Photographs

In order to achieve a good looking magazine, I chose to take some shots in a studio. I chose to do this as most of the magazines I looked at had models on the front that had been shot in a studio.

I cannot use this image as it is blurred. If I used this image, it would look cheap and tacky and rushed. I obviously need to practice my camera skills and if I were to do it again, I would use a tripod to help steady my hands.

Although this image is in focus, the model is looking away from the camera. This would not appear on a normal magazine therefore I cannot use this image. If I were to do it again, I would make sure the model is looking at the camera and then that would give the audience the feeling that the model is looking at them.



I was going to use this image until I realised that there would not be enough room to place a masthead above her head. Also, there would not be enough room for Puffs to placed around her. If I were to do it again, I would make sure that there was a lot of space around the model so I could add in Puffs.




In this image, the model is blurred and looks as if she is pulling a funny face, this isn't the case but if I were to put it on a front cover, it would look unproffesional.



The lighting in this image isn't very good as there is a big shadow behing the model. Also, a friend took this image for me and it would not be my own work. My magazine has to feature all aspects of Media including photgraphy.



In the end, I chose this image for my front cover. I chose it because there is enough room for a masthead and for some Puffs around the model. In photoshop, I had to cut out the shadow, I did this by increasing the brightness. I like this image as it looks natural however it was posed. It also fits in with my theme of bullying. The light cast upon the model shows that I have used lighting as it brightens up her skin.



Taking these Images really enlightened me in to the world of production of magazines. Lots of aspects of Media are used in the production of a magazine and this was one of the harder aspects in my opinion. The aspects I found hardest included lighting and positioning the model. I can change the lighting so that shadows are cast behind the model or to just brighten up her face. If I were to do it again, I would avoid using a shadow effect as it is makes the model look cheap. As for positioning the model, I would draw up plans of how I would want the magazine to look so that there wouldn't be any confusion as to how she should sit or behave. Now that I have got to grip with the way in which photography works, I can now use it with confidence.

Final Contents Page- School Magazine

 Here is my final evaluation for my contents page. I have used many different skills and techniques to produce a proffesional looking contents page.

 

   In photography, I used lots of different techniques. I used long shots, mid shots, close ups and extreme close ups to achieve a proffesional looking magazine. (Examples of these shots are in my "Photos" Blog. I also expreimented with colour and lighting. Here is an example of a photo I took.

 In photoshop, I used lots of different tools. First, I used the magic lasoo tool to make a cut out of the figure in my photo. (NOTE: This is not my final image on my magazine cover, see my "Attempt at a cover" post to see how I would have used this.) This was useful as I could then post the image on to a background of my choice. I learnt how to use the lasoo tool in lessons and with some private work at home.

  Another tool I learnt how to use was the clone tool. In magazines, They use the clone tool to make the skin of a model look perfect. This tool gave the impression that it was airbrushed proffesionally. I found this tool hard to use as it took a lot of time but it was useful.

Another thing I used photoshop for was to use a filter on the image I chose. The filter I used was on the filter galley and I chose it because it looked grainy and therefore evoked emotions of sadness.

 

A typical magazine contents page

In the contents page, I have noted that the image is usually to the left of the page and there is a long list of features. The features list often shows a page number, a title then the main outline of the feature. An example of this is here. This is a convention. A code within my magazine is the fact that I have used the colour scheme of black and blue through-out it. I chose blue as once again, it shows sadness. If I had done it in all black and white it would have either looked cheap and tacky or classy, I decided by adding colour, it would add a slightly more editorial look to it.

In my magazine, I tried to aim it aim students. I did this by using a young girl at the top of the page. She looks like a typical student. The layout is quite simplistic and I chose to do it this way as Students are often too busy to read things in detail as they have to study. The use of colours was key as the blue I chose was similiar to that of Facebook and students these days are media relevant. The style of my magazine was supposed to mirror when established magazines release special editions of magazines, I chose bullying as it is an issue amongst teens these days.

