Aperture Pictures

Top end digital SLR’s allow you to control both the aperture and the shutter settings, digital SLR’s let you simulate film speeds by setting the ISO rating. A cameras aperture is the hole behind the shutter that allows the light into the camera. This light then reacts with cells at the back of the camera to form a visual image. The size of the aperture is determined by using the F Stop settings. Most cameras allow you to set the aperture. The F stop 22 is the smallest and F3.5 is the largest. Controlling the aperture width determines a property known as depth of field. A pictures depth of field refers to the depth of focus offered in a photograph. Some photographs like to limit the depth of field rendering only the subject of the picture in focus. Large apertures enable limited depth of field. Some photographs have large depth fields which keeps large areas in focus. Small aperture openings enable lots of depth of field.

 This is one of the aperture pictures, this one has the blur in the background and was a successful shot.

This was a picture that didnt work too well, there was no blur in the background and the focus wasnt on the clock.

This was my first attempt at taking the picture, as you can see it is all blurred and it doesnt have focus on anything.

Final Product Pictures

Front Cover

 

Double Page Spread

Weekly Production Monitoring Blog 4/04/11

This week, I worked independently and at college to get the production finished.

Day 1: I used the frees i had on Monday to work in the Media room on my product, i focused on finishing the front cover. I made sure that the fonts were right, the banners were in place and the main picture was in place.

Day 2: I again used my frees to work on it and i also had the lesson and an after college session. I used my frees to continue with the front cover. I edited the bin, i drew the mouth and the eyes on to the bin. I also drew one of the arms free hand so that it was ready to fill in with the colour and then duplicate to the other side. I used the lesson to start and re-arrange the layout of the double page spread.

Day 3: I used the lesson and frees again to continue with the front cover. Today i concentrated on making sure that the bin was completed and done so that it could be merged together. I then started to add in other images for the posters etc. starting to fill the page up. I also decided to change the colour of the background and the image using the auto colour tool.

Day 4: I used the lesson and another after college session to make sure that the front cover was finished. I had to make sure that all the text was in the right places and i was happy with the placement of images, sell lines etc. I then could focus completely on the double page spread. I managed to edit the image and place it into InDesign for the background.

Day 5: Today was the final day for making the prouduct. I placed the titles into the document, making sure i was happy with the placement of them around the image. I also added in another image and a couple of quotes so that the page didn't look so empty. As well as this, i added in a news box and the page numbers. Finally, i made the text boxes and i placed the final article into the boxes, making sure that i was happy with it and that it read well before saving it, adding the front cover in and uploading it onto Moodle.

I feel as though everything went pretty smoothly conisdering i was pushed for time to get it finished. The main problem i had was editing the images or backgrounds to make them look more professional. For example, when changing the colour of the front cover background, i forgot that when i was cloning it in the first place, i did it in seperate layers so i had to auto colour all of these instead of just one as a whole. This wasn't a major problem, it was just time consuming meaning that i was pushed for time to work on the rest of the little touch ups that needed to be done.

This week, as well as using Photoshop and learning some new skills on there, I took some pictures and learnt how the lighting and positions affect the pictures. I learnt how to use the brush tool in Photoshop and i learnt how to use the magic selection tool to create the contrast between block colours. I used these skills whilst creating the mouth.

Targets:

Next week i need to do my evaluations.

Contingencies:

The main problem that can occur next week is that i don't get all the blogs etc. done. If i don't get all of my work finished by next week, it means that it won't be marked. I intend to put a lot of time in next week so that it all gets finished.

Downloaded fonts

Here is examples of the fonts i downloaded and used for my final product. There was 1 font that was used the most and that was the Stressberat Distort. This font was used on both the front page and in the double page spread. 'Official the best value! music weekly' 'We Are The Ocean.....' Plus....' 'News' are all in this font.  I managed to make it look different by using different colours, effects and stroke sizes. Another font i used was called Knife Fight, i used this for the main title...'SMASHED' i used this to create a rebellious attitude and feel to the magazine. The last font i used was called Broken 74, i used this for the title of the double page spread... 'RECYCLING SAVED MY LIFE' i used this to create, ironically a broken feel to the page.

I downloaded all of the fonts from www.dafont.com, i searched through the different themes which range from cartoon to horror, gothic to techno, foreign to dingbats etc. There was a lot of fonts to look through and choose from but i decided to predominantly look in the horror section as i wanted to create a sort of fearful feel to the magazine. Once i had downloaded the font i wanted, i had to install it and then cut/paste it into my documents so that it would save and then also into the actual fonts folder in my computer. Once i had placed it into the correct document, it was then ready to use in the relevant programme.

To make the fonts stand out and look more professional, i added drop shadows and strokes. On the front page, the drop shadow size was the same on every single font so that it didn't look messed up, i had to create it to some form of professional standard. I also changed the stroke colour so that they would look different and stand out from each other, alternating the colours, using a 3 colour wheel so that it didn't look too messy or crowded. For the double page spread, i used a large stroke on the 'we are the ocean...' bit so that it would look as though it had been almost splattered onto the page, giving off the effect that i intended, i didn't want it to look too formal otherwise my target audience wouldn't be interested.

