Magazine Evaluation
Photography

 This image is much better as it is a close up head and shoulders shot with the correct eye line and is properly focused.





         

                                                           

 Bad photo as it is not just of head and shoulders shot. It was taken from too far away.

 This photo is better as the person is higher in the photo and the eyes are near enough third line eye level.

Photography Skills

Since I took GCSE graphics in last year I already had a decent idea of how to use a camera

and the different techniques of using them. I knew a bit about manual and auto focus and the

zoom ring. However through the little photography session I have managed to fine tune those skills

and improve on them. I have also learnt new skills such as the benefit of the T-stance when trying to

zoom in on a target. It helps get closer up without actually moving closer and reduces shaking by

giving the photographer a sturdier position.  I have also better focused my images as some of the

first images I took were out of focus slightly. I can now perfectly focus a model and using manual

focus. I also originally had problems with eye line as the model was either too low or high. This

did improve as the shoot went on and eventually the photos looked better with the eyes in the

correct line. The use of the backgrounds in my photos was mainly dominated by light. Since I had to

take a range of shots using a range of lightings I had to focus on where the lighting was and how to

utilise it. Some of the backgrounds were good but others made the model to high or low to position

against them. 

Photoshop Skills

Again since I did graphics at GCSE I had a sound understanding of Photoshop as I used it throughout

the course. I understood how to use and manipulate layers to gain effects. I could insert text and add

fx. However again this project has helped me to fine tune and improve these skills further. I have now learnt how to download fonts and install them properly. Custom fonts are a very important part of my cover as they give it that punk effect I want my readers to see. I downloaded them from a site called dafont.com in a zip file and extracted the contents once the folder was in my documents. I have also learnt how not to stretch my images when re-sizing which is just to hold the shift key whilst transforming an image. This will help me avoid losing marks when my work is marked as my images are perfect without signs of stretching. The cover itself looks pretty professional as I have the text in noticeable colours (red and grey) which are aligned to the right in my cover. They form a neat line down the right hand side and are easily readable. I picked the colours red and grey because they work well together. For my sell lines I have the first part black and the second part grey. The picture is centred in the cover and fills the whole page with the text neatly displayed over and around it. I have used sharpen on the face and blurred the background slightly to make the model stand out more. I added a stroke to each text to emphasise my texts broken font and make it stand out against the background.  

The finished product. it looks like a professional magazine cover with a ordered layout and all the necessary background introduction.