Examples
-
Photos
- The Flickr Explore page has some nice examples of well-done photos.
- Pictures that might be worth 1,000 words:
- http://www.flickr.com/photos/benheine/5188699799
- http://photoblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/01/28/5941833-demonstrations-in-egypt-turn-violent-while-some-demonstrators-kiss-the-police
- The link above, where the image originally appeared, is now broken. The image can be viewed here: https://elmoufti.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/e05_12802681.jpg
- Examples of collage
- Hannah Hoch, Cut with the Kitchen Knife Dada through the last Weimer Beer Belly
- Gustav Klutsis, The Electrification of the Whole Country
-
Photo essays and slide shows
- A photo slideshow should be approached much like a textual composition - the succession of images should "say" something.
- Good example of a photo essay that follows the protests in Egypt: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2011/02/egypt_the_wait.html
- This is actually a negative example - a photo essay about acts of female self-immolation in Afghanistan. Though there are some very powerful images, the sequencing seems off and thus the narrative told through the images feels disjointed.
- The photo essay: (WARNING: some graphic images) http://motherjones.com/photoessays/2010/12/bashir-photos/20100921mariabashir1300dpijpg
- For example, take the images of women in burqas. These seem out of place to me for several reasons:
- Why do these come in the middle? It seems like this would be expository or background information, more suitable for the beginning. To put this in Barthes' terms, these are catalyzers that do not connect to the nuclei.
- The distinction between adult women and younger women seems tangential to the story.
- And though the captions draw a distinction between adult "conservative" coverings and more exuberant youthful coverings, the images show two fairly similar items of clothing.
- For contrast's sake, take a look at the written story on the same topic: http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/01/self-immolation-afghanistan-maria-bashir-herat
- Really great narrative that includes institutional memory how media inhabits spaces
- Heart-breaking photo essay about the impact of breast cancer. Really beautiful but really sad. You were warned.
- Another really striking example, with an element of horror
-
Web comics
- XKCD
- simple web comic driven by humor
- http://xkcd.com/
- 46-foot wide comic, "Click and Drag" http://xkcd.com/1110/
- "zoom-able" version of the same comic http://xkcd-map.rent-a-geek.de/#10/1.1000/0.2000
- http://www.odinandfriends.com/
- The Worm World Saga
- uses infinite scroll instead of panel to panel or "page" structure
- http://www.wormworldsaga.com/
- Note the way the images are used for the most emotional parts in this comic
Further Information / Resources
Image Repositories
- Images and Other Media in the Online Collections at the Library of Congress
- Creative Commons licensed content at Flickr
- Search via Creative Commons website
- http://search.creativecommons.org/
- Or add a "creative commons" search engine to your browser's list of search engines
- British Library public domain images on Flickr
- Photogrammar - "web-based platform for organizing, searching, and visualizing the 170,000 photographs from 1935 to 1945 created by the United States Farm Security Administration and Office of War Information"
- Finding Creative Commons licensed photos using Google
- When doing an image search, select "search tools" and filter by "usage rights"
- or use Google's advanced image search: http://www.google.com/advanced_image_search
- Thomas Oppong, "These 39 Sites Have Amazing Stock Photos You Can Use for Free," Medium
- Fair Use
- If you've exhausted the creative commons possibilities and still can't find the right image to suit your needs, you can use copyrighted materials under Fair Use guidelines.
- You still have to give attribution and there are certain "best practices" in terms of the amount and context of the materials.
- For more information on best practices in media literacy education, visit http://cmsimpact.org/fair-use/best-practices/code-best-practices-fair-use-media-literacy-education
Tutorials
- Exercises to get you going on a photo slideshow
- Gizmodo essay on how to tell a story through photos
- http://gizmodo.com/#!photography/5755757
- Brian Croxall Tutorial on building interactive timelines
- for an image object, build the timeline using images to signify more prominently than text
- http://briancroxall.net/TimelineTutorial/TimelineTutorial.html
- ProfHacker article on using Prezi for visual composition
Tools (Alphabetical Order)
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom
- http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/
- An advanced photo editing software
- Review
- Adobe Bridge
- https://creative.adobe.com/products/bridge
- Photo editing software and organization tool
- Review
- Affinity Designer
- Affinity Photo
- Anymaking
- www.anymaking.com
- online photo editor, allows the use of filters and other tools in your photos, very simple and easy to use
- Review
-
Aviary
-
Layer-based image editor that's free.
