Daniel Thompson created a fake photography business for his final major project. He conducted primary and secondary research to inform his concept. For production, he created a business card, photography portfolio, and website. Some technical problems arose, such as his Adobe subscription lapsing and car issues preventing planned photoshoots, but he was able to adapt his portfolio focus to nature photography. Overall his planning and research supported a cohesive multi-product concept, though some goals had to be modified due to unforeseen difficulties.

1. FMP Evaluation
Daniel Thompson

2. Primary Research
• Strengths:
My primary research was very effective in preparing me for the type of work I would be creating in the future. I was
able to pick apart specific aspects of print, website design and business cards. I had looked at different types of
magazines and news websites and explained their unique features which set them aside from other products. Much
more subtle differences and features such as fonts, colour schemes and language used. It helped me gain a better
understanding of various things such as what colours fit best with one another and what fonts are suitable for the style
of magazine I am creating. Another strength of this primary research was the context section. By analyzing other
products in the same area as my planned one, I was able to outline the basic and advanced principles that my future
FMP should have to be successful. Prior to completing my research for FMP, I had made a survey using the website
'Survey Monkey' to ask questions concerning my project's design and creative choices. Ultimately, I was able to find out
peoples reactions to my current thoughts and choices and change how I approached each aspect of the products. To
make this easier for myself, I analyzed the answer of each question as to pick out key findings such as my audience's
response to advertisements and how they react to different subjects.
To make this research even better, I could have put a bigger focus on the surveys I had created. Not necessarily
changing any of the questions but instead creating three different surveys – each about a different product I was
thinking of making. This would have given me more questions to use and analyze and I could have gained an even
better understanding about my audience's preferences and thoughts on specific designs and aspects of my products.
Also, to broaden my knowledge on existing products and the aspects featured in them all, I could have picked some
more examples of magazines and, adverts, websites and business cards to take a look at. In my research, I simply chose
to use one of each type of product meaning I was getting the minimum amount of information on each piece of work.

3. Secondary Research
• Strengths:
The biggest strength of my secondary research was the media packs that I was able to find and analyze. They
were found by using the online search engine, Google. From these packs I was able to gain information on a lot
of different aspects of professional and successful photography magazines. The information gathered from
these packs were not about what the audience likes the most but instead more about the audience themselves
Instead. I learnt about the audience gender gap, the average age and even the amount of time they have/had
been interested in photography. This helped me form my image of the audience even more and added to my
primary research plentifully. I also managed to find a list amongst the media packs which showed me the
amount of people buying each different product. Thanks to this information I was able to prioritize the most
popular product type (which was the magazine idea in my case) to appeal to the largest audience group.
Another good part of my secondary research that helped me to progress the way I did was analysis of other
people's surveys that had been conducted. This built on my own surveys of which I had analyzed in my Primary
Research PowerPoint and gave me answers to questions that I most likely would never have even thought of
asking.
To better my Secondary Research work, I would look at even more surveys on SurveyMonkey and maybe on
other poll/questionnaire websites and analyze them too. I was happy with the amount of information thati got
from the work I had done but the more information the better. Going into slightly more detail with the
analyzing would have greatly benefitted my research too. I was using an identical set of questions for each
survey answer I got to analyze the work but thinking of questions specific to the particular survey answer
would definitely have given me better information.

4. Final Concept
My concept never changed throughout my FMP and I stuck to the original ideas I had which meant that I could
use all of my work and not have to disregard any information or aspects of my products. My concept was to
create a full 'fake' photography business complete with advertisements, a functioning website and business
cards for further advertising. I chose to do this as it would give me a variety of tasks to do, each different from
the last and interesting to me too. For example, my business card bared a more creative side to it with my using
Photoshop and creating my own patterns and logos to add to it. It inspired me to think more creatively and
experiment more – great for warming me up for other products in the future. Another example would be my
website. This product (ironically) had me traveling around more for a period of time to gather a nice,
professional looking portfolio to feature on the website design as it would be the main focus of the work. It also
required me to look up tutorials and interesting features both on Google and Youtube, extending my
knowledge on the subject.
I also made a magazine product which was not affiliated with my fake business, instead coming from a random
fictional magazine brand but featuring adverts from it instead to show the audience how my business would
look in the real world.

