Photo Callouts
Quick video
- Preparing Your Workspace
- Photo Callout Overview
- Selecting a Photo & Calling Out a Plant
- Considerations for Using a Photo from Google Images
- Placing Your Own Photos
- Calling Out a Site Object, Hatch, or Light Fixture
- Keeping Photo Callouts Uniform in Size
- Editing a Photo Callout Caption
- Related Webinars
- Troubleshooting
Our Photo Callout tool provides a quick way to label a plant or even a site amenity with a photo.
We've added thousands of high-quality plant photos, fully vetted by our in-house horticulturist, to our database for use in your Plant Photo Callouts. As it did before, the tool also links to an online search for images of a specific plant, or even site objects such as light fixtures or benches that you've added as Reference Notes (RefNotes), or you can choose to browse to and use your own locally stored photos.
When placed in a drawing, Photo Callouts include an optional photo drop shadow and a caption.
Our Land F/X–exclusive photos of each plant also appear in the Photos tab in our plant data dialog box for that plant. More information
Plant photos are often used in client meetings to communicate the plant palette. Photos are typically not part of the documents package submitted to the contractor, and should therefore be used strictly as a presentation tool to aid in the design process.
Preparing Your Workspace
We recommend doing some planning of the general locations where you'll place the photo callouts, as well as the sizes of the photos themselves.
Note that Plant Photo Callouts need to be placed into Paper Space.
Before opening the Photo Callout tool, go to one of your Paper Space layout tabs. This tab will require a viewport of your planting design. If you only want to place photo callouts in this tab, create a temporary viewport of your site off to the side of the sheet where you can access your planting design.
You might want to move the viewport off the site to a central location on the sheet and plan the photo locations around this viewport.
At this point, we recommend “locking” this viewport. With the viewport locked, you'll be able to zoom in and out within it without affecting the scale.
Locking the Viewport
Click the viewport edge to select it. Then right-click the selected viewport boundary.
The menu pictured to the right will open.
Hover the cursor over the Display Locked option, and select Yes from the submenu.
The viewport will now be locked.
Making the Viewport Active
You'll now make the viewport "active," allowing you to select plants and other objects within it while still in Paper Space.
Double-click within the viewport.
The viewport boundary will turn into a bold line, and the viewport itself will now be "active."
As a result, you'll be able to select plants and other objects within it.
Photo Callout Overview
Once your Paper Space viewport is locked and active, zoom in to a plant you'd like to callout with a photo. Then open our Photo Callout tool:
F/X Planting ribbon, Photo Callout flyout
F/X Planting menu, Photo Callout option
F/X Site ribbon, Photo Callout flyout
F/X Site menu, Photo Callout flyout
Or type FX_PlantPhotoCallout in the Command line
The cursor will turn into a pickbox. Click the plant or site object you want to call out with a photo.
Selecting a Photo & Calling Out a Plant
When you click a plant to call out, the View Photos dialog box will open.
This dialog box also opens when you Symbol thumbnail image while the Photo symbol option is selectdd while editing a plant.
You'll see our Land F/X–exclusive high-quality, fully vetted, variety-specific photos of the selected plant at the top of the dialog box if we have them for that plant, followed by the results of an automatic Google Images search. You can still select and use one of these photos if you don't see one of ours that works for you, or if we haven't uploaded our photos for the selectdd plant yet. If needed, you can refine your image search in the text field.
You can also select the Local tab and browse to one of your own locally stored plant photos to use in your callout. More information
We are continuously vetting and adding more of our variety-specific plant photos to our database. If we haven't added variety-specific photos for a selected plant yet, you'll see the Google Images search at the top of the dialog box, followed by our species-specific and genus-specific images (again, if we have added them).
Click a photo to select and enlarge it.
When you select a photo, you'll see an enlarged version of it, along with our default caption and credit for that photo. If you select a photo from Google Images, you'll see the URL for the photo here.
Use the < and > buttons to the left and right of the photo to toggle to the previous and next photo in our database, respectively. Click Use Image to configure and place a Photo Callout using the selecd photo.
The Photo Callouts dialog box will open after you click Use Image.
The default Caption shows the botanical name. You can change this text if you want.
If you'd like, you can make the following selections here:
- Drop Shadow: Give the photo a drop shadow.
- Caption: Include a caption with the photo – or leave this option deselected if you don't want a caption.
- Drop Shadow: Select this option if you want the photo to have a drop shadow.
- Botanical, Common: Include the botanical and/or common name of the plant with the photo.
- Remarks: Add notes with the photo.
If all is correct, click OK.
Click within your drawing to place the photo in Paper Space. Move the mouse diagonally to size the photo, then click to establish the size.
The photo callout and caption will be placed in your drawing as a multiline text (MText) object.
A leader with an arrow to the plant you originally selected will now appear automatically.
If you want to place the leader to the photo, you may do so. You can also right-click to place the photo without placing the leader.
