Unit 6: Image Manipulation Techniques

Lesson 1: Online File Formats and Principles of Image Manipulation

Fig. 1. Software for photo editing

Many people access social media from different devices such as desktop PCs, laptops, and
tablets, but most of us use smartphones nowadays. Smartphones have various applications that
can be used to manipulate images, make memes and other filtered photos, then upload them to
social media sites. Twenty-first-century learners are more capable of using technology than ever.

Today's teens tend to show their beauty in social media and in school activities where photo
editing skills are needed. And so, there are also file formats for images that you need to be
familiar with. This can help you determine whether such files are too large to download, too small to
resize, or not suitable for printing. Furthermore, image manipulation has principles and
guidelines for us to follow.

Have you ever tried to produce filtered photos? Is it always applicable to all images? How
would you know if you manipulated the image properly? How does image manipulation help
us to show our thoughts and emotions?

Explore

Guide Questions
1. Which part of composing the haiku is easiest? Which part of the poem is the hardest?

2. Why do you think composing a haiku is hard?

 3. When posting images, how do you think could an image become meaningful yet simple?

Explain and Elaborate

Image
An image is a representation of something that conveys meaning, like photographs, paintings,
drawings, illustrations, sculptures, abstracts, etc. Many of us are confused with photos, pictures,
and images when in fact, photos and pictures are examples of images. “Photo” is just a short
term for photograph, which is a type of picture, while a picture is a representation of imagined
imagery, a person, or landscape, whatever format it may be (e.g. painting, drawing, illustration).

Fig. 2. Sample images of a man (left image) and landscape (right image)

Classifications of Image File Formats

Images such as pictures, sculptures, paintings, illustrations, drawings, or even photographs are more
likely the tangible aspects of an image. However, in the twenty-first century, we rarely use
tangible images. Instead, we now upload images from our computers to make memorabilia that
does not fade. Whether in hard copy (tangible form) or soft copy, images can be classified into two
(2) categories of file formats: Printable file Format and Online file Format.

Printable File Format

Printable file formats are image formats that may be uploaded to the Internet and can be printed out
(as the name says) into hard copies. This format may be flexible but it has
limitations in terms of its quality.

Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG or JPG)

JPEG refers to the file format of a still and flat image. It is a format in which still pictures are saved.
Digital pictures such as photographs (photos) are usually saved with the .jpg or .jpeg file extension.
This may also be used as an online file format, but this can produce low quality images unless a high
definition camera was used to take jpeg images.
Portable Network Graphics (PNG)
PNG is a raster graphic file format that has higher resolution than JPEG. This means that even if the
image is resized (made larger or smaller), its quality will not be reduced. This image file format is
usually produced using photo editing software. And so, it may produce more detailed and higher
resolution images that will display lively colors when printed.

Portable Document Format (PDF)

PDF is a file format through which a word processed document, spreadsheet, and even
presentations may be converted into an image file format. The files can still be read as
documents without the use of desktop computers. Although this file format cannot be edited, it
can still be read as an electronic book (e-book).

Encapsulated PostScript (EPS)

EPS is a file format for images printed on media such as billboards. It contains vector graphics, which
means the image will not lose quality even when greatly enlarged. EPS is similar to PNG but EPS
quality is higher than PNG when printed on large-scale media.

Tagged Image File Format (TIFF)

TIFF or TIF is a file format that is used for raw files that came from film cameras. It has a
transparent background so the colors come out more beautiful and alive. It is also the file format
for scanned raw images. This format is rarely used for uploading online because of its high file
size, which makes it difficult for most web pages and websites to render. However, it is the
preferred format for company logos.

Online File Format

Some file formats may not be suitable for printing. Not all file formats are printable but all file
formats can be used online. And so, most of the previously mentioned file formats can also be
considered an Online file format. However, these may have some technical limitations when it comes
to web usage.

Graphic Interchange Format (GIF)

As the name implies, GIF refers to the graphic file format that allows movements (interchanging
movements). When an image is blinking, changing shapes and colors, or even changing its
movement, most probably its file format is GIF. These may be seen on stickers inserted in the
comment sections of Facebook, or any other sites and messaging applications.

Bitmap (BMP)
Bitmap or simply BMP refers to a file format for colors per pixel. It is basically used to create animated
characters in low resolution in which pixels (colors per box) are shown. One of the most common
uses for bitmap graphics are 2-Dimensional (2D) images used to animate low definition games. As it
is in low definition, each colored pixel used to form the image is clearly visible.

Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG)

SVG is the most commonly used file format in web pages and websites. It is made up of
extensible markup language-based vector graphics that can be manipulated with any text editors
as well as drawing and image editing software. This file format is suitable for graphics used to
design web pages. Usually, icon graphics are saved as an .svg file so the image would be seen
on the tab of the web page.
 How do printable file formats and online file formats differ from each other?

Printable Vs. Online File Formats

Both printable file formats and online file formats can be used on the web, especially when you
are creating your own web pages and need them to be printed. However, some printed file formats
can have technical issues when used online due to bandwidth limitations and the capacity of web
pages to render images. On the other hand, some online file formats have problems with image
quality. Take a look at the table

Table 1. Differentiating printable and online usage of various file formats

File Format Printable Online Use

JPEG (JPG) Yes Yes with some quality compression

PNG Yes Yes with same file quality
PDF Yes Yes but as a document file
EPS Yes No due to high quality compression
TIF (TIFF) Yes Yes with some quality compression

GIF Yes but with low quality printing Yes

BMP Yes with low quality printing Yes

SVG Yes but very low quality printing and Yes

small image only

Principles of Image Manipulation

Manipulating images is just the same as creating presentations. However, some create or edit
images for fun, without knowing the principles on how they can manipulate images to make them
presentable and decent without violating any rules in netiquette. And so, photo editing
professionals set guidelines to show the beauty of images and to enhance the image quality of certain
graphics or images.

Editing Application Software

Finding and choosing the best editing software is helpful for manipulating images. Many of us
look for the best editing software but do not consider our skills to utilize such applications. The
best thing to do is to assess whether that application software is comfortable to use and how
familiar you are with it.

File Format
You are already familiar with the different image file formats given above. Therefore, you should
be able to identify the right file format to use when manipulating images. You should not combine
different image file formats because their properties are different from one another.
 Uploading or Printing
As explained above, printing and uploading are different from each other. Thus, determining the
use of the image might be helpful when manipulating it. There are instances when we might
need to compress the image in order to upload to the Internet, or we might need to set the image
to high definition in order to print them on billboards.

Themes and Motifs

Themes are very important in manipulating images. Graphics must be put together to create
unified and meaningful imagery. Various themes and motifs can arise during brainstorming, but
the most appropriate themes and motifs should be used to justify the meaning of the imagery.

Symbolism
Symbols are representations of something meaningful. Therefore, an image must have objects
that symbolize people or things to make it meaningful and memorable.

Parallelism
Parallelism shows the balance between the main object, the foreground, and the background of
an image. This will help you determine whether the main object on the image is more noticeable
than its foreground or background.

Contrast
Contrast is determined by the difference in color intensity and brightness to make certain objects
in the image noticeable. This principle is applicable not only in web applications but also in all
aspects of artistry. This shows the beauty of the object in focus rather than the background.

Harmony
All objects in an image must have harmony. These should complement each other to bring unity
to all aspects of the image. In addition, lines and shapes should be harmonious in such a way that
the image will look lighter rather than elicit a heavy feeling.

Proportion
Just like parallelism, the proportion of every image combined must be considered too. Remember the
terms asymmetrical and symmetrical? This should be considered when manipulating images as well

Evaluate

1. Define “image.”
2. What are the two classifications of image file formats?

3. What is the difference between printable file formats and online file formats?

4. Can an image in EPS file format be uploaded online? Why or why not?

5. Why is a bitmap format not recommended for printing? Defend your answer.

Answer the following comprehensively.

1. Why do you think JPEG, PNG, and PDF are printable file formats yet these can still be
uploaded online? Defend your answer.

2. How do images and pictures differ from each other? Explain your answer.

3. Why do you think you need to consider the software application you are going to use to
manipulate an image?
 4. How important do you think is the theme or motif of an image? Justify your answer.

5. Stephen King says, “Symbolism exists to adorn and enrich, not to create an artificial sense of
profundity”. What is your perspective on this? Explain your answer.

Wrap Up
___________________________________________________________________________________________
● An image is a representation of something that conveys meaning, like photographs,
paintings, drawings, illustrations, sculptures, abstracts, etc.
● Image file formats are classified into two categories: printable file formats and
online file formats.
● Printable file formats and online file formats have similarities yet differences in usage and
storage capacity.
● Printable file formats are JPEG, PNG, PDF, EPS and TIFF. On the other hand, online file
formats are GIF, BMP, and SVG.
● There are various principles of image manipulation to consider: choice of editing
application software, file formats, uploading and printing, themes and motifs,
symbolism, parallelism, contrast, harmony, and proportion.
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