To Do List

• write my draft article
• draft cover page
• draft contents page
• draft double page spread

Photo Experimenting

I tried a rough blend to see how the photos would look, and I am quite pleased with the result. I want to practise some more though so that the photos don't look as if they have just been cut out and stuck on! To do this I think that I need to cut out more background around the model's head, and then blend in with the background.

Because the blend of three needed a wider page, I thought I might have trouble with it fitting on a cover page and looking simplistic, so I tried the blend with two and I think it works better and I can imagine it being my cover with the masthead and cover story on it, so I think this is the way I'm going to do it.


I definately prefer the one above to this one, as the photos don't go together as well on this one and look more as if they have been cut out and slapped on.

Editing

I have been editing my final six chosen photos for the front cover blends to get them how I want them to look before I begin experimenting with blending...

More Photos...

I decided to have another go taking some photos for my front cover using the same lighting and camera settings, but with a different model and the result was promising and I hope these photos will look better blended together to make my cover photo... I have initially chosen six photos to use as I will make a blend of three and then a different blend of three and then pick which one I think works best....

I think this is one of the three I have chosen to use for my front cover because it's simple yet still fun-looking because of her smile :)

This is another one I want to use because of the floppy posture. It's different and quirky.

And this one too because it's different and characteristic and I think it would look good with the other two photos chosen.

For the second blend I'd like to use this one because it's simple and model-like, without looking boring and plain.

I like the natural feel of this one and how she isn't looking at the camera, so this is another I want to use for my second blend.

And lastly this one, because it's a bit different, a bit more quirky and lively and I think it'll work well with the other two photos!

Music Inspiration

I have put a 'mixpod' on the right side of my page which plays type of music that my magazine will evolve around. I have chosen a lot of female artists as my magazine is feminine and aimed at girls, and it brings more pop to the feel of it. The rest is mainly indie and alternative music and tends to focus on less mainstream bands than music in the charts (with a few exceptions e.g Lady GaGa, Tiao Cruz). Having thought properly about the type of music my magazine will be about, it helps me to concentrate on my theme and feel even more.

My Double Page Spread Article

Media Article

Editing

I went through and edited the photos that to me, stood out from the others, and experimented with different ways to make them look unusual. And this is the result....

I love how the colours in the coat turned out in this one because there is such a contrast between them. I cropped the edges of this shot and the ones similar but the others didn't work out as well because the colour didn't end up quite the same, and as I am looking to blend them together into the same picture, it would look odd. So I think the chances of me using these shots for my front cover are slim but I still have time to edit and play around to see what I can come up with.

I LOVE this one because of the quirky pose, the way the colours are and the boldness of the shadows. The background is a pale pink colour which makes it look even more professional than having it white, and it works so well with the other colours in the photo. The photo reminds me of old retro photobooth photos, which was definately the kind of feel I wanted.

Even as the original, this photo was my favourite and now I love it even more. The colours all compliment each other, I love the pose and the background and the shadows and I think it looks really professional.

This photo is an example of one that didn't turn out as well. The model's face is more exposed than the rest of her and it looks yellow! Not good! Although it is a beautiful photo, I won't be using it in my final piece.

This photo is really similar to the one above and this one looks a lot better because her face isn't yellow! I'm glad I decided to dress the model in black because it contrasts well with her blonde hair and red lips, and these sunglasses add to the classy look of this photo as they are black. Although I wanted quirky shots, these work nicely too because I want my magazine to be sophisticated and classic, and this is a classic style photo.

I really like this because it is an amazing photo, and contrast works really well with the sunglasses and there is the boldness of the shadows again that I really like. The high contrast makes her hair shiny, with different tones, which I love as well.

This one was one that I think i'd like to use for my contents page. Although the pose isn't fun and quirky, the way the crowns have been coloured against the black and white gives it the fun character that I wanted.

I tried to edit the background in this photo and the lighting wasn't quite right as the face is more close up, and so took the impact of the flash from the rest of the photo. The background looked too dark when edited so I left it how it was and i'm pleased with the result. The black and white and colour adds more quirkiness to it and it looks unusual!

This is a photo where I've incorporated the music theme as to not veer away from it, and I think with the editing, it looks unique and girly. I'm torn between this photo and another for one of the photos on my double page spread, but I should use this one as it keeps with the music theme.

I'd rather use this one as it's a little more simplistic and I prefer the pose and it has more contrast in the editing. I may try and find a way of using the photo with the microphone somewhere else on the spread to keep the theme.

Audience Tweaking...