-
Tutorial: How to fake tilt-shift a photo in Phoenix
- Art Studio
- Review
- An application to edit and create images on Ipod, Iphone, and Ipad.
- Artweaver
- a free and plus is a paint tool to create images
- http://www.artweaver.de/en
- Review
- Autodesk Sketchbook
- Review
- A free drawing tool for android devices.
- BeFunky
- Review
- The purpose of this tool is to edit and have fun using the effects and filters to create a cool picture. Turn photos into art!!
- Bomomo
- www.bomomo.com Generate abstract images in your browser
- Tool Review
-
Camera Illusion
- Android app that adds different digital effects to images
- http://www.appbrain.com/app/camera-illusion/com.androidillusion.cameraillusion
- Canva.com
- Review
- "Canva allows anyone to become a designer"; their design school tutorials help users understand design principles and make graphics
- https://www.canva.com/
- Carousel - by Dropbox
- Review
- This is "The gallery from Dropbox for all your photos and videos." Offers some unique features in app format as well as desktop.
- https://carousel.dropbox.com/
- Codeology
- Turns github code into 3-d images and gifs
- http://codeology.braintreepayments.com/
- Comic Creator (Luke Bernfeld)
- Review
- Import images and make comic strips
- 19.99 available at http://www.summitsoft.com/products/home-and-hobbies-software/comic-creator.html
- ComicLife
- Import vector graphics, .jpgs, etc. to make comics in an easy to use layout
- $19.95 for an individual license. http://plasq.com/
- ComicPress
- Context Free Art
- Algorithmic tool
- www.contextfreeart.org
- Review
- Canvas
- Social meme manipulation.
- http://canv.as
- Review
- Cyberlink PowerDirector11 Slideshow
- Professional looking slideshows as part of photo and video editing software
- www. cyberlink.com
- Dan Awesome's Rage Maker
- Allows for the creation of comics using many pre-constructed faces as well as external images.
- http://ragemaker.net/
- Review
- Face Your Manga
- generate a manga-inspired avatar
- http://faceyourmanga.com/
- Review
- FotoFlexr
- Online application has a variety of options. Not at the caliber of Photoshop but still simple and easy to use.
- http://fotoflexer.com/
- Review
- Fotor
- An online image editing tool that also allows the user to create collages
- Review
- FreeImages
- freeimages.com (formerly sxc.hu)
- Free stock photos
- Fresh Paint
- An online painting tool that utilizes oil paint to create works and customize existing photos
- Review
- FX Camera
- An Android app that mimics older camera effects
- http://www.appbrain.com/app/fxcamera/ymst.android.fxcamera
- Review
- Google Sketchup
- "A 3D software tool that combines a tool-set with an intelligent drawing system"
- Review
- GIMP
- Open source photo manipulation; Mostly same functions as photoshop, but very different interface, etc.
- www.gimp.org
- TOOL REVIEW
- Glitching Images Manually
- Gradient Blender
- Iphone app for creating interesting collages with dreamlike blended edges.
- http://www.gradientblender.com/
- Hipstamatic for iPhone
- replicates older film cameras through filters
- Review
- HotGloo
- create wireframes in your browser
- Review
- Image Blender (Genie N.)
- An image blending app that mainly allows you to masks.
- https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/image-blender/id414544492?mt=8
- Review
- ImagePlot
- http://lab.softwarestudies.com/p/imageplot.html
- "Explore patterns in large image collections"
- Imgspark
- "A creative tool that helps you collect, discover, share, tag and converge images that inspire you and your work."