5. Planning
• Strengths
The biggest strength of my planning in my opinion was the analysis of possible shooting locations. I managed to scout
out many different and interesting areas around where I live and then proceeded to talk about the types of shots I
would like to use. This helped me to plan out the future of my production well and further enchanced my schedule
featured in my proposal. I also believe that my pagination section was an important section of planning as I could
quickly plan out my page layouts, what page would feature specific content and information and I could also see how
much time would be needed to complete the section to a good standard. From this I could also find out the amount of
pages that my final product would have, shifting essential bits of information round to better suit the page count
needed. It would also have been possible for me to use the pagination section to plan how long my article should be
but I did not use this aspect to its fullest potential. My final favourite strength of my planning would be the colour
scheme and font usage analysis. It gave me a chance to review the colour schemes and try out different designs. I also
was able to explain to myself and any other readers the reasoning for using fonts and where I would potentially
featuring them.
If I was to go back to this Powerpoint and upgrade it, I would start off by going into more detail with the pagination. I
have already featured the layout of each piece of text and image on the page and what each page would be about but
to flesh this out fully I could have tried to create quick mockups of the pages using real pictures and the real fonts &
colours in their correct places. It would certainly have given me a better idea of how the chosen aspects of my
magazine would have looked before I actually moved onto production. It would also have helped me a lot to simply
rearrange the Powerpoint itself to show the planning for each double page spread after its pagination is featured. That
way I could find the work I needed for each section a lot easier. It would have been beneficial for me to add some more
specific information to my schedule to better explain what tasks I would need to focus on more or prioritize. The last
improvement I would make to my planning would be adding more content to the shots section. I feel that I could have
featured many more photos to help further explain my future work. I would also split the description up into sections
and expand on them more.

6. Production: Business Card
For the most part, my production went very well and I started off knowing exactly what products I was creating
in what order, how I wanted them to look and how long I had to complete them. I began with my business card
design as it would be the easiest to create and I felt it would warm me up for the much larger tasks of making
the magazine and website. I managed to make four mock up/experiment designs which featured a range of
different effects and techniques that I had found on websites and YouTube videos (these videos have been
linked in my work) but also through my own experimentation with Photoshop's toolset and features. My design
for the business card changed drastically very quickly, changing from a more animated, brighter look to a more
matured, yet fun one within hours of finishing the mock cards. This did not hinder my progress however and
would instead go on to change the main aesthetic of my whole project, bringing it to a more professional
looking design that in the opinion of others and myself would fare well in the world of photography.
Experiment 1 Experiment 2 Experiment 3 Experiment 4

7. Final Business Card Design
Front Design:
Note the sudden change from the experiments to
feature fuller colours, a dark, gritty looking background
and the use of many techniques found online to make
the neon style pop out more and look as close to real
life as possible. I decided to not use any real photos
and instead went for a fully creative design, using all of
the tools and effects I could to achieve a glowing effect
around the neon lights. I originally tried to fit all of the
information on one side of the card and feature a photo
on the back but it was too condensed and began to
spoil the glowing effect given by the lights. I finally
settled with a logo like design and it worked out better
than I originally anticipated.
Back Design
The back side of the business card was originally meant to
feature a faded photo and my website link but the design
proved to not coincide well with the front and I also could
not fit the website link onto the card. This prompted me to
choose a more fitting design and so I kept the neon theme
and added the essential information into the center in a big
enough size to read clearly, especially given the not so clear
looking font. The colour choice was originally going to be a
yellow and blue but I saw a youtube tutorial that used a
blue and red combination and I liked how it contrasted with
one another and made each bit of information pop out. If I
could make any changes to this product, i would try to make
the neon style look more realistic as I feel there is a slight
cartoony feel to it at this stage, especially when looking at
the wires coming from the 'lights'.

