Weekly monitoring blog 12/01/12

This week I have done my call sheet and both of my article planning sheets. I didn’t really understand what I was meant to with these sheets as I was ill the previous week when they were explained to us. This is the only problem that I had with this week’s work.  I didn’t meet my aims this week as I missed a lot of lessons due to being ill, this meant that I had to catch up on the missed work. Tuesdays lesson was my first day back to I had to catch up with my teachers on what I had missed and what I had to do. After this I started on my first article planning sheet.  The next lesson I continued with this and managed to get them both complete, that just left me with my call sheet that I did at home. I don’t think that my client would be happy with my progress but due to my circumstances I think that they would be sympathetic. Next week i hope to be up to date with my work and on with the creation of my first DPS.

Front Cover

 Here is my front cover, I think That with more time I could improve it in some ways. The text for a start need sto be bigger as it is quite hard to read and not very eye catching. I would so change the lighting as it is too harsh, I love the colour, it give s off a very healthy and refeshing effect.

Double Page Spread

I’m really happy with how this came out, I think I could change some of the text errors and some of the problems with the spacing but other than that I think it look like I wanted it to. The bit I like the most I the top tops with the black rectangle off the side, I think that looks professional.I also like the image, I think that because it is so big it will catch my target audience’s eyes and make them want to read the article.

Skills Audit

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	/		I did this in both AS Media and GCSE Graphics, it took me a while to get used to it but after I had got the hang of changing the focus to match the zoom then I found it much easier to use, I ended up using it in my final production as it gave me greater control over how I took the image.
Shutter Speed	/		I used shutter speed for the first time in AS Media, I found it hard to get used to, but after I had used it a couple of times I became much more comfortable with it. We had to a blog about I that is what really made me see how much you could change with editing the shutter speed.
Aperture control	/		I have used this once in AS Media, it let me adapt what I could see in the depth of field. Other than that I haven’t used it, I would like to progress in this in the future and develop my skills so I fully understand how to use it.
ISO Control		/
A tripod	/		A tripod is a great tool for making an image completely still; I think that with it you can make an image 10 times better. I used one first in GCSE Graphics to take the majority of my images, I then used it again in AS Media. A tripod is perfect for taking low shutter speed images as it means the camera isn’t moving.
External flash	/		I only used this once and that was for my final piece in AS Media, I don’t understand how it works, but it can create different directions of light, meaning is you want side lighting then the flash from the side will give that effect, where as if you use camera flash you can only really get front lighting.
Self timer facility		/
Light meter		/
Composition grids		/

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
Have you aver used Photoshop ever before?	/		I first used Photoshop in GCSE Graphics, I found that it was a really good product that allows you to edit an image you any level that you are willing to take it to. I used it again in AS Media and AS Graphics, I have developed my skill and found out new techniques that make editing much easier.
Text control	/		Although I have used text control, I feel like I have made my skills much stronger and tuned to editing on Photoshop because of AS Media and AS Graphics. There are so many ways you can edit everything on Photoshop so you can never know everything, I found out about the text wrap tool which lets you edit the size and shape of the text.
Filters	/		Although I have used Most of the filters on Photoshop before I think that AS Media and AS Graphics have helped my make better decisions on which looks better for different occasions and purposes. Since I have started these “ AS courses  I have started you use different filter for example the Emboss filter which changes the image to bulky likes that define the image.
Brushes	/		Although I have used all of the brushes that Photoshop has to offer there are always more online or you can even make your own brushes, I learned to do this in AS Media and AS Graphics. Having this skill means I can edit image in new ways and create different effects with different brushes.
Layers	/		Although I have used layers before there  are so many new thing that I have learned about them in AS Media and AS Graphics. I now know how to make a sheet over the layer, which means you can cut out small bit that you don’t want in your image without having to fiddle with the magic wand tool or other selection tools.
Opacity control	/		Although I have used the opacity control before there different ways you can use it that I hadn’t done before, I learnt to do this in AS Media and AS Graphics. You can put images behind others to emphasis their meaning, the opacity control lets you take most of the strength from the image so that it  doesn’t dominate the image.
Shape creation	/		Although I have used shape Creation before I developed my skills in with this tool in AS Media and AS Graphics. This tool is great when you are making a magazine, you can make funky looking shapes that can be sued to emphasis some areas.
Brightness and contrast control	/		Although I have used brightness and contrast control before I think that I have used them much more in AS Media and AS Graphics. This tool is essential for making an image look good, you can change how dark someone looks, you can make their skin and hair more appealing just by editing the strength and weakness of this tool.
Gradients	/		Although I have used Gradients I think that I have made my skills more developed in AS Media and AS Graphics. The gradient tool can be used for may different things, you can create shading with it or you can give something depth which get people thing about the image.
Load selection features	/		Although I have used load selection features before in GCSE Graphics and then again in AS Media and AS Graphics.
Feathering	/		i have used feathering before in GCSE Graphics then again in AS Media and AS Graphics. This skill is useful for when you are trying to make an image rounded and fade into another , I used this when I was making my final product to make images blend together better.
Colour curves adjustment	/		Although I have used curves before I now see that you cant make a good image without it, thanks to AS Media and AS Graphics. For an image of a person you need ot create the perfect ‘S’ shape, this will give you darkens in some areas and light in others.
Resolution setting control	/		Although I have used Resolution setting control GCSE Graphics and again in AS Media and AS Graphics, it means you can make a small image big without it being pixelated.
Magnetic lasso, polygon lasso tool	/		Although I have used Magnetic lasso and polygon lasso tool before I think my skill using them have developed greatly from AS Media and AS Graphics. I have used these tools in my final piece as they are he best for selecting large sections of image that you want to edit or get rid of.
Cropping tool	/		Although I have used cropping before in GCSE Graphics and again in AS Media and AS Graphics, I used it in my final piece to get rid of unwanted sections of image.
Clone tool	/		Although I have used the clone tool before it is my favourite tool for editing images, the clone tool can be used to make any image look clean and fresh. AS Media and AS Graphics have help me to develop my skills in this tool, I now use it in nearly every image I make.
Retouch tool	/		Although I have used this tool before in GCSE Graphics I thin that I have made my ability to use this a lot better. AS Media and AS Graphics showed me how to use it properly  and to give the right effect

