Final Evaluation

In this double unit, our project 'Vogue' was a rollercoaster to simply put it into one word. I think it had many ups and downs but it all came together in the end. The highlight of this project was getting to use the studio and doing some studio photography. Also, the second unit was all about designing which I thoroughly enjoyed. I enjoyed researching contemporary magazine designs and then using that to influence my own. Here's my evaluation for this project.

Fashion Photographer Research
This task was a good icebreaker because I got to look at fashion photography over the years and look at the codes and conventions. I think it was useful to look at contemporary and historical because you can see how we've developed fashion photography to this day. I think it gave me an insight on what I could be photographing but majority of the fashion shoots were done on location so it was interesting to think of how we'll use the studio.

Further Research: Studio Lighting Attachments/High and Low Key Lighting
In this task, I got to explore the different lighting attachments and see what effects it has on the image. It also gave me an insight on the different lighting set ups that I've never seen before like the beauty dish as an example. I also found some additional examples of attachments that is used in the studio. I found the soft and hard light interesting in the task because I thought it was similar to high and low key lighting. Till I did some research and realised it's more about how distanced the light source is from the subject. In the high and low key lighting task, I learned about the controls with the background and how to achieve the different lighting for a bright or a dark picture. Both of these tasks helped me with my studio shoots because I knew what lighting I wanted to achieve for my shoot as I was working with 3 different looks.

Further Research: Exposure Meters
With this task, I learned more about the direction of lighting and how a hand held meter is useful in the studio or on location. I also got to try out the meter and see how I managed to get half a picture in my accessories task. I got a better understanding of incident and reflective light and also looked at the difference with ambient and flash. I also included a exposure comparison to show you what sort of exposure would be right; and a exposure meter will help you read that.

Studio Shoot Planning
In this task, I had planned my looks and considered my research to help me figure out the lighting I want to use. I also did a risk assessment as additional initiative work to show the safety measures that need to take place in the studio. I had a clear idea of what I wanted to shoot and I had it planned out well. This helped me when I made contact with my model and arranged a session and planned it out from top to bottom. I had to ensure that she had the right outfit for the look, the right hair and make-up and she was there earlier than the shoot.

Studio Photoshoot
In the studio photoshoot post, I've analysed how it went in details so I will keep this short. I just knew that I didn't want to restrict myself to one lighting set up and I wanted to show a variety of ways because it just makes my work stand out. I also had to think what fashion would suit the different lighting and after I had it planned, I had to make it happen. I think the shoot was hard because the lighting wasn't going fully as planned and it just felt like a disaster with the hour slot I had. By the time we started shooting and got everything right, we had like 35 minutes to finish up. I had many other plans and ideas in mind that I've not mentioned in my blog because I had no time to start them in the studio. I think it would have been a better experience if we had more accessibility to the studio and more time in each session considering that we had to book our models in and do it in a professional manner.

Magazine Research
This has been my favourite task for the design unit. I just found it so fascinating to look at different designs and feel inspired. I think it's clear to say that I loved looking at the simplistic and minimal designs because to me, they had the most effect than just bombing the design with text. I found the task to be more interesting than designing my own which rarely happens. I think I enjoyed looking at the magazines and spreads because each design had a different fashion style/genre so I thought that was fascinating how each style had a similar design.  

Creating Magazine Designs
At this moment of time, I knew exactly what images were going for which magazines and I just had to put it all together. I stuck to creating 3 main final designs and did lots more as additional/extras which was just me developing and experimenting with the designs from the research tasks. In the end, I am happy with my designs because I've gone for 3 different magazines, 3 different fashion styles and 3 different lighting under the tough circumstances with the studio. 

Presentation Overview
The presentation I did for this project went really well. I felt confident in my work so I was content with the way the presentation went. I tried to put as much as I can within the presentation within the time limit but I think I just about made it. I made sure my aim and target audience and the looks were clear to understand and I made my presentation look very visual so there's hardly no text. The presentation went exceedingly well and I managed to explain everything overall.

Self Initiated work
This was the extra photoshoot I set myself. I think it went well and I was inspired by the accessories and street fashion task so I thought I'll keep it simple and actually go out there and photograph some bags as I didn't photograph bags in the project. I think it went well and I got some extra images that I've put time in.

Overview
The project was great in the way we started with bits and bobs and eventually it all came together. I think I learned quite a lot about lighting in the project and it will be very useful for the future. I think I done well with self criticising and I learnt as I went along. I didn't give up at any moment in this project and I kept putting the time and effort in after everything that would just go wrong. I liked the design unit that came in to it and it just allowed me to be creative and play around on Photoshop as I do. I spent time in doing extra work as much as I can and tried to put some creativity and individuality within my work. Now bring on the next final major project.