- www.imgspark.com
- Review
- Image Tricks
- Being a Mac exclusive app, this is of course, not free. Though the Lite is more pocket friendly than the Pro. An array of customizable overlays, generators, & borders. Filters & effects easily applied to your image.
- http://download.cnet.com/Image-Tricks/3000-2192_4-10427998.html
- Instagram
- A social network for iPhone and Android that is based on capturing, editing and sharing photos with friends and the community.
- Review
- Instaquote (Denyse K.)
- https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/id551012097?mt=8
- adds quotes to photos for instagram use
- Review
- iRetouch
- An iPhone app that allows you to use Photoshop tools such as Clone Stamp, Blur, and Smudge. Perfect for on the go editing!
- iRetouch review
- Kizoa.com
- A web-based tool to edit photos and create slideshows.
- http://www.kizoa.com
- Tool Review
- Issuu
- Upload your own multimedia publications into "digital publications on the net"
- http://issuu.com
- Review
- LightShot
- "The fastest way to do a customizable screenshot"
- http://app.prntscr.com/
- Tool Review
- LunaPic Photo Editor
- A free online photo editing application, very simple user interface with smooth social networking integration.
- http://www.lunapic.com
- LunaPic Tool Review
- MemoryMiner
- "the award-winning Digital Storytelling application used to discover the threads connecting peoples' lives across time and place. It lets you zero in on the stories depicted in your photos by linking them to each other based on people, places and time."
- Not free
- Review
- http://memoryminer.com/
- MS Paint
- "Paint is a drawing tool you can use to create simple or elaborate drawings. These drawings can be either black-and-white or color, and can be saved as bitmap files. You can print your drawing, use it for your desktop background, or paste it into another document. You can even use Paint to view and edit scanned photos.
You can also use Paint to work with pictures, such as .jpg, .gif, or .bmp files. You can paste a Paint picture into another document you've created, or use it as your desktop background." - Microsoft Paint Overview (for Windows XP)
- MS Paint Adventures http://www.mspaintadventures.com
- Muzy
- Photo effects, collages and more. A new kind of blog for your creative side.
- http://www.muzy.com
- Muzy Review
- Myoats
- Create unique, abstract images at www.myoats.com.
- Review
- Neatline
- Works with Omeka to tell stories with visualization and maps
- http://neatline.org/
- New Hive
- A multimedia publishing platform with custom tools
- http://newhive.com/newhive/about
- Newsjack
- remix popular news websites; good for making news parodies
- http://newsjack.in
- Norton/Write Slideshow Maker
- Includes heuristic exercises to get your creative juices going
- http://www.wwnorton.com/college/english/write/writesite/slideshow_maker/slideshow_maker.aspx
- Review: http://digitaltextuality.pbworks.com/w/page/64067805/NortonWriter
- Omeka
- Allows users to create multimedia collections of content; requires installation on a server.
- http://omeka.org/
- Paper
- Paper Camera
- Review
- Real-time photo editing app displayed on your camera feed! Available for Android, iPhone, and BlackBerry
- http://papercamera.net/
- PhotoCat
- Photo editing made fun! Available on Web and iPhone.
- http://www.photocat.com/
- Review
- Photoshop
- lets users alter pictures
- Tutorial: Using Curves
- Tutorial: Using Layers
- Tutorial: Star Field Composition
- Tutorial that teaches you how to create a collage using a star field.
- http://psd.tutsplus.com/tutorials/tutorials-effects/create-a-magical-four-piece-stardust-composition-basix/
- Review: Adobe Photoshop Express
- Photoshop for iPhone/iPad
- Free download
- http://mobile.photoshop.com/
- PhotoSnack
- browser-based slideshow tool
- http://www.photosnack.com/
- Review
- PhotoSynth
- Review
- create cool stitched panoramas with your iPhone! See an example here.
