Print Skills Audit

Thursday 14th April

My personal photography

I took these photos in my spare time whilst out at a garden center. Within them I experimented with the apeture settings and created different effects. I like these photos becuase they have captured the different colours well. I took all these photos using low apeture settings to give a thin depth of field. The daisy photo turned out really well and the background of the image was so much out of focus the colours have started to blend together.

     The photo of the poppy has turned out so that the background is in focus and the foreground is out of focus. I don't know why it happened but I think it looks effective the way it has turned out. The background flowers look really bright and totally in focus. The lilies look effective because the flower which is most in focus is directly in the middle of the photograph; it is the positioning of the flower that has made the picture look so effective.

     I am happy that I was able to apply the skills that I have learnt in media for my own personal photography and that they have turned out as effectively as they have. Learning these skills of how to use apeture from media has helped me gain the skills to be able to take professional looking photos.

Tuesday 5th April

Production

Last week I had to work hard and fast to have my production finished by the deadline which was last Friday 1^st April. I managed my time effectively to have my products finished to the best of my ability by then. Even though I started to create my double page all over again just over a week ago I think it looks professional, neat and effective. I am proud of my products and think they look great. I really like the layouts of my products and the colours I have used. I think that my products are well suited to my target audience and portray the theme of global warming well.

     This week and next  are post production, I need to stay focused and work hard on my final evaluations to make sure my grades are as high as possible and I don’t lose marks for giving up at the end of the course.

Double Page Spread

Front Cover

Tuesday 29th March

Production

Last week I created my first drafts of both my products, i spent Tuesday and Wednesday making my front cover and Thursday, Thursday night and Friday working on my double page spread. I wrote my article in my free time after college and it was complete by Thursday.

      I had issues on Thursday however as my double page spread wasn’t up to the standard it needed to be and Mark, a media teacher, gave me advice on what to change and what I needed to do to make my product better. This was a disaster for me and I feel very under pressure to be able to meet my deadline on Friday 1^st April, 3 days time. Mark showed me that making my double page spread on photoshop and then transferring it to In Design would make a much higher standard product. I have created a banner on my double page spread and I am going to completely changed my layout furthermore I am going to enlarge my image and make it cover over the double page spread to make my product high quality and make it look professional.

      This week is deadline week and I need to have my work completely finished to the best of my ability. This means that I will be using all my free time and my class time to complete my work. I will be stopping back at college on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night to get as much extra time as possible in my last week. My main focus is to make sure my double page spread is complete and looking good at high standard. I will spend the beginning of the week Tuesday, and Wednesday working on my double page spread to make sure it is complete in time for the deadline. I will then spend Thursday and Friday dinner time finishing off my front cover ready to hand in. I will have to use all the skills I have learnt on photoshop and In Design to be able to work at a fast pace and have my work complete ready for the deadline.

        The only possible problems that I could have this week is losing my work by it being deleted or damaged. This is why I need to save my work not only to the college network but to my memory stick every 20 minutes to ensure that none of my work is damaged or lost if there was a power cut or my memory stick went faulty.

Tuesday 22nd March

Production

Last week was a very busy one for me, as well as college I had a trip to London on Wednesday and an Art exam on Thursday meaning I missed two lessons of production. Because of this I stopped back on Thursday night after college however I struggled and found it difficult to work my way around photo shop without getting stuck and because I was on my own I didn’t achieve much. Monday, Tuesday and Friday’s lesson I managed to work out the layout for my front cover by placing boxes on my front cover to give myself a picture of what my final outcome will look like. Furthermore I did this for my double page spread but I haven’t developed this as further as I have my front page. In my own time I developed writing my article and I have very almost finished it.

    Last week I struggled to navigate my way around Photoshop however I am learning new skills every day and although I still struggle I do feel a lot more confident to work my way through the programme than I did when I first started my production. I find In Design a lot easier to use than Photoshop however I started using In Design after I had been using Photoshop, which has many of the same tools.  

     This week I need to have a first draft front cover and double page spread complete to be able to spend next week, my last week of production, editing the final parts of my work and making my products to the best standard they can be. I will spend Tuesday, and Wednesday working on my front cover and Thursday, Thursday night and Friday working on my double page spread to be able to achieve my target of having a first draft completed. Furthermore in my own time I need to finish the ending of my article and double checked it to make sure it best suits the theme of my magazine.

