain a technical point or issue in such a way that it makes sense to an audience outside of the shipping community. We initially decided to use photography to enhance the visual content of our annual report. We now also use it in company newsletters (both internal and external), brochures and exhibit stands.

Smyth, Gillian and Susan V. Gonzalez. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Graphic Design>Photography>Case Studies

Creativeprose: Free Photography Podcasts

New photo-oriented podcasts pop up all the time, and you could listen to them all day every day and not get through everything. But this article points out a few of the better ones.

Stone, Terri. Creative Pro (2007). Design>Graphic Design>Photography>Podcasting

Digital Photography: Communication, Identity, Memory    

Taking photographs seems no longer primarily an act of memory intended to safeguard a family's pictorial heritage, but is increasingly becoming a tool for an individual's identity formation and communication. Digital cameras, cameraphones, photoblogs and other multipurpose devices are used to promote the use of images as the preferred idiom of a new generation of users. The aim of this article is to explore how technical changes (digitization) combined with growing insights in cognitive science and socio-cultural transformations have affected personal photography. The increased manipulation of photographic images may suit the individual's need for continuous self-remodelling and instant communication and bonding. However, that same manipulability may also lessen our grip on our images' future repurposing and reframing. Memory is not eradicated from digital multipurpose tools. Instead, the function of memory reappears in the networked, distributed nature of digital photographs, as most images are sent over the internet and stored in virtual space.

van Dijck, Jose. Visual Communication (2008). Articles>Graphic Design>Photography>Visual Rhetoric

Digital Photoreproduction for Documents and Books  

Smith describes the process of digital photoreproduction--the use of digital technology to scan images and save them to a storage medium. The article includes a list of addresses and Web sites for several companies that produce digital photoreproduction machines.

Smith, Gary M. Intercom (2001). Design>Graphic Design>Photography

Don't Forget the Point-and-Shoot

When I travel, I sometimes don't want to lug around my gear bag, filled to the brim with two SLR bodies, several lenses, and accessories. Sometimes-especially at night and when I'm going to breakfast or lunch-I simply want to walk around, see the sights, and take some fun snapshots.

Sammon, Rick. Layers Magazine (2005). Design>Graphic Design>Photography

Fast Frames

Here's a couple of super quick frame effects to add a little burst of creativity to otherwise mundane photos.

Snider, Lesa. Planet Photoshop (2006). Design>Graphic Design>Photography>Adobe Photoshop

Glossaire de la Photo

Glossaire de la photo tout en français!

ITISphoto.com. (French) Resources>Graphic Design>Photography>Glossary

Make Your Night Photos Pop

Some tips on how to improve photos that are taken at night.

Kloskowski, Matt. Planet Photoshop (2006). Design>Graphic Design>Photography>Adobe Photoshop

Making Your Digital Camera See More

One of the challenges of photography is to capture the image that you see with your camera. With modern cameras performing all of the light measurement and changing the settings, in most cases when you press the shutter button, the image that you capture is an accurate representation of what you saw; that is, until you attempt to photograph a scene that has extremes in lighting. When you’re out shooting a sunset, for example, you can see both the foreground and the sunset quite clearly, but after taking the photograph, the sunset looks brilliant and the foreground is black as pitch.

Huss, Dave. Layers Magazine (2005). Design>Graphic Design>Photography

New Pix in Town  

An overview of the new - and explosively growing - world of royalty-free photographs.

Soberanis, Pat. Adobe Magazine (1996). Design>Graphic Design>Photography

Photo Study

Users take photos to highlight important aspects of their lives and context. The photos are assembled into collages and studied to highlight opportunities for new technologies and barriers to their acceptance.

. Usability Body of Knowledge (2007). Design>Usability>Photography>Methods

Picture This

Film is dead. The history-changing miracle that made it possible to accurately reproduce anything the eye could perceive is now itself part of history. The cause of death? Digital imagery. But no one is shedding tears. It all began innocently in the mid-1980s when digital photos were a geeks-only, barely noticed novelty. It has since spread around the world in pandemic fashion. In its wake, entire industries have been killed off as more and more people succumb to the digital bug.

Salvo, Suzanne. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Design>Graphic Design>Photography

Pinhole Panoramic Camera  

Pinhole cameras have been a long-time favorite of adventuresome photographers. But forget the Quaker Oats carton and go wide with this roll-film, panorama design.

Orr, Ross. Creative Pro (2007). Design>Graphic Design>Photography

Review: Review of Nine Books on Digital Photography    

This article reviews the following books on digital photography: Shoot like a pro!: Digital photography techniques by Julie Adair King; Digital photography bible: Desktop edition by Dan Simon; How to do everything with digital photography by Dave Huss; Total digital photography: The shoot to print workflow handbook by Serge Timacheff and David Karlin; The practical guide to digital imaging: Mastering the terms, technologies, and techniques by Michelle Perkins; Digital photography expert: Light and lighting by Michael Freeman; The essential lighting manual for digital and film photographers by Chris Weston; Digital photography expert: Close-up photography by Michael Freeman; Professional techniques for black & white digital photography by Patrick Rice.

