1st Set of Photographs for Contents Page

Following on from my research, I had a brief idea of what I wanted to re create in my 1ST PHOTO SHOOT for my contents page however, wasn't entirely sure of exactly what I wanted opposed to having a clear idea in my head like I did with the front page, consequently meaning this photo shoot would almost be an experimental one.

I used a completely different model BETH opposed to using another or same male model DAVID she represents the style of my target audience and had that edgy look I set out for. However, I emphasised her natural indie look with the use of MAKE UP and INDIE CLOTHING  making it more apparent to the audience.

I wanted to try and keep with the overall 'BLACK AND WHITE SPECIAL EDITION' however, I also experimented with colour pictures aswell as

These are just a few of the photos I took, mostly the decent ones however, I did take a lot more as featured below in the print screen shot.

CONCLUSION OF 1ST PHOTO SHOOT;
This photo shoot proved to be not as successful as my front page photo shoot. The overall appearance of the model wasn't well defined and did not reflect my research as well as it should have.

Problems Included;

• The clothing did not represent a true indie model as the cardigan in the pictures comes fairly bobbly and as if it's not of good quality. 
• The earrings overpower her face and draw immediate attention to that part because of the size. I DO NOT WANT THIS the attention should be drawn to the overall face.
• All of the backgrounds used in this don't work either as they look as if I have just placed the model in front of a convenient background and not thought it out and what would contrast against the clothing and so forth.

However;

• I will keep the make up used on the model as the does mirror my research and it gives the face a very striking look, very over powering and alluring the image I am trying to portray.

Extra Photo Research Contents Page

Continuing my research further, I have concentrated into the physical appearance of my model as I won't be using the same model on my front page as I want to show variety and a different look. Also I purposely wanted to use a male model and female model so that my magazine appeals to both sexes, therefore, making it a unisex magazine, something I think is entirely conventional as it attracts more of an audience/readers meaning more people are more likely to be attracted to the magazine and purchase it.

The model I will be using for the contents page is female model, however, she has a very 'tomboyish' look about her with dark and short hair. I didn't want to ignore this masculine look, but simply embrace and emphasis as this can evidently be a very strong and powerful style. The research I have done is for the make up I wish to use and the type of clothing she is going to be in, all being particularly important to create that overall 'look'

This band from the 80's Duran Duran is what spurred on part of the inspiration for my models styling, although they are all male the clothing they are wearing is what I would look to dress my model in; creating a very 'boyish' over sized appearance. Using the big suit jackets with shoulder pads to create to enhance the overall style, I'll probably use a white shirt with a tie or a bow tie with perhaps braces, although it seems to be work office clothing it will be worn quite scruffy and laid back, more like a fashion than a uniform. I will preferably want my model to also wear suit trousers, with rolled them rolled up with either heels, or brogues, to put the 'edge' on the overall look.

Annie Lennox in t he 80's is another one of my inspirations for my ideas of the appearance I want my model to have. The makeup also used on her face is the exact style i want to use; a fairly pale face with bright red lips contrasting against the white of her face, making the red seem even more prominent, and lastly, very dark, smokey eye makeup, accentuating towards the outer eye. I want the make up to be quite dramatic as I want it to contrast with the boyish look, so there is effectively an equal balance of masculinity and femininity however, yet creating this overall unique look. The clothing is also a perfect example of a woman being in very male associated clothing, with the chunky tie, white buttoned up shirt and large over sized blazer, however depicting this striking look that I wish to re create.

This image represents the edginess and rough side that I wish to bring to this look, It will alike the make up contrast with the very formal style of the blazer, shirt and trousers. Balancing out and creating a unique image, this picture to the left is what people wore as the 'New Romantics' a very punk, rocky and rugged style, an era where people began to experiment with their look and be almost very outrageous opposed to the formal/girly style before hand. The hair on this model resembles the hair I want to recreate on my model, very slick on one side but quite wild and messy on the other, however, I probably won't cover her face with the hair as I want mostly all of her face to be exposed. Although this is a black and white picture you can still clearly see that this model has dramatic make up as well, as mentioned previously something I will definitely use on my model, defining her face and bringing out her best features.

Detailed Contents Page Research

My model has got a very confident/edgy look about herself that placed in front of the camera her look would appear striking enough to deliver a decent photo however, certain poses need to be considered in order to make this delivery of the photo even better and even more professional.