Magazine Designs/Finals

In this task, I will start working on my magazine designs. I will be designing and creating a A4 sized front cover and a A3 sized centre spread. These designs will be inspired and linked to my magazine research and I will mainly consider the typography and the layout of my magazines. Here is my magazine designs:

Final 3 Designs:

1. Vogue
Here is my designs for my Vogue Magazine and I've used these images here. I've edited them into black and white like my magazine research was and gave it a punch of contrast. The title on the cover is also linked to the research because the title is sitting behind my model. I used this image because I liked how the model was posing and how the dress was flicked. I used appropriate typography with the word glamour and gave it this classy font face. I've included a barcode and the price and included a few subheadings where I've played with black and white. The centre spread was inspired by my research and I went for the bordered image on the left and the full frontage on the right. I also kept it minimalistic with the text and just added some details of the look in the corner which stands out. I love the image I used on the right because it stands out in that design cover, and it also makes up the other image because you can't see the full face in the left image. I think it looks super classy and high fashion with this design and it's the exact style I was going for.  

2. Teen Vogue
This is my magazine designs for Teen Vogue. I used both my research covers as inpsiration and created this cover. I love how the red in Teen fits with the shirt and also the warm tonedn background. This magazine designs really fit the teenager target audience and I've pretty much linked the layout to the inspirational covers. I decided to go with black colour typography for the word 'Vogue' instead of white because you can see it immediately. The centre spread is a little similar to the previous magazine design with the right page but I decided to switch up th left page. I used two images here and added this title, linking it to the cover. I like how I used the image on the right because you can see the full attire as my model is sitting on a chair. I also added the Teen Vogue logo in the corner because I thought it looked good. I also added these lines design which I didn't want to be so dominant near her legs, I just think it gives it a nice touch. I included the details of the fashion in the top right which worked nicely with that empty space in the background. 

3. Indie

This is my magazine design for my last look, the dark urban fashion. I kept this very simple with the cover and I just love how the title sits in the top centre. I think it looks very urban and the look I wanted has fitted together with the magazine design. I've decided to include the title 'Streetwear 2016' in the colour of her lipstick because I think it's common in magazines linking colours with the image. I've also included a different styled barcode and an issue number/price. I love how casual it looks and the effect of the snoot has given it a spotlight look which makes this magazine design stand out. Furthermore, the design spread is different compared to the previous examples. I used that spread in my research of the 21st Century Man and created this effect on my image here. I added some text above to give it a nice overview and included a page number just as a extra convention. On the right side, I decided to put an advertisement that is also commonly done in magazines, also in my research like the DKNY spread. I decided to advertise Raybans and use 2 of my images. One which is a front facing image and the other with a box. I love the simplicity look and thought I had to design it this way for this magazine too.

Development (Extra tests and additional examples)

Here is some designs that I put together just to see what image and look I want to go for. I also did some extra covers where I wanted to explore my research more and create more magazine covers and centre spreads with similar designs.

Here are some extra double paged spreads that I've also designed. These were all influenced by my magazine research and I created a similar look.

A Saint Laurent advert using this classy studio image which I changed to black and white. I liked the sharp contrasts in the image and the simplicity of the design. This was inspired by the Saint Laurent double page spread in my research. 

This was inspired by the Michael Kors double page I looked at, where they used two same images and had one cropped in. I thought this would be good for a urban outfitters advertisement.

This was inspired by the spread that says Blossom in the centre. I edited this image and made it look faded and cool, then filled the left page with the image. Then used a grey background for the right and added the title and line, which is also reduced in fill so it's not too sharp with contrast.

Here is a Rayban advertisement that was inspired by my Goldsmith spread. I changed this horizontal formatted image into a vertical image and used it to fill the page. Then included the logo in a smaller size on the right which is simple and effective.

This spread was inspired by the spread which used a square outside the image within the design. I created this simplistic spread with the title Act Casual, and I used selective images which I thought were very casual images. It displays the fashion in a very unique style.

This is a similar spread to my final one, but instead I used this high key image on the left and some smaller images on the right. I didn't think this was better than my final one because the high key image on the left was really bright and it looked too basic. I liked my other final one because it looked classy and fits the fashion style a lot more.

Lastly, this is a spread for my Teen Vogue magazine. I thought of sticking more than one image in a creative way by cutting her out and sticking her on this A3 sided image. I think it's creative but I like the minimalistic look instead where the layout and position is all proposed in a way which attracts the viewer, and how the image and the fashion will speak for itself.

