Evaluation of Photoshop

Evaluation of Photoshop

This project was the first time I had ever used Photoshop therefore I found it quiet difficult. Although we had a quick run through with one of the media teachers most of what I done was trial and error. 

I used many tool while editing my image. I used the likes of contrast and brightness, inserting text, inserting various shapes, text manipulation and much more. I inserted a small photo in the bottom  right hand side of the magazine as the headline was “TONI EXCLUSIVE” so I inserted a second image that I took while doing the photo-shoot to intrigue the viewers. I don’t this by dragging the image onto the magazine screen and then using the rubber setting erased the back ground of that image and left the main part of the image.

 I used many effects on this image. I enhanced the brightness and added some more contrast so that her skin was paler and her lips and eyes were more vibrant. I did this using the contrast and brightening setting in the top right hand corner of Photoshop. I adjusted the button and decided were about on the line gave me enough coverage and effect I thought looked good on my photo but didn’t give the over edited look.

 I didn’t download fonts I just used the fonts available on photo shop but I used bold but playful fonts to attract a younger target audience. I used a mixture between serif and sans serif fonts to draw attention to different headlines on the magazine front cover. 

I used a range of different colours on my magazine cover. The colours I chose were yellow, black, pink, and white. I did intent to use the colours that were in my photo which most magazines do but I found red and black very dull and unattractive and wasn’t very eye catching. I like the colours I chose but if I were to do this project again I would most likely chose my colours more wisely as I find my magazine cover would appeal to a younger target audience rather than an older one.

  As it was my first time using Photoshop and designing a front cover there a many things I would change. I would be aware of the style of magazine I am going for and chose my colours more wisely. I would have the main face facing to the right instead of the left as it left me little space to right on the left hand side of the magazine because if I did it would take away from the photo. Also readers read from left to right so I should have put more text and pictures on the left hand side. I would use my space more efficiently and maybe use less shapes and I find my magazine look a bit too crowded and childlike. My strength was I had an idea of what I wanted from my magazine the fore I kept me inspired. I also spend a lot of time changing and rearranging my shape trying to discover how to put them in the background, how to make them transparent and I was also very conscious that the writing was readable and eye catching. 

I think my photo turned out how I wanted and therefore I am very pleased with the main photo. All in all I enjoyed this project and look forward to doing another and improving my skills in magazine design.

Magasine cover

Final edited cover

In the beginning i had no experience with photoshop so there for i wasn't sure how to achieve the look i wanted for my magazine but with some help i lernt the basics. I firstly edited my image in Photoshop i changed the brightness, the colour and the saturation. I then enhanced the lips to give them a more red look and changed the eye colour to a lighter blue. i then chose pink and yellow which have a feminine upbeat connotation for my text. I added the main features I thought were important such as the name of the magazine the edition and date. I chose bold san-serif font for the most of my fonts on my front cover. I then played around with different shapes and splashes in order to get used to the setting on photoshops. I also used demand sell lines and the word exclusive to make the readers feel they are getting more for their money. I inserted a smaller image of Toni on the bottom by removing the background to reflect the exclusive of Toni. I then inserted a bar chart and the final aspects.

This piece of work is very poor but for my first time using photoshop I find it is ok and helped me practise for my main front cover final product. If I were to do it again I would change the font as I find it looks childish and wouldn't suit my target audience. I would change the colour scheme as i don't feel pink and yellow suit the background and I would rearrange the layout as I don't feel it look professional.

Evaluation of photography

Evaluation of photography:

1. During this project I used a cannon camera and chose to use the manual focus setting. I set my camera to auto settings as it was my first time using this type of camera so this setting was easier for me to control.

Through this project I have learnt a lot about photography and the correct way to use a camera. I firstly learnt how to hold the camera and the importance of the strap over your neck to ensure the camera doesn’t fall and get damage. I then learnt about the T- stance and the correct way to position my self to stabilise myself so I don’t lose balance and will make my pictures more focused.

When we done the test photos in the classroom I didn’t know about the focus lens therefore all my practise images are blurry and have a white cloud effect. I then learnt how to zoom and focus my camera in order to achieve a sharp image. This was most helpful as with the professional cameras they have quite a different layout to everyday cameras and the cameras I’m used to. I used portrait mode, as landscape mode is too difficult to re size and edit for a portrait magazine cover. There were a couple of photos I took in landscape mode as I forgot in the spur of the moment and once I realised I switched and done the rest of my photos in portrait mode. Unfortunately not all of my photos were in focus and this made them hard to edit and gave me less choice for my magazine focus.

If I were to do it again I would take more time and make sure everything is in focus before taking the photo. I was then faced with the light problem seen as I was using natural light out side I had to ensure we had the sun facing my model to achieve the best quality photo. My photo is a side portrait so I had to ensure the light faced her so that I would get a sharp image and it would then be easier to edit. If the model stood with the sun behind her the photo was very shadowed and unclear and almost a cloud effect. This made them unusable.

