Lesson 1 – Photoshop SkillsIn this lesson we learned how to edit and enhance images on Photoshop

Elements in order for them to look more professional and with more quality.

Editing included: Removal of blemishes via using spot healing tool. Gausaim blur on image. Used eraser to sharpen out main features such as her eyes, lips, eyebrows and earring. Brush tool to alter eye colour with addition of soft light and adjusted opacity. Colourize tool with adjusted hue and saturation for more redness of hair.

Lesson 2 – School Magazine Covers Analysis

1) I liked the masthead in this magazine since its a very clear and bold font with strong and vivid colours. The background picture follows the rule of thirds with the lady’s face being a main highlight amidst the cover.

The cover lines are catchy and simple, which will attract readers.The text is generally lined up with each other and the cover follows a good colour scheme (pink, red and black) .

2)Dissimilarly to the previous cover, the colours of this one are generally dark and in a sepia tone, which would probably not attract as many readers due to the lack of vibrant colours. There are 3 fonts in the cover and the masthead is big and bold which is a good attribute - however would have looked better if it was at the top of the magazine. The picture is from a very low angle and the main feature to it are the soles of the shoes therefore not a good choice as a cover picture. The fact that this picture is placed in the right hand-side of the cover does not conform to the readers eye-line path. Nevertheless, the kickers and explanatory text are lined up and they have included a selling line which is short and catchy.

Initial Magazine Cover Sketch-up

This was my initial sketch-up of how I’d want my school magazine cover to roughly look like. I included a date line, price, bold mast head in a simple but large serif font, bar code, selling line, main cover line and kickers with explanatory text. I decided I wanted my magazine cover to have a picture of one student in the centre that’d take up most of the cover space. I liked the idea of having a light blue background with a white font as these colours contrast well together.

Photoshoot PlanAgency Name – YasminBC

Model – Mia Tomlinson (& friends if possible)

Camera height/angle/distance Full body, preferably a mid shot. Portrait on the left or right side of the frame in order for text to fit. Angle: straight on, model directly facing camera.

Location: Experiment with different locations around the school (eg. Canteen, library, study room, hallway, in front of different coloured walls etc)

Lighting Natural Lighting, warm lights, no shadows.

Mise-en-scene (incl. props, costume) Normal day-to-day clothing - smart casual (e.g., jeans and t-shirts). School ID card possibly should be worn.

Contingency (in case of model absence/weather)No weather contingency since Photoshoot is to be done all inside, however if Mia is absent, use a different student to model.

Alternate angle High angle looking down on model, whilst around her are school books (suggesting much school work needs to be done and she is lost amidst it all)

Thinking points: Background colour, text space, rule of thirds. Comments:Model should pose naturally in order for pictures to look casual and real which would appeal more to student readers.

Photo Shoot Images

Both images not suitable due to the lack of space for text.

These images were not suitable also due to the lack of space for text, bad lighting and landscape layout (photos above and below).

My decision of what image to use in my cover was split between the three images below. However I decided to go with the first one because it seemed less superficial and with a greater space for text.

School Magazine Cover 1st Draft

1st Draft cover Feedback from Peer1) Are the fonts readable? Are there a maximum of 3 fonts? Have they used a different font for their masthead and their coverlines?All the fonts on Yasmin’s cover are clearly readable and she has used 3 different fonts. However they do not differ from each other very much.

2) Is there a clear colour scheme? Is there a sense of branding / House styleYes, there seems to be a good colour scheme including the colours blue, white, pink and black. This gives a touch of femininity to her cover therefore would very much appeal to a girl-based audience.

3) Is the eye flow natural?Yes, Yasmin uses a good eye flow (audience would probably start looking at model’s face on the left hand side then go down the page on the right hand side reading the text.) In addition, it all does seem to capture the readers’ attention.

4) Is the picture believable/well edited?Yes, the model looks very natural and not superficial and her smile would probably appeal to the reader. The model looks young, therefore looks like a real student and it’s a good thing that she is holding a folder because it adds to the school-magazine feeling. The editing is overall good since the model’s skin looks flawless and Yasmin did some good enhancing since the colours are all quite bright and vivid .

5) Is Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar accurate? Are there any typo’s?Yasmin has made a typo and written ‘Tattooo’ instead of ‘Tattoo’ therefore she should correct that. However all other text seems to be overall grammatically correct with punctuation being used correctly.

6) Are coverlines lined up?No, this is the biggest improvement that needs to be done. Her text and cover lines are not lined up with each other so she should use a grid/ruler tool in order for all writing to be correctly lined up like real magazines would.

1st Draftchangesafter feedback

Lined up selling line directlyunderneath masthead.

Corrected spelling mistake and lined up text.

Lined up this chunk of text with all of the above, and increased the size of the ‘70’.

Changed the price to be in a pink colour so it keeps with the theme of the cover.