So there we have it. I've created a variety of examples using my images and managed to get my final 3 fashion magazine designs done for each of my look. I think the research was very helpful and I enjoyed looking at some designs myself because there was a lot to explore. I also enjoyed using Photoshop and just putting it all together. Finally in the process, I got my final 3 designs printed professionally which also came out good on matt photographic paper.

Presentation Powerpoint

Here is my presentation powerpoint that I've presented in front of the class. The evaluation for this is in the final evaluation. Here is the slides:

Self-Initiated Work

In this post, I will be doing a individual set location shoot. As I've done some additional work for the street fashion task which I've shot on location, I thought I'll focus this shoot on street accessories. So I went out there and asked another bunch of new strangers if I can photograph their accessories. My main aim of this shoot was to capture different style of bags. Apart from that, I also took some more fashion images in general whilst I'm out there shooting. Here is my images:

This is my favourite image because I like how pin sharp the bag is. The bag is quite colourful and the army/camouflage style is very current today. The contrast in this image is very strong along with the saturation and lighting. I think this image would look better if the background wasn't so gross. I think all the chewing gum marks on the floor really is distracting but with some photoshop, it can be fixed. I like how the bag is composed in the frame where you can see the label bang in the centre.

Here is another image that was captured of a handbag. I selected this because it was also pin sharp on the bag. I think because the lighting/sunshine was directly towards the handbag, you have the shadows of the person on the floor which is quite distracting. It would be better without them harsh shadows. Nevertheless, the actual bag is in focus and I think it's decent.

The model in this image was wearing all blue and I thought I had to shoot a side profile of her attire. She is rocking this blue backpack with her denim jacket. I like this image because the background isn't too distracting and she's in focus. The details on the bag is interesting and I like how her jacket buttons is undone. This fashion really represents the youth as it's current. I shot this in a horizontal format because I wanted it to be just how it turned out. The lighting in this image is good and I actually like how there's a shadow on the right side, this contrasts well with the backpack which just brings you back to the theme of the shoot.

Lastly, the fashion in this image is very current and I thought I'd capture this leopard print jacket that this man was rocking. The lighting in this image is good but there's some minor shadows on his face. I captured this in a vertical format so I can get a 3/4 length shot. I used a shallow depth of field in this image and blurred out the background as much as I can, so the focus is strong on him. This is because it's a colourful image and I didn't want the background to be so overpowering. I slightly edited this on photoshop by making it lighter toned and then increasing the contrast so it gives it this grey-ish effect. This is commonly done by fashion bloggers who post bright and vibrant images because it stands out a little more.

Street Fashion Part II

Following up from the street fashion task sometime before, here are some additional images that I self initiated and done after as extra work. These images were taken mainly in the exhibition and I had to communicate with my models to get them there during lesson times. I think the shoot went well and I got a few different shots to show a variety of photo taking techniques. Here are my images:

This is my favourite image from the shoot because of the way I composed this setup. I wanted to be creative and show some independence within my work. So I asked these 4 boys if they were willing to model in this exhibition, and then I organised them to stand in this pattern and look at the artwork on the wall. I like how they're not stood in a straight line because it makes the image look better composed. The lighting in this image is good because there's spotlights around the room so I managed to get the right balance and exposure. Also decided to go full length in a horizontal format because it gives more space and I can catch their full attire while standing far back. The reason why I liked this image because there's more than 1 person in the image and they are wearing streetwear so they are representing the youth.

Here is another image of one model from the previous image. I liked the bomber jacket attire he was wearing so I captured this half shot portrait of him. I tried to blur the background as much as I can so it's focused on the model. The lighting in this image is great because it's exposed nicely and there's not many shadows or distractions. The only shadow is near the eyes because of the cap which I quite like, this is because of the spotlight just above us.

These series of images are some of the shots I've taken. I think the top image is different to what I've taken so far because I shot in a vertical format and filled the frame closely with my models. I like how sharp it came out and depth of field really worked here. I like the contrast in the image to be bold and I think the blacks in the picture really stands out with this natural lighting. It's also a comparison of their fashion styles and I think it just reinforces to me that everyone has their own interpretation of streetwear. The bottom two images were taken in the gallery and I used the vertical format in a different composition. I decided to get this headless shot on the left so the image is just focusing on the attire. I think the lighting is okay in the image but it could have been better so it's a little more balanced. The image on the right is so much better with the lighting. I like how it's bright in the background so it contrasts well with my model. I got this 3/4 shot where my model is stood in the centre. I like how long her outfit was so it makes the image a lot more effective and unique. I used shallow depth of field in this image more than the left image, and you can see how pin sharp my model looks. Using depth of field well was my main motive in this task because seeing examples of street fashion photography, it was used very frequently and it just makes the difference.