8. Production: Photography Portfolio
The problems began to arise as I started my photography portfolio for my project. I had planned out all of the
days, locations and models perfectly for myself and my team of friends and documented it for future use but
through many unfortunate events outside of college and delays during my planned times, I was unable to
gather the majority of them for a photoshoot. I managed to get one friend over out of five and we shot some
experimental photos but ultimately I decided to shift my focus onto nature and landscape photography as I
could go out myself and reliably find my subjects. I wanted to gather a range of photos from wildlife to greenery
and plants and so visited a nearby lake I had scouted out earlier in my project. It is easy to tell I was trying to fit
a criteria for the photos I was taking as they feature a plethora of effects and techniques that I wanted to show
off to the audience. There is a big emphasis on focus in a lot of the shots and also on rule of three. I figured that
the widlife nearby would be a perfect candidate for this type of photography work and so I took these:
These photos’ sole purpose were to experiment with lighting effects pre editing. I used my standing lamp with
a colour changing bulb to illuminate the model, sometimes the background and experiment with shadows in photos too.
I explored symbolism in colour in the respect of moods. The far left photo is illuminated with green signaling a look
of jealousy and spite, with the model’s facial expression to match. The center photo is all about rage and anger. I
needed to express this through my model but just her face was not enough for the shot so she posed as such in a
furious manner. This coupled with the red light spread across the shot make for a full experience of emotion. The last
shot is not based on an emotion but is instead my first shot using my lamp. I was testing out how strong the light would
need to be and at what angle the light would be best from. As these were first time shots and not fully finished in
their tweaks in Photoshop, I decided to turn them into experiments and work from them.

9. Production: Photography Portfolio
The largest section of the portfolio and the most successful in my opinion was the nature/landscape part. I went out around
local areas of Scarborough on many days throughout my production phase to fields, woodlands, and lakes and even
managed to snap some wildlife on the way too – some more rare than others. As for the nature side of this portfolio, I
wanted to display some knowledge of focus skills, rule of three, effective shots and angles and even beautiful landscape
shots. I was using my own camera for this part of the portfolio so was a lot more used to the interface and options available
to me. Although not quite as strong or as crisp as the college cameras, my own camera was still able to take plenty of great
quality photos and even had the added benefit of showing me a digital preview of the shot I was about to take.
The photo on the left is my first example of using the focus feature of my camera. I wanted to really show the depth of
field and almost create the elusion of the plant being a lot larger than it really was. I edited this photo using grain, a black
and white filter and a slight blur around the edges in an attempt to give it a 35mm style. This was just one of the many
styles of photo I wanted to imitate due to a lack of the vintage equipment. I believe it was a good idea to do this as it tested
my editing skills on Photoshop by giving me a goal to try and achieve. The middle photo is another example of my editing
being used to imitate a style of photography. It is more of a vibrant and colourful design which I feel could take some people
back to a better time. I had used tools of which I already know about and therefore had not used a tutorial or Youtube video
of any sort. It is important to note that I have taken all photos featured in my own time and with my own camera and
therefore my work is completely original. The image on the right side in my own opinion did not need any editing except for
upping the amount of contrast slightly to make the animal stand out slightly. I have cropped the image slightly to show the
animal in the centre of the shot to emphasize the reason for the photo. I featured the photo in my portfolio along with some
other wildlife photos but I feel that it stands out more among the rest for the sheer perfect placement of the animal.

10. Production: Website
My website's production started off much like my original business card design. It began as a bright, patterned
style with many pastel colours being used. While it did look quite nice, it did not look very professional and also
I feel as if it did not quite fit the demographic I was hoping to appeal for. Once I had sorted my final design for
my business card, I knew I would need to use the same design for my website and therefore I knew exactly
what i wanted to add and take away from the website's state at the time. I made the decision to keep all of my
work on one long page as to not make the product too confusing and instead opted for anchor links which
when clicked would transport the user's screen to the specific part of the work they want to see. I used the
same logo as seen in the business card design to make sure it is obvious that the two products are connected
and to set them apart from my magazine which is meant to look as if it is a separate company that made it. I
featured links on the main homepage which take the audience to a contact page in which they could get in
contact with me if the business I had created was real.

