Original Images

Photoshoot

I took a lot of photos from many locations in order to find enough images that suited my target audience and also worked well in my genre.

This photo was a medium shot because it is given some attention to the main protagonist but is also using the background for emphasis to my genre in order to attract my target audience.









This photo I had the main protagonist crouching down on a train track. The reason behind this was to add the sense of danger and uncertainty which is how my story was going to feel. I really liked this photo and it wads not blurry and it stayed in focus vary well. This photo is defiantly one I may use in the future.

This again is another photo I thought was really good. The main protagonist stay in focus well and like the first and second photo's the background is also in shot. The background is important in every photo as it had to relate to the target audience and the genre of the magazine.

This photo was a low angle medium shot of the main protagonist. I will most likely be using this image because the sky looks really blue with no clouds in it which matches the main protagonists clothing.  He also stays in focus really well and this photo defiantly would appeal to my target audience.

This image was taking in a different location. Its still a medium shit of the main protagonist but this time I found this urban looking wall filled with colour and graffiti. This worked really well with my target audience. I took a few photos here and they all came out very well, this was my personal favourite and I will be using this when I come to creating my final products.

 I also took a few studio photos but I don't think these came out half as good. I had a medium close up with a blue backdrop so I could
cut it out when coming to make my final products.





This again was a medium close up in the studio. This photo was more in focus and wasn't blurry but the studio shots didn't come up half as good as the ones before so I don't think ill be using these final two when coming to creating my cover, contents and double page spread.

Budget

How much this whole process would cost:

iMac: £1,449
PhotoShop: £299.99
InDesign: £299.95
Illustrator: £221.92
Canon 5D Camera: £1,999.95
Canon 6D Camera £1,195.95
Canon 600D Camera £325.95
Tripod £13.99
64gb Memory Card £39.95
300mm Lens £368.99
Fuel and Transport £30

Total Costs: £6,245.68

Researching Shot Types

After watching this short video a few times I managed to pick up a few basic techniques on how to take a more professional looking image. These shot types helped me understand what angles and distances you can use and what they are called. I now know what shot types I could use in my photo shoot and what types of angles too.  I also did some primary research on the internet and found out the definitions for each shot type.

Basic Camera Shot types: 

Extreme Wide Shots (EWS) act to establish the area. 

Wide Shots (WS) show the entire person or area.  They’re great for establishing the scene and allow for good action of the characters.  Sometimes this is known as the long shot.

Medium Shots (MS) frame the subject from the waste up.  This is the most common shot and allows for hand gestures and motion.

Medium Close Ups (MCU) shots show the subject in more detail and are often framed from just below the shoulders to the top of the head.

Close Ups (CU) show a particular part of your subject.  For people this usually means the shot frames just the head!

Extreme Close Ups (ECU) are much tighter close-up shots in which you get detail greater than the human eye might be able to normally perceive.  An example of this shot might be of the mouth and eyes together

Advanced Camera Shot Types

Two Shot: This is a shot of two peoples (or other individuals) together.  

Cut Away (CA): Cutaways are used in the editing process to fill in footage which is different from the main action.  B-roll is often used for cut-aways.  An example might be a cut away of a bird singing if the shot is focused on a couple in the woods.  

Over the Shoulder Shots (OSS) are shot from behind the person towards their subject.  Generally the frame is cut off just behind the ear, although there are several variations.  A good technique to use to get this shot is to frame the person facing the subject with about one third of the frame. 

Point of View (POV): This is an effective shot that gives the audience the feel that you’re seeing it from the eyes of the performer.  It is taken from near the eye-level of the actor and shows what he might see.  It could be used to give the perspective of other animals too like a frog, a bird, or a fish.

Photographer Research

To gain more knowledge in terms of indie/alternative images I had to do some photographer research so I could explore how images will attract people in my target audience. All the images used in this document are by a photographer called John Wright. John Wright takes photos for a popular indie/alternative magazine called 'Q'. As Q is a popular magazine for my target audience it is important that I analyse these photos further.

 This first image is very interesting and would defiantly fit into my target audience. This image has a lot going on in it and maybe would not be seen as a cover photo but nevertheless it still fits the common codes for a indie magazine due to its shot type and colours used.


 This photo has been taking in a studio and then been edited in a such a way to give it a rock feel and a dangerous feel due to floor splitting. Editing photos is a very key part of the image process and it is indeed something that I will be doing when I come to taking my own images. John Wrights work is very unique and has a wide range of variety in his photos. He has a range of studio and other shots that gives them an indie feel. I like his work a lot as I find his photos interesting and attractive to the eye. More than anything his work attracts the target audience well through the use of his models, miss-en-scene and the lighting.

Analysing Music Magazine Double Page Spreads

This double page spread is from the music magazine 'Kerrang'. Kerrang is an indie/alternative magazine with a target audience of both males and females aged between 13-31. This double page is very formal and has a very tidy layout. It has one main image on the left hand side and the text on the right hand side. the main colours used here are grey for the background then white and black text on top. This double page spread would appeal to they're target audience and it stands out very well from the background.

This next double page spread I'm a big fan of. It a double page spread from a music magazine called 'Q' Q has the same target audience as Kerrang and also has the same layout style. They both have their main image of the artist on the left with their text on the right. If anything this double page spread looks even more formal again. I like the use of the capital J which stands for the artist ( Jay-Z). The main colours here is red, black and white. Again this double page spread using the effect of the black and white together which makes the text stand out a lot from the background. The red effect over the main image also adds so emphasis on him.

Analysing Music Magazine Covers

The first magazine cover I will be analysing in a music magazine called 'Q'. The genre for tho magazine is indie/alternative and its target audience is for people between the ages of 13-31, Both males and females and for people in social bracket of C1.
To start with the masthead takes up around 1/6 of the cover which fits the normal codes and conventions and looks really powerful in the top left with the red background and the large Q in the middle of it.
The cover isn't packed with information and only really includes the names of artists. This isn't a bad thing as the main image along with the list of the artists should attract almost all the target audience.
In terms of the main image it does take up roughly 75% of the cover, as you would expect, and its stand out well from everything else happening on the cover. The main image also fits in very well with the target audience.
The colour pallet used is very simple and follows the common codes and conventions when using the 'rule of three'. The three main colours used is white, red and black. These colours work very well together as they complement each other and make the important stuff like the main image and the masthead stand out from the background.

The second magazine cover I'm going to analysis is another music one in the same genre (indie/alternative). The target audience is also the same as Q but they styles are very different.
From the first glance you can tell the layout is a lot more messy and has a lot more stories, images on the cover than Q does. Q takes a more formal approach and Kerrang has a more relaxed feel to it.
The masthead runs across the top of the cover and takes up around 1/8 of the cover. the colours used in their masthead is very powerful and probably is the main reason it stands out away from everything else on the cover. It has a white background and black text which work really well together and gives it that effect which makes it easily recognisable.
As I've already stated that this cover has a lot going on and this mainly due to the amount of text it includes. It has loads of popular bands written on the cover and this is used to attract the large amount of their target audience.
Kerrangs main image takes up around 50% of the cover and doesn't stand out as much as the previous one. But nevertheless the image is still very powerful in the centre of the cover and will trap a lot of attention when sitting on the shelf. Even though this is a very packed cover they still manage to follow the common codes and convention in their colour pallet as they have their main four colours being Black, red, yellow and white. You see the all the colours used individually with the black as a background so it makes all the text and images stand out from the background.