In my prelim my photography skils were limited. I
gave little direction to the model, I only took one shot
and used this shot for the final product and I used the
camera on my phone to take the images.
However on my final products I learnt how
to use a digital SLR camera which gave me
a much better quality and finish. I also took
photo inspiration from other magazines and
this allowed me to have more professional
looking images. I also learnt that it is
beneficial to take multiple images so that I
was guaranteed some good images.
Layout
I learnt the importance of having a strong
layout. In my prelim I did not think about
layout too much. I decided to put sell lines
down one side as this is something I thought
would look good.
When creating my final products I learnt that
skylines are used at the top to advertise or
share something about the magazine. I also
learnt other conventions such as having the
mast head at the top left had side. This is
evident in my front cover and made it look more
like professional practice.
Lighting
In my prelim I shot my models in
the classroom which meant I shot
under fluorescent lighting this did
not create good shadows and the
overall quality was not good.
However I used a 3 point lighting
system when shooting the images
for my magazine. I learnt how
to create shadows, lighter areas and
obtain high quality shots.
Contents Page
Locations
In my prelim I shot my model
against a white wall this looks very
unprofessional. Also as you can
see in the photo there is part of a
power source feature which gain
looks very unprofessional.
I learnt that by using a studio it allows you to be able
to have different coloured backgrounds and also
have a professional quality image. I also learnt that
by using an outside location you can add variety to
the images.
Photoshop and Indesign
In my prelim I only used Photoshop and I had very limited skills. For example
in my prelim you can see that my text is not lined up that is because I did not
know how to set up guidelines. You can also see that I did not use any effects
on the text or the images and that is because I did not know how
In my final product I used photoshop to professionally
edit my images and I could manipulate colour and size
to add variety and style to the page. Just by
comparing the amount of space on the prelim to my
final contents page you can see that I have used the
program better to fill dead space and keep the page
looking attractive and busy.
Fonts
In my prelim I only used one font
which was a pre-set font. I did not
experiment with any other styles. I
chose the font for my prelim base on
the fact that it was an easy to red
font but I did not consider
researching fonts like I did for my
real products.
In my final product I firstly researched fonts that would work well for my genre
and my magazine. I then downloaded lots of different styles of fonts and
uploaded them to my Mac so that I could use them for my product and so that I
wasn't just limited to the fonts that were already on the programs. As you can
see on my products I used a variety of fonts and I also altered the spacing and
height of the lettering to fit the contents page.
Research
and Planning
Target audience
research
Allowed me to add
features that would
attract and appeal
to them.
In my prelim I
didn't consider
costume and this
shows on my
cover.
Textual research
Allowed me to
identify conventions
of real media mainly
layout.
In my prelim I added elements
such as the mast head where I
liked and this made my
product look unprofessional
Costume and
prop research
Allowed me to specifically
chose costume and props
for my models that would be
inline wiht the indie genre.
In my prelim the model were
shot in the clothes they were
wearing for college I had no
input in the props and costume
which doesn't help the audience
to identify the genre.
Photography
Development
This allowed me to practice
composing shots and taking
them before I took the images
for my magazine.
In my prelim I did not practice
any shots and I gave little
direction to the models and this
made my images look
unproffessional and uninteresting.
Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have
learnt in the progression from it to the full product?