Considerations for Using a Photo from Google Images
Because we've vetted and added our own plant photos, we've removed much of the capability for filtering photos from a Google Images search in the name of streamlining the dialog box. If you choose to use a plant photo from a Google Images search, keep the following considerations in mind.
Are you unable to import a photo into CAD? You may need to select a different photo, as some online photos have built-in usage restrictions. It's also a good idea to update to the latest version of our software and try selecting the photo again – or use one of our Land F/X–exclusive photos or one of your pwn locally stored photos.
Image Size
Select a photo that not only represents your plant but also has your desired image quality.
A good photo size will depend on the resolution (in dpi, dots per inch; or dpm, dots per millimeter) you will find acceptable, as well as the final size of the photo as it will appear in your drawing. Resolution can best be summed up with the following rules of thumb:
- 150 dpi (6 dpm): Acceptable minimum level that is equal to the quality at which a newspaper would print a photo.
- 300 dpi (12 dpm): Very good resolution.
- 600 dpi (24 dpm): Photo-quality resolution.
You should have already created a general layout of your anticipated locations and sizes of the photos. Measure an average image size for your photos – for example, 4 to 6 inches in final size (100 to 150 mm). Divide the photo's resolution by your anticipated size.
You might consider yourself lucky to find a photo with 150 dpi (6 dpm) resolution in a Google Images search, and you might even settle for less for the right photo.
Here's an example of a series of photos placed in Paper Space from an online image search:
Copyright
The Land F/X–exclusive photos available in our updated View Photos dialog box are optimal for copyright concerns. We've made these photos available for you to use in your plans without worrying about copyright infringment.
If you choose to use an image from a Google images search instead, it's imperative that you perform due diligence on photos you want to include in your plans, as Photo Callouts or otherwise – particularly if the finished products that include these photos will be placed on your website.
Keep in mind that the website shown as the source of the photo in your search (in the example shown above, pinterest.com), may very well have sourced or even stolen the image from somewhere else. This prospect could be extremely lucrative for the true copyright owner, so you need to be extremely careful about which photos you use in your plans.
If you plan to place a finished product that includes photos on your website, or even in your portfolio, it could be a copyright violation if those photos aren't your own and you don't have permission to use them. If you give the file only as a PDF to a client, who then puts that PDF on their website, that could still be a copyright violation.
For these reasons, it's highly recommended that you include some copyright information, along the lines that the photos have their original copyrights as stated. Land F/X – and even Google, for that matter– cannot do this automatically. Some image formats include the ability to have the copyright placed into a watermark, which would require you to download the image and then open it in an application such as Photoshop to view the watermark and copyright. If you're putting together a sheet of photos, this process would undoubtedly become tedious and time consuming. The same goes for the alternative of performing reverse image searches to determine the copyright status of each photo you plan to use.
The best solution would undoubtedly be:
1. Use Land F/X official photos whenever possible, which will prevent the need for the rest of these steps.
If you feel the need to use photos of a particular plant from a Google Images search, or if no Land F/X photos are available for that plant, move on to the next step.
2. Scroll down to the Google image search section in the View Photos dialog box to see the photos of a the selected plant that are available in a Google Images search for that plant. Select your desired plant photo.
If no Land F/X photo is available for a particular plant, you'll only see the Google image search section, as pictured to the right.
3. You'll see the source URL of the selected photo in the bottom left corner of the dialog box. Navigate to that website in your browser, and investigate the copyright policy of that website.
4. Download the image, open and inspect its watermark, and perform a reverse image search to validate.
5. Write up an appropriate copyright notice for that one photo.
6. Save the photo, along with the copyright information.
7. Select that known legal and safe photo from the Google images search section in our View Photos dialog box again.
Click Select Photo, then add the copyright information to the caption in the Photo Callout dialog box.
This solution is obviously tedious as well. Unfortunately, the most correct legal way to carry out something as critical as copyright verification requires an extremely high level of detail and attention to legal standards – and generally involves a lawyer, for that matter.
Clearly, the majority of designers will not be able to devote this time to every image, just as every user using Google Image search is not doing the same each time you search for an image.
Bottom line:
The most important point is just to be aware.
Secondly, it's always a good idea to place some sort of boilerplate legal copyright information that would satisfy your lawyer on any Photo Callout page.
And finally, we suggest that you avoid putting photo callout plans on your portfolio website at all, unless you're satisfied with the copyright display and due diligence spent in validating the copyright information of each image.
A final word on the potential legal implications of photo usage:
Google Image search has been the subject of lawsuits – notably by Getty – which has forced Google to make substantial changes to the interface. The establishment of copyright requires case law and precedent, but the fact is that Google and other large entities have fought the big fight with the likes of Getty and have established much of that case law.
What it comes down to is that Google/Yahoo is not violating copyright by making these images searchable, and you are not (necessarily) violating copyright by downloading them and putting them into a plan. ("Necessarily" because, what if an unscrupulous or unknowing employee later extracted that image from the plan and set it as the background image for your website? Any reference or copy of a copyrighted work has that potential.)