11. Production: Website
In my website, I also decided to feature a portfolio of my photography work to both enrich the
page with more content and to also show the potential customers the kind of work I have
taken on and edited in the past. This is to further advertise myself instead of just using the
magazine. The portfolio is originally from my photography account on Instagram, I figured it
would be I made every photo in the portfolio viewable individually and the audience is
allowed to read any comments made on it by myself or any other viewers on Instagram.

12. Technical Problems
Towards the beginning of my final project, I had no problems in any aspects and production was going
smoothly. This was all until I began to work on my magazine. My Adobe subscription ran out at this point and I
was unable to afford to renew it at that point. This meant I was no longer able to use Photoshop or Indesign –
two essential pieces of software I needed for creating professional looking work and creating a structured
layout for my articles. I was unable to rectify this problem until a family member gave me his account to use
temporarily until my production. Due to this setback, I could not work on any of my magazine for three days.
During this time I simply moved onto my Wix photography website which did not require any software as it is a
free online service so no time or money was lost overall.
Another problem I had was one that contributed to my model side of the photography portfolio completely
breaking down. My car started having wheel and break issues which obviously rendered it too dangerous and
undrivable as I did not want to put myself and my friends at risk. Because this problem arose, I was not able to
traverse my models to the locations I wanted or even get to them at all on the days I had planned. This was
coupled with some models having some personal issues coming up at the wrong time. This caused me to make
the decision to focus more on nature and landscape photography as it is locally accessible and I could simply go
out alone to take the photos.
The last technical problem was with my Onedrive account. I had backed up all of my work onto Onedrive to be
used whenever needed however the next time I looked the work I had saved had disappeared, leaving me with
no choice but to complete my planning Powerpoint. This could have been prevented by actually saving my
work to more than one place with plenty of back ups.

13. Management Problems
I had a large management problem when it came to my photography portfolio as my team got the wrong idea
of when I wanted them to come and work with me. I had created a schedule and planned out the days
including transport, food and locations however I forgot to send every detail of the plan to every friend and
therefore some of the team were misinformed and were not ready on the days I needed them. This problem,
coupled with the personal problems of the team and my own car problems ensured we would not be able to
work properly. Due to the chaos that had become of my product, I lost a lot of valuable production time and fell
slightly behind in my schedule, leading me to rush parts of the Powerpoints of which I wish I had not.
Another problem I had encountered was a knock on effect of the above problem. Due to me being behind on
my schedule, I was unable to work on my magazine as well as I hoped. I had to cut quite a few features for my
Wix website and some pages of content for my magazine. I had plenty of extra content but it would have
required a lot more time and I may possibly have also set myself too much work to do.
As for time management, I feel like I have messed this project's time frame up more than any others this time
round. I had past work to finish throughout most of my project and it stopped me from working to the best of
my ability and completing everything within my original time frame. To try and catch up, I had booked time off
work in weekends to get more college work in and also stayed at college after my lessons to try and improve
the work I had. I would most likely have done these things anyway if I had followed my schedule perfectly but I
would have used the time to upgrade the production and Powerpoints as opposed to simply finishing them.
In the future, I would give myself isolated time periods to work with in which I would sit down near a tutor or
family member with no distracting objects or software or websites such as Youtube being used as I feel that I
have become easily distracted by the smallest of things. I would also set myself a more realistic amount of work
and if I have the time afterwards I can either add to the work I have already finished or add new work to the
rest of the products.

14. Emotional Problems
Throughout this project, there have been a few emotional problems that have postponed the work I have been
trying to work on. The first problem I encountered was the passing of a family pet which I had lived with since
the age of four.. This took a toll on me and stopped me from doing much for at least a few days when I should
have been working on my Powerpoints.
Towards the end of this project, I have felt a lot of stress from the amount of problems and lack of work. At one
point, I completed two terms worth of tasks in one weekend which really run me down and unfortunately
caused me to get ill. I had Powerpoint work to complete from every stage during production which added to my
problems as I was stuck in a constant battle between thinking I would fail and simply be kicked off the course or
be able to complete everything I need and move on to bigger things. I have attented meetings both with my
tutor and the head of the media department to discuss my progress and to see what I could do in my current
situation and see what work I still needed to get done.