William Stephenson's answer to question 7.

1. QUESTION 7
By William Stephenson

2. INTRODUCTION...
In my preliminary task, I knew how to use Photoshop
at a very basic level because I hadn’t used it before
and wasn’t sure on how to use it, however as I
progressed into the main task, I picked up more tips
on how to use it and began to understand the
software more.

3. MAGIC WAND TOOL ON PHOTOSHOP
In my preliminary task I didn’t know how to use the Magic Wand tool, on
Photoshop, effectively so that my image looked neat where it had been
cut out from the background, which is why I left the main image on the
cover of my prelim task with a background. I also didn’t know how that
you could make a gradient background on Photoshop which is why I
stretched the image on my preliminary task cover. Throughout the
main task however, I began to experiment with the various tools on
Photoshop and found out how to make a gradient, which is how I have
a gradient throughout my main task. Furthermore, I began to zoom in
when using the Magic Wand tool for cutting which meant that my
cutting out of images was more précised than before. I also used the
eraser tool to get rid of any parts of the image that I didn’t want, but the
Magic Wand couldn’t get.

4. ADOBE BRIDGE
If you look closely at my preliminary tasks images, you can see that
they are exactly the same as the original photo because I didn’t edit
them at all. In my prelim task, I didn’t know how to use the editing
software, ‘Bridge,’ which means that my images look very plain and
boring. However, as I learnt more about the software, I decided to
use it to edit my photos for my main task. I increased/decreased the
contrast, brightness and highlights amongst various other features of
the image to make my photos more dynamic and edgy.

5. LAYERING ON PHOTOSHOP
Throughout the duration of my project my understanding on how to use
Photoshop became better as I learnt how to use more tools and how
to use them in a professional way. The way I edited the picture on my
double page spread is an example of this. I layered the gold part of
the microphone onto the black and white image to make the
microphone stand out more and make the overall image more
interesting to look at. I wouldn't have known how to do this in my
preliminary task because I did not have the knowledge on how to do
it, which could be why my preliminary task looks unprofessional.

6. THE OVERALL LOOK
In my preliminary task, my cover and contents page both look very
unprofessional because of the images, text and layout. This is
because I hadn't fully finished my research and planning sections
which meant that my knowledge on the codes and conventions of
magazines was limited, meaning the preliminary task looked very
basic. On the other hand, once my skills and knowledge had
developed through using software's more and researching more
about music magazines, I started to construct my main task. This can
be seen in my main task because it looks a lot more professional and
it is a lot neater than my preliminary task.
Main CoverPrelim Cover

7. CONCLUSION
In conclusion, my main task shows development from my preliminary
task because of how tidy the products are but also because of the
finer details like background gradients which make the main task
look more professional.