Agricultural and Construction

Equipment

NH AG

Standard Operating Procedures Image Layout & Manipulation In Adobe Photoshop Elements

David Allen - WO Basildon

NH CE

Contents

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Introduction
What is an SOP?
Useful Document Links
Image Layout Within SOPs
When to Use Image Manipulation / Enhancement
Introduction to Photoshop Manipulation / Enhancement
Opening the Image File
Basic Tools Magnifying Tool
Basic Tools Brightness Controls
Area Selection - Introduction
Area Selection Brush Size
Area Selection Selecting An Area
Area Selection Inverting Area Selection
Background Manipulation
Applying a Filter / Effect
Saving The New Image
Summary Before & After Manipulation
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Introduction

With the rapid spread of WCM activities throughout the company, It

wont be long before you will have to start producing Standard
Operating Procedures (SOPs), if you arent already
I have been working with Visual Management & Standard Operating
Procedures for a number of years and I would like to share some of my
knowledge & experiences with you
If you have any questions about anything contained in this guide,
please do not hesitate to contact me:
Email: david.allen2@cnh.com
Telephone: +44 (0)7894 392882
I hope you find this document useful David Allen
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What Is An SOP?

An SOP is a Standard Operating Procedure

It is a set of instructions for a piece of work
It should contain all of the information needed to perform the
operation it was intended for. For Example:

Job Name
Operation Time
Tools Needed
....... and many more

The SOP needs to contain clear and concise information

Words can be interpreted in different ways, so we should try to use

pictures to show work steps
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Useful Documents Links

The WCM area of the CNH website

will give you access to the
documents needed to create SOPs
Link to Website - SOP Documents

SOP Template
This is an Excel based template that
will allow you to add your images
and text to create a working
document

Guide To SOP Template

This is a comprehensive PDF Guide
for filling in the SOP Template

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SOP Picture Layout

In the next few slides I am going to show you how I like to layout my
images on the SOP Template
I lay the images out on the page in a way that I believe gives the best
visual impact
I have decided to use no more than 6 images per page. This will make
sure that the images are not overcrowded and the information is still
clear and attractive to the eye
If you need to use more than 6 images, simply continue the process on
another page
These are only my preferences You do not have to use this method
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SOP Picture Layout 1 Picture

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SOP Picture Layout 2 Pictures

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SOP Picture Layout 3 Pictures

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SOP Picture Layout 4 Pictures

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SOP Picture Layout 5 Pictures

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SOP Picture Layout 6 Pictures

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When To Use Image Enhancement / Manipulation

Simplicity is the key to success in effective visual management

I would recommend that you do not use image enhancement /
manipulation, unless it is absolutely necessary
In my experience, you will need to have a number of well trained
people to create and update these enhanced SOPs

You should only use enhancement / manipulation to highlight

important details that would otherwise be lost in the normal picture
See example on next page

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When To Use Image Enhancement / Manipulation

BEFORE

Here is an example of an image that

definitely benefitted from some
Photoshop manipulation

AFTER

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Introduction To Image Manipulation In Photoshop Elements

This guide will take you through the basics of image manipulation /
enhancement

I will be using screen shots to illustrate the process in as much

detail as possible
Please take the time to experiment with Photoshop. It is the best
way to learn!
I am using Photoshop Elements 6.0

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Image Manipulation / Enhancement

I will use this image to demonstrate the process

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Opening The Image File

1. Right Click on the

image icon and select
Open With Photoshop Elements

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Opening The Image File

2. Your image should

now be open in
Photoshop Elements

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Basic Controls Magnifying Tool

1. Select the
magnifying tool

2. Left click on the + or

- buttons and then

left click on the
image to either
zoom in (+) or zoom
out (-)

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Basic Controls Brightness Controls

1. To brighten up the
image slightly, left click
the enhance menu
2. Select Adjust Lighting
3. Select Brightness /
Contrast
4. Adjust brightness
Slider bar to your
preference - I have
adjusted the slider bar
up to +30
5. Make sure that the
Preview box is ticked
so you can see the
changes to the picture
as you move the slider
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Area Selection - Introduction

1. We will now start to
select the area that we
want to keep in colour
and separate it from the
background
2. In this example we want
to highlight the hand
and wire / component &
remove the colourful
wiring & background
behind the hand and
component
3. Click on the Quick
Selection Tool button
and select the Quick
Selection Tool from the
drop down menu.

