Taking Photographs

I was required to learn about technologies throughout the course of this project. Therefore, I had to learn how to use an SLR camera will full success.

  I firstly learnt about exposure. In photography, this refers to the quantity of light reaching a photographic film.  An image can be ‘over exposed’ creating an image which is too light or it can be ‘under exposed’ creating an image which is too dark.

 

I was also required to learn about shutter speed. This refers to the length of time which the camera’s shutter is open as a photograph is taken. This can affect the exposure of an image. It can also detect movement. Selecting a slow shutter speed allows more data to be captured in the image before the shutter closes allowing movement to be presented in a  photograph. However, selecting a high shutter speed mean less data can be captured and the resulting image will present a moving object appear unnaturally frozen.

 

I generally used a high shutter speed to make my images appear still which was a common convention on all of my chosen style models. I was also able to alter the aperture to ensure the image was of a suitable brightness and to make it appear higher quality.

Photographs

For the back drop for some of my photos, I used a small studio situated in my media class room at school. This gave the final photographs a more professional appearance due to the white cloth used for a plain background and the lighting equipment surrounding the shooting location. I also used an SLR camera to take the photos as it presented them in high quality. It also allowed me to adjust various settings such as focus, aperture and shutter speed to improve the appearance of my photographs.

 

Group Discussion Video

I carried out a group discussion amongst members of my target audience and recorded the results. This allowed me to understand what would appeal to them as they are representing the focus group. Therefore, I will take into account their responses and ideas and incorporate them in my magazine in attempt to attract members of my target market to buy it.

Photo Planning Timetable

I will use a camera borrowed from school to allow for high quality photographs. I there must record the times in which I wish to borrow a camera and schedule the time to ensure I can use it.

	Period 1	Period 2	Period 3	Period 4	Period 5	After School
Monday	During period 1 and 2 on Mondays, both me and Laura have no lessons meaning I could take some photographs of Laura during this time.		English Language lesson	Textiles lesson	Media Lesson
Tuesday	Textiles lesson	English Language lesson	Media lesson	Me an Laura both also have free lessons on Tuesday afternoons and during this time we can focus on taking more photographs.
Wednesday	General Studies lesson		Media Lesson	English Language lesson	Textiles lesson	Photographs of my brother and sister must be taken at home so I chose Wednesday to do this as I have free time on this day.
Thursday	Textiles lesson	Enrichment Course		Media lesson	English Language lesson
Friday	Media lesson	English Language lesson	Textiles lesson
Saturday			On Saturday I will take photos of Laura on the beach as it will leave us with plenty of time to do this.

Photo Planning Double Page Spread

Double Page Spread

On my double page spread, there will be one main image taking up one A4 side of the page of my friend, Laura. This will be taken on the beach to add to the mise en scene and make the artist appear more down to earth. Also in terms of mise en scene she will be presented in younger, more modern clothes to allow her style to appeal to the younger target market. I will also include a smaller image to split up the large blocks of text of the same artist. This photograph will present her doing something productive such as playing a instrument or working in the studio.

Photo Planning Contents

Contents

On the contents page of my magazine, I want a few photographs to represent the content of the magazine. One of these photographs will be of my brother, Andrew and another will be of my friend, Laura. Furthermore, one will be a medium close-up shot and the other will be a long shot of someone posing. This will present a range of shots to appeal to the audience and show a variety of different pages which could interest and intrigue them to read on. The images will be presented in squares and I will use the rule of thirds to decide where to place my images on the page in order to make them most effective.

Photo Planning Cover

Photo Planning

Cover

On the cover of my magazine, I want one prominent photograph. This will be a close-up shot of a music artist. I will take a photograph of my sister, Kate standing in front of a plain background so I will be able to cut out the image on Photoshop easily and superimpose it over the title on my cover. The majority of magazines which I studied generally all have one main image on the cover and it is most often a close-up shot. Therefore, I am taking inspiration from these to make my magazine appear as professional as possible.