COVER SHOOT:
I styled my brother in a fairly smart, and what is considered to be an 'indie' fashion. Which is the type of music that I plan for my magazine to follow. I took my inspiration from a band that I saw live recently, of which all the members wore either suits and ties or smart shirts and jackets whilst performing. I thought that this added a sophisticated, and edgy spin on the traditional image of 'indie rock bands' who are usually seen to wear skinny jeans and leather jackets.
FINAL PHOTOGRAPH:
I chose this photo to be the main cover shot, as I feel that it is the best posed, as some of them looked slightly awkward and uncomfortable. On this photo the model has eye contact with the reader, which gives more of a personal connection, which hopefully could draw pottential readers into buying the magazine. I also think that it is imporatnt as it gives a sense of confidence, which is key as the caption for the picture will be 'We go inside the mind of Indies newest icon" And as an "Icon", the must have a confidence and reassurance come across i the images.
EDITING:
For the first stage of the editing, I removed the background of the image, and changed it to white so that it would look better, and more clean cut when used as the cover. I did this using Macromedia Fireworks, by erasing the background using the lasso tool at first, and then using the eraser to remove individual pixels from around the edges.
I then used an online photo editing software to heighten the clarity of the image, by airbrushing and removing any blemishes from the models face. I also slightly changed the models hair coloring so that it appears darker, creating more of a contrast on the final image.
After touching up the images I then played around with different filters and effects on the photo. Here is a contact sheet with some examples.
1. Black and White - Traditional black and white adds a more artistic feel and a sense of timelessness, more so that it is a classic. Although the photo looks good as it draws out a contrast of shadows and highlights, I had planned for my cover to be in colour.
2. Cross Processing, lowered contrast - I quite like this image, as it gives an effect that still keeps the image clear but slightly distorts the colours around the models jacket, so there is a subtle rainbow spectrum that filters outwards, and it means that it has subtle links to the other colours used in my colour scheme.
3. Warmer temperature - This softens the image and gives the background an off-white tone.
4. Colder temperature - This gives the image an overall blue hue, and makes it appear cold. I don't think that I will use this as the image doesn't look at all inviting, as the cold colours have a subtle negative connotation.
5. Lowered exposure, in Black and White - Heightens the shadows, but reduces the clarity of the image, very dark and dramatic.
6. Posterised Effects (Two Tone) - A very comical look, two tone makes it very simplistic but slightly distorts the models features. Not approprate to be a cover image but would work as a poster or as a graphic.
FINAL IMAGE:
I chose this as my final image as I thought that the Cross Processing, and lowered contrast effect added a really interesting look to the photograph, without changing it too much.
MAIN ARTICLE:
Here is the contact sheet for all the photos I took for the main article shoot. I posed the model in a variety of different ways featuring props such as guitars, and headphones. Which provide obvious connotations and connections with musicians.
CHOSEN IMAGE:
After careful observation this was the image that I chose for the cover shoot, as it appears that he is deeply involved within his music. With no eye contact, he is looking down which gives the image feelings of intensity and concentration, something that often comes across in interviews with serious musicians/icons. the background is kept plain so that text can be layered over the image.
EDITED VERSION:
To edit the photo I used similar methods to that of the cover image, by airbrushing the model to give him a clearer complexion, and by giving more of a natural shine to his hair. I also slightly increased the contrast to give the image a higher clarity and distinction between colours. I finally made the colours of a higher strength as before the black wasn't as strong as it could have been.
PHOTO MANIPULATION:
This is a contact sheet of the different photo manipulation techniques that I tried for the double page spread. These effects were created through the picture manipulation > artist techniques on the new version of Microsoft publisher. They were very easy to produce, and I think they look quiet effective.
FINAL IMAGE:
The final image I chose uses a cross processing filter similar to that of the front cover, as I felt that a continuity of themes would be important. The image still keeps most of the original colours, but darkens the shadows giving a more intense, and stronger colour palette.
CONTENTS PAGE:
For my contents page, I used that over the duration of this project, I have been to see several bands perform live to my advantage, and take my photographs at the concerts. I had a rough plan for how I wanted the photos to look, - I wanted them to capture musicians with all the glory of a live atmosphere, with particular significance on the lighting, and different positioning/posing.
METRONOMY:
These are some of the images that I recently took at the NME Awards tour, they feature a band called Metronomy who are renowned for their quirky and original lighting designs, as each member wore a light pad, that flashed and glowed in time with their parts of the songs. The one image that stood out for me is the bottom left hand corner, as not only can the lights be seen on the band members, but as they are saluting it offers more of an interesting composition than the stationary posed photos.
TRIBES:
This photos were also taken at the NME Awards tour, but of a different band called Tribes. The photograph out of this section that stood out for me is the image titled P1080992. I think that the way in which the lead singer stands out from the background due to the spotlight adds a dramatic feel to the image. Out of all the other photos I think that the mid shot works best as it means that the guitar can be seen clearly as well as the facial expressions of the singer.
ELLIE GOULDING:
These pictures were taken of singer Ellie Goulding, and have a similar look to the Tribes photographs, as they have a dark background, and a spot light placed upon the singer. I planned to use these images as I felt it was important to have a mix of both male and female performers in my magazine so that there wasn't a gender biased, which there often is as music magazines tend to be male dominated. A lot of the shots were fairly similar as it was hit and miss whether or not I would be able to get a decent image, however I decided upon a mid shot, and I went for the image with the highest clarity, and steadiness.
YOU ME AT SIX:
I decided to use photographs of the band You Me at Six, as it gives a different look on live music, I had already planned to use a solo male, female, and two members from Metronomy, but I wanted to have an image of a band playing on a large scale. I think that the image (P1040853) stood out for me as it encompassed the grand scale of live music, and of the theatrical aspect of it. I knew that I could use this as inspiration for a feature, talking about the best live moments that 'readers' had experienced.
FINAL PHOTOS FOR CONTENTS PAGE:
These are the final images that I have chosen to use in my contents page. All of the images have been slightly edited, either with increased contrast, cropping, or by altering the sharpness of the image to adjust the clarity.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT
As another section for my contents page, I photographed my friend Katie to appear in a section called 'In the spotlight.' I thought that this would be an interesting addition to my magazine as it would appear that readers get their ow chance to star in the magazine, something that is often popular in smaller publications such as 'The Fly' in which up and coming musicians, use the magazine as a platform for new audiences.
I posed Katie in a dark room with only a spotlight, to create a dramatic atmosphere, I also shot the majority of the photographs in black and white, as this also adds a dramatic effect to the photo. The position she is in with her arms raised also adds to this concept, as she looks animated, as opposed to the more stationary images of her stood with her hands on her hips.
FINAL IMAGE
This was the image that I chose to go in the contents page, as I felt that the spotlight was the most prominent in this image, and that was the initial theme behind the picture.
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