Peer Reviews Please!

This is my contents page so far. The black boxes are where my images will be. What are your thoughts so far? What can I improve? 

Contents Page Contact Sheets and Evaluations

Image One:

For this image, I wanted to create a natural shot, of my model perhaps song writing or singing. I tried this, however I also experimented with some other poses.

 

Location/Lighting: Due to the weather this day, I had to be quick with this shoot. The day we arranged it predicted rain, and it did start raining after a few shots. So, I was only able to use my back garden as the location, as we would have needed to escape the rain quickly. Yet, this was still an ideal location for the shoot, as it was outdoors and my garden had enough foliage to come across as somewhere like a forest etc. The only problem I faced with this photo, is that in a lot of the images you can see my garden furniture, which isn't what I want to put on my contents page. However, I will be careful to choose an image that doesn't include this. As for lighting, I chose to photograph on this particular morning as it appeared (before the rain) bright, and this meant my image would be clear. I was limited with the days I could use to photograph outdoors, due to the darker lighting on most days and the rain. 

Clothing: I decided to get my model to go for more casual clothing, so this story would be more relatable. I went for a red theme, as I thought this was effective in standing out on the greener, outdoor backgrounds. 

Props: I was very simple with the props, and simply got my model to hold an acoustic guitar. This particular acoustic guitar has a small braid attached to the neck, which I thought made the instrument look more personal to the model, and therefore made this story more real. 

Model/Pose: In all the hast of having to be quick due to the rain, my model did find it hard to get into character, as my instructions did come across as vague. However, he soon got the idea, as I told him where to look in some images, to smile directly in some images, and to just look natural and play in some others (it helped that he can play the guitar a little bit!) As for the resulting poses, I am happy with how they turned out, as in all of them a positive tone is conveyed.

Image Two:

For this image, I slightly changed my original motif. Instead of my model being on the set of a music video, I tried to recreate the idea of a recording. This partly came down to the props I had available at the time of the shoot. 

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Location/Lighting: I experimented at first with a brighter light, focused on my artist, to capture the idea of this story being behind the scenes, as I mentioned in my original plan. However, as you can see from some of my images, this didn't work, as it meant the images came across too bright and sometimes slightly orange. So instead, I used more natural lighting. This helps to make it look more realistic and genuine, so I thought this would be more appealing to the reader. I did use the studio environment, however I used the green background, at first to resemble the idea of a a green screen and linking with my music video idea. When I changed my plan, I thought the green screen could still work, as it meant my model stood out well, with the contrasting colours in her clothing. 

Clothing/Hair and Make-up: I got my model to wear the brighter clothing still, as this resembled a costume kind of idea. However, when I changed my idea from a music video to a recording, I decided this clothing would work just as well, as she looks like a celebrity. This is a contrast from the models I am using and getting to wear more casual clothing. I also got my model to keep her hair looking more professional, however I dismissed the idea of dark make-up, as she is no longer being used on a set. This also makes the image more genuine, as she isn't looking at her absolute best for a recording. 

Props: I originally planned to use a handheld mic in this image, however the person I asked to borrow this prop from happened to forget to bring it in on the day of the shoot, as I asked them a bit too far in advanced and it slipped their mind. However, when I got into the studio, I came across this mic on a stand. This looked like it would be used during a recording session more than a music video, so this is when I decided to change my plan. I think this was successful though, as it was much easier for my model to get into character once we got some music playing and she could sing along! The music video did originally prove hard to set up. 

Model/Pose: My model struggled to get into character, as it was hard to pretend she was singing. However, once I started playing music is was much easier for her and she got straight into the character I wanted her too. As for poses, I first got my model to just move around and get into the music she was listening too. I thought this would make the image look really spontaneous and as though it was taken on set backstage. However, I realised this made a lot of my images very blurry. So, towards the end of my shoot, I told my model to hold certain positions, such as having one arm up in the air whilst holding a note. I think this was successful in still looking spontaneous. I also took the shot from above (using a step ladder) and then told my model not to look at the camera. I think this furthered this idea of this image looking spontaneous. The fact it looks so real will be more appealing to readers, as they will see the story as more real. 

