ASM: October 2015

Today we had a introduction to the photography studio in room A1.

We were taught photography terminology like:

F-Stop= Shutter/Speed aka how quickly the pictures are taken

White Balance= Natural colour/ Flash

ISO= The number which tells you how light dark it is- 100/200 recommended

M= Manual

AF= Auto Focus MF= Manual Focus

We were told we could choose from a black backdrop or white one for our photo-shoot, making sure the model is standing 5/6 ft away from the back of the backdrop.

We were also taught about lighting:

Bomens= main light

Fill Light= No shadows

Hairline Light= Back of the head lighting

Snoot= Directed light

Soft Boxes= Softens light

Full Flash= 6

Lighting ration= 2.5:3

Taking the pictures was not too hard as it required us to find people to pose as models for the photography and many were not so willing. This gave us a taste of what we’d have to do for the main task (music magazines) but much more professionally. Using original photography was fun as it made the magazine different from others and stand out. To manipulate our images we used Photoshop software (for some for the first time) to become familiar with it so it becomes easier for future use. I tried simple editing and from that created my front cover of my ‘LSC’ magazine. For my magazine I had 3 consistent colour scheme which consisted of red, black and white. I chose these three colours because they were all complimenting and did not make the front cover and contents page look tacky. My use of font was also consistent as I used only 2 different types to create an edgy look. One difficulty was the colour of the font not blending into the cover picture and making sure it was bold and bright so it could stand out and be read clearly. Although the design is of a beginner it has given me room to improve in order to help successfully complete my first task. Page layout for me was easy as just by looking at the design you knew what went where because it either looked odd or completely right. The entirety of using the software was a difficult but eye opening task as it was first time using it and from the first experience it can help me complete the main task (music magazine).

Being it our preliminary task there is a lot of room for improvement, especially when it comes to using InDesign and Photoshop software. One thing I can improve is my use of photography, this should be more professional and edited more professionally. This will help give my magazine look like an experts. Also the layout of the pages in the magazine for e.g. the front cover, everything from the picture(s) to the text should be aligned using grids and rulers so it gives a neat and skilled look. Another thing to improve is my use of font and whether or not it is suited to a magazine or the genre of the magazine. Creating the small conventions on a magazine like puffs, more exciting cover lines. These conventions make the magazine more appealing and look like the common mag’ that people would buy. Using the right language for a magazine is essential as it rounds the magazine to the specified genre, having a specific language technique in the text can really increase the viewers of the mag’.

Three key points for the development of when I produce my main task (music magazine) is to take more professional pictures suited to my genre and editing them so they are ready for the pages of my magazine. Another key feature is to choose the type of language to make the genre of the magazine clear to the reader, this also so we can show we understand magazine writing styles and how each is suited to different genres. A final key feature to look out for is professionalism in layout and structure, this will make the magazine look tidy and ready for viewers.