   The main problem that I worry about every week is if my work gets deleted or lost. I have all my work backed up on my memory stick and on my home computer in case of this occurring. Another problem could be that my files could become corrupt if I have problems with a computer or memory stick. This means that I should save my work in different places within my documents on college computers and on my home computer. The last problem that I could encounter is that if there is a power cut and I haven’t yet saved my work, to stop this from happening I save my work every 15 minutes to be stop this problem from happening.                                   

This is an example of the font that I have downlaoded from dafont.com I think that it looks mature and sophisticated for my target audience and suits the theme of a fashion magazine well. I played around with drop shadow and stroke on this font to see what it looks like with effects. I think it suites the idea of my magazine well and will look effective when put my front cover and double page spread all come together and I can view them as one. I would like to find another font from the website to use on my products to make them as visual as possible for my target audience.

Tuesday 15^th March

Last week, on Tuesday was my photo shoot. I was very well prepared with costume and props however I had a few contingencies which altered my plans for my production. On Tuesday morning the model I wanted to use for my double page spread photos couldn’t make the photo shoot and cancelled. This wasn’t a problem as I had my back up model Kaytee to fill in and cover her place. To add to this dilemma the venue where the studio is, the Arts centre had a power cut and all personnel were evacuated from the building, this could have been worked around with my back up photo studio slot the following week but thankfully the power came back on and my photo shoot went ahead as planned in the afternoon. Whilst doing my photo shoot Chris, the lighting technician, and I tested out what lighting worked better for my pictures before deciding on having two main lights facing diagonals towards my models that stood in front of the backdrop.

      On Wednesday of last week I looked through my photos and started to plan on which photos I was going to use and which that were no good. I decided on my final photos and started to develop my ideas through photoshop. I carried on working on photoshop and InDesign throughout Thursday and Friday’s lessons testing out my flat plan and how my ideas work with the final images.

This will be my front cover image.

This will be one of the images for my double page spread.

      This week I plan to carry on designing my front page, my double page spread and writing my article. I am hoping to have first drafts of my front page and double page spread by the end of the week so that I can discuss and get advice from Stef and Lee in how to develop my product to make them better. To be able to achieve these targets I need to spare my free time to dedicate it to developing my production to achieve the best products I can and continue improving them.

        During the week I am developing ideas and writing my article this means that I may have many technical contingencies which may affect my work such as work getting lost or deleted. My abilities in not being able to work in the photo shop programme even though my skills are developing as I go. The only way I can make sure that these problems do not occur is buy having all my work backed up on a memory stick and on my home computer to ensure that I always have a spare copy somewhere. For photoshop I am learning new skills every media lesson and I need to spare up my free time to be able to practice and have a play with it so that I can produce my production by my deadline.

Production

8th March 2011

I spent last week planning out what I wanted to create in my unit three. I planned out what I wanted as the idea behind my magazine and what I wanted to be in my photos and in my articles. To test out the ideas that I had I made two mock-ups as part of my pre-production work testing out different ideas and the ways in which I would produce them. I’m not very confident on photoshop but I am hoping that by doing mini tasks like the mock-ups I will gain more skills.

       At the end of last week I had decided on what photos I wanted to take, completed my photo shoot plan and had my models prepped and ready knowing what they had to do. Furthermore I had outlined two article ideas and I also knew by Thursday what I wanted to write in my article and what style I was going to write it in.

       The only problems that I struggled with was using photoshop and not understanding how to make what I wanted to. The way I resolved these problems was when Stef, an ICT specialist who comes in on a Friday afternoon, showed me what I was doing wrong and taught me how to use different tools effectively to get the effect I wanted. Whilst using photoshop I learnt how to use the free transform tool which I used to change the direction of an object as well as changing size. I am going to develop more skills as I start my production as I will be editing, readjusting and creating my magazine front cover.

