Quality Checks

I would take images with my camera, download them onto the computer with a USB lead attached directly to my camera and switch the camera on.  This would download the images onto the stick icon showing on the desktop.  I would then open the icon to examine them  large and close in iphoto and or Photoshop for clarity and to see if they needed any minor adjustments ie. more brightness/contrast/saturation.  I would download the images onto a memory stick which I inserted into the computer.  I would do this  by having the images on my desktop, dragging them over the icon of the memory stick,  opening the memory stick file to make sure they were showing in there, then dragging the memory stick icon over the  waste bin, before pulling the stick out of the computer.

I took my memory stick into a print shop and had 2 images printed off to check their quality.  They were not as good as I had hoped, so then I had some images printed off on line via Photobox.  This is where I downloaded images onto their website, chose the relevant size (10 x 8) and the finish I wanted (gloss) and they were printed and posted to me within a few days.   I found these to be of a superior quality to those from the High street.  I finally decided on having my final 6 images printed out in college class on top quality paper, on an A3 sheet, with a matt finish.
 So this was the method I used:-
 First a template was created on the computer. A template is created in photoshop by file, new and adding the appropriate measurements in drop down boxes. As the template was already loaded on the college computer, the next thing was to copy and paste my images into the template, within a grid setting which allows you to measure the gaps between them more accurately.  My images needed to be resized to fit them all inside this template, once I had downloaded them onto the computer by way of my memory stick. All 6 went into the template one at a time, and then I juggled them about each other until I was happy with the final layout.  The grid was lifted to reveal the images clearly for final inspection, then printed out.  The A3 sheet was then trimmed down at each end, with the guillotine, approx 2" off each side, to give a more balanced look.  I liked this matt presentation better than the gloss images I had had printed at the print shop and on-line.  I thought overall it looked more professional, so I was happy with this method as my final presentation.

Throughout my shoots I would run off between 100-300 images so that I had plenty of choice in choosing what I considered to be the best ones.  As I went along I would change settings on the camera to try to achieve correct exposure for the light conditions.  I would use a 'Program' setting some of the time so that I could examine the ready made settings and their effect, which would give me an idea of the type of settings  I would need to use in 'manual' mode, in different situations.  In effect I used this setting as a guide.  Then I would shoot images in 'shutter priority, aperture priority and manual modes.  I would check the image produced immediately having taking the shot on the viewing screen of the camera to ensure it was light enough, and if not adjust the settings and take another.  I would use the zoom in buttons to take a closer look.

Later after shoots I would return home, download my images onto the computer and check their quality on a large screen, again zooming in in Photoshop to check clarity and this would determine which images I considered to be my best, along with the general 'feel' of what I liked about the shot.

I presented choice images to my tutor (Marie) for her professional opinion also.  I also presented her with my plan of what I had decided to do, theme wise, for my 4 manipulated images, then later with examples of these images for her consideration of their quality.