Week 21: Add contrasting light effects to a photographic image - Part 1
Create a colour light effect on a Photoshop image to replicate the effect achieved by photographers using colour gels on lenses during a photoshoot.
Beginner
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Add contrasting colour lighting (eg. red/pink and blue; orange and green; yellow and purple) to a single image using Photoshop layers and layer effects. The image should have a singular item/person as the focal point to be lit.
Intermediate
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Add contrasting colour lighting (eg. red/pink and blue; orange and green; yellow and purple) to a series of images using Photoshop layers and layer effects. The images should have a singular item/person as the focal point to be lit. Think how these images can be used as part of a website image library for a particular brand - they need to have the same look and feel, and colour treatment to work across a brand.
Advanced
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Add contrasting colour lighting (eg. red/pink and blue; orange and green; yellow and purple) to a series of images using Photoshop layers and layer effects. The image should have a singular item/person as the focal point to be lit. Now add a background colour behind the models/focal point. Think how these images can be used as part of a website image library for a particular brand - they need to have the same look and feel, and colour treatment to work across a brand.
Time Allocated
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30 Minutes for Beginner: Mask model in the image, and apply contrasting lighting to the model, left and right. 60 Minutes for intermediate: Mask model in the image, and apply contrasting lighting to the model, left and right. Apply this same technique to a series of images (at least 3). 75 Minutes for advanced: Mask model in the image, and apply contrasting lighting to the model, left and right. Add a different colour background to the images that have been masked. Apply this same technique to a series of images (at least 3).
Design Goals
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Make an image have a distinct look and feel using uniform colour lighting and direction of the colour lighting to replicate a colour gel that a photographer would use to make a shot special.
Constraints
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Use Photoshop layers and blending modes to create your colour lighting effect. Make sure you use 2 contrasting colours for right and left lighting respectively.
Whether you are a beginner, intermediate or advanced level designer. There is a brief to suit you. Follow the instructions in the brief to the letter.
How do I submit my work?
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Once you're done upload your image to share. We may upload your image to our new Instagram page, be sure to include your Insta handle (@username) so we can credit you. If you don’t have an Instagram account, you can just type in your name. Leave your details blank if you like.
What is a good size for the images?
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Please make sure your image is of good resolution, it shouldn’t exceed more than 5mb or thereabouts. png, jpeg, svg all acceptable formats. By uploading your image you're giving us permission to publish it.
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The Graphic Design School acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia and their continued spiritual connection to land. We pay respect to Elders past, present and emerging.