Hair, Make Up and Costume Preperation

 Before taking the images at the photo shoot, a lot of work was put into preparing the models by doing their hair, makeup and putting together outfits which worked well from the selection of clothing we had brought. Throughout the shoot there was frequent breaks to ensure the models hair was as neat as it had been to start with and to touch up the makeup in order to ensure that the quality of the photos was consistent and the look was kept perfect. There was also costume changes which effected the hair meaning it had to be redone, and to help with this I brought some friends along to the photo shoot who helped me with achieving the desired makeup looks, hair styles, and maintenance of the looks throughout the shoot. As there was a lot of us involved in this, we all brought items of clothing and makeup which was helpful as it meant there was a lot of different options and variety to create the looks I had aimed for, this is clear in how my photos came out as for example the dark red lip I chose for my main image was not something I owned myself therefore this wouldn't have been achieved without contribution from my models and other people helping. 

Preliminary Task Unused Photos

I took a number of my own original photos for my preliminary task, using a digital camera around the college campus with staff, friends and other media students. In my final product I used one main image on my front cover, and five on my contents page so there was a large number of photos I disregarded either because they weren't of good quality or didn't demonstrate the topic of the article as well as I wanted. Here are some examples.

These have highlighted things I will aim for and also avoid when taking my photos for my real final product, the outside lighting was unreliable so I will mainly take my photos in a photographic studio as lighting has a major impact in how the photos come out. I will also use confident models who will not be shy and embarrassed or mess on when posing as this is clear in the photos, as well as each photo needing an impact otherwise it will be missed on the page and irrelevant to the articles.

Preliminary Task

As a preliminary task, I have created a front cover and contents page for a college magazine. In order to do this I first made a plan with ideas for a masthead and sell lines and then took my own photos around the college of features I would like to include. I then created a mock up of a front cover and contents page using Photoshop and had this marked by my teacher.

To create these I used Photoshop and used a combination of my own original images, and a few found online such as the ski slop and shop logos. I stuck to a colour palette of reds and greys so there was a consistent house style and tried to make these look as professional as possible.

I was awarded a grade A from my teacher for this task, as the layout and colour scheme are effective making it look professional, as well as the image and cover lines being appropriate to the target audience of college students. This is because all of my articles are relevant to what goes on inside the college and my model is of the target age group herself. The positive comments of my contents page were that the layout is easy to navigate by the clear page numbers anchoring the images, and this is aesthetically pleasing. I will aim to achieve the same grade in my final product.

Areas for improvement which were highlighted was the quality and cutting out of my main image which is something I will take much better care with in my final product as the camera used was not of amazing quality and I didn't spend too much time editing the image for this piece. Another thing was that the sell lines on my front cover seem to blend into one and I have picked up myself on the fact that there is blank space on the right but not on the left which is something I will change in future too. The final comment was that the script font used on both pages is slightly unclear for the audience and to improve this I will choose a more simple style which can be read at a glance to ensure that my magazine is accessible to everyone.

Front Cover Task

In order to practise producing a front cover, I was given the task of creating a front cover for a music magazine with Jarvis Cocker as the main image. In order to create a relevant magazine for this artist I had to do some research on his music and the genre and found a number of bands which were of a simple rock-pop genre.  This also helped me choose the colour scheme which is fairly gender neutral and bold and I used my previously chosen title of 'Beat' again as it is not specific to any genre. I would like to use this masthead for my final product as it signifies that there is a wide genre included and I also like this way this looks on the page of all current mock ups I have made, as it is a short and punchy title.

This task was marked by teacher and was given an overall grade of B. The image was good however to improve I need to take more care when cutting out the hairline, and I was given mostly positive comments about my sell lines - they are appropriate to the task and genre and demonstrate excellent awareness of scale, however to improve this further I will take more care in the positioning of them, as they get a bit lost in the cover image by covering his hair, which looks unprofessional. Overall my teacher said I demonstrate good knowledge of conventions of magazines as well as layout, design and colours of the page however a negative comment is that she was unsure about the filled in B as it does not look as effective as intended. I agree with this so in future I will avoid doing this and will also practise cutting out a bit more on photoshop so on my final product the hair is not badly edited. 

Photoshop Task

Using the notes I made on how to work photoshop, I created my final production - the movie teaser poster. The briefing I was given for this task was as follows.

This task was peer marked, and my peer awarded me a score of 25/40 which is also a grade B.

The feedback I recieved was that my images were a good size and of good quality, however to improve I could use space better as there was quite a lot of blank area due to all of the imags being placed in the middle, and also that although the choice of colour is good, a block colour rather than gradient effect would be better for the background. Due to this feedback, in future I will ensure my background is more simple to not distract from the image, and take more care when positioning aspects of my work so that the space is used more effectively.

