Experiments

1. Experiments
Charlotte Oliver

2. Experiment 1
To my first experiment I looked for an image
that I could apply for a cooking magazine, for
this I searched on google images for a ‘rainbow
cake’ and clicked ‘tools’ for the size and
selected large, I did this to ensure that when I
placed the image on Photoshop I would have
enough white space to place taglines,
headlines, and other codes and conventions
necessary for a front cover.
I opened a new Photoshop document and
placed the sizing as ‘A4 universal’. So that my
sizes were accurate to existing magazine front
covers. Once I did this I copy and paste the
image on to a background on layer 1 on
Photoshop.
Once I had found my main image. I wanted a
background that would be suitable to match the
colour schemes, within the main image. On the
layer with ‘Background’ I selected the ‘gradient
overlay’ and changed the colours of it from
white and baby blue to compliment the colours
through out the main image.
I also did this so it would add more depth to my
front cover so that the audience don’t get bored
when viewing my front cover.

3. Experiment 1
Once I had placed my main image on my Adobe Photoshop document. I decided
to blur the background I used the ‘surface blur’ to create a marble wall effect so
that cake does not look out of place and more like a kitchen counter top. This is
quick and easy, but softens all edges by the same amount. It's also rather difficult
to tell what the modified selection now actually looks like. All I saw is the line of
"marching ants" encompassing the area containing pixels at least fifty percent
selected. If then apply a filter or make an adjustment using the resulting
selection, when areas you expected to change don't fully while areas you
assumed were outside the selection and thus safe end up getting modified.
I didn’t do to much manipulation of the main image because photo manipulation
has changed the advertisement industry and the way we view ourselves. It has
twisted the perception of the human body to something unrealistic. It has
allowed photographs to be manipulated to the perfect contrast, lighting, and
formats but it has also allowed manipulated photographs to influence some
people to think poorly of their appearance which ends up lowering their self-
esteem. The more celebrities and others who get involved in promoting the
awareness of the problems caused by photo manipulation, the more likely the
advertising industry will have to permanently change the way they edit their
photos and force them to change how they promote products, fashion, and
“beauty”. Which is something I want apply to my own work when making a front
cover and DPS.
I also used Dafont.com to find a font suitable for a cooking magazine front cover.
I picked ‘Olivia’ as I felt it was eye catching yet does not distract from the main
image. I used the ‘colour selection tool’ to grab the colours from my main image
to fill the font. I of course rasterise and duplicated the layer so I could colour the
title.

4. Experiment 1
For the taglines within my front cover I added a new layer for
each section of text using the ‘T’ tool. I ensured that they were
different colours to stand out on the front cover so that the
audience does not find it boring or mundane. I made sure the
text colour matched the colours within the cake to create
continuity.
I also used Guides and the grid help you position images or
elements precisely. Guides appear as nonprinting lines that
float over the image. You can move and remove guides. You can
also lock them so that you don’t move them by accident. I did
this by ‘Choose View > Show > Guides.’
I also made polaroid images on the bottom of the page as I feel
it made the front cover more professional. I did this by File >
New (set width: 800, height: 600, transparent background as an
example) > OK
- Drag image to the new window
- Use the rectangle tool to draw out a Polaroid frame
- I renamed my image from layer1 to Test photo and the
rectangle from Shape1 to Frame to avoid confusion
- After I drew the rectangle. To avoid that, drag 'Test photo' on
top of 'Frame' under Layer panel at the bottom right corner.

5. Experiment 1
Once I had added all the main images, polaroid images and of course all the fonts. I decided to add other
things that make keep to codes and conventions of a front cover, I added a bar code, a date of issue and
the price on the cover. I did this to make my cover look like an existing product, like good food magazine.
The other two images are the layers I used throughout my production, as shown I merged, duplicated
and added ‘drop shadows’ on many of the images and texts.
I used only 8 layers to create this front cover.
In reflection I could have used up more white space within my cover to make it look more sophisticated,
and fuller, similar to other existing products.

6. Experiment 2
To create my double page spread I used Adobe InDesign. I firstly
set up the sizes of the DPS. I did this by using these following
steps; I either of the following actions: To create a document,
choose File > New Document. To edit an existing document,
choose File > Document Setup.
For Start Page #, specify an even number, such as 2, and then
click OK.
This was important to set the size correct so that my portions
are correct. I added layers on for every new thing I did.
The second thing I did was look for food that I felt suited my
Easter food theme. This was important to do to add contingency
between my front cover and my double page spread. I also
picked these images from google images and Pinterest.
I put these images on Photoshop and used to ‘Lasso Tool’ to cut
round the images to make sure they look as if I took them
myself. Once I had finished I saved them a JSP on Photoshop.
After that I went back to InDesign and ‘Imported’ on to my
InDesign document. Once I had done that I move clicked Cntrl-T
to move and adjust my images to where I wanted them. I kept
the guides to ensure my images fitted.

7. Experiment 2
Once I added my manipulated images I went on to
add mini titles in the font “Italian Breakfast” I choose
this font because I felt it was fitting for my Easter
special. It was also was a font I associated with food.
I got all my font from Dafont.com, I clicked
‘Download’ then went to ‘run’ on my computer and
typed ‘k:regfontInstallFont64.bat’ and placed in my
own font file in my K-drive. Once I had done this I
drew text boxes on a new layer with the tool ‘T’. I
used the Loren-Ipsum to fill my text box, I struggled
with making my text look like columns you would see
in a magazine. To over come this I research on how
to get over it. I used these four steps;
1. Add columns to a new document. You can change
the number of columns in a new document to make
working on it easier. ...
2. Use InDesign to add columns to an existing
document. ...
3. Create a new column using overset text. ...
4. Change columns in master or spread pages.
This gave my work an overall smarter looking
double page spread. And is something I will apply to
my own product when I create it.