Image Three

For this image, I decided in the end to maintain the same ideas to those that I used in my first image on my contents page. This is because I thought that this simple look worked with the tone of my magazine. However, I slightly changed where I took the image. I am also going to use one of these images for my Double Page Spread, as I feel they suit the type of story I have gone for.

 

Location/Lighting: I wanted to capture this image inside on a plain background, so to be simplistic and so the focus was on the model. I took this photograph in my own home, as I did not have the time to take the image with this particular model in college, as we don't share any free periods. I feel this worked well though, as the background has more to it than just a white screen, yet remains simple. As for lighting, I had a slight problem with this, as the only time I had to take this image was an evening, when it was dark outside. Therefore, this meant the lighting inside looks slightly more artificial and dark. I am going to use photoshop however, and the 'Curves' tool to brighten the image. 

Clothing: For this image, I instructed my model to wear more casual clothing, as this made the image much more relatable. I started shooting the image without my model wearing a hoodie, however we came up with the idea during the shoot for my model to wear the hoodie with the hood up. This gave a much more modern look, and would be attractive to my target audience, as this is similar to how this age group would dress. I also have my model wearing no shoes, as the story I am going for with the image is a story about how this person came from having nothing. I felt this was a good connotation of this idea through the image. 

Props: I have my model simply holding an acoustic guitar, in the hope of it having a similar effect to that of the first image. 

Model/Pose: Initially, I had wanted to use this model, but they had been reluctant to take part in the shoot. However, after a lot of convincing I managed to get him to take part. He found it very easy to get into character, once I had taken him on another shoot with me during the same day. This built up his confidence, as well as showing him what I needed him to do. He was able to follow the instructions I gave him easily after this. As for poses, I simply told my model to lean against the wall and smile directly into the camera. Similarly to image one, I wanted the direct eye contact to be key, as this is a real life story. I also told my model to look more relaxed, as I thought this would be more relatable to my target audience. 

Finished Front Cover!

So, this is my final Front Cover for my coursework! It took me a lot of time, considering the amount of changes I felt I had to make to create exactly what I wanted, but I am extremely pleased with what I have achieved. I found using Photoshop much easier as I began to use it more and more, and developing these skills through the amount of changes I made definitely helped me to create a more polished Front Cover which includes many techniques. I feel my cover suits the codes and conventions of a regular magazine and fits my original demographic well. 
Now, onto the Contents Page! 

Front Cover Progress - Final Touches!

Front Cover Progress

Front Cover So Far! 

This is how far I have got with my front cover, after a full day of editing, inserting text and images and blogging. I am SO happy that I changed my image, as I really feel that the text and image come together a lot better with this photo. The natural pose and direct gaze and exactly how I wanted them, and this image looks much more suited to a music magazine than the last one. 
I still need to consider perhaps another 1 or 2 cover lines for my front cover, as it is all too focused towards the top at the moment. I am also considering including a small slogan underneath the masthead, to sum up the aims of my magazine. I also realise I need to consider other things, such as a barcode, a price, a date, an issue number, perhaps change the name of my artist and a background. These are all smaller thing which I can come back to though. I am just happy that changing my image was successful and I am now on a roll with this cover! 

New Front Cover Image - Photoshop Editing Process

Progress - New Edit

I decided on a new image for my front cover straight away this morning, and spent two hours editing and making it look as though it belonged on a magazine front cover. I decided to go for the particular image I have chosen as I felt there was more to this image. My previous image looked too 'preppy' and as though it was taken for a college magazine, and I realised (finally) that that was the problem with it. The pose in my new image fits well with the genre of the magazine.

However, my changed image also lead to me changing my masthead font. I have maintained the same colour scheme and cover line font though. It has all come together so much better today, and there are only a few more little details I need to attend too before being finished!

So Indecisive!

I finally found a font I am happy with using on my cover, and I've even now got one for my cover lines - result! However, I am now starting to think that my image is the problem with my cover. It doesn't conform to the kind of shot I wanted to go for on my cover, and I think that is the problem. 

SO (I may regret this) but I am going to spend all day tomorrow editing another image, which I feel will suit the tone of my magazine better, and this should make the process of finishing my magazine much quicker. 

