The images that you see at the top of this page were created by members of the VBPC, just like you! Do you have a picture that exemplifies the spirit of Hampton Roads? Do you have a somewhat recent version of photoshop? If you answered "Yes" to both of those questions, then you should be able to create your own masthead image that can be added to our rotating pool of images. We have placed a photoshop (CS3) file here to help you get started.
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Let's take a look at the layers palette that you will see when you open the sample file. The only places that you will need to click are labeled here, with the exception that the layer for the image that you are adding is not shown. The first part of this tutorial will only involve the layers palette. You won't be doing any direct editing on the photo until the very end.
When you open the image, you will see several layers, most of them locked. The layers have all been labeled for your convenience. Basically, the only layers that you will need to touch for this exercise are the "Mermaid", "Layer Mask Template" and a new layer for the image that you will be adding. The first thing we will do is add your image to this file on a layer of it's own. There are a lot of ways to do this, but I am only going to tell you one. Using the menu File then Open, navigate to the image that you wish to add. Now, this will open your image as a new file altogether. To get your image in our masthead, once your file is open press CTRL-a toselect the entire image, then press CTRL-c to copy it to the clipboard.
Now, if you look on the Window menu, you will see mast_sample.psd near the bottom. Click on that. Click on the mermaid layer in the layer pallette to make it active (point 5), then press CTRL-v to paste your image into this file. Don't worry about the size or placement just yet because there's one thing I want to show you, but notice that the image was pasted onto the layer above the mermaid layer. Click on the eye icon to hide your new layer for a minute (point 9).
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Click on the Mermaid layer (point 5), then the Edit Menu, then Transform, then Scale.
You can see that the image of the mermaid is actually quite a bit larger than what you see in the masthead. Very important is the fact that the image does extend to or past the two vertical guides that have been placed in the file. This is so that when the fade is applied to the edge of the image, we won't get any abrupt lines because the edge of your image fell into the fade zone. We need to make sure that the edge of your image is well outside the fade zone. So just make sure that the left and right edges of your image extend past the guides. Hit Escape because we aren't going to resize the mermaid image.
Click on the eye icon for the Mermaid layer to hide it (point 6), and then click on the "Layer Mask Template" layer to make it active (point 1). Click on the eye icon to make it visible (point 7). This is the mask that creates the fade effect for our image. Basically, where this image is white, your image will be seen, where it is black, your image will not be seen. If you don't understand that, don't worry. Press CTRL-a to select the entire layer, then press CTRL-c to copy it to the clipboard. Click on the eye icon for the Layer Mask Template to hide that layer from view (point 7) and then click on the layer of the image that you added to make it active (just click on the word "Layer 1"). Press the "Create Layer Mask"button at the botom of the layers pallette (point 4).
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Notice that a new, all white layer mask has been created for your image. Remember where I said if the Layer Mask Template was white, your image would be seen, and if it was black, your image would not be seen. Well, this layer mask is all white, and so you entire image can be seen. Let's fix that. Press and hold the alt key on your keyboard, and click on the layer mask itself in the layer pallette (point 10) . This will allow you to see and directly edit the layer mask. Press CTRL-v to paste in the layer mask. Click on the eye icon (point 9) and you can now see your masked image. But it still needs to be scaled and moved around, right? Here's a trick. (At this point we are done working on the layers palette and will start working on the image itself.) See the chain link between the image icon and layer mask icon (point 11)? Click on that link to make it go away. Now click on the icon for your image itself (point 8). Click on the Edit menu, then Transform, then Scale. You can now resize the image, and move it around. When you have it placed and sized just how you like it, press enter. You are done! Just go to the File menu, choose "Save for web and devices", save it as a jpg, and email the image to the webmaster webmaster@vabeachphotoclub.org.
So, can any image be used? It seems that the best images have a "horizontal" theme or layout to them, but sometimes you can find other pictures that work. Good luck!
Questions or comments about this procedure? Post them in the comments below.