        This week I am doing my photo shoot, designing the layout for my Indesign double page spread and I want to start designing my front cover. My photo shoot is on Tuesday 8^th and my models are prepared and know what costumes I want them to wear and I am prepared because I have collected my props ready for Tuesday. Wednesday is our long lesson and this is when I want to review my photos and check I have all the shots I need and that they look how I wanted them to. From there I will spend that lesson, Thursday and Friday’s on working on the editing and layout of my front cover to get started on making as many drafts as I can to make the best product possible. To ensure that I am learning the skills I need to be able to produce my product I am going to find a photoshop tutorial on the internet in the next couple of weeks and I hope to learn some basic skills that will help me in my production.

      Possible problems that could go wrong next week are that my photo shoot is cancelled or delayed because of camera’s breaking or Chris not being able to turn up. In case of this happening I have booked an additional conditional photo shoot in case of any problems with my first one. Furthermore another problem could be that my photos have not turned out how I wanted them in which case I will use my conditional photo shoot booking to take more which I will need to plan out. Another problem with photos is that I could lose them or they could be deleted; my contingency plan for this happening is to have my photos backed up on college computers, a memory stick and my home computer to ensure the safety of them. 

Skills Development 28th January 2011

Apeture
I took these photos to test different apeture setting on a camera. I really liked using lower apeture settings because the effect is really interesting and makes an object very dominant within a photo.

These two photos were taken using low apeture settings which give a thin depth of field. This means only the objects closest to the camera are in focus and everything behind the object is out of focus and gives a blurry effect. Using a lower apeture setting lets more light in and is good for using in dull light conditions; the stutterspeed is lower and the lense is open for a very short time.

These two photos are taken using middle apeture settings which gives a medium depth of field. This means objects closest are in focus and some of the objects behind it are in focus but the background is still out of focus.

These two photos use high apeture settings which give a maximum depth of field. This means that everything in the photo is in focus and the lense is open for longer. It is good to use high apeture settings of a landsacpe on a dark day becasue using high apeture lets more light in because the lense is open for longer. This is why the people in my photographs have blurred becasue the lense is open for longer therefore allowing the people to blur when they move.

Skills Development 7th January 2011

InDesign Double Page Spread

I made this double page spread using Adobe InDesign. I started by creating 3 columns down each page and then developed other boxes for images and the title of the article. I used different tools like drop caps, colour tools and the place tool. I loved using the place tool as it put my text exactly where I wanted it without the confusion of copying and pasting. Furthermore drop caps made my double page spread look professional along with quotations which stand out in larger font than the rest of the text.

     I think my double page spread looks professional and like it could be in a real magazine. However I would possibly have liked to add more images to my spread to break up the text and make the spread more visual. I enjoyed using Adobe InDesign because it was simple to use and it was a lot easier than I thought it would be to create a professional looking double page spread.

Skills Development 19th November 2010

Magazine Front Cover Task

I have taken these photos for the purpose of making a mock-up style music magazine. I took the photos behind a building because the environment looked run down and grunge which was the image I wanted for my magazine.

      I framed the images by leaving space in the top left hand corner to allow space for the mast head and I tried to position the models in the centre of the picture to allow space for sell lines and banners.

      I took some of my photos horizontal instead of portrait which I liked but would not work as a magazine front cover. I really like the horizontal one of my two models however it is slightly out of focus; furthermore I tried to use a downwards tilt in this one to create a feeling of power. My models were easy to control and it wasn’t a problem getting them to where I needed them. Additionally I asked them to look either at me or in a certain direction to get the right eye lines within my photos.

       I really like the photo of one of my models sat on the steps as the background looks really shabby and dirty and my model looks relaxed and isn’t looking towards the camera. The thing I like the most about this photo is that his shirt and shoes are very bright and stand out of the photo.

      On some photos the background didn’t turn out how I’d expected, however I loved having the brick grungy wall as a background. I struggled with lighting as because my setting was behind a building it was quite dark however when I used flash the photos became over exposed so I will have to work on them using photoshop.
      I also experimented with poses for my models during this photo shoot having them look into and away from the camera. Again I experimented with downwards and upwards tilts to find out what effects they create within a photo. Some poses work better than others as a magazine front cover because they are better suited to be able to arrange a mast head and sell lines around the main image. Take picture 1 and 2 which are framed perfectly for a magazine front cover whereas picture 3 is do able but would use a more complicated layout to be a magazine front cover.