 I had a few ideas what I wanted for my background. I wanted a pale background to ensure the model was the main object and it made it easier for me when editing as it gave me space to play around with. I originally wanted a white background and I done a couple of shots with a white background but they were not as I had imagined so I then decided to use a brick wall to add a bit of shape and a pinch of colour to the photo.

My subject Toni was exactly how I had imagined the girl for my photo so it was very easy to capture the image I wanted she was open minded and willing to do what I asked of her therefore no problems arose with my subject. I find we built a bond through this experiment as we are both dedicated to this course and were not embarrassed to do what it took in order to get the photos we wanted.

The original photo before been edited: 

The lighting is face on, the posture is slanted, it was taken at eye level.

Image whilst been edited: contrast brightness and colour been enhanced

Example of bad lighting with the light behind the subject.

Example of landscape which was impractical to edit. 

Demographics Table Female

Audience	Media example	How has it been crafted to gain interest of the audience?
Female Socioeconomic group: A,B,C1 Primary audience: 18-40	Sex in the city	This program is a comedy drama biased on the lives of four beautiful elegant middle aged women in New York. Its core audience is 18-40 year old single and taken women who are career orientated, educated females and who enjoy watching programs related to drama, men and sex. This program entails the themes which women encounter in everyday life. The main characters are between the ages of mid-thirties and early-forties. Although these women aren’t of the same age as some of the viewers the obstacles they encounter can be related to no matter what age you are. The setting is based on the high working life in new York which the target audience can relate to. The four main characters are all very different but can be compared to the normal types of friends mature women have. As it is know most women love drama, obsess over fashion and constantly talk about men and sex within their circle of friend and is therefore very appealing to their target audience.  The places they visit and the branded clothes they wear attract the socioeconomic group and target audience as they are material things that the everyday person will not understand and can’t relate to. The characters in this program are all very different one is single, one is married but has no children, one is married and has kids and one has a problematic marriage therefore this program relates to all types of mature women as they battle through life problems. It is very fast and noisy which reflects the busy lifestyle of their target audience it has many crude scenes which make it inappropriate for a younger target audience. They portray problems and situations in a humorous way in which only the target audience will understand as they are problems they have encountered before. Therefore this program gains interest of its target audience through highlighting the drama and problems mature working class women encounter in their everyday lives.

Demographics Table Male

Audience	Media Example	How has it been crafted to gain the interest of the target audience?
Gender: Male Socioeconomic group:   B, C1, C2 Tribe:    Boy Racers Educational status: Higher education (Degree)	Superbike	This magazine is targeted at a male audience who are interested in motorbikes, speed and danger. The front cover photo reflects the font colour scheme of white, red, black and yellow, which are very masculine colours. The shot is a high-energy action shot which captures the interest of the target audience. There is very little white space on this cover, which suggests the magazine is full of content. This also reminisces the target audience’s lifestyle and what they want from a motorbike “busy, fast, need for speed". There are images of a wide range of motorbike to attract all types of men and of all ages. The bottom right hand corner motorbikes are in the foreground with a plain grey background thesis to attract the more sophisticated man who enjoys a more classical bike. To the left of the cover photo there is a NR Honda, which attracts the more manly man who longs for need for speed and who is more interested in things such as the MotoFGP racing. Last but not least in the top right hand corner there is a Ktm 690 duke bike which attracts a younger audience. The man presented in this magazine show the ideal bike rider but also features the everyday man. How have the articles been crafted to hit this target audience?           Most of the articles have a title that suggest speed, danger, thrills and demanding statements. The reader of this magazine have to be able to relate to this magazine but not only that it also has to contain images and articles which discuss bikes well out of their price range because as we know men always have to know more and enjoy showing off their knowledge. Each article has small text which the reoccurring bold splash writing, headline or quote but most of the page is taken up by at least 2-3 action pictures to attract the reader. This suggests the target audience has a short attention span and have to be intrigued by photograph in order to grab their attention. The articles are split into three categories the younger dirt biker, the middle age bike who enjoys speed and heavy body kitted bikes or classical bikes and also the engineer/ consumer who are fishing for tips and ideas. Most article are biased on tip of how to improve your bike and its speed which suggests the consumers of this magazine are more interested in the improvements of the bike than on the latest news and gossip. How has the layout of this product been crafted to hit this TA?        The colour scheme of this magazine is mainly yellow, red, grey and black very masculine colours which are clearly used to attract a male audience. The main heading "Superbike" is a mixture between upper and lowercase but is much bigger that the other text to be seen on this covers and has been written in vibrant yellow. All other text to be seen on the front cover is written in upper case which can suggest that the information in this magazine is more important than the name of this magazine. On the top half over the cover one can see it has a vibrant red background. The writing on this section is slanted and is in the background of the information around it. For example the "KMT 690DUKE bike " is to be seen in the foreground and is over lapping the title. Bold black writing is used for side headlines to draw in attention and encourage the reader to buy this magazine. This Writing down the left side of the cover is text wrapping the cover photo and decreases in size  as it goes down the page. The splashes of blue are used to stand out and attract the attention from a distance for example on their shelves in shops. The shape made between the main Name of the magazine the main picture and the clippet of photos in the bottom right hand corner creates a Z. The clippet photos are in the fore ground and are accompanies by a small clipet of information about the bike itself. The main character on this cover is on a bike leaning to the side which portrays danger, speed and fun which is aimed to attract those who enjoy the perks motor bikes. Above the bottom right hand motorbike pictures there is a yellow splash circle with the caption 'NEED MORE POWER SIR?" this is written in Red bold capital letters and is a rhetorical question. All these factors combined help attract a male macho audience who enjoy freedom speed and they all have the same common interest. Motorbikes!

