Final Skills Audit

Name: John Dinsdale  Tutor group: 1.30    Date: 15/4/2013

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	Y		This has been used for several of the photoshoots featured in my blog. I had some previous experience with this skill but have fine tuned through practice. For example my shot are now in proper focus and i can work with eye lines.
Shutter Speed	Y		This has been used in the shutter speed write-up on my blog. Again i had a rough idea of this at the start of the year, i have gotten better at working with low and high shutter speeds. This includes light and motion based imagery.
Aperture control	Y		Apparture control write-up in my blog. At the start of the year i didn’t know how to use this feature. I am still not perfect with this technique as higher apertures have longer shutter speeds that can easily be ruined.
Continuous Shoot	Y		This is present in the continuous shoot blog write-up. I have used this mode to create images using bubbles and motion to create sequences of images as they happen.
A tripod	Y		This was used during the aperture control photoshoot. It was used to reduce motion blur and aid steadiness whilst taking photos with larger apertures and shutter speeds.
External flash	Y		This was used during the photoshoot in the forms of softboxes and bottles to create external light in the photographs taken.
Self timer facility		N	I have not used this.
Light meter		N	I have not used this
Composition grids	Y		I have used this when demonstrating eyelines in my earlier photoshoots present on my blog. I have used this when using the rule of three. I have used eyelines to create power in photos.

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	Y		I have used this when experimenting with front covers in both my final project and blog write-ups. I already had experience with this technique and now know several other techniques for text manipulation.
Filters	Y		I experimented with filters throughout my final project but could not find a correct filter to use. I had used these before media and have more experience using them.
Brushes	Y		CD cover project in my blog. I used custom downloaded brushes to create a CD cover for a fictional band named Natures Heroes. I now know how to download and install brushes on photoshop.
Layers	Y		I have used this for every photoshop document I have created. I had already used this before media but have much more experience with it.
Opacity control	Y		I have used this in the production of my final product.  I used it to fade the colour of layers to tone down the colour of them.
Shape creation	Y		I have used this for the magazine front cover of my final product to create breakout boxes and sell lines. I can create and fill coloured rectangles/circles to create headers.
Brightness and contrast control	Y		I have used this countless times on most of the photos present in my blog entrees. I have used it before media but now know how to better use it for better effects.
Gradients	Y		I have used this feature briefly on my final front cover piece. I used it to edit colours on the image itself.
Load selection features	Y		I have used this to open downloaded brushes and fonts when creating front covers and the CD cover design task in my blog.
Feathering	Y		This was used as part of the subtle techniques blog entry and is used alongside effects such as vignetting.
Colour curves adjustment	Y		This was used as part of the subtle techniques blog entry again used alongside techniques such as vignetting and feathering.
Resolution setting control	Y		I have used this when creating every photoshop document I have produced. This has including setting the magazine cover dimensions and DPI.
Magnetic lasso, polygon lasso tool	Y		I have used this when creating front covers and adding effects to images throughout my blog. I have used this tool to select certain areas that I can then add effects to.
Cropping tool	Y		I had already used this effect before media and have continued to use it to get rid of annoying backgrounds and choose selected parts of images.
Clone tool	Y		I have used this in the vampire/spot healing blog entry where I have tried to clear up a spotty girls face using the clone stamp tool and choosing clear skin to replace the spots.
Retouch tool		N	I have not used this.
Other skills			-       Used the sponge and burn tools to create the vampire lady in my blog.

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	Y		I have used this when creating my final DPS for unit 3 as I had to create columns and margins to the dimensions of my selected magazine.
Inserting an image ID	Y		I have used this when creating any DPS in my blog and final piece. I have inserted these images using layers and the place tool.
Resizing images in ID	Y		I have done this in all DPS documents by using the white arrow tool on selected images.
Text manipulation – resizing, rotation	Y		I used this to alter and edit text for headers and sub-headers when creating my DPS’s for blog entries and my final piece.
Text manipulation – controlling kerning and leading	Y		I have used this to control the distances between lines of text in my final double page spread.
Text flow creation	Y		I have used this skill when creating my columns and adding the text into these columns so that when editing the text for these columns I can do them all at once. This again this is present in all my DPS’s.
Using transparent imagery in ID	Y		I used this to create backgrounds for my DPS’s by creating PNG files that can be transported and inserted into photoshop.
Shape/line creation In design	Y		I have used the shape creation tool to create extra frames for photos and create the polaroid effect border for images in the DPS.
Exporting to PDF from In-design	Y		This was used to export my final piece for marking and export.
Text Wrap	Y		I have used this when creating my disability article DPS in my blog. I used this to wrap text and an extra image in the centre of the page.
Other Skills

Number of new skills achieved: 28

(compare with your initial skills assessment)