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Area Selection Brush Size

1. Select the tool + sign

2. Click on the Brush

option to open up a
menu

3. You can use the slider

bar to increase the
head size of the brush
(I have chosen a brush
size of 30 pixels)

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Area Selection Selecting An Area

1. Move the cursor to the area
you want to highlight (the
hand and component)
2. Hold down the left hand
mouse button and move the
cursor. You will see a dotted
line that hugs the lines of the
shape
3. Roughly highlight the whole
of the area you wish to keep

4. If you accidently select

outside of the area you
want highlighted, you
can use the negative (-)
tool to erase the overlap
5. Any filter / effect that is
now applied will only
take effect in this
selected area
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Area Selection Inverting Area Selection

1. As mentioned in the last
slide, any filter / effect
that is applied will only
affect the selected area
(hand area)
2. To change the
background to Black &
White we must first
invert the selection
3. Click the Select menu
and select Inverse

4. The Selection Area will

now reverse so that
everything other than the
hand area will be
affected by a filter /
effect (note the dotted
line has moved)
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Manipulating The Background Part 1

1. With the selection now in
the Inverted state we
are now going to apply
the black & white filter
2. Click on the Enhance
menu and select the
Convert to Black and
White tab

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Manipulating The Background Part 2

1. Once the Convert to Black
and White tab is selected,
an options screen will
appear

2. Select Newspaper from

the Select a Style menu (it
adds a bit more light to the
picture)

3. You can see any changes

you have made in the
Before and After screens

4. Feel free to try different

styles or the manual
intensity adjustment sliders

5. Click OK when you are

happy with your selection
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Manipulating The Background Part 3

1. You should now have an
image with a black and
white background

2. If not, you can undo a few

steps by using the Undo
button and try to see where
the error has occurred

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Applying An Effect / Filter Step 1

1. We will now apply a filter to
the background to make it
easier to see the detail of
the hand / component

2. Select the Sketch

button in the main
Effects Menu
3. Select the Sketch
button from the dropdown menu

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Applying An Effect / Filter Step 2

1. Hold your cursor over the
icons until you find the
Photocopy icon

2. Left click on the icon and,

whilst holding the left button,
drag the icon into the black
& white background of the
picture

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Applying An Effect / Filter Step 3

1. You should now see this

options screen

2. You will need to click on this (-)

button 3 or 4 times to reduce
the size of the image to fit the
frame

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Applying An Effect / Filter Step 4

1. You can manipulate the
Detail and the Darkness
of the background with the
slider bars
2. I have chosen the following:
Detail = 5
Darkness = 10

3. You will find your own

preferences as you become
more experienced with the
program

4. Dont be scared to
experiment with the filters
and settings If you make a
mistake you can always use
the Undo button

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Saving The New Image

1. Click the File menu and
select Save As from the
drop-down box

2. Choose a location &

name for the image file
and select JPEG from
the drop-down menu
Click Save
3. A new menu will appear
in which you can
choose the quality level
of the photo
NOTE: The higher the quality,
the higher the file size!

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Summary Before & After Manipulation

The human brain is basically a
computer that has to process
and separate the data into
relevant / irrelevant piles
The dark image contains about
10% good (relevant) data & 90%
waste (irrelevant) data
With the dark image the average
person will take a long time to
analyse the information,
probably with inaccuracies
It is very likely that the person
will have to re-check the
document to clarify information
during the process
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Summary Before & After Manipulation

An SOP with 6 of the modified

images will be much easier for
the human brain to process
The modified image contains
about 90% good (relevant)
data & only about 10% waste
(irrelevant) data
The average person will be
able to process the information
quickly and accurately
It is unlikely that the person
will have to re-check the
document during the process
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