Christmas Card Experimentation (Photoshop) + Write Up

This is my final Christmas Card design, there were a number of things that I used in order
to successfully put the final product together. I obtained the main background from Google
images, I pasted it into a document with the correct width and height for a Christmas card.
Once it was in I used the free transform tool to stretch it so that the image met the edges of
the document. I also extracted the image of Nicholas Cage and the Christmas hat from Google
images and I pasted them into a Photoshop document, I then cropped them down using the magic
wand tool to the appropriate size so that they wouldn't have any excess that would of perhaps ruined the image of the original Christmas Card. Once I cropped them down I used the copy and paste tool to paste them into the original card document. Once that was done I added in the snow flakes using the brush selection tool when searching for Christmas and snow themed brushes I found these snow flakes, I selected them so I could paste them around the document and complete the overall image. To finish off the card I needed a Christmas style font. To get the font I used the website Dafont.com, this website allowed me to search for a wide array of Christmas style fonts, when I found the appropriate font I downloaded it to Photoshop and selected it in order to add the text complete the card.

Overall I like the way that this Christmas card turned out, the font is fitting to the theme, and the snowflake brushes can be seen visibly and stick out well from the background. The image of Nicholas
Cage is of a relatively high resolution and it looks clear. The Christmas hat on Nicholas also fits in with the rest of the cartoony look of the cover as well. However there would of been a number of
things changed with with this card if I had more time, firstly I like the brushes but they could of been better, having found the time I could of get higher quality and more appropriate brushes for the card but I spent most of my time looking for different font types.

Heal Brush (Before And After) + Write Up

This is the original image without any of the heal brush methods used. 
Taken from the QE media page on moodle

This is the image after the brush tools were used on it. I selected an area of the the skin that
didn't not have spots, I selected this clear area first using the brush tool so I could use it as a brush
to go over the spots and make the skin clearer. However similar to the vampire transformation
I had to be careful around the nose and mouth in order to prevent them for going  a peach colour like the rest of the skin.
I like the way that this final image turned out even if there are a few imperfections, the skin looks spot free however
there are still some red marks present also I accidentally went over the nose here making it look slanted and overall
incorrect.

Photoshop Vampire Transformation + Write Up

This is the original image of Hayden Panettiere, taken from Google Images

This is the final Image - I got the eyes from another image from google, I used the
magnetic lasso tool to select them, then I used the copy and paste tool to get them on
this image, I re sized them and placed them over the original eyes.

To adjust the photographs brightness and colour I used the Photo filter and
the colour curve tool. I stretched the teeth out by selecting them, moving them into another
layer and finally I used the free transform tool to stretch them out, after that I put them over
 the original teeth in order to finish the effect of the vampire teeth. To adjust the skin tone I
used the sponge tool, and selected a grey colour, clicking and dragging the tool across the face
allowed me to change the skin tone, however I needed to be careful around the eyes, eyebrows and
mouth as I did not want them to grey like the rest of the face. As well as using the sponge tool on the
face I also used it on the lips to really make them stand out more and seem more vampire like.

Shutter Speed Light Photos

Composition Photos With Annotations

I thought it would be good to get a close up photo not only to have
some variation within the photos I took but to also get a photo that would
help the viewer to draw upon the emotions of the model. I had the model
facing the camera and at eye length so the audience can look at the model on a
personal level.

I gave the model a fairly distant and bare background to stand in so
I could stimulate the feeling of isolation or perhaps even loneliness.
Another technique I used to help demonstrate the feeling of distance
between the audience and model is to have him looking away from the
camera lens. 

I took another photo to ensure that the lighting, focus and model
posture was at it's highest standard.

Here I wanted to experiment with short and long distance photos, so
that I could capture the same background but with different model postures
and locations. Here the model is closer to the camera.

Here the model is slightly further away (Middle of the path)

Here the model is much further away than where he was in the original shot
(End of the path)

Here I used captured a shot of a street, in order to differentiate from
my photos where the model is simply the main focus to try and add some
variety within my collection of photos.

I decided to photograph this house so I could add some variation to my
photo collection, here I decided to take the photo crouching down and at
an upwards slant to make the house seem bigger and more intimidating. 

Here I took another close up photo to go with my first close up photo.
However this time I took it at a slant to make the model seem more intimidating,
and with his eyes facing away from the camera lens to give the feeling of distance.

