Different Image shots & magazine cover

In this image I had the camera in a portrait position, this created the image on its side so when I would need to use it in Photoshop I would have to rotate it. From this I learned that the portrait and landscape modes are used for different types of image e.g magazine from covers and this means you can get a effect from the way you take the photo. In this photo I used the side lighting effect with the subject facing towards the light, I learned using these effects can create different aurora's for what is in the image e.g backlighting could create mystery and front lighting can define the face more. But here I had the subject face the side light to get an effect they were looking towards something that held a power within the image. This image shows I had a weakness in getting the subjects eye line within the top third. I did not apply the rule of thirds to this image and It gave the effect that the light to the side of the image was holding power over the subject as they seem beneath it. When I was taking this photo I was in the T-stance which Is a technique I learned where you stand with one foot facing the subject and the other pointing to the side this gives you a stance where you are able to move up and down aswell as lean into you shot. This can create different tilts and can give the subject less or more power within the image. Although In this photo I had the subject to the side where I wanted them I do believe there is still room for improvement on my usage of this technique as is shown in a later image.

This second image is the one I choose for my front cover. I believe this image showed my head and shoulders shot best as it filled the frame how I wanted it to and also placed the subject at the side which is the shot I was looking for and Is a skill I was beginning to get use to with most of my shots.. This is the kind of image I wanted for my front cover. Also I had the side lighting effect used on my subject to give them an shining aurora. Although the image was landscape, once placed onto my front cover It fit well as the subjects shot filled the frame. So although I will learn to take portrait photos when they are needed this time the landscape shot posed no complications for my work. The rule of thirds was used when I took this photo as I places the subject to the left as It is where I wanted them on the cover and It looked more comfortable and fitting for the image although I could improve on using the rule of thirds by making sure I get the eye line of my subject on the top third on the image.

 Other shot I took was this one although for me I believe It is one I can show that highlights my weaknesses and can teach me what I need to improve on. An immediate problem Is I did not take into consideration the background of the photo, this lead to there being another person in the frame and it draws the attention away from the main subject. This got me to look more carefully at the other backgrounds in my images and I believed that the greens in them complimented the lighting well giving a lively look to the first two images shown. Another problem with the image is that It shows the whole of the subjects top half. This means I had a weakness in my T-stance position as if I had leaned into my shot more I could have gotten the head and shoulders shot I was aiming for. Also it highlights a weakness with my rule of thirds use as the subject Is directly in the centre of the frame and they do not look like they have any purpose there so It would not make for a good front cover image.

 Another image I took showed an area I could improve on in the future. The images I had taken were all done through manual focus. I think the previous images I have shown showed I could get the images into focus on a good level of accuracy as they had the subject shown as the main focus with the background complimenting them. This showed I developed a skill of using the focus ring on the camera. I also learned how to use the zoom ring on the camera as when I needed to I could zoom in and out respectively to get the subject in the right position within the shot. Although In this shot it showed a slight weakness in these techniques as the subject is slightly out of focus and in my T-stance I think I was positioned incorrectly and zoomed wrongly to have a out of focus shot with too much of the subject showing. Also this would have needed to be rotated in Photoshop had it of been used for a front cover which is not what I wanted to do as I learned leaving things to do on Photoshop can create unnecessary problems when I could just perfect my camera skills more so I would not be as dependant on Photoshop.

This Is my final front cover that was created using the second image I reviewed and Photoshop. This was the first time I had used Photoshop and I learned many new skills. Firstly I learnt how to set up a file for the front cover using a resolution of 300 which I learnt was the minimum standard for a print products DPI and I made it a 16 bit colour scheme file. The first skill I had to use however was inserting the guidelines before placing my image on the cover. I learned that when selecting the image and holding shift you can enlarge the image without causing it to stretch which is a good skill to have. Then I learnt how to download fonts from the 'dafont' website, once downloaded you have to extract the zip file and move the font into your fonts in your computer drives. Once I had this done I began on entering the texts onto my front cover. The fonts I had downloaded were chosen because I believed they had an edge to them that I wanted my magazine to show. I used different fonts for my magazine name and all of the sub headlines, or the sell lines. The use of sell lines is another skill I learned and I tried to include most of them into my front cover. I think this is one strength shown In my cover as It has ellipsis the '...' which makes the audience want to read on. I also used the 'exclusive' technique which makes your magazine stand out as it offers something the audience will not know and what they cannot see or read anywhere else. The 'exclamatives' technique finishes the three E's as It includes '!' on the sell lines making them seem more important and a must have adding energy to my cover. I also had the use of alliteration on my cover with 'hollys hardcore hit' it creates a rhythm and can attract audiences as it is catchy and they will remember this sell line. I had the use of a reward headline on my cover in the form of 'learn to drum in just 3 weeks' this offers the reader a reward for reading the magazine and could lure more people into buying it for this reward. I also used a quote headline with 'It's something I'm considering -Alex Turner' this is an enigma  and can show an interview out of context but makes the audience want to know the rest of the story causing them to buy the magazine. I used 'see inside!' as a command headline that would hopefully encourage the audience to read more inside and buy the magazine. On this section of the magazine I could have included more sell lines to improve my magazines selling points. Once my sell lines were written I used different tools and effects to edit them, I used drop shadows, stroke, inner/outer glow, bevel and emboss and pattern overlay on my cover. These all created effects on the text to make them stand out more and be more attractive to my audience. I did this by selecting the 'fx' section of the layers panel on Photoshop and adding them from there using different amounts depending on how much I wanted the fonts to stand out or look that way. I then chose the colours for my texts which lead me to learn another skill of specifying my colour shades with RGB. This technique allowed me to stick to the three shades I chose, a red, blue and green and ensure they were all the same shade as I could edit them by adding the number of how much of that shade I wanted to make them accurate. I found this an easy tool to use. They colours I chose were bright and are primary colours so I believed they would look cool and attractive to my audience. Another tool I learned to use was the elliptical marquee tool which is what I used to create my cell button which I placed text in. At first I was new to the tool and it was difficult making sure It was the right size for my text but once I learned how to use it I believe I could now use it without problems, showing development in my skills. Entering my guidelines was also a tool I learned to use which just takes time to insert them in the right place otherwise is an easy tool. I found the layering tools to be easy as you could move them accordingly and decide what you wanted on top and move them to where you wanted them with ease. Along with this I learned how to cut out images to insert the barcode onto my magazine, opening the image in photoshop and pulling it from its window into my magazine covers window was the easiest way i found to do this as I could then just size it accordingly with control T then shift before placing it where I wanted it to be. If I were to work on this front cover again I would improve the placing and amount of text and image. This is because I believe that my cover still seems rather empty as I would not want to cover the subjects face with text I believe I could include more along the bottom and the right hand side. Along with this I could use other images to accompany my sell lines and add more visual attraction to my cover. I have also learnt that to improve my front cover I will in future need to add a price for the magazine and an issue number to make it seem more legit and official. Although I believe my cover still had strengths with the previously mentioned sell lines that used different techniques that were appealing, along with the main image which I liked for my cover as it possessed the look I wanted it to. I think another strength is the barcode as it makes it look more official and that the colours compliment each other as they keep my cover simple but appealing as they stand out and are strong eye catchers. I also like the way my magazines name is highlighted against the standout background as it could attract a wider audience.