Front cover picture - drunken photo effect.

To create my drunken effect I went uploaded the picture, when on layer - duplicate layer. Then pressed Ctrl+Alt+T and then rotated it a little bit. I then went on the side and put the opacity to 48%. Then I rubbed out the face on the second layer because I wanted it to stay focused and not blurry. 

Unsuccessful Photoshoots.

This photo is unsuccessful as when this photo was taken the camera rotated a bit to the right. This gives an unprofessional look, which is not good. Also the picture is not in the centre of the page, which makes them make look unfocused. To prevent this I should have used a tripod to ensure that the camera won't rotate and that the camera is exactly where I want it.

This is unsuccessful as the image is too dark and you can hardly see the model. This is a bad idea because it is easy to turn a light image into a shadowy image but it is hard to lighten a dark image. Next time I will just take a bright photo and decrease the brightness on photoshop if I need to so I can have to option of a light and a dark photo.

This is very unsuccessful because the back drop is not full in this image. This will result in a ugly background, which loses the professional effect. To prevent this I could get a bigger back drop or photoshop the black bits out even though this is going to be hard and time consuming.

This is unsuccessful as the model is not in the middle of the photo, which gives an impression of an accidental photo. To prevent this I should have used a tripod to ensure that the camera won't rotate and that the camera is exactly where I want it.

This is unsuccessful as there are two parts of the body that is cut off so that I don't have freedom in what size I want the body to be because I can't zoom out. To prevent this, I should have made sure that the arm is fully in the picture so if I want to get rid of the arm then I can just cut it out on photoshop.

Shock/horror introduction.

Did you know that in 2011 the National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 25% of youth aged 12 to 20 drink alcohol and 16% reported binge drinking? Alcohol is a big problem in the society as it has dangerous consequences that can be life threatening like liver disease, reduced fertility, high blood pressure, increased risk of various cancers and heart attack are some of the numerous harmful effects of regularly drinking more than the recommended levels. Alcohol also puts you at greater risk from sexual behaviour and increases your chance of getting a sexually transmitted disease or an unwanted pregnancy. It was found that 16% of college students in Essex College said that they did something they regret while under the influence of alcohol. You don’t want that to happen to you do you now? Well, read on and I’ll tell you more scary facts and also how you can prevent doing some silly mistakes.

My final magazine front cover and DPS.

Third person narrative example.

Everyone knows teenagers have heard a lot of how alcohol is dangerous from their parents and teachers and I bet they are sick of hearing it but just to make sure they understand the problems associated with alcohol this article is created, as statistics show that most teenagers don’t actually know the standard guidelines of alcohol a man’s daily guideline for low risk is about 3-4 units of alcohol and for women it is 2-3 units of alcohol, but the less the better. There are many things that too many people don’t know about alcohol, and this is why so many teenagers die due to drinking, and also why there are a increasing amount of alcohol addicts.

First/second person narrative example.

I know you have heard a lot of how alcohol is dangerous from your parents and teachers and I bet you are sick of hearing it but just to make sure you understand the problems associated with alcohol I have wrote this article, as statistics show that most you don’t actually know the standard guidelines of alcohol a man’s daily guideline for low risk is about 3-4 units of alcohol and for women it is 2-3 units of alcohol, but the less the better. There are many things that too many of you don’t know about alcohol, and this is why so many teenagers just like you die due to drinking, and also why there are a increasing amount of alcohol addicts.