Final Skills Audit

AS Media Production

Technical Skills Audit Print Production

Name: Steph Shepherd                         Tutor group: 1.08            Date: 8th April 2011

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	x		I used the focus when using the camera for my pictures; I focused in on the bin and the model to get a crisp picture.
Shutter Speed	x		I used the shutter speed when taking the movement shots outside. When the person was jumping around and running, I tried using different shutter speeds so that it would give different types of picture.
Aperture control	x		We did an exercise during class time on aperture. I took pictures of an object on a table and used the aperture control to get different effects in the back ground, blurred out or in focus.
ISO Control	x		When I was taking pictures of the initial project, the images inside were to dark and so I had to adjust the ISO Control so that the lighting was brighter meaning that it gave off a clearly picture. This was only to a basic level.
A tripod	x		I used a tripod when taking pictures of the objects for the aperture settings. I adjusted the tripod a little but only at a basic level.
External flash	x		When taking general pictures, I used the external flash to create a brighter image when the lighting was to dark.
Self timer facility	x		I have used the self timer facility on my own digital camera, like I said in the previous document. There wasn’t a part during this project when it was necessary to use this feature, so again, I have only used this to a basic level.
Light meter	x		I have used the light meter to determine aperture settings. This was when taking my pictures but only to a basic level.
Composition grids	x		I used the composition grids when I wanted to position my image directly in the centre. I used the grids to help me find the centre and then move myself into a position where it was possible to take the picture and make it look good. I only used this to a basic level as I only used them once.

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?	x		I have used Photoshop to edit all of my images and make my actual front cover; this was to more than a basic level, I feel as though I used it quite effectively.
Text control	x		I used the text control to edit the text that I had imported and make sure that it was edited to the correct size and shape etc. Again, this was to more than a basic level.
Filters	x		I used the filters to create the effects on the basic shapes that were put into my document. This was only to a basic level but in my opinion gave off a good effect.
Brushes	x		I used the brushes in Photoshop to create the mouth, eyes and bin on my final product. I used them to go over the outlines of a drawn mouth and then to draw the actual arms free-hand. I think I used these to more than a basic level as the results looked quite effective and to a good standard.
Layers	x		Layers were used throughout the project. Every time I added something new into the document, it created a new layer. I also merged layers once I was happy with it and knew that it didn’t need any more editing.
Opacity control	x		I used the opacity control when deciding how dark I wanted certain parts of the object to be. I only used this control to a basic level as it wasn’t needed much for what I was doing.
Shape creation	x		I used the shape creation tool to create the banners, the poster advertisements and the boxes for NEWS etc. I also used the shape tool to create an initial shape that I could filter to create another, original style shape that looked like a paint splash for example. I think I used this feature to more than a basic level as it was one of the main features that I used.
Brightness and contrast control	x		I used the brightness and contrast control when deciding what looked best for the main pictures on my product. I decided to make the picture of Adam on the front page brighter so I increased it and then changed the contrast to match and make it look better. I think that I used this to just over a basic level as I didn’t use it much, however when I did use it, I managed to control it successfully without any major mistakes that couldn’t be undone.
Gradients	x		I used the gradient tool when testing what background I wanted for the double page spread. I decided to test out the colours in Photoshop before InDesign as it is a lot easier to use and is much more flexible. I only used this tool in Photoshop to a basic level as I decided that I wanted a different background so it wasn’t relevant for me to use anymore.
Load selection features	x		I used the load selection features to select a load to work within the document. For example, when I wanted to work with the bin, I selected the parts I wanted and then moved them to another document so that I could work with them separately from the backgrounds and other features etc.
Feathering	x		I used the feathering tool to smooth out the bin when I initially started making the project. First I had a picture of a green bin that wouldn’t cut smoothly so I used the feathering tool to smooth it out and get rid of some of the lines. I only used this to a very basic level as I didn’t feel as though it was necessary to use it anymore.
Colour curves adjustment	x		I adjusted the colour of the arms I had drawn. I felt as though the curves on them needed to be a different colour so that they stood out a little more. I did however, undo this as I felt as though they looked better at the start rather than after I had used this feature. Again, I only used this feature to a very basic level.
Resolution setting control		x	I didn’t have to use this feature whilst making anything in Photoshop this time.
Magnetic lasso, polygon lasso tool	x		I used this feature a lot whilst using Photoshop. It was one of the main features and one of the most useful ones. I used it to cut out most of the objects because, unlike the selection tool, you can control exactly where you want it to cut by clicking the spot. Seeing as though I used this feature a lot, I think I managed to use it to way above a basic level. This was proved when I could cut out and use the feature efficiently and produce a smooth product.
Cropping tool	x		I used the cropping tool when making the poster advertisements on the front page. I selected the images that I wanted and then cropped them down to a size which I thought was appropriate. I think I used this feature to more than a basic level but still not perfectly.
Clone tool	x		I used the clone tool to clone the colour off the picture backdrop to create the background for the front cover. I think I used this quite well considering I managed to make a background out of one image and not make it obvious.
Retouch tool	x		I used the retouch tool to retouch the colour of the bins arms. This was because when I initially used the brush tool, I didn’t zoom in and so when I did, I found that there was a lot of gaps etc. I think I used this feature to a basic level.

Print Skills Audit

AS Media Production

Technical Skills Audit Print Production

Name: Steph Shepherd                                 Tutor group:1.08              Date: Sept 2010

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		X
Shutter Speed		X
Aperture control		X
ISO Control		X
A tripod		X
External flash		X
Self timer facility	X		I have basic knowledge on how to use this facility... I have used it on my basic digital camera and used it in various places e.g. On holiday.
Light meter		X
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
Have you aver used Photoshop ever before?		X
Text control		X
Filters		X
Brushes		X
Layers		X
Opacity control		X
Shape creation		X
Brightness and contrast control		X
Gradients		X
Load selection features		X
Feathering		X
Colour curves adjustment		X
Resolution setting control		X
Magnetic lasso, polygon lasso tool		X
Cropping tool		X
Clone tool		X
Retouch tool		X