I will be posting blogs on the progress of my new idea soon. I just really hope it works! 

Final Font Choice!

I looked through several fonts with Pete today, and decided to go for something more modern. I looked at choosing one that had something slightly different about it, whether it was one specific letter being more abstract, or just generally the wording was more rounded etc, yet it was still formal. I found this was more effective for my magazine, as it conformed to my original demographic, as well as upholding a simple tone. 
I didn't need to experiment with any fonts other than the one I finally selected, as it immediately worked well with my image. So, here it is! 

Final Editing!

I was really struggling last week to achieve a front cover with a font I really liked, so today I asked Pete for some help on how to achieve a cover that suited my original demographic. He first advised me on some other things I could do which concerned editing my image further. These things included enhancing the colours, such as the white background and jean colour, to make my image look more defined and less young... and it seemed to work! Yay for Pete! 

First Attempt at Fonts!

These are my blogs explaining the processes of my first attempt of choosing a font for my front cover. And I think it's fair to say I got more that just a little bit frustrated! It wasn't the fact I didn't like them as fonts, they suited my idea of resembling handwriting perfectly - I just didn't see it as suiting the idea of a magazine heading, and they went against all my aims from my original introduction and aims (such as age gap, not being gender specific etc.) 

Slight Problem...

So, I got my model to wear the casual styled clothing, thinking the bright colours would look more 'fun' and relate to the idea of Pop. But, when constructing my front cover with the heading, it has some how started to look more girly, which goes against my demographic of my magazine being non gender specific. My image has also been said to look as though it would appeal more to a younger audience - this isn't good! 

However, I spent my lesson today trying to tackle these problems, and I finally came up with how to do so with some help earlier! My heading is going to incorporate a more serious font for the word 'Be,' as I was told by peers this looked more formal and grown up. As for colour schemes, I am going to use a darker colour or white with a dark outline. This looks much older than a lighter colour, which aids my problem of my magazine looking too young. The darker colouring also helps to make the magazine looks less gender specific. I am hoping I can solve this problem further through the sorts of information I put on the cover. 

It WILL be okay. Blogs with screen grabs to follow to show my progress with these ideas! 

Typography - Ideas For My Heading!

I acquired these fonts from a website called 'Da-font,' which allows you to type in a word and then choose a type of font you want to use. I used 'Standard' fonts and 'Handwriting' fonts when choosing which ones I wanted to experiment with. I like this website due to the fact you can be specific with the sort of typography you are looking for. This helped me greatly. 

These are just some ideas - nothing is set in stone! I just wanted to get used to using the website, and start to experiment for my magazine. At least I will have somewhere to start when choosing fonts for my cover! 

After experimenting my first idea, I also decided to experiment with fonts for the entire heading of my magazine. I narrowed it down to six different ideas, which all appeal to me. I particularly like font number 3, as it matches the idea I attempted to portray in my initial drafts. However, my concern with this font is that it is too thin and would not be bold/visible enough for a front cover. Font 5 solves this problem, as it is very bold and certainly wouldn't go a miss. However, I feel maybe the joint up handwriting might be harder to interpret. However, a joint up font could be easier for my to incorporate a treble clef image into, as it will look like it blends better. I find fonts 1 and 4 to be not too bold, but still bold enough for a front cover. Font 1 is the one which most resembles handwriting, which relates to my original ideas for my cover, and this can also be said for font 2. These two, I would also consider to come across as the most 'unisex.' Font 6 is my least favourite, due to looking too feminine. This would go against my idea of my magazine not being gender specific. I want it to appeal to both sexes. 

Overall, I think my favourite font is font 1, as it suits my demographic well, as well as being clear to interpret, and not too bold or thin. It is just right to stand out on a page. However, I am going to test a few of these fonts on my cover with my image, before deciding which one I want to use. 

Peer Responses!

The first comment talks about how they like the 'casual' clothing. This is immediately good to hear, as this is the look I wanted to go for with my front cover model, as I thought it would be more appealing. It's good to hear my idea was right! 

The majority of comments have also talked about the direct gaze and how well her eyes stand out, which suggested I didn't need to go back and edit her eyes some more. I was considering doing this before I got responses from this peer review. 