Demographics Table 14-26

Audience	Media Example	How has it been crafted to gain the interest of the audience?
14-26 Socioeconomic group : D/E	Bad Education	Bad education is an English sit com which is shown on BBC THREE on Tuesdays and Thursdays nights at 10 O'Clock. It is an episode aimed at a core audience of 14-26, Unemployed, claiming benefits, A level and school children. Therefore its aimed at the D/E socioeconomic group. The TV show is not aimed at a specific gender . It is a 30minutes program this is because the target audience have very little time for TV and spend most of their time either at school, college, university or working and are unable to watch TV during the day. They also go to bed quite late and sleep is not something high on their agenda therefore 10pm is the ideal time as the target audience are more likely to be watching TV. This sit com is a narrative sitcom and is based on a school and its everyday happenings story line. It’s comical perception of school life and teachers which appeals to this target audience as they are currently in school or have left school recently therefore it is relatable and of great interest to this target audience.  The topics that star in this sit com are topics that the target audience are used to such as “drug awareness lectures”  “school trips” and “parents evening” therefore this program is appealing to this age group. This sitcoms dialog is filled with slang words and abbreviations which this target audience use on a regular bias although it is over exaggerated for comedy reasons. There is a lot of sarcasm and crude scenes to be found on this sitcom as they discuss topics such as drinking, sex lives and tattoos which this target audience also discuss on a daily biases. It associates a lot with social networking sites which are of much importance to this target audience and age group.  The actors are around the same age group as the target audience which attracts this target audience as it makes it easier for them to relate to the topics and dialogs. As the title suggests “Bad Education” this is aimed at a less educated audience and contains no difficult topics and is very fast in order to hold the short attention span of this target audience. The music used is non-diegetic upbeat younger music that this target audience are familiar with. Therefore this sit come has been crafted to cater for the short attention spans of its target audience.

Demographics Table 2-5

Audience	Media Example	How it has been crafted to gain interest of the target audience?
2-5  Primary Target audience: Children Socioeconomics group:  ( E) Secondary target audience: Brothers sisters and parents	Barney and friends	Barney and friends is an educational kids program aimed at children aged 2-5. Barney is a characterized purple tyrannosaurus rex who sends educational messages to the young viewers through music, dance and optimism. This program is biased on the imagination of children as the toy Barney magically comes to life to help them learn about a topic. This program is biased in a school and school playground which is portrayed as a happy carefree place for children to play and learn which also appeals to the secondary audience the parents watching this program with their children. The topics which appear in this TV program are easy and educational. Barney conveys messages such counting and learning the alphabet with the help of a song, a dance and the help of the other children. This program uses simple terminology so that the target audience can understand the messages. This program is filled with bright happy and vibrant colors such a purple for Barney, blue skies and very colorful classrooms and playgrounds to attract the attention of the children watching. Every message is explained using toys that children enjoy and therefore interests the children which keep them watching. The audio is non-diegetic to make the voices and the audio as easy as possible for the children to understand and the upbeat and cheerful music keeps the children intrigued and encourages them to dance along. The closing song at the end of each episode is “I love you” this song teaches children to be kind and caring and shows them the importance of been nice and also teaches the children to remember words with its catchy theme tune.  All characters in this program speak very slowly so that the children can easily follow. The props used are very stereotypical to this target audience and can also encourage children to draw on paper and not on walls for example.  Each program last approximately 55minutes. This is beneficial to the secondary target audience as their children are been occupied with an educational program which they enjoy and they in this time can also get other things done with the peace of mind their children are safe and been educated.

Post Skills

AS Media Production: Technical Skills Audit Print Production

Name:                         Tutor group:              Date:

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 Creative writing classes		x
Shutter Speed		x
Aperture control		x
A tripod		x
External flash		x
Self timer facility	x		On my canon camera
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	I have never used photo shop before
Filters		x
Brushes		x
Layers		x
Opacity control		x
Shape creation		x
Brightness and contrast control		x
Dodge/Burn		x
Clone stamp tool		x
Colour curves adjustment		x
Magnetic lasso, polygon lasso tool		x
Cropping tool		x
Retouch tool		x

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
Margin and column guide creation		x	But I have on word
Inserting text in ID		x	“    “
Inserting images in ID		x
Resizing images in ID		x
Text manipulation – resizing, rotation		x
Text manipulation – controlling kerning and leading		x
Text flow creation		x
Text effects – drop shadow		x
Drop cap insert		x
Using transparent imagery in ID		x
Shape creation In design		x
Text wrapping		x
Exporting to PDF from In-design		x