12) rectangle cut out work

This edit was done by using the rectangular marquee tool, cut out sections, dragged them onto a separate document, then back onto the original to reposition the cut out sections. This time I decided to keep the size of the rectangles the same to make the photo look cleaner and more consistent.

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The previous edit inspired me to do this next series of pieces

After selection random parts of the body to cut out and reposition, I decided to have a go of cutting all of the model up and re-arranging the pieces. I did this in photoshop so that I could do lots of different variations and make it really clean.

First I used added the ruler attachment to my document by going to 'view' > 'rulers'. This allows me to mark where I want the boxes to be. I put two, one either side of the model, as I didn't need any of the background in the cut outs. I then dragged a ruler down from the top, to decide the height of the rectangles. Once I was happy with the template I used the rectangular marquee tool and selected the rectangular area. The I used the 'move too' to cut out the area and drag it into a separate document.

I then went back onto the rectangular marquee tool and hover the cursor inside the selected area, so that I could freely move the selecting rectangle already made. This is so I could keep the dimensions of the cut out the same. I dragged it up so the bottom of the rectangle was touching the ruler perviously made for the other cut out. I then dragged another ruler down on top of the new cut out area. 

I kept repeating this process until a had a cut out of every part of the model. I'd dragged the cut outs from the separate document and placed them into a group which was hidden so it didn't get in the way. I repositioned all the cuts outs back into their original place, numbered them 1-22 and put them into two folders alternatively (odds and evens). From this point I was able to start experimenting.

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This is one of my favourite pieces from this shoot.

I duplicated the layers changed the opacity of the duplicates to 75%. Then I hid the odds group which had the cut out with the eye in and gave a nice combining the the blank Photoshop canvas. If I saved it as a jpeg the checkered squares would just turn to a flat white backdrop. So to keep the Photoshop black canvas checkers I had to screenshot my screen then paste the screenshot into a new document, crop it and then save it.

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In this edit I decided to flip half of the strips and keep the other half the same. I did this quite easily because I'd already put each alternate strip into 2 group folders. I just selected the group and went to 'edit' > 'transform' > 'flip horizontally'. I think this effect doesn't work very well due to the amount of strips. If there were only 5-6 strips I think it'd work better, and if I cut out the whole width of the image so if the model was on one side of the image they'd flip each side, which could have a nice effect. If the background was consistent then it could look very abstract and look like a collage.

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This edit was similar to the previous one although this time I chose to 'flip vertically'. This one definitely didn't work well.

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This edit worked well compared to the previous two. I like this one as it fits in well with my glitch experiments as it looks like a corrupt file with repeated parts. It also works well as the eyes hidden.

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This was a cropped screenshot of when I was working with the cut out strips. I thought the Photoshop cyan rulers complimented the model's jumper and gave a nice effect. To me it looks like the model is behind some futuristic prison bars, and the plain background could reinforce the idea of a prison cell.

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This edit was done when I had one set of the strips selected and I decided to rotate them 90°. I like this as it looks a lot like a woven pattern. If I were to do this again I'd maybe use a combination of a portrait and a landscape shot. I'd also erase certain areas so that one image isn't on top all of the time, to create the woven affect.

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This effect was done but using the blending mode 'difference'. I like this effect as it looks to me like it's showing a dark side to the model. I also like how the dark strips are coming off of the image. I think this image really plays well with my idea of destruction.

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This edit was done by drawing a purple rectangle over the whole image and then changing the blend mode to difference. I liked this effect as it is quite dark and the details of the face are harder to see.

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This was done by rasterizing the rectangle layer and selecting each alternate strip and deleting that area from the purple rectangle layer.

Once I'd deleted the area I wanted, I changed the blend mode of the layer to difference again to create the final image. I think this image works better as you can see both versions of the image to compare and see the contrast between them.
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This edit was me re-arranging the strips a nudge at a time to distort the image. This image reminds me of a staircase or a chopped up vegetable. I wasn't too happy with the outcome of this experiment  but I'm glad I tried it to see what affect I could create.

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This is hands down my favorite piece I've done so far. It came about then I was deconstructing the image creating all the strips and when I was dragging them back into the original document, I'd placed them into a hidden group so they wouldn't get in the way. Once I un-hid the group They were all scattered  on and above the model's face. I really loved the way thee strips had built up on top of each other and were scattering in different directions. This fitted extremely well with my destruction/glitch ideas but still kept the photo clean and contemporary. This was an idea that I definitely wanted to explore and experiment with more.

This is a version with the Photoshop rulers used for the cut outs on top. I liked this version as it makes it more futuristic and involves geometric which I like. This vertical rulers either side help point out the use of ruler of thirds in the image as well.

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These were experiments of me combining the cut outs from my portrait shoot alongside my landscape photography.

I like this one as the still portrait shots calms down the impact of the motion blur in the landscape shot. I think it would be better if I hid the strip with the model's eyes on. Eyes are seen as what is the most recognizable thing about our identity; celebrities wear sunglasses in public to try and hide their face from everyone. I think not having the eyes relates to the background photo of abandonment. An abandoned building has no longer an identity just ruins left behind.

In this edit I clustered all the strips into one collective shape. I half hid the eyes in this image so that the viewer doesn't see them immediately and doesn't distract their attention away from everything else in the image.

In this version I decided to add noise to the background photo as I really liked the grainy rainbow effect it gave to the image.

In this edit I combined the cut out strips with a photo of a tree I took in a local park. I liked this edit as it's very simple and minimalist.

I decided to place the strips on top of the branches to try and make a tree out of the cut outs. In this version I took down the saturation of the tree image to '-100' to make the photo black and white. I like this version as it's quite dark and spooky. 

With this version I lowered the saturation again but then used the hue to add hint of blue to the background image.

The photo in the background of this image was taken in my garden in early spring. I took it on a dark cloud day as I thought it would compliment the bare tree branches with no leaves on them.