It's also good to hear that my peers think this is a good image for a music magazine! 

HAPPY KATIE! 

Photoshop Editing

Eye Colour

This is how I went about editing the eyes of my model. It was the first thing I did when it came to editing my image, as I recognised eye contact is key to the front cover. I found this quite easy to do once I was able to pin point the iris and circle it using the magic lasso tool. I am happy with how my eye colour came out, as my models are much brighter and work well contrasting the rest of her features, meaning they stand out more. Peers of mine also said how well my models eyes now stand out. 

Skin - Blemishes and Shadowing

I next moved on to removing dark areas and spots, in order to make my models face clearer and brighter. I have left some of the natural shadowing, in order to still make the image look slightly natural. I found this method easy, however you had to be mindful when clicking on areas to edit. I experienced some occasions where I over edited, and her skin began to look too plastic and over done. I went back and un-did this however, and I am now happy with how her skin looks. 

Teeth

I next moved on to creating brighter teeth, so they stood out and promoted a positive tone more effectively. Once I had recognised the idea of lowering the exposure for this feature, I found this quite quick and easy to do. 

Skin Colour

I next tackled the problem of my initial image having a slight orange tinge to it, which didn't look natural and meant my models face wasn't very bright. By combining these two techniques, I was able to remove this and brighten my models face. I played with these two ideas a lot until it was to my liking, as I didn't want to go too bright. The colour enhancing tool was particularly helpful, as it helped to make the image slightly brighter to how the curve tool had made it. 

Finishing Touch! 

By this point of my editing, I was happy with my models skin and general appearance, as everything was much brighter and visible. However, I found that after brightening the image as a whole, it made my models eyes look too bright compared to how they had looked initially. I played with the colour enhancing tool again, to darken them slightly, however they still didn't look right to me. After speaking to peers, I realised it was due to the fact my models pupil wasn't as visible anymore. 

I found adjusting the brush size and shades frustrating, as I needed to find the correct ones to recreate a realistic pupil. However, I am happy with how my eyes turned out, as they still look realistic. To me, I still think it looks unnatural, due to how well I know my model. However, my peers have commented on how the image still looks natural and realistic. This is how my readers will see this image, so I am happy with the responses I have received. 

FINAL EDIT! 

This is how my final edit looks - and I am extremely happy with it! Now on to choosing fonts and creating my cover! 

Peer Review - My Edited Image

What are your opinions on my edited image so far? Is there anything I can improve on? 

Final Images - Front Cover

Whilst narrowing down my final images, I considered the idea of angles and eye contact, as I feel these are most important when choosing an image which will appeal to readers. 

I have narrowed my front cover image down to four images: 

This image looks natural, which is the idea I have wanted to create right from the beginning of my research and planning. I also prefer the pink shirt in these images, as it has a better connotation of the idea of fun and Pop. My models hair is well out of her face in this image too, meaning her features are more visible. My only problem with this image is the fact her eyes are more closed compared to some others, meaning it isn't as direct. 
Another problem with this image is that my models left hand is slightly blurry. If I choose to use this image, I will have to edit this. 






This image also involves the clothes I prefer to link with my magazine genre. It looks more posed than some other images, however my models eyes are more visible in this image, apart from the fact her hair slightly cover her right eye. 

This image also involves my preferred shirt, however I do no like the shorts as much as I like the skinny jeans. This image looks more natural, and my model looks like she is laughing more than she is just posing for the camera. This looks more natural, which links with my original ideas. However, the eye contact and hair style could be a problem in this image for my front cover. 







This image involves a different coloured shirt, which looks more neutral. I like the pose used in this image, and the fact my models hair is well out of her face. However the eye contact isn't direct as such, as my model isn't looking straight towards the camera. I need to consider this, as it could mean my cover isn't as appealing. 

When I edit these images, I am going to look at brightening my models eyes, to emphasise this key idea of eye contact. I also want to experiment with using black and white like I stated in my plan, however I don't think I will use this idea for my cover, as I want the bright coloured clothing to be visible. Other tools I will use I will blog about to show my progress with my image. I want to spend a lot of time of my image as it is the key to my front cover being a success. 