This is my unfinihsed music magazine mock-up. I didn't get time to finish what I had started however I spent a couple of lessons working on the font. I downloaded the font from http://www.photoshopbrushes.com/tutorials/distorting-lettering2.htm which was a tutorial that I followed. During the tutorial I changed a few elements like the colour, it directed me to use whitye but I used red. I think this font looks effective and I achieved the look I was going for- a grunge style music magazine. I created the right style of font for the magazine I was creating even though it doesn't look like the tutorials finished font. I would difinatley use another font tutorial if I need to in my unit three porduction because they are easy to follow and quick to do.





Skills Development 12th November 2010

Side Lighting Blog

I have leant how to use side and front lighting in photography. Front and side lighting are used to show off the subject of the photo and give photographs the best effect. Front lighting is light that is in front of the objects e.g. a person, it lights up the whole face from the front causing no shadows. Side-lighting however is light sourced from the side of a face which usually lights up half of the face causing shadows on the other half.

     Side lighting can have many connotations, depending on the meaning of the photo. Some portraits are made to look sexy and have a sense of mystery whereas side lighting can give a sense of innocence and loneliness especially of children.

     Side lighting can accentuate male features as the harsh lighting hits the jaw line and cheek bone which reflects men’s beauty. The fact that only half the face is lit connotates strength, power and masculinity. On the other hand front lighting captures women’s beauty and enhances and softens their features. As the whole face is lit no harshness is added to the photo caused by shadows, front lighting makes the face seem soft and full with a sense of calmness and beauty.

     I will benefit from learning the skills of side and front lighting when I reach unit 3 as I will need to take my own photograph for my topic global warming. Now I know what lighting connotates different moods and feelings I know what lighting to give to different photos. For example if I were to take photos of animals that are affected by global warming i would use side lighting to connotate the innocence and helplessness of the animal.

      I enjoyed taking photos using side lighting in the park however it was tricky trying to position models in the right positions to get the light of the sun to reflect off their faces and even harder to get the models to face the sun with their entire face, as it was quite bright. The landscape photo of side lighting worked well and is my favourite photo. Whereas the front light photos aren’t as good because the models found it hard to pose when the light was so bright in their eyes.

 Front Lighting:

                                     

 Side Lighting:

Skills Development 5th November 2010

Shutter Speed

Today I have learnt how to use slow shutter speed and fast shutter speed settings on the cameras. Shutter speed controls the length of time that light can pass through the lens aperture. Slow shutter speeds are very good to use in low light as the shutter is open for longer and can capture more light. Furthermore slow shutter speeds are very good for capturing movement. Fast shutter speed captures a second of movement and creates a freeze frame photograph.

       I really enjoyed using slow shutter speed, as the photo’s look brilliant, however it took me a while to set my camera up and get it at the right shutter speed as the photos were not really capturing the movement of the light at first; but I eventually set my camera at 1/0.3 to get my final image. The fast shutter speed was harder to use as it captures a freeze frame, so the model had to be in the right position and the photo had to be took at the exact moment of their movement I wanted to capture. I set my camera to 1/460 to create a freeze frame of my model’s throwing leaves in the air.

       I will benefit from these skills when I get to Unit 3 because I can use slow and fast shutter speeds to capture my images for the topic global warming. Slow shutter speed skills will be useful for photographing in low light environments and will be good for photographing moving trains and cars which are contributors of global warming. Additionally fast shutter speeds will be good for capturing freeze frames, photos showing the effects of global warming and how we affect our planet.

        Skills I need to develop are the use of lighting, my fast shutter speed photos were good but using the setting doesn’t let much light in and my images turned out quite dark. I need to progress my skills on lighting effects to be able to produce professional photos. Furthermore I need to plan my photographs more because when I went to take my fast shutter speed photos, I hadn’t thought through the freeze frame I wanted. The leaves idea was chosen on the spot and although the photos look effective I wish I’d thought through my freeze frame more.