Because this photo is featuring on the contents page, certain aspects of photography need to be considered. The main feature is for the main photograph to not be landscape nevertheless, I will experiment with landscape shots as if a decent picture comes out from it photo manipulation may solve the problem of where to fit it on the page. I have a variety of poses in mind however, these are some of a few visual pictures. Again I want it to appear quite indie and casual like the rest of the magazine.

This pose is one of many I will consider getting my model to do, the effortless action of having her hands up in her hair or above her shoulders portrays that casual style I wish to highlight.


The photo to the right is a close up of the models face almost in profile accentuating her features and capturing her make up with her hand to her face. I will most definitely try to experiment with this type of pose, perhaps not exactly the same but the same concept and in black and white to really illustrate a powerful pose simply through the models face.

This body stance is very simplistic however, I chose it  as ofcourse this would be another experimental pose to work with. This a very powerful pose which is something I want my model to depict; a sense of a casual powerfulness. The hands aren't just placed on the hips at the side, they have been drawn round to the front almost clenching at the waist, emphasising the body and the model physique.  

Specific Contents Page Research

Moving onto specific research, again this will enable me to determine exactly what I want my contents page to look like. Having specific research gives a more detailed outline to what I might definitely use on my design as it is more concentrated on the genre and style of my INDIE/Alternative magazine.

This is one of my favourite contents page designs, it uses the layout of having three main columns. The 'band index' is most definitely something I will use on my contents page aswell as the bold headings on the right alongside the well uniformed text beneath them. However, I will experiment with the placing of these and change it accordingly to what looks best. Like this contents page I will also use just the one main picture that will be the main focus of the whole page. Another feature is that of the subscription at the bottom of the page I want to take a snapshot of my front page and insert it on the contents page and relate it to the information. Nevertheless, something that is not included on this page is a message from the editor, something that I may consider inserting. Everything in this magazine is the basis of what I would want to include in my own contents page, however, ofcourse I will make it my own, and unique.    

This contents page is one of the ideas I initially had in mind, keeping the page again very simplistic and having one main enlarged photograph of a headshot, with the feature column alongside the photo continuing all the way down. This has a very particular colour scheme; black, white and red which is something I will most definitely incorporate into my design, as it shows continuity and makes it feel very fluent and co-ordinated, bringing the entire page together with a sense of completeness. However, because the image is so big it doesn't leave much room for other text, and I particularly want to include quite a variety of pages, features messages and so forth, therefore, I will most likely have a much smaller image, that will have the text surrounding it.

General Contents Page Research

I then began on the contents research, the same as my front cover research, all in the aid of helping me to design my contents page, giving a general idea of the design/layouts and the overall codes and conventions that contents pages hold. This research will act as the foundation and guidelines when I come to designing my own, and make it look as professional as possible.

This particular layout is one that I would most definitely consider using on my contents page due to its simplistic yet effective layout. having all the writing down the left hand column makes the page easy to follow, as a contents should be easy to understand as the reader may want to look up a specific page with ease. The other two pictures gives the page variety and a visual dimension, all pictures accompanied with the page number enlarges to make it bold and stand out to the reader. However, the writing down the side of the page is all a bit disjointed and doesn't give off a sense of unity or a list as it should. There are too many different fonts and it is hard to separate the subheadings to the text. Using this I will make sure there is a clear differentiation between text and headings and make sure that they stand out and are even clearer.

This contents page is slightly different to any ordinary one as it doesn't have more than one picture, or a column that has a list of pages to refer to. This style is very chic, and unique as it consists of one main picture opposed to many creating all the focus onto this model. However, again the list of pages on is very few and mine will have to consist of quite a lot ranging all the way up to 100, this example is like a description and in some areas of the page it looks empty as if something should be in its place with my contents page I want it to be fairly full with more than me picture therefore, will not be using this layout/design.

Construction of Front Page

In order to gain the final product, the front cover of the magazine needs to go through a series of processes to reach the finished cover. Manipulation of images being a major aspect of this process, to reach that 'perfect look' on the model as they are the main focus therefore, have to be striking and appeal to the audience. Additionally there are other process that need to be undertaken, codes and conventions that you would expect to see on a front cover of a magazine such as a feature bubble and so forth, all to create that realistic cover.

To begin with I started editing the background of my chosen image in Photoshop. The backdrop in the distance is a line of houses and trees, and where my model has been placed they all appear to be going through his neck, creating a defined line between the floor and the sky, when in fact I want the image to have a gradual blend from the sky into the grass on the floor. All because I do not want any distractions, I want all the focus to be on the model; nothing else. With this I started editing the background with the 'cloning tool' blending the white of the sky into the grass giving it a clean cut blend without the distraction.