Sullivan, Bill. Technical Communication Online (2005). Articles>Reviews>Photography

A Sack in the Sand: Photography in the Age of Information    

Throughout the 1990s the relationship between culture and technology was sharply focused in a debate about whether digital technologies signalled the death or radical displacement of photography. The case for the cultural continuity of photography centred upon a rejection of a strong form of technological determinism. It is now clear that far from being displaced to the margins of culture, there is now more photography than ever. There have also been dramatic developments: mobile phone manufacturers have put more cameras into people's hands then ever before; the photograph as social document and historical witness persists but in changing ways; photographs circulate globally on an unprecedented scale via electronic image banks. It is clear that such changes and developments do involve new technologies. However, rather than being due to the kind of technological determinism debated earlier, this is because photography has come to exist within a new technological environment. In many recent accounts, 'information' and information technology are repeatedly cited as constituting a new and shaping context for photographic practices.

Lister, Martin. Convergence (2008). Articles>Graphic Design>Photography

Storytelling Photos

Anyone can relate the facts of an event, just like anyone can hold a camera up to a scene and document it. But bare facts and badly composed images make for poor communication. It takes skill and talent to write a good story, one that will inform and entertain. The same is true for photography. Images have always been storytellers. A good image can relay large amounts of data in a format that is pleasing and quickly absorbed by the viewer. That makes photos potentially more influential than a massive amount of words.

Salvo, Suzanne. Communication World Bulletin (2007). Articles>Graphic Design>Photography>Visual Rhetoric

Taking Advantage of Quickmask

Dave Cross shares some tips on using Quickmask in Photoshop to feather a portion of a selection.

Cross, Dave. Planet Photoshop (2006). Design>Graphic Design>Photography>Adobe Photoshop

The Tao of the Digital Photographer

In just a few short years, the digital camera has blown past its tipping point so completely that many younger shooters have never touched a piece of film. The instant gratification, the tiny camera size and the ability to share images with the world now defines the experience of photography. But if you want to make great digital photos, there are some things you need to know.

Philpott, Keith. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Design>Graphic Design>Photography

Tone Down Highlights

Sometimes the only thing that keeps a good portrait from being a great portrait is a little too much shine on the skin. Here’s a quick and easy way to tone down those highlights.

Harris, Rich. Planet Photoshop (2006). Design>Graphic Design>Photography>Adobe Photoshop

Usability of My Digital Camera

The useful features of digital cameras are not enticing enough to trade for the simplicity of the non-digital design that meets the fundamental goals of the majority of users. As for me, I have learned my lesson with digital cameras. I will keep my user-friendly, old fashion, but reliable non-digital camera.

Dick, David J. Usability Interface (2003). Articles>User Interface>Photography>Usability

Visually Speaking: Adult-Only Publications

Corporate photography was once the realm of adults only. Just a few years ago, it was surprising to see a picture of anybody under 40 years old in an annual report or capabilities brochure, much less someone under the age of 12. But nowadays, photos of children are showing up more and more often in all kinds of corporate publications, and as you might suspect, photographing children requires a totally different approach than shooting the CEO.

Salvo, Suzanne. Communication World Bulletin (2008). Design>Graphic Design>Photography>Visual Rhetoric

When Bad Things Happen to Good Photographs  

The family photos are crumpled, torn, and stained, but Photoshop can help.

Rose, Carla. Adobe Magazine (1999). Design>Graphic Design>Photography>Adobe Photoshop

Working with a Photographer  

Technical communicators and photographers achieve successful communications results through open, honest working relationships. To establish and maintain a good working relationship, each party must openly communicate with each other, understand the project requirements, focus on the project objectives, and work together as a team before, during, and after the shoot. Benefits to both the technical communicator and photographer include customer satisfaction, mutual referrals and partnership opportunities, and professional achievement.

Keefer, Christine A. and Jay A. Keefer. STC Proceedings (1999). Presentations>Publishing>Photography

Photos for Interaction

Software companies and other parties involved begin to use the power of a distinct visual design to express both their brand identity and custom interactive design solutions to the users. While this implies a new freedom for designers working in the field of interactive software products, it strengthens the importance of visual design for the design of user interfaces. Designers working on concrete graphic solutions for a specific interface are breaking away from established standards defined by a software vendor. It is now the responsibility of those user interface designers to choose graphical elements wisely to make a product’s interaction principles visible and usable.

Guenther, Milan. Boxes and Arrows (2009). Design>Graphic Design>Photography>Interaction Design