In this second shot I decided to move the camera lens further away and to use a
slant that is closer to eye level in order to give my model shots some variation and depth.

My final photograph included two models rather than just one to
demonstrate the distance and frosty relationship between the two models
in this particular photo.

Hub Magazine Cover (First Design) + Write Up

This is a very early version of the front cover of my final product. In the final product the theme will be different, the subtitles will be different, the cover model and backgrounds will be different. Personally I think this magazine looks good for a first draft, text looks stylish, the bar code, price and date can be seen easily and the title looks good. However it lacks colour most of the text is either black or white and the background is bland. I hope to make improvments to my editing and Indesign skills so the final front cover will look even better.

Photography And Photoshop Skills Evaluation

Induction Evaluation - Louis Hurst

Photography

First Photo Shot

With our cameras we used the manual mode for our portrait photos. We used the zoom on the camera to get an appropriate angle for the selected photo model. We used the focus rings to make the image less blurry and more high quality so that we had more wide selection of pictures to choose from when it came to designing our front cover.

When it came to our posture when using the camera we learnt about the t stance, I found that this is an effective way to get a more stable photograph as it keeps your hands and body steady, it is similar to the focus rings on a camera because it keeps the picture steady.

Me and me group learnt about portrait and landscape mode. We found that holding the camera portrait was the best way to take our pictures as they offer a much better frame for the photo. Using portrait mode you can also capture a better facial image of the photo model. Taking portrait photos is also suitable to put on a magazine as it does not have to be stretched as much as a landscape photo when it comes to putting it on a A4 Photoshop file. Landscape photos are much better for capturing different forms of scenery and groups of people, however we used the portrait mode as we only wanted to photograph one particular person.

Fortunately all of the photos we took were portrait and we did not have any difficulties when it came to re sizing the photo.

Fence Shot

When taking our pictures we ensured that they were in focus so we could get the highest quality prints for our cover, we made sure of this by using the focus rings situated on the end of the camera lens. We kept on turning these rings until our picture was of the highest quality so that we could get a detailed view of the models face.

When it came to the lighting that we used for my photographs I tried to get different light angles and perspectives for each photo so that when it came to selecting the cover photo I had a wide variety of light perspectives as well as photos to choose from. For one photo I took a picture of the model in front of some steps, this gave the photo a back light allowing the model to stand out more. Another photo I took was in front of the college with the sun shining on the models face, this allowed me to get a more clear facial photo helping the image look more high quality. At one point I took a picture with some side light on the models face this allowed me to help outline the models face and thus make it stand out more when it came to putting the magazine cover together.

Some of the photos we took were fairly well composed and I found that the majority of the photos I took were fairly suitable. There were a few problems when it came to the eye line of the models sometimes some of the images I took looking up at the model I found they were looking over rather than at the camera at times, at times when I was at the same level as the model I found they were again looking off into the distance rather than at the camera lens. Perhaps the next time I use the camera I will have to give a little more instruction concerning the eye level. When taking my photos I did not use the rule of the thirds, this resulted in a less accurate set of photos meaning I had less photos to choose from when selecting my cover photo. Next time I will ensure that I use this rule in order to get a better photo set.

Final Photo Shot

I tried my best to get an appropriate background for my photos and I do believe that I managed to get some suitable ones for my magazine cover. However my group did have some trouble when it came to finding a good background. This resulted in our group re using some of the same backgrounds so we had less variety in our photo selection, this may of been due to a lack of time. Next time when gathering images for our project we will need to manage our time better in order to have a more diverse photo selection.

When it came to managing my group I found that we managed to handle to subject very well and we did gather the photos that we required. However I believe at some times there was a lack of communication.  In future we need to communicate more so that we can determine what is required to complete our task and decide upon what is needed to produce the highest possible standard of work.


Photoshop

On Photoshop I used a few tools in order to put my magazine cover together. One of them was the text tool, this allowed me to add text boxes and place different titles and sub headings into them. I also used the text re size tool, this allowed me to change the size of my text e.g. make it bigger if I wanted to create a masthead title, I also used the text colour change tool, which allowed me to colour in my text with a colour of my choice. When it came to fitting my image into an international paper document I used the free transform tool

Photoshop Experimentation

in order to shrink the image down to a size of my choice. When it came to getting rid of unwanted image parts I used the crop tool. Finally I wanted to make my image slightly brighter and for this I used the brightness and contrast tool. I also experimented with the black and white tool, however this effect did not appear on the final magazine cover.

