Post 2: About My Header

My header image is meant to show a fashionable woman in winter weather. I chose the background image, the one where the woman is located, in order to express fashion during cold winter months. The overlaying image over the background, is of a beautiful winter sunset. I combined these images in order to show my audience that it is possible to stay fashionable especially when all you want to do is bundle up in warm and heavy clothing. This image relates to the information that my target audience is coming to my blog for because it highlights an image with a fashionable woman and also a pretty winter scenery image. My target audience of college students who want to stay on top of fashion trends and get fashion advise will enjoy this header image since it also it an image they could follow for fashion inspiration. It is important when making header images for blogs to incorporate your audience’s needs while also taking into account the final product. I have done that with this header image, and I think my target audience will find this as a helpful guide in reading and understanding the purpose of my blog.

I found my first image on Pixabay.com. I found this image through searching on Pixabay’s website and using the key words “winter jacket”. I came across the image of the woman facing the winter scenery in a fashionable outfit and felt that this helped to describe my blog topic and purpose. I know that I am allowed to reuse this image because when I clicked on the image and to the right of it, it stated “Free for commercial use, no attribution required”, it also said Pixabay license. These licenses allow me to use this image for my project for educational use. I know that I can use this image for this purpose however I could never resell or redistribute this image for other purposes. In regard to the second image that I used in my header, I found it using Google Images. When I went to the link that was present on Google Images, it brought me to a site that has images that are Creative Commons. It said right below the image that the license was public domain, and when I clicked on that it brought me to a Creative Commons website explaining that I can use this image for my intended use.

In order to create the header, I first created a blank space for the image so it would fit into the pre-sized format of my WordPress header. I created it to be 1440×460 pixels. Then I created a layer from my first image that I inserted. I then free transformed it and placed the image exactly where I wanted it on the background. Next, I created another layer with my second image. I overlayed the image over the previous image in order to line them up exactly the same. When creating these layers, it really helped me to “work on one element of an image without disturbing the other,” (Manovich). This was helpful because I edited the image of the Ombre sunset in order to change the transparency over the other image. I also clicked on “Layer 1”, the image of the woman facing the winter scenery, and effected the image more to make certain areas stand out more. For example, I changed the exposure which helped to make the features of the woman stand out more. After I completed these steps, I erased the part of the overlaying image, so the woman was shown clearly, without “Layer 2” disturbing its beauty. When comparing my process to how Manovich describes the layering process, it was helpful when he explained that “it redefines how images are created and what an “image” actually means. What used to be an individual whole becomes a composite of separate parts,” (Manovich). This explanation of the creation of layers and what they do really assisted me in understanding how to take advantage of what layers are made for. Creating these layers made it easy for me to manipulate, change, and make my image an original piece of my own.

When comparing my header image to that of Davidson’s single-layer bitmap image, there are many similarities and differences available. First, it is similar in the sense that with a single-layer bitmap image, you can only print out one layer. When you have multiple layers when creating and editing an image, only on layer will print out and that layer will be all of the layers combined together to create on single layer. However, one difference is how Davidson’s explanation of a single-layer bitmap image is that you can only see one layer at a time when you are on your computer. This is different when using an application like Pixlr or Photoshop. Here, you can view all of the layers that were created. If you only want to view one layer at a time you can temporarily “hide” other layers as well. The overall concept of a single-layer bitmap image is interesting in the sense that you can only design it in a certain way. Now with applications like Pixlr you can use these layers in a variety of ways in order to create a unique image for your use.