- for iPhone
- PhotoSynth.net
- Photovisi
- http://www.photovisi.com/
- Free online tool to create collage images
- Review: http://digitaltextuality.pbworks.com/w/page/46718543/Photovisi%20-%20Create%20and%20Download%20Photo%20Collages
- Picadilo
- Web based photo editor and collage maker
- http://www.picadilo.com/
- Review
- Picasa 3
- online photo editor from Google
- Review
- TOOL REVIEW
- PicFrame
- Combine multiple photos into customizable diptychs, triptychs, etc, with ease on your iPhone.
- Review
- Picfull
- http://www.picfull.com/
- PicMonkey
- Free Online photo editor
- http://www.picmonkey.com/
- Review
- Pic Stitch
- iPhone App to combine photos
- Review
- Picnik
- online photo editor
- Review
- Pin Up Maker
- generate a "pin up" avatar. Very similar in design to "Bratz" dolls.
- http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2010/177/1/0/Pin_up_maker_by_kinkei.swf
- Pixeden
- free graphic design and web templates; premium templates for subscription fee
- http://www.pixeden.com/
- Pixlr
- www.pixlr.com
- free online photo editing program, no registration needed
- Tutorial: Using Curves
-
Pixton
-
Create comics
- http://www.pixton.com/
- Review
- Polarion
- A community of people that like "polariod-izing" images
- www.polarion.com
- PopAGraph
- Image masking app
- https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/popagraph/id587595362?mt=8
- Polyvore
- Pro HDR
- Automatically create stunning full-resolution HDR images with just a single tap!
- http://www.eyeapps.com/Home.html
- Review
- Retro Camera for Android phones
- An android app for mimicking holga/pinhole/polaroid camera effects
- Review
- Procreate
- Review
- Ipad app used to pain, sketch, or creating high resolution art works.
- Satromizer
- iPhone app for manual glitching
- Review
- Scriptographer
- Robust Adobe Illustrator (CS3+) plugin for programmatically editing/manipulating text and images.
- http://scriptographer.org
- Review
- Skitch by Evernote
- SmugMug
- SpinArt Studio
- All-new fun and creative paint splattering application based on one of our favorite childhood crafts. Compatible with iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad as well as Android devices. Requires iOS 4.3 or later.
- Website
- Review
- SplashUp
- Online application that attempts to mimic Photoshop with a pretty impressive, clean interface.
- http://www.splashup.com/
- Review
- SquareBlend (Jess)
- Free Android app for overlaying a photo onto another without cropping
- SquareBlend
- Sumopaint
- http://www.sumopaint.com/www/
- browser-based photo editor
- Review
- Thinglink
- Touch & Discover Create rich images with music, video, sound, text & more. Share and discover deeper stories through images.
- http://www.thinglink.com/
- Review
- Twitter Photo/Video Sharing and Uploading Service
- Twitter's own photo and video sharing tool. Eliminates the need for a third party API
- http://twitter.com/?lang=en&logged_out=1#!/download
- Review: http://digitaltextuality.pbworks.com/w/page/46720087/Twitter%27s%20Photo%20and%20Video%20Sharing%20Tool
- Typophile
- Typography/Design Forum - community based typography collaboration/creation
- www.typophile.com
- Review
- Unsplash (Jennifer Vue)
- High Resolution Photos
- https://unsplash.com/
- Review: http://digitaltextuality.pbworks.com/w/page/105678240/Unsplash
- ViewShare
- create maps, timelines, etc.
- http://viewshare.org/
- Visualize Me
- http://vizualize.me/
- Visualize your LinkedIn resume in one click.
- Review
- VSCO CAM
- VSCO CAM is an easy-to-use iPhone camera app with elegant, minimal processing options. The sleep interface and streamlined workflow enable you to quickly create beautiful images to share via major social media outlets.
- http://visualsupply.co/vscocam
- Review
- Waterlogue (Denyse K.)
- App turns your iPhone pictures into "watercolored" pictures
- Review
- http://www.waterlogueapp.com/
- Windows Live Movie Maker
-
The best way to describe Picfull is as a one-click filter editor.
- Zeemaps
- An online resource tool for creating and publishing interactive maps.
- https://zeemaps.com/