What you do with that plan after the fact may violate copyright law. Above all, be alert, be aware, be vigilant.
Placing Your Own Photos
You can also choose to use your own photos as callouts. You'll also place these photos on a sheet in Paper Space, so go to the appropriate active and locked Paper Space viewport where you want to place photos.
You have two options for using your own photos:
- Dragging and dropping them, or
- Browsing for them directly from the Photo Callout tool.
Drag and Drop
This method won't require you to call out a "smart" Land F/X block or hatch, so you can use it to call out generic hatches, as well as generic blocks from our Elevation Graphics or Plan Graphics will place your photo in your drawing without a leader or arrow. If you want, you can add a leader later using one of our Site Leader tools.
Minimize your CAD screen so you can also see a Windows Explorer screen. Using Windows Explorer, navigate to the location on your computer where your photos are saved. Find the photo you want to add, and simply click and drag it to the CAD Paper Space location.
The Photo Callout dialog box will open with the caption consisting of the name of the photo file.
If you want, change the caption to represent the plant more clearly. You can then place the photo into the Paper Space viewport as you did above.
Your photo will be placed, along with a caption and a drop shadow (if you selected one).
If you want the Photo Callout to include a leader and arrow pointing to the plant or site object you're calling out, you can place it using one of our Site Leader tools.
If you place your own photos, do so from a stable location on your computer, or a location that will not easily change. When you open this drawing in the future, it will look to the image from that location. If you've moved it, the photo will not be placed. If you're working on both desktop and laptop computers, the location should be the same for both, and the photos should be stored in both locations.
Browse to Your Photo from the Photo Callout Tool
You can also use Photo Callout to browse for your photos to place them in a drawing.
This method will only work with Land F/X plant blocks or hatches, site blocks or hatches placed as Reference Notes, or light fixtures placed using the Lighting Manager.
The View Photos dialog box will open.
If you selected a Reference Note, simply click Browse.
If you selected a plant, select the Local tab.
Then click Browse.
Browse to the photo you want to use for the callout.
Select the photo, then click Open.
Photo Callout can only browse to photos you've saved on a letter drive. (The path must be a physical path with a drive letter.) It won't be able to browse to photos saved on your desktop, nor can it browse to photos with UNC paths (such as \\SERVER\Photos\photo1.jpg). It is perfectly capable of browsing to and displaying a photo with a mapped letter drive (example: X:\Photos\photo1.jpg), which would be the preferred method of storing photos anyway.
You'll now see the photo you selected within the View Photos dialog box. Click OK to place the photo.
The Photo Callout dialog box will open.
The name of the RefNote or plant you selected will automatically appear in the Caption field. You can edit the caption if you'd like.
Click OK to place the callout.
Click to set an insertion point for the photo.
Drag the mouse outward to scale the photo to your desired size, or enter a scale factor.
Click to place the arrow and set the leader.
Calling Out a Site Object, Hatch, or Light Fixture
The Photo Callout tool also allows you to call out site furnishings, play equipment, paving materials, lights, and other site and hardscape objects.
Blocks, Hatches, and Reference Notes (RefNotes)
To add a photo callout for a block or hatch, including those you've placed as a RefNote, you'll need to use your own locally stored photos. You can use either of the methods outlined above:
- Drag and drop your photo directly into a Paper Space viewport, or
- Browse to your photo directly from Photo Callout
Light Fixture
With Photo Callout active, select the light fixture you'd like to call out – also in an active and locked Paper Space viewport.
The View Photos dialog box will open, and you'll see an official manufacturer photo of the fixture you selected (if available).
You can also click Browse to browse to your own photo.
The photo preview may appear a bit pixelated, like the image above. That's OK – it will look fine when you place the photo callout.
Click to set the insertion point for your photo callout, and drag the mouse or enter a scale factor to scale it.
Click to place the arrow, and again to place the leader.
Your photo callout will be placed.
You can also drag and drop your own photos of light fixtures, or use Photo Callout to browse to them.
Keeping Photo Callouts Uniform in Size
To keep all Photo Callouts uniform in size throughout your drawing, you can use one of two possible methods:
Grid Method
Pre-draw a grid in Paper Space, then snap the Photo Callouts to the line intersections.
Photo Size Method
Use a photo editing program (such as Photoshop) to make all your callout photos the same size. You can then place your Photo Callouts in your drawing, allowing you to set the scale to ensure all Photo Callouts are uniform.
Editing a Photo Callout Caption
To edit a Photo Callout caption after placing the callout, simply double-click the caption and edit the text manually.
Related Webinars
- Planting F/X for Beginners Part 2: In this second installment, we'll dive right into some of the tools you need to know about for the best experience and fastest workflow when starting with Land F/X planting plans, including how to create Photo Callouts. (1 hr 3 min)
Troubleshooting
Issue: Plant Photo Callout images are missing
Issue: Photo Callouts not working with Windows 10
Issue: Your Photo Callout arrows are hollow, not solid, or displaying as lines only
Contact
- Land F/X
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