Independent Learning
Photoshop Tutorial-  http://photoshoptutorials.ws/photoshop-tutorials/photo-manipulation/how-to-create-a-flaming-manipulation-in-photoshop/all-pages.html 

The tutorial was about manipulation and applying cinematic lighting effects. I have learnt how to manipulate photos, layer images together to make the final image look realistic. I have learnt how to use the dodge tool to accentuate highlights on images, I have learnt a new way of cutting out part of an image and moving it to a separate image using the pen tool, paths. Furthermore an effective technique which I think will be useful during unit 3 is warping images. In unit 3 I need to use creative idea’s to make a good magazine and the new technique’s I have learnt like paths and warping will help do this, for example I may create an image of the world on fire to show the effects of global warming and warping would help do this.
      Additionally adding a background glow to an image finishes off the final product and makes the layers of image blend as one; I think this will help me in my unit 3 as all my finished products have to look professional.

Initial Skills Audit

Introduction Project

Media Production Evaluation.

In the work I have produced in the planning of a moving image advert and the making of a print advert, I have used skills on the camera like the manual focus and shutter speed; the shutter speed feature was really helpful with taking photos for my storyboard in trying to capture a situation. Furthermore I used skills like text control, layers and the magnetic lasso while editing my print advert using photoshop, along with the skills I have learnt to use like the cropping tool, retouch tool and new techniques on editing font. The skills I used during the production of my storyboard and advert have made my finished products more effective by adding a more professional look to them.

        I think the work that I have blogged so far shows which skills I have at the moment, I have learnt a few new skills but in total my work shows what i can do so far; I know my skills will progress as I learn more on my course.  However there are weaknesses in my work that I would like to fix or re-do if I were to do the project again.  First is that the twelve shots in my storyboard should have been thought out more and each shot should have been planned by what type of shot, what angle and what was happening in the photo. The second is that for my advert I wanted the two boy models to have bacon sandwiches instead of chips but because i hadn’t planned this and took my photos after lunch the cafe had stopped selling breakfast food. The third problem which i would have liked to change on my work was taking the storyboard photos on a different day to my advert photos so because of this i had to use different models and the models from the first shoot were wearing different clothing. The fourth weakness of my work was not using the location I wanted to, I wanted to shoot my photos in the college cafe but was full and there were no tables left so I resorted to the cafe along the road.  If i had the opportunity to re-do my work these are the factors which I would change.  

       To work towards the standard achieved in professional working practice, I would have to build up my skills with using a camera and learn to take photos with a more professional look, I would also have to build up my skills on photoshop and use the techniques that professionals use to make it a higher standard. Additionally i would have to plan my storyboard photos and print image in a more detailed standard.

My product that I was re-branding was Daddies sauce which was originally targeted the audience of mainstreamers who are males between the ages of 28-45 who are fathers from full nest II with the socioeconomic grade between C1 and D.  However the target audience who I have re-branded the product towards are aspirers who are heterosexual males between the ages of 16-19 who are bachelors with the socioeconomic grades between B and C1, the product has also been re-branded towards young males who are in further education.

       The location of my photographs from my finished products is in a cafe in a ‘college like’ environment which attracts my target audience of 16-19 year olds, my products also use models of the same age. The font on my advert is big and bouncy, and the colours are red and yellow which are bright and vibrant and full of life used to target my audience of young people. The fact the models are laughing and having a good time in the advert attracts the target audience to the product as it is what young people like to do.

     The elements of my project that do not work as well, were trying to get the point of the advert across to the audience. It was hard to show that boy two who didn’t get the girls was miserable and jealous of boy one who did get the girls because he used Daddies sauce. It was difficult to get boy two to pull the right facial expression to get this message across to the reader. Likewise it was hard to show the girls going for boy one who used the Daddies sauce in my storyboard photos as it was not an actual moving image advert.

      I think my advert is well suited towards my target audience but could be improved; the location should have been in the college cafe with posters on the wall to show it was aimed at males in further education than just a normal cafe.  I think this would have aimed the product more directly to their age group rather than just ‘young’ people. If I could improve my project I may have thought of a more exciting original storyline for the storyboard and print to make it unusual and more interesting.

       I think my work demonstrates my understanding of audience segmentation systems, as i have used the different segmentation techniques to target my products to my audience.  I have considered the demographics and suited my models and fonts to the age and sex of my target audience. I have considered the socioeconomic systems by aiming my product at grade’s B and C1 which would be young people living with their parents, and also the life cycle stage my audience would be in. The models are young and represent the audience I’m targeting and the fonts used in my print are reflective of the teenage life.