Practicing with my front cover

Here, I am using different mastheads to see what they look like on a front cover. I figured that the main image I was using didn't give enough room to add a title that i wanted. So I am going to practice with different pictures. I really like the look of the first masthead as it fits in with the picture and the contrast between the background and the title makes it stand out more. 

This next image that I used on photoshop went really well with the title. I really like the layout and I think that it will go well with the rest of my magazine. The colors, font and text all match, which will make my front cover look organized and will also match the color scheme of my magazine. 

Since this, I have altered the image and made it bigger to fill in space, this helps my front cover look more appealing instead of just having a medium long shot as my main image. 

Feedback from my ideas

I have asked some friends who are into my genre of music their views on my ideas. I have asked them questions on which they prefer over Facebook. This will help me choose final ideas for my magazine. in this post i realized that i said 'title' instead of 'masthead'. 

The feedback i received showed that my friends preferred the masthead to be 'Unique'. 

Practicing with fonts and designs

Here, I am going to practice with fonts, text size and colours etc.  I used a website called 1001 fonts to create these titles. I really like the colours used for these mastheads as it will go with my theme.  I used the titles 'Unique' and 'Simple', as I thought they were short and catchy.  I used colours that I thought would go with my magazine theme which is a grey colour and then I am going to add a bit of colour so tat the magazine stands out. I will practice this when it comes to creating my front cover, double page spread and contents page. 

Taking our final images

We went to Sunderland University to take our final pictures. Some of these pictures will be used in my final front cover, double page spread and contents page. 

We chose to take the images at the University because they had all of the correct equipment so that our images would be good quality and look professional. 

With the images that I took which I will use for my front cover, contents page and double page spread, and there were some pictures that I didn't want to use. I am practicing which images to use with the title etc. on Photoshop. 


Below are the images that I will be using for my final magazine front cover, contents page and double page spread.

I also have other images which include my main image for the double page spread, but I am waiting for those to be sent. In the meantime, I am using these images for my front cover and as additional images for my contents page. These images have been edited on Photoshop when they are in my magazine but here they are just the original image. 

However, since I have made changes to my front page, contents page and double page spread, I have changed photos around. I haven't used some of my final images in my finished product, but I have tried to use as many as I could to have a variety of different images. 

Here are some pictures of the location where the studio is. It is situated across from St.Peters college in Sunderland. 

The recce

The ‘recce’

Provide answers in paragraph form to the questions below that

are relevant to your production.

1.    Are there any potential hazards that could pose a health and safety risk where your photo shoot will take place (trailing cables/traffic/other objects )? No

2.    What will you do to ensure these risks are minimised? I am taking my photos inside of a building in a proper studio, so I don’t think there will be any risks of traffic etc.

3.    Will the time of day/weather affect the outcome of the photos? Have you allowed for this? The weather wont affect the outcome of my photos, as the studio will have the correct equipment and it is inside.

4.    Have you considered the background to your photos, particularly if taken outside? How will you ensure you will get the background you want? I have thought about my background and I want it to be plain white so that it compliments the colours against the model, and the lighting will also help with the plain white background.

5.    Have you considered lighting? What about the ‘problems’ of natural lighting, either outside, or streaming through a window? Will you need to use a flash? Have you considered reflective objects that might spoil the effect? I am in a professional photo studio so there is no natural lighting, and we will be using studio lights.

6.    Do you need permission to take photos in the place/venue you have in mind? I do need permission, and I have emailed Colin who is in charge of the studio, and we are going to book an appointment to that we can use the studio to take our images. We will most likely also be under supervision.

7.    Do you need to book time in a room (eg the photography studio at Shiney)? We have emailed asking to book the room; we will be able to get in to use the studio when the other students aren’t using it. This is all going to be arranged.

8.    Are other people/crowds likely to be an issue for you? What have you done to ensure that it will not spoil the effect? I don’t think there will be crowds around because we will have an appointment when there is no one else using it.

9.    Are you reliant on lifts/props/friends’ equipment/models? How have you planned that these things will come together at the appointed time? Plan B? I am relying on my models, but we will most likely meet up before we go to the studio so that we are all together, and my group of friends and I are all using the same people as models.

Media Production

Photo shoot planning document

What emotional impact do you want your photography do have upon the reader? How?

I want my photos to emphasise the mood of my genre, which is a very relaxed and happy mood. The photography I use will also be nice to look at and my target audience might find it inspiring. This also has a good impact on the target audience because they may use my images to look up on. I am going to use my photography to also make my magazine appealing and nice to look at, which also might make the target audience happy.

What personnel do you need? Who are you going to photograph?

I am using a friend of mine as a model for my magazine, here we both feel comfortable and she is happy for me to use her as my main model. Also I am going to use some other friends from my media class to take images of for my contents page so that it doesn’t all look the same.

What props will you need?

I don’t need any props.

How are you going to emphasise colour?

I am going to emphasise colour through clothing, the background and the colour of the text. My model will wear quiet dark clothing, standing against a plain white background, this will really compliment the colours and also make the model stand out. These colours also emphasise my music genre.

Have you briefed your personnel/models?

Yes, my model has a clear idea on what clothing to wear, how to wear her hair and how to pose when I am taking the images, we have also practiced this in class.

What lighting will you need? Any other equipment?

I want the lighting to show a really good quality sharp image so that my magazine will look professional, and it will stand out against other magazines.

Where will you shoot? Will you need a backdrop?

I am going to shoot my images at St Peters media centre in Sunderland. I am going to use their photo studio so that I can make the most of their equipment.

Make-up? Costume?

I want my models make-up to me minimal but nicely done. She will wear dark clothes that look quiet nice but not so that she looks too overdressed.

Practice photos rationale

Here are my practice images that were taken. We practiced a few poses just to get an idea of what i wanted to use for my final designs.

This image is one of my favorites because i like the way that my model is standing and it also shows emotion which also might help with the relationship/connection to my target audience.

I might use these sorts of images for my contents page because it shows more than one person and it might make the contents page look more entertaining because of the pose and facial expression. 

The pose below is the one that i am using for my final design. I really like the way that my model is standing, and i think it will look really good on my front cover with the layout i will be using. I want the model to be stood straight in the middle so that is something i can improve on when it comes to taking my photos in the studio. 

I dont think i will use this sort of pose for my final design because it doesn't really look professional, but we did just want to practice with poses and see what might be useful to match our magazine and chosen genre. So we have learned from taking these practice images what poses i want to use, what poses i won't use and what i can improve on when it actually comes to taking the real images in the studio. 

Time management

I feel like i have handled my time well in todays lesson, i have completed everything i needed to do so i am pleased with that. I had some struggles getting email screenshots for my model planning, but i managed to get most of it done. I also managed to get my planning done for friday the 6th November when we go to the studio to take our magazine images.