After looking through my shots so far, I realised that my magazine was going to look very femine, and as when before I was looking to aim it at both boys and girls, I think i'm going to change my target audience to just girls as I don't think that boys will look at the magazine and be interested in reading it- they may immeadiately assume it's for girls.

The Photoshoot

On monday night, my friend willing to model for my photos came over to experiment with some ideas for poses and costumes. Orginally, these were just going to be test shots but as it took quite a lot of arranging to get together, we spent about three hours firstly practising and working with shots, and then taking some final ones that i'll hopefully be able to use for my double page spread and contents page. I took some in the style of the photos i'd like for my front cover but I think i'm going to experiment with different people and I still need more practise to perfect the photos for the cover. I ended up with 98 photos to work with!
I liked using Sara for these photos as she is very photogenic with a lovely smile, and I wanted the photos on my double page spread to look fun and quirky so this was important. I'm going to edit the photos so they have a high contrast and smudge the background so that it doesn't look like it's a bedsheet (which it is!) I used to 'retro' setting on my camera to get the reddish effect and used the auto flash. My sister helped us by holding lights in the right place so that we got the right lighting...

I love the costume for this shot, and the pose
and if I think it'd be good for my contents page
although the top of Sara's head has been cut off.
It also needs to be cropped on the right side.

I like the soft effect this had, not as sharply
captured as the other photos, although this
could effect the continuity of my shots.

I like this pose because it's natural and simple.

This is one of my favourites and everybody
that i've shown it to has loved it as well. I
took the inspiration from a photo much like it I
found online whilst researching poses and recreated it.
It fits the quirky and characteristic criteria and I definately
want to use it somewhere in the magazine.

I used the microphone to link with the topic of the magazine
because I wanted to be careful that I didn't loose focus on the
fact it's a music magazine. I like the pose because it's fun and cheeky.

I think i'll almost definately use this shot because
it captures the kind of persona I wanted to get across- it's fun
and bubbly.

I like this shot again because it's silly, like she's
messing around but there is something red in the
bottom right corner (?!) but I could always crop it.

Another silly fun one :)

I love this shot because it's a bit different to
the others and her smile looks really model-like!

This is definately my favourite shot. It's fun,
cheeky, quirky and beautiful. I think i'll definately be
using it!

Another happy smiley one.

This is another favourite, because of the unusual pose
and I like the way the shadows of her arms look against
the background. I think when edited with a high contrast,
this could look really retro and quirky.

This one is a little different, a bit more classy and serious
because I wanted to experiment and try out different things.
I like it because it's refreshing to have a bit of variety.

Photo Ideas

One of the main themes I am looking to use and focus on with the photos in my magazine, is the idea of having several similar photos put together to make one, like in the ELLE cover photo I posted a few blogs back, and like this:

I aim to take as many photos as possible with my test shots so I have a lot to work and play around with, and I want to pose's to look quite natural and fun, as I want my magazine layout to look simple. The fun and quirky photographs will take out any boring feel to the pages and add some character!
These photos are a few that have given me inspiration as to what kind of poses to capture:

Title Adjusting

I chose the name 'Tuned In' for my magazine, a play on words. Today I decided to change the magazine title to 'Tuned' because it is shorter and snappier, and still has the same clever play on words and it will look better with my simple theme!

Sketches

These are the sketched mock-ups of what i'm hoping my magazine will look like. I am happy with the look of them but I think the contents page could do with some work as it is quite plain at the moment. I'm hoping that after some experimenting on photoshop, I can come up with something more interesting for it.

Audience Profiling

AGE: 16-25
OCCUPATION: Student.
BACKGROUND: Quirky, different, classy.
LIKES: Fashion, live music, art, celebrity culture.
DISLIKES: Chavs, unoriginality.
AMBITIONS: Creative job, e.g. musician/designer, to travel.
MUSICAL PREFERENCE: Indie, acoustic, electro, alternative-pop.
LOOKS UP TO/IDOLISES: The Olsen twins, Fearne Cotton, Nick Grimshaw, Alex Turner.
MEDIA CONSUMER HABITS: TV- Gossip Girl, Friends, Skins. Magazines- ELLE, NME, GQ, Lula. Film Genre- comedies, thrillers, independent, romance.

Inspiration

When I was browsing the internet for ideas to add effect to my front cover to stop it looking boring, I came across this ELLE magazine cover and loved the three photos blended into one and how the magazine title sits across it without restricting the photos. I want to use something similar for my magazine cover because it looks classy and simple, but shows skill and character.