Looking at Last Year's Work

I was set the task of looking at work from previous years and giving it the grade I thought it deserved based on the strengths and weaknesses I have identified. The magazine I will be aiming for my own work to be like would be 'Pop' as I thought this deserved a grade A as the images and layout were excellent quality so seemed very realistic, and it fitted the obvious genre really effectively.

From this activity I have found that a common weakness of the work is that it looks unprofessional - either by bad quality images, messy layout, or incorrect grammar and spelling. I will ensure I avoid all of this in my own work by taking my own pictures and not trying to cram too much into a page such as the contents page, to make sure it isn't messy. The common strengths are consistent house styles which is something I will also include as I have chosen a colour scheme which I will make sure is used throughout, and also I really like the idea used by 'Sixstrings' to list included bands on the front cover as this is a good way of enticing and attracting one off readers.

I found this useful as it meant I could see other examples of work and compare it to my own, identifying areas I will avoid and things I can take inspiration from to make sure my own magazine is as good as possible.

Potential Problems Proposal Plan

I have considered some of the potential problem areas with my coursework images and article, and thought of ways in which I can deal with the problems in order to get the right images I need.

Recce

I have carried out a recce at the location of my photo shoot, which is in the photographic studio at the local university.

The potential hazards that could pose a health and safety risk in the professional studio are all of the wires and cables trailing on the from appliances such as the studio lighting which cause a potential tripping hazard, or obtrusive furniture which is in the way of where I am wanting to take the photographs, such as the chairs which are around to be used. Another hazard could be the backdrop, which is a set up of white fabric, as where this is taped to the floor there is the potential risk of tripping if it is not completely flat.

To ensure these risks are minimised I will ensure the floor is clean and dry before we start the photo shoot to avoid the slipping hazard, and ensure the backdrop is secured safely and flat to the floor so there is no chance of catching your foot on it and falling. I will make my models aware of wires so they avoid tripping on them and if possible I will move these wires however this might not be possible as the studio lights are set up to be positioned in a certain place.

In the studio the time of day and weather will have no effect on the photos as the studio lighting will be used, however for one of my contents page images where I would like it to be against an outdoor, urban looking background I will ensure I choose my time of day carefully therefore have chosen midday, so that the daylight is at its brightest. If the weather is bad such as a dull, cloudy day, the outcome of my photos will be effected as bright, natural night is essential in making my photos come out as good a quality as possible so to ensure this doesn't affect the outcome of my photos I have allowed a few days where myself and my models are available to take this particular image incase the weather is particularly bad one day.

Some potential hazards found in the studio

My photos will have a plain white back drop, which will already be set up in the photographic studio. I would also like to take a photo for my contents page outside, either on a brick or wooden wall so there is an urban feel to the image, and because these are both common things I will not have difficulty ensuring that I find a background of this sort.

Permission is needed to take the photos in the studio I have in mind, so by doing this recce I confirmed with the owner of the studio at Sunderland University that I would be able to use the studio, and I have booked a time in which myself, the models, and the studio itself are free to carry out the photoshoot as students at the university would get priority booking. I will then email the owner of the studio to confirm the booking. For this I have booked around 5 hours to ensure that ample time is available for hair and makeup changes.

Other people and crowds would be an issue in my photos as I am aiming for such a simple and plain background therefore to ensure this won't spoil the effect I will photograph one model at a time (unless it is a group shot) and make sure no one is in the area I am shooting when I take the photos. Although this should not be an issue in the studio, I have still bared this problem in mind.

To ensure all of the equipment and models I need come together at the appointed time I have ensured both my models and the owner of the studio are well informed of the arrangements and have pre-prepared the makeup, clothes, and props I will take. I have also prepared the camera and the owner of the studio has offered a variety of props which I will be able to try out on the day of the shoot. Plan B for the photo shoot would be to book another time if it does not go to plan, or use my friends house where there is a plain neutral coloured wall in a light room to take the photographs however this would not be as good a quality.

Arranging the Photoshoot

After booking the studio for the photoshoot to take place in, I have taken responsibility for getting in touch with friends who we would like to help on the day or model for the photographs, and confirmed things such as the time and date, location and transport and also what they would need to bring along so that the photoshoot runs smoothly. Here are some screen shots of the conversations.

Booking the Photoshoot

As me and my friend both needed to use the studio, we decided to combine our photoshoots and use the same friends as models. My friend Grace took responsibility for contacting Colin, the owner of the photo studio and I made arrangements with the models so here are the screenshots of the emails which they exchanged in booking a slot for us to use.