Original DS 106 Assignment: Are We There Yet? (3 stars)

Step 1: Find two photos that you want to alter. I am currently in the process of switching jobs! And naturally I don’t want to work at all. I would much rather be at the beach, relaxing, sleeping… anything but working.

Step 2: Open Microsoft Word and insert both photos. One photo is from the beach and the other is of someone working… how worlds collide. I was going to use a photo editor, but started playing around with Microsoft Word and found out there is a possibility of doing it on there! This is an upper hand for not having to download sketchy software or opening weird websites.

Step 3: Remove the background of the photo that you want to add/lay on top of the other photo. This is done by selecting the photo that you want to Edit > Picture Format > Remove Background. It will automatically generate the background parts it believes will need to be removed, but also has to option to select areas to remove/keep. This takes some playing around with to edit on how you want the final result to look.
Step 4: Add some text! Make the photo a bit more interesting and add context to it. I wanted it to look like a thought bubble so I added a shape. I went to the Insert tab > Shapes > Callouts and added text.

Step 4: Saving it as an image! I was not able to erase of the bottom parts of the computer/desk area enough to how I wanted to, so I am going to crop it as a photo to make it how I want. To do this I am going to use the Snip & Sketch feature on my computer. This application can be accessed by the Start menu or selecting the Windows icon, Shift and S all at the same time.

Step 6: Job transition… I mean, final product! We are here! Working from home at the beach… I mean completing the project! Overall super cool to find out Microsoft Word has this feature when I have been possibly opening unsafe websites trying to do other assignments. Save the image as JPG, PNG, or GIF and name accordingly.

I am leaving my jo of 3 years… I have been here since I was 20 and just turned 23 in mid May. It feels bittersweet and the rest is unknown, but I have been complacent. If you want to hear a couple more of my thoughts regarding my job change, check out my Soundcloud below!

This week’s mandatory assignment was very daunting to me. I am not proficient at extensively editing pictures, so I needed some guidance. I found a tutorial using GIMP, which is what I use, on another blog. This made me feel much less overwhelmed by the project by giving simple, step by step instructions. I did do some things differently, but I never would have known where to start without the other blog post.

Two Original Photos:

Final Product:

I have also made amazing memories and new friends during my first year at UMW, especially on this snow day. My friends and I just hung out and enjoyed our short reprieve from classes in the cold. I also chose these pictures because they are from two opposing climates; the Caribbean beach and a Virginia campus in snow. I thought it would be a more interesting picture to have these two opposites joined together.

The first step is to import the photo you want to cut out into GIMP. Then, using the free select tool, that looks like a lasso, click and drag around the image you want to cut out. I cut out the two people.

Then, right click and select edit > cut

Next, open a new GIMP file and import the photo you want as your background.

Right click on the photo and select edit > paste as > new layer, which will add your previous cut image to the top layer of this image.

While the new layer is still selected, right click and select layer > scale layer which will allow you to increase or decrease the size of the new layer to fit the background.

You can then move the cut and scaled image by selecting the move tool, which looks like fours arrows pointing up, down, left, and right. Just click and drag the image to where you want it.

Then use the zoom tool, that looks like a magnifying glass, to zoom in to about 200%.

Now, using the eraser tool, click and drag over the pixelated edges of the cut image. Just go slow and do little by little. This part doesn’t have to be perfect!

Then use the blur tool, that looks like a water drop, to click and drag over the edges that were just erased so that they can be smoothed out.

At this point, zoom out and male sure the picture looks good. I then saved my image and exported it as a JPEG or PNG file. I then uploaded the image to fotor.com to edit my picture and make the two layers blend together. I mainly made the overall color cooler and lowered the saturation. Then I downloaded the finished image, and it’s all done!

Happy editing!