DPS write up

For my DPS my picture is just a bit longer than a medium long shot. I decided to use this picture because I thought it stand out but not too much as the model is in the shadows. I used the 3 colour rule, black, white, and maroon. I used maroon because it is a unisex colour as it is suitable for both genders. I used black and white as they contract against each other perfectly making the words stand out more. My double page spread has a 3D feel because the gradient of the shadowy background makes the text stand out and creates a 3D effect. This makes people focus more on the text. I did not overlap anything on my DPS. I created the background in Photoshop by opening the image and making a shadowy gradient effect on each side.  I have also gained using Photoshop to create graphic element skills as I used it to edit and create many images. I used the rotation tool to rotate the image a bit to make it fit in with the DPS perfectly. Exporting elements from Photoshop as PNG’s to retain background transparency is another skill that I have learnt as I needed to upload my final work so I had to export my front cover and DPS into a PNG document. I have used basic text wrap and advanced text wrap as I edited them into the way I wanted including changing the colour and adding drop shadows on it. I have used the ‘Liquify’ tool to manipulate and change the shape of pictures into the way I want them. 

Final front cover and evaluation.

Photography

For my front cover I used manual focus as I thought this would be a easier and time efficient way to make sure my images are all fully focused and not blurry. I have learnt that the zoom ring on the camera is useful when taking photos as it allows you to get closer to your subject, which saves the photographer from moving about all the time. The focus is also very important as it ensures that the photo will be clear and crisp but it can also make the picture blurry depending on how much it is turned. The T-stance is a good way to keep balance in order to take steady and accurate photos as it will make it impossible to lose balance and fall. Portrait mode is better for posters and magazine covers etc as it can give a medium long shot making the subject very focused and big. Landscape mode is suitable for taking pictures of the horizon and views as it allows capturing a wide space. If I have taken my image landscape when it should have been portrait then this could cause problems as I would have to spend time to crop it on Photoshop. Also the quality may not be as good as an uncropped picture.
A problem is that the pictures have focal blur resulting the image to be out of focus. Taking my time to adjust the focal ring of my camera until it is completely focused would prevent this. Also putting my camera into automatic focus mode instead of doing it manually can save time. Using a tripod will definitely ensure the picture to come out clear and not blurry. There are different types of lighting and I mainly used front lighting. This makes the face look very bright which allows the picture to be bright and clear. Back lighting will make the background look very bright but the subject will look dark and in shadow, this isn’t a good lighting to use when the subject wants to be the main focus. Side lighting gives the image a vignette effect. This is a useful lighting to use to achieve a mysterious look. I used the rule of thirds on some of the pictures that I took for my front cover but in the end I decided to use a full body image that I have taken so that we can see the gesture of the model more clearly. If the eye line is too low then there will be a lot of empty space at the top of the picture which does not look nice, also if the eye line is too high then the subject will not be in the main focus point and part of the head may be cut off. The background I used was a white paper backdrop which caused no problems as it gave the image a clean and crisp effect. I would need to develop my people skills so that I can control my subjects better as there was not much communication in the process of the photo-shoot. They were not completely sure of what to do but with actions and hand moments I managed to guide them into the position I wanted but it would definitely save more time if I communicated with them and told them what position to be in. My lack of people skill had an adverse effect on my image as some of the positions I wanted them to be in were not achieved due to the lack of communication.

Photoshop

I used a lot of tools to edit and create my images and DPS. One of the main ones are the ‘Layer’ tool as this ensured I have a separate work space every time I want to start a new thing and it won’t interfere with my other layers and they are all separated. Also it is a good way to not ruing the original picture in case I make a mistake. I also used the ‘Spot healing tool’ to get rid of any imperfections like spots and wrinkles. The ‘Text’ tool was used a lot when I created my front cover as I needed it to write the side lines and the headlines. It allowed me to change the font and the size of my writing. I could add effects on it like drop shadow. I was fairly difficult to use but I needed a basic understanding of the tools on Photoshop so it wasn’t that difficult once you have knowledge of the basics of Photoshop. My text was well controlled as it was all on a separate layer and all in the font that I wanted. I added effects on the main image on my front cover to give the blurry and drunken look but I left the face clear. I did this by creating a duplicate layer and rotating the image on the first layer a little bit as well as putting the opacity to 70% on the second layer. I then rubbed out the face bit on the second layer only so it reveals a clear face from the image from the first layer. I added drop shadows on my header by clicking on the layer that the text it on and clicking effects at the bottom. I downloaded some childish fonts as I thought it was suitable for my target audience but I chose a font on Photoshop in the end because I wanted a classier look. I used the 3 colour rule, black, white, and maroon. I used maroon because it is a unisex colour as it is suitable for both genders. I used black and white as they contract against each other perfectly making the words stand out more. If I did my front cover again, I would improve on making the background whiter as I just left it with a white backdrop even though it looked a bit yellow in the image. I would also like to use a font that I have downloaded to add more creativity to my front cover. The strengths of my front cover are that the image is bright and it stands out. It suits the content of the magazine perfectly. It has catching sell lines with attractive fonts.

