What about those titles? - adding titles to photographic slides

Are you planning to excite your friends with a slide show, using those awesome pictures from your recent trip? Better plan to include lots of titles so the audience will know where you were. Otherwise, viewer frustration may make you the target of complaints, all because you didn't let your audience know where the pictures were taken. Don't take that chance. Flood your presentation with titles!

While a more erudite photographer may suggest other methods, I know of three ways to get good title slides. The easiest is to take pictures of signposts during your trip. Most scenic towns and national parks will have a prominent sign as you enter and exit the area. Stop the car, put you camera on a tripod (if you want a really sharp picture) and fill the frame with the sign (Fig. 1). Include the background and local environment if the environs will enhance the story. If you have not yet upgraded to a modern camera with a fancy gazillion-zone metering system, be sure to bracket the exposure by repeating the picture at +1 and -1 f/stop.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Some mature travelers may experience momentary lapses (my mind often takes a holiday) and forget to shoot signposts unless prompted by a written compendium or by a more attentive traveling companion. It will help to plan ahead by preparing a list of scenes and titles that you will need for the show. I know I am preaching to the choir because most photographers already know that!

If you failed to shoot the signposts during the trip, don't dispair. Convert your travel pictures into spectacular titles on your computer, using Photoshop[R] or a similar application. Moreover, text may be combined with your travel images or you can create a title slide from scratch. The first method is easy. Simply open the image in Photoshop, select the Text Tool (in the Toolbox at the left side of your screen) and type the title on the image. Use the fewest characters possible and make them LARGE and COLORFUL. If a second line of text is needed, exit the Text Tool by momentarily selecting the Move Tool (top right icon in the Toolbox) and again select the Text Tool. The second line of text will appear as a separate layer in the Layers Palette (right side of your screen), thereby permitting each line of text to be positioned independently and colored and even sized differently if you like. A good title must have contrast so use dark characters against a light sky or light characters against a dark background. Finish the title by selecting Flatten Layers in the drop-down menu of the Layers Palette. Be sure to save your masterpiece!

A dark slide with light characters will be more pleasing and easier on a viewer's eyes than a very bright slide with dark characters (Figures 2, 3 and 4 are examples). Moreover, Photoshop 7.0 offers interesting ways to enhance text by orienting the text vertically, compressing, stretching or warping the text in ways that will amuse and capture the viewer's attention.

When no appropriate image is available, design a title! In Photoshop, open a new file (FILE>NEW). A window will appear on your monitor screen. Enter the desired dimensions, using values that are consistent with the 3:2 aspect ratio for a 35 mm slide. My favorite is "6" for width, "4" for height and 300 dpi for resolution. Next, choose a color for the background by double clicking on the Foreground Color square at the bottom of the Toolbox and picking the desired color from an almost infinite range of hues. Select the entire image (SELECT>ALL). The selection will be indicated by "marching ants" around the perimeter. Fill the image with the desired color, preferably a dark hue. Fill the selected area with the foreground color (EDIT>FILL). Note that the Fill command will work only if the area to be filled is selected as indicated by "marching ants" circling the area.

Now, let's enhance your creation by adding a colorful border. While the newly created background is still selected (ants are still marching), SELECT>MODIFY>BORDER and enter 100 for the width. The marching ants will have moved inward by 100 pixels. If you want a wider border, move backwards one step (EDIT>UNDO) and enter a larger number for the width. Fill in the border with a different color by double clicking on the Foreground Color icon in the Toolbox, choosing the desired color and filling the border with the new color (EDIT>FILL). Note the interesting bevel at the border's edge. Experiment with the many artistic and special effect filters that Photoshop offers to create texture on part or all of the image. For example, use the Marquee Tool (top left corner of Toolbox) to select the desired area for artistic enrichment. Or, try SELECT>INVERSE to modify the area outside the selection. The Filter Menu will open the door to an enormous array of special effects. If you don't like one, back up one step (EDIT>UNDO) and try another. The History Palette (WINDOW>HISTORY) provides a means for backing up all the way to the beginning.

Next, put text on the background. Change the foreground color to a bright yellow and use the Text Tool in the Toolbox to type the title onto the background. Keep the title short, make the letters large, filling the frame with the characters (Fig.5). Use the Move Tool to position the text where you want it. If a second line of text is needed, exit the Text Tool by selecting the Move Tool, then return to the Text Tool and type the second line of text. After positioning the text with the move tool, go to the Layers Palette and select Flatten Image in the drop-down menu of the Layers Palette. Save the file in the desired format (JPEG, TIFF, PSD etc) on a CD or ZIP disk and send the file to a service bureau for printing as a slide (see PSA Journal Classifieds Section). Plan on paying about $3.00 per slide. Be aware that the price may range up to $9 per slide at various service bureaus and some may charge extra for files larger than 20 MB.

[FIGURE 5 OMITTED]

So, the audience gave your new show a standing ovation? I'll bet they loved your title slides!

COPYRIGHT 2003 Photographic Society of America, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group