The Strengths-

• My photography is good but not great, in the future, I will make a blueprint of how I want the magazine contents to look and not just take photos and make plans from then.
• My typography fits in well with the style as it is aimed at students.
• The "Articles and Interviews" follow a similiar style to other magazines.
• I have used the heading on the contents and on the front cover (See "Final Front Cover-School Magazine)

The Weaknesses

• The background is white and not very many magazines use an all white background however I found it was plain and simple and this is the style I was aiming for. In the future, I would make less white space by using more pictures and photos.
• The two images overlap each other and in many magazines, this is a key practice but down to the style of my magazine, its not appropriate.
• Both images seem to convey a feeling of happiness. In the future, I will ask the "model" to pose sadly as the image will make the magazine seem more realistic.

Here is my final contents page for the School Magazine.

 



Covers I like

Before making my own magazine cover , I researched some other magazines in the hope that I would find one that I liked. Below are some examples of magazines I liked.

I like this magazine and it uses a filter. The image is iconic and is easy to recognise. The bright colour scheme is simple but it catches the audiences eye. The mast head uses serif which suggestsa level of intelligence about the magazine.

I like this magazine as it is a traditional fashion magazine. It uses a beautiful model on the front and it boasts femininity as it uses pink. The way the model is posed catches the readers eye as she is quite open and relaxed. A key feature is the fact that the models head is in front of the title.



 

 

 





I like this cover as it shows the use of photoshop. Its cover is simple yet effective and uses an easy photoshop to show an idea. I like the fact that the model is facing the camera yet the body is tilted to the side. This gives it the feel of a robot and the eye helps with that.



 

 

 









I chose to emulate this magazine as it stands out to me. The fact that it is in black and white shows that its classy. The model on the front is posed simply and is facing the camera so it looks like she is making eye contact with the audience. This then catches the eye of the reader and then gets their attention. It is in black and white and therefore will stand out on a shelf amongst coloured ones. The photographs I took mirrored this cover well. The feelings it evokes are of sadness and that ties in well with my theme of bullying.

Step by Step- Final Cover for School Magazine

First of all, I decided to look at magazine covers that I liked. (See Magazine Covers I like Post)

I found this image and decided to emulate it.

First I took a photograph using a camera and a model. I found photographing quite hard as the lighting was hard to use.If I were to do this again, I would use a more proffesional looking light rig.
Next I cropped the image and used the magic lasoo tool to make a cut out of the figure. I then pasted the image on to a blue background. I chose the colour blue because it suggests sadness and the image above suggests sadness too. Although the image above is mainly black and white, I found it looking slightly cheap therefore I used colours to brighten up the cheap looking magazine.I then placed a filter on the image to make it seem more proffesional looking. Using filters was good because it shows diveristy within my work. I chose a filter which slightly blurred the face. If I hadn't of blurred the face, I would have used the clone tool to make the skin look airbrushed.


Proffesional magazines have clear mastheads which tell you the name of the magazine. In my case, I chose the word STUDENT in order to show it was aimed at Students. I used a font from Dafont.com to create a title. I chose this font in paticular because it is very school like in my opinion and would therefore have connotations of school and studying which would suggest my  target audience is students.I noticed however I noticed that some magazines release special issues and as this was a school magazine I chose to do an issue on bullying.  I used another font from Dafont.com to create the banner running along the bottom of the page.


I used another way of putting in text by just adding it on photoshop. I chose white as the colour and it stands out. I used Dafont.com again to get the logo of a social networking site for my cover. I am not sure if there are copyright laws against using a logo or not.


I then added in a barcode as all magazines have barcodes and it is a convention. All magazines have a date, which is another convention, which I used the text option on photoshop to insert.

Here is my final cover!

 

Target Audiences of Certain Texts

The purpose of this advert is to sell the product- in this case, a shaver.

The target audience is clearly men as shown by the three celebrities in the image.

The encoded meaning is to emit power. It does this by using three powerful men who all take part in sports. The executives at Gillette used these three men as they are idols to men.

The decoded meaning is that if these three men use the product than it must be good enough for any man. It also shows that the product can essentially make you as good Tiger woods. 

An aberrant decoding of this is that the advert uses men with dark skin so it may suggest that it is only for dark skinned men but it isn’t.

 One of the technical aspects is that the men are all pointing their heads downwards; this suggests power. The orange background is quite neutral and the men dresses in black shows casual smartness. Men inspire to be like these tree idols so by dressing them quite plainly, it could suggest that the shaver is simple but can make you in to a star.