My First Photo Shoot!

First models consent! wooooo!

I have now completed my first ever photo shoot! I feel it was quite successful, as I managed to achieve the shots I had in mind for my front cover. I used some images of Pop stars and music magazine covers as my inspiration, and felt I wanted to recreate this kind of style of cover. 

Below, are two images I have used as part of my inspiration, two well known Pop stars Ellie Goulding and Britney Spears. 

  

Both of the images above were featured in my original mood boards, referring to the layout style and photograph I was planning. I have used these images as my inspiration for my photo shoot, as I feel it promotes a positive tone, which is the same sort of idea I would like to achieve. It also gives the impression of a down to earth artist, which could be more appealing to readers. 

In order to adapt these ideas, I have photographed my model in a natural style, for example, whilst she is laughing or not looking directly at the camera. However, I also incorporated my own ideas, such as different camera angles, some of my model looking downwards, and some of her simply smiling into the camera. As for clothing, I also styled my model to be quite casual, with a checkered top jeans/shorts. I did incorporate some jewellery, as I wanted there to be a subtle hint towards the idea of fame and being a Pop star. I experimented with different types of accessories and clothing throughout the shoot, as I wanted to get a variety of images together to see which I prefer. 

After speaking with my model after the shoot, we agreed on performing a second shoot if the images I have taken are not to my liking or not what I want to use. However in this shoot, I am considering using the idea of Props, such as a Guitar. These props will definitely being used in my contents page and double page spread. As it stands at the moment, we are both happy with the outcome of this shoot. 

Now, onto creating my first contact sheet! 

Front Cover Contact Sheet and Evaluation

Contact Sheet One

Contact Sheets:

Contact Sheet Two

Contact Sheet Three

Evaluation:

These are the photo's I have taken for my first photo shoot. I feel this photo shoot went quite well, as I was able to use the majority of ideas I had thought of in my written plan. 

Location/Lighting:
My location went according to plan, as I was able to use the studio within college with no problems at all. My intention was to experiment with some more bold lighting, however I felt this gave a more mysterious connotation to my image, as it created shadowing. The natural lighting was simple and made my image clear and precise. 

Clothing:
The clothing I opted to go for conveys an idea of fun, through the use of bright colours and cartoon images on the top underneath. This links well to my chosen genre of Pop. It was also casual, through the use of denim jeans and shorts, which created the impression my artist was down to earth. I thought this idea could be more appealing to my target age group and social age group, as they don't want to be intimidated by someone of a similar age wearing expensive looking clothing, especially if they can't afford these sorts of clothes. My model did show me her more dressy clothing though, so I did take it into consideration before I changed the demographic of my photo shoot. I felt the items she owned would come across as intimidating to some readers. As for jewellery, my artist is wearing some silver pieces, which gives a more subtle connotation of fame. 


Props:
I did have the idea of using a guitar in this image, for my model to hold at her side. I wanted to follow through with this idea, however it wasn't practical for my to bring a guitar in for the time I had this photo shoot planned. Although it isn't a massive deal this idea wasn't followed through, as I feel it may have made my cover look too busy. I am planning on incorporating a treble clef into my heading on the cover, and this idea along with a guitar could have been too in the readers face about the fact my magazine is based around music. The treble clef will be more subtle and therefore more effective. 

Model/Pose:
I experimented with poses which I stated I would do in my plan during this shoot. The images of my artist looking downwards are nice, but they lack the idea of eye contact, which is essential to a front cover. This is so the image is more direct to its audience, and therefore more appealing. The images of my model looking down are going to have to be discarded for the front cover, but perhaps incorporated as an extra image on my contents page. The images of my model looking directly at the camera and facing at a slight angle are my favourite, as they look more natural. A problem I have with some of these images however, is that my models eyes are not always fully opened, meaning it is harder to see them. This is important, again due to the importance of eye contact. I am going to go through all my images and find one where her eyes are more visible. Another essential thing I remembered for this shoot was to take the photo's in portrait - I learnt my lesson from my Prelim task! 
As for my model, she was perfect to work with, as she followed all the instruction I gave her for her costume and angles. She was understanding of the idea I was trying to go for through my image and so followed adequately.