Photoshop skill

Before^

After^

The first photo was before I edited it. 

I went on Photoshop and opened the picture I wanted (the first one). I clicked on 'Layer' and then 'Duplicate Layer' so I can make sure if I make a mistake I won't ruing the original image.

To make my waist slimmer, I went on 'Filter' and 'Liquify'.

This allows me to manipulate the picture by using the 'Forward Warp Tool' to change the shape of my waist and hair. 

You can change the brush size, pressure and different tools.

After, I clicked on 'Ok' to apply my changes on the picture.

There are creases on my dress that I wanted to get rid of so I used the 'Spot healing tool' and the 'Smudge tool to smooth out the dress to give it a silky and valuable feel.

Final skills audit print production.

AS Media Production: Final Skills Audit Print Production

Name: Amy Cong                Tutor group: 1.37               Date: 22/04/14

Photographic Skills

Which of the following photographic features/equipment have you used on a camera before:

Feature	Yes	No	Comments if yes – where have you completed this skills and to what level
Manual Focus features	x		It was included in the photography skills that were needed to complete my project.
Shutter Speed	x		Went to take photos with different effects in college.
Aperture control		x
ISO Control		x
A tripod		x
External flash	x		It was used when I took the images for my front cover and DPS.
Self timer facility		x
Light meter		x
Composition grids		x

Photoshop Skills

Which of the following features of Photoshop have you used before:

Feature	Yes	No	Comments if yes – where have you completed this skills and to what level
Text control	x		In Photoshop it is used when I write the text and titles.
Filters	x		In Photoshop I used this to edit the image.
Brushes	x		In Photoshop I used to separate to edit the pictures and correct imperfections.
Layers	x		In Photoshop I used it to separate the image and the text so they don’t get mixed up with each other.
Opacity control	x		In Photoshop I used it to control the darkness of the shadows on my DPS image.
Shape creation		x
Brightness and contrast control	x		In Photoshop I used it to control the brightness of the image.
Gradients	x		In Photoshop I used it to control the images gradients.
Load selection features		x
Feathering	x		In Photoshop when I used the magic wand tool.
Colour curves adjustment	x		In Photoshop
Resolution setting control	x		In Photoshop.
Magnetic lasso, polygon lasso tool	x		In Photoshop.
Cropping tool	x		In Photoshop to crop the images.
Clone tool		x
Retouch tool	x		In Photoshop
Other skills Spot heal brush Walk tool Guid lines			To make Zoe’s skin smooth To create the vampire teeth To set everything up

In Design Skills

Which of the following features of In Design have you used before:

Feature	Yes	No	Comments if yes – where have you completed this skills and to what level
Have you ever used In design ever before?	x		In media to create a magazine DPS
Margin and column guide creation	x
Inserting an image ID	x		Some did not fit so I had to resize.
Resizing images in ID	x		I had to edit the size of the pictures.
Text manipulation – resizing, rotation	x		I had to edit the size of the texts.
Text manipulation – controlling kerning and leading	x		I had to edit the texts.
Text flow creation	x
Using transparent imagery in ID		x
Shape/line creation In design		x
Exporting to PDF from In-design	x		In order to upload the product I had to export it.
Text Wrap		x
Other Skills Drop caps			To images and textboxes