Blog Write-up 11th March- 17th March 2013

I did my photo-shoot on tuesday. it was a success as I got some decent shots out of it that I can use for my front cover and DPS. the model turned up on time and I had props to use so did not have to use any of my contigency plan proposals. The photoshoot itself worked well as the photo's were well done, the technician friendly and helpful. I managed to get the photos I needed within the alloted time slot so I managed the time effectively. If I had to improve it I would have tried more ideas in the time I had to improve the range of photos and poses I had to choose from. 
 Examples of photoshoot photos ---->

Since I now have photos to work with I have created proper drafts of my front cover and double page spread. I have used the frames I created  last week and added in the photos. well before addition I had to edit the photos editing the brightness/contrast and adding unsharp masks. I have then edited my sell lines and titles to fit round these new images to create a proffesional front cover and double page spread.I have improved strokes on text and added in drop shadows to add 3D effects to my text on the cover.

The last main part of my magazine that needs finishing is the second draft of the artcile. It is half done and I should have it finished quite quickly. If I hadn't spent so much time correcting my front cover and DPS I may have finished it already but I want the front cover and DPS to look perfect. This is the only limitation on the project as I cannot finish the DPS without an article to go inside it. For my article I will be using my research for facts that I will then convey in a more sarcastic and conversational tone to my audience. When I finish the article and have inserted the text in properly I will finish the breakout box by adding in the facts and statistics. Once that is done I may add in another image if required.

Targets
- Finish article second draft and add any suggested improvements
- Assemble the final product together (front cover and DPS)
- Decide on facts for breakout box.

First In-Design test using the basic features of the programme such as adding collumns and placing in images.

Aperture Control

With aperture control the images went wrong as the shots were incredibely blurry. The camera was not straight or still. since I was expermenting with mainly wide apertures the shoot speed was particulary long so the camera had o be held stll. these mages can be re-take if it is necessary or if  I
have the time. the thin aperture shots were a lot easier to do as there was a very quick shutter speed. Below are three examples oof photographs taken with varing apertures. two are blurry failures whereas one came out ok with a medium aperture.

Blog Write- Up 1 4th March- 9th March

Since my photo shoot isn't done yet I was doing design work ready to have photos inserted in.I have worked on my front cover and double page spread this week basically designing them ready to have text and  images inserted. the work has been coming on steady and I am working pretty well and have both products finished near enough. however I could be working a lot quicker if I didn't spend so long messing around with the text on the double page spread. the front cover however looks professional and the sell lines are good enough for now though I may re-think them later in the project.

I have been unable to edit the article as I have received no feedback on it yet so do not quite know how to improve it. I have have however been thinking about taking the article in a new style and focus to fit my photo shoot plans and appeal more to the audience. I have started to write some short paragraphs in preparation and shall add them to the article in replacement of my other poorly written article.

The magazine itself should appeal to my target audience as there are stories aimed at male teenagers focusing around games and movies. I am aiming to create a product aimed at both sexes though more males. I have also kept a simple colour scheme of black, whit and red. I may be tempted to alter fonts and layout ideas when I have my photos.

This week I have encountered no problems other than my in Design text problems where I just got aid from my tutor. I have experimented with different fonts and  effects but have encountered no problems.

Targets
- Re-write article
- Create new sell lines in case

Continuous Shoot - bubbles, gum and running

 This is a collection of images based around chewing and blowing bubble gum using the continuous shoot feature. These are just four of the many shots taken in continuos process at high speed. as you can see the bubble moves as it gets bigger and the model is moving too.With the shutter speed being rather fast a long sequence of photos are taken.




It is the same for the running photos later on where the camera takes continuous shots of the model running towards the camera.

Disability double page spread

This is my first attempt at the double page spread of my disability article. I have used a polatroid effect for the top photos and a title made on photoshop. I  have based the text in collumns and broken up large paragraphs to appeal to a teenage audience. I have also added images to break up the text and then used a simple text wrap to fit the text around the image. I have not used the rule of three which needs to be changed but it is a good first attempt.

This is the second DPS which features the rule of three and three colour rule. I have used white, black and red that are simple colours but stand out against the article. I have used red to illustrate the main points of the headline and kicker. I have also added a breakout box containing additional figures about the disabled in the UK. this breaks my text up into more acceptable paragraphs for my audience. I have used three images  along the top of the page, overlapped and in the polaroid effect to create a 3D effect that stands out to the audience. I have created the title itself on photoshop to maintain a transparent background. i have also ensured my text follows the 10pt rule as all text in the article is only 10pt.   Lastly I have used an advanced text wrap to mould my text around an image in the bottom right corner of the article.

The final attempt that uses rotation to add to 3D effects. I have also aligned my collumns to the collumn guides to make the article appear neater and more proffesional.