Equipment Evaluation

What equipment have you used over the past year?	Advantages	Disadvantages	What did I create with it? What features did I use?
Photoshop	This software is amazing at editing photos; it gives you a huge amount of variation of what you can do to a single image. Another advantage is that you can very easily take a 300 dpi image and put it onto Photoshop this is what most cameras take in.	Thought Photoshop is good at editing images it doesn’t work as well at editing large amount of text this is because once you rasterize a text layer then you can’t edit what it says. Photoshop can also get quite complicated, there is so much to do and so much to experiment with that it is hard to know what you are doing.	I’m Photoshop I edited all my images, made my final product and made small blocks of text to see which I liked the best. I used many different features in Photoshop, mainly the hue/saturation as I think it gives a good selection of different colours and shades. Another tool I used a lot was the magic wand tool, this lets you select a certain area and works of the lighting of your picture, it’s very useful taking out little bits or even big bits of unwanted image out.
InDesign	InDesign is brilliant for editing big blocks of text, this is because you can make text boxes and edit the text whenever you need to, there is also a function that lets you take the text from a word document  an place it into the text boxes. Another advantage it that you can set how big and how spaced you want your page, you can put in columns and margins to makes sure your product is lined up.	The main problem with InDesign is that it is rubbish at handling images, there are no tools that let you change how an image looks. Another problem is that it is really hard to use, especially if you are used to Photoshop, there are so many different ways you can do a task and it is really hard to get used to the different controls.	I used InDesign for my double page spread, I used most of its features, but the best ones were the tool that allows you to add a word document and take the text from box to box, this is very good when you need to inset a large block of text. Another good feature is the page set up one. It means you can choose how many columns you want and how big you want the page, I think that it is a very good tool for making the perfect double page spread.
Cannon E350D Camera	This camera is very good for taking images in different environments; you can change so many setting and get a lot of different effects. This camera has a 1 gb flash card meaning it can  store up to 260 photos on at any one time. You can chose between manual and automatic focus meaning you can get a huge variation of shots depending on how you take them.	The camera is quite big meaning it is really hard to move around, not to mention the cost of it. It is very risky to take it for a location shoot. Also these big cameras aren’t the up to professional spec, they are only 8 mega pixels. Most professionals wouldn’t go any lower that 12 mega pixels, so that they can print clearly on A3.	I used this camera to take all of my images. I think that it is good because it has so many different features, I really like the shutter speed and the quick viewing tool. The shutter speed feature lets you decide what kind of image you want.  You can have a still or a motion blur you can make the image dark or light, it’s really your choice. The quick view feature  lets you look at the what you have taken instantly after you have shot it, this means you can change your settings to make the next image even better.
Olympus OM10 SLR	This camera is much smaller and easier to carry around. The images are also put onto a film meaning they are really good quality.	The main problem with this kind of camera is that they take much longer to get eh results, you don’t know if you have taken a good or bad picture. Another problem is that it is easy to make a mistake on the film as you have to put it in the right way, there are some many thinks that can go wrong with it.	I didn’t use this camera in my production as I think that it isn’t as good as the Cannon. The main reason I decided not to uses it is because of the way you have to see your image, they are shot on to a film which has to be developed, where this is very good quality, it takes a long time to see the end result
800 watt Arrilite redheads x2 continuous lighting	This kind of lighting is very good at giving the photographer an actual view of what they are taking. It doesn’t really require any training how to use it, all you need to know is where you want to point it. They are very easy to put up and also last a long time.	The main problem with this kind of lighting is that they are nearly impossible to work under, they heat up really fast and the constant stream of light burns your eyes. For this reason professionals tend not to uses them.	I didn’t uses this type of lighting as I think it harms the model you are working on too much. Although it does give you a clear idea on what lighting you are going to get, it prevents your model from working to their full potential which means the shoot won’t be as good as it could be.
Bowens softbox and flash lighting equipment	Lighting like this really good because it gives you complete control over lighting.  It also means that you can use some cool filters like honey combs and coloured filter.  These also don’t get hot, and can be looked at without hurting your eyes	For this kind of lighting you need a light meter to makes sure you have the right amount of light. Another problem is that they can get complicated as they are meant to be used in professional shoots.	This lighting is much better than the Arrilite as it is a much softer light, it means your model can work under the light comfortably. Another feature I really liked is the fact that the light covers everything, meaning that shadows are lightened and everything is softened.