I have used Photoshop before in my gcse graphics class so I had a fairly basic understanding of the majority of tools used to create my magazine. Firstly the text tools were easy enough to use a
s through my graphics class I had to design a book cover so I had a decent understanding of how the text tools work. It was quite difficult to use the cropping tool as I had trouble deciding upon the right amount of to cut off, resulting in me having to use the step backward tool a few times. The brightness tool was easy to use as there was a toolbar on the side of the program that could easily be found and understood.

I am quite pleased with how my text has turned out, I have used appropriate sizes for each of my text forms, used suitable colours and experimented well with different fonts. However when it came to the mast head title it overlapped the top of the models head, unlike most magazines where a particular part of the text is disguised. The next time I create a mast head for one of my magazines I will need to ensure that it will not overlap the models head.

I cut out a part of my original image using the crop tool, it allowed me to draw in the corners of the photo and cut it down more efficiently.

I did not use any drop shadows however I used the brightness and contrast tool for my image to make the image clearer and look more crisp.

I did not use any downloaded fonts, I only used the fonts that were already provided on the program. Next time I believe that I should experiment with some fonts on the internet in order to get the best possible results for the text.

I used a very limited range of fonts to my cover, sticking mainly to black, white and green. I did this due to the fact I wanted to create a very simple cover that I could improve upon later on with my new magazine covers. Making it easier to minitor progress.

When it comes to improving on my cover in future I believe that should use more effects such as the posterize, hue saturation, threshold and colour change tool. In order to help my image become more attractive and appealing as a cover. Perhaps in future I will use better photos so when it comes to adding effects it looks more appropriate for a magazine cover.

My magazine had appropriate text, decent imagery, a range of colours and it looks fairly attractive for a first attempt.

Completed Cover

When it came to the planning for my magazine I took inspiration from the NME music magazine. I wanted a eyecatching and interesting title, one that would draw the average shopper in and view it as an outstanding magazine. My heading is different from all the over colours shown on my front cover, helping it stand out more. Like NME magazine I also wanted to include an eyecatching quote for my front cover and create a title to go with it. I also wanted to show the magazine as exclusive (having bonus content that no other magazine can offer). I also wanted to add a bar code, price and date on the bottom left of the cover to give the effect of a real magazine. I tried to keep a very balanced composition, having lots of things on the front cover but at the same time not making it to crammed. I believe that I have somewhat achieved this however it could be vastly improved. As I used a very limited range of photography and photoshop skills when putting my cover together. 








   

Photo Experimentation (Magazine Cover)

Technical Skills Audit Analysis

AS Media Production: Technical Skills Audit Print Production

Name: Louis Hurst                      Tutor group: 174                Date: 12.09.13

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 Creative writing classes	X		A fairly basic understanding – took different pictures for my graphics project at Greenfield
Shutter Speed	X		Used a camera for my graphics project
Aperture control		X
A tripod	x		Used a tripod many times in order to get a steadier picture and video
External flash		X
Self timer facility		X
Light meter	X		Used it briefly for my graphics project.
Composition grids		x

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	x		Used it often to modify pictures for my graphics project
Filters	x		Used it often to modify pictures for my graphics project
Brushes	x		Used it often to modify pictures for my graphics project
Layers	X		Used to create book cover and modify images for my graphics project.
Opacity control	X		Used it often to modify pictures for my graphics project
Shape creation		X
Brightness and contrast control	X		Used it often to modify pictures for my graphics project
Dodge/Burn		X
Clone stamp tool	X		Used it often to modify pictures for my graphics project
Colour curves adjustment	x		Used it often to modify pictures for my graphics project
Magnetic lasso, polygon lasso tool	X		Used it often to modify pictures for my graphics project
Cropping tool	x		Used it often to modify pictures for my graphics project
Retouch tool		x

 

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		X
Inserting text in ID		X
Inserting images in ID		X
Resizing images in ID		X
Text manipulation – resizing, rotation		X
Text manipulation – controlling kerning and leading		X
Text flow creation		X
Text effects – drop shadow		X
Drop cap insert		X
Using transparent imagery in ID		X
Shape creation In design		X
Text wrapping		X
Exporting to PDF from In-design		X