7. Looking back at your preliminary task (the school magazine), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

 

Looking back at my preliminary task, I can see various things that I have learnt while constructing my main task. The main thing I have learnt is how to effectively use Photoshop, when I began this task I didn’t know how to use Photoshop at all, but after creating the magazine and watching tutorials online, I now know how to work with several aspects of the program and would be able to use them confidently if I needed to in the future. For example, to make certain pieces of text more prominent, I know how to add an outline or a drop shadow to them. Also, I know how to change the brightness/contrast of an image to make it colour of the picture improve. 

Another thing I learned is about taking photos. Without good lighting, pictures look very unprofessional. When I did my preliminary task, I didn’t really know this. But as I completed my final task I realised this and planned my photo shoot accordingly.

The camera I used to take my images.

Whilst on my photo shoot in Central London with my models, I encountered some problems regarding lighting. In my brainstorm, I stated that I would use high-key natural lighting, but when I took some of my pictures, it was too dark. I knew that pictures in magazines had professional lighting and that pictures were usually bright and clear so readers could easily the focus of the image (in this case, the band members).

Picture with bad lighting

So to rectify this problem, I moved my models to a different location, where the lighting was more suited to my camera. 

Picture with better lighting.

 

Despite learning a little about photography and taking good photographs for my magazine, I think the thing that I have learned most is about the use of desktop publishing, prior to this task I hadn't used any professional software before, and now I am confident of my skills when using such a program.