With the same 'cloning tool' I began editing minor faults on the face i.e dark circles under the eyes, I have edited the left eye and not the right to show the definite difference on the left, and how minor fixing of these details can make a huge improvement on the right. The final part of the face that was edited using the cloning tool was simply removing the mole above my models lip. Although it is not a downfall of the appearance, my research suggests that the models face has to be completely clear with no imperfections and so forth.  

                                           

I then moved onto other aspects of the magazine that would be featured; in particular this 'feature circle' created in order to make whatever is written inside it stand out, and draw the readers eye to it. I firstly, drew out a circle and filled it with a deep red to match with my black, white and red colour scheme. Then to make it stand out and look slightly raised I put a 'Bevel and Emboss' effect to give it that specific look and then added a 'Satin' effect to create the very smooth and lightened texture. Lastly, I simply added the required text and chose different fonts that appealed to me all in black to stand out against the red.

I then began to pay a lot of attention to minor details that almost complete the magazine, finishing off its overall appearance. I created a banner by drawing out a box along the bottom of the page and filling it with grey. Then layering the text over the top

I then started to concentrate on the top left hand corner of the magazine another aspect of the cover that completes the overall 'look' I wanted to create a sectioned of part that will contain a small amount of information. I initially began with drawing out a rectangular box, placing it where necessary and simply filled the box with the same red of the circle mentioned previously, to show a continuous theme

I followed this with cropping the rectangular box in half diagonally to create this upside down isosceles, almost like a banner has covering the corner

To make the corner banner appear more life like, I used an effect on this, the same effect I used on the circle; 'Bevel and Emboss' and 'Satin' again following the continuity of keeping to a theme, and because of the chosen red colour against the black and white, these aspects of the magazine particularly stand out, therefore, draw the readers eyes to this features.

In the previous picture the title of the magazine was initially placed behind the corner banner, undermining how much it should effectively stand out, therefore, resolving this I made sure the title was in front of the banner and had a fairly thick white outline increasing the number of the stroke highlighting the title and making it stand out against the red and across the models forehead as the title did blend into the hair due to the same colouring.

Lastly, I completed this banner by adding the text inside it; 'Special Black+White Addition' I wanted this specific information to be shown to the reader as even though it is apparent everything is black and white, it is still very unusual for a magazine to be this colour scheme, as usually they are in colour, my research supports my colour scheme decision, however, it was very difficult to find this research, and as it may seem out of the ordinary I'm hoping that it will attract the reader due to how unique it is and inform them on this special edition.

I continued the development into my magazine with adding particular sub headings that would suit the Indie/Alternative genre and my target audience. This simple phrase 'Hot up + coming festivals this summer' I didn't make the font fancy or unreadable, simply to stand out against the dark background, as a result of this I used white to make it even bolder. I also increased the height of the word 'This' of course emphasising the actual word and adding a sense of variation in height 

I continued this similar style throughout all my headings, with varying the height on certain words/sentences. I kept the simplicity of the black and white, however, making it bold and underlining 'The Vaccines' and with 'The future indie success' I filled the background of the box white accentuating the black against the white making it stand out.

With this particular heading I followed the same steps of all the other headings with the same font, colour, and so forth however, the only difference is that I purposely increased the size of the '50' placing it behind the text but also making it look as if its part of the subheading despite its height difference. I did this to purely for design purpose and to emphasis the the extent of the feature within the magazine, that will hopefully appeal to the reader. To make the differentiation between the 'Top Albums' and '50' I filled the '50' in white and increased the outline width in grey so that it didn't merge in with the other text 

This straight forward text is different in colouring opposed to the other headings, filling part of it red however, highlighting the music band in another colour; another technique in making a particular word stand out.

Lastly, the final heading I edited was one of the main focus titles. I initially used the same font, colour however, changed the height of the'Reading Festival' to pinpoint the important part of the heading. Alongside this was tag line that goes with the title of the magazine, this font is slightly different; its the same font as the title, showing continuity and similarity

between the two also using italics. This didn't need any further development however the 'Reading Festival Line Up' does, as I want it to jump off the page.To do this I added a drop shadow, creating a sense of light, dimension and overall BOLDNESS to it. In the effects box I can choose and vary the effects, for example, making the drop shadow more prominent or a slight shadow, nevertheless, this feature gives you the ability to experiment with the appearance of fonts. As seen below.