8. Experiment 3
In my third experiment I wanted to explore more technical element of
my FMP. To do this I wanted to expand my knowledge and skills on using
a camera and photography and developing my Photoshop skills. I did this
by researching on how to use a Canon 700D camera I developed a step
by step way in which on how to use it; Step 1: Pick up your Camera and
Start the Timer Step 2: Turn the Mode dial to point to M which means
Manual Mode Step 3: Point the Camera where you find good light Step 4:
Check the Important Camera Settings Step 5: Check the Camera Metering
indicator Step 6: Press the Shutter button Step 7: Achieving the Proper
Exposure Press the dips button again to get back to the settings on the
LCD screen. I found this to be very helpful on making my images more
professional looking and similar to existing products such as vogue or
cosmopolitan. After taking my images I uploaded them to Adobe
Photoshop. I asked my tutor on ways in which I could airbrush my images
in a subtle way as this is something often done in beauty magazines. I
observed and copied down the following steps and tools to edit my
images; 1. Duplicate the background layer 2. Pressed filter, blur, then
surface blur. 3.Options for ‘radius’ and ‘threshold’. 4. eraser tool, delete
everything that is not skin related (eyes, hair, mouth etc.) 5. Duplicate
the background layer again (then hide surface blur layer). 6. Background
layer copy 2, I used the brush tool (soft as possible) Opacity at 40% flow
at 40%. 7. Hold Alt to bring the eyedropper tool, to pick out a better
colour/skin tone. 8. Brushing in areas needed (under eyes, uneven skin
tone). 9. Drop opacity for surface blur layer to 20%. 10. Drop opacity for
surface blur later to 20%. 11. Make new layer, take a white paint brush
and paint inside the eyes to create a more editorial look to suit the codes
and conventions of a beauty magazine.
I found that all these things done in my experiment 3 helped me develop
my skills for my FMP, that I didn’t necessarily have beforehand.

9. Experiment 3
For my final image I wanted to make sure I included both a model and a
cosmetic product, this was important for me to do as I felt that it was something
I would include in my own FMP as it is essential to showcase the product more
than the model and this was something I struggled with when first taking my
images. To help me with this I researched how to take photos with both
cosmetics and a model I came up with the following steps; To know the
difference between an optical zoom and a digital zoom! A “digital zoom” is really
a “fake zoom” and can reduce the clarity of my photos. Try to avoid it for
makeup shots.
If I emailed a photo, I attached the original photo to my email. I didn't just
copy/paste the image into my email: as this greatly reduces the quality and
clarity of the shot.
Same goes with uploading a photo: upload the original file—I didn't paste the
image into a word editing software first.
Once I had taken the pictures, I reviewed them on my camera right away. I
zoomed in as far as I could to ensure my images aren’t blurry. If they weren't
crystal clear, I took some more shots.
Once I had uploaded my images on to Photoshop I wanted to edit them
accordingly, I did this by; 1. Duplicate the background layer 2. Pressed filter, blur,
then surface blur. 3.Options for ‘radius’ and ‘threshold’. 4. eraser tool, delete
everything that is not skin related (eyes, hair, mouth etc.) 5. Duplicate the
background layer again (then hide surface blur layer). 6. Background layer copy
2, I used the brush tool (soft as possible) Opacity at 40% flow at 40%. 7. Hold Alt
to bring the eyedropper tool, to pick out a better colour/skin tone. 8. Brushing in
areas needed (under eyes, uneven skin tone). 9. Drop opacity for surface blur
layer to 20%. 10. Drop opacity for surface blur later to 20%. 11. Make new layer,
take a white paint brush and paint inside the eyes to create a more editorial look
to suit the codes and conventions of a beauty magazine.

10. Experiment 3
In my final experiment I wanted to ensure that I had not only used a
camera and photographed models, I wanted to make sure I had taken
photos of cosmetic products, which would be essential for my FMP as
my actual production is based on makeup and cosmetics. Before I
took these images I made sure I researched some tips on how to
photograph cosmetics and came up with the following steps; The one
mistake I made when I first got my camera and started taking pictures
was thinking that the object I was shooting needed to be in direct
sunlight in order to get a good photo. Sometimes it’s more flattering
to have light coming in from one side or the other and sometimes it’s
more flattering to have your subject facing the light source. And
remember, natural light is best. Secondly I looked for angles I didn't
just sit there and take photos of your subject from one point of view,
move around, and take pictures from every angle possible these are
just some of the things I found to help me take more
professional/effective images. Once I had put my images up on Adobe
Photoshop, I realised that my images had a lot of shadows behind the
product, to reduce the shadows I adjusted the brightness and contrast
among my images to ensure that the shadow had gone and a overall
brighter image. However I noticed that my product looked slightly
warped. So that is something I will try to improve when I do my actual
product for my FMP.

11. Reflection
• What elements of your experiments will you include in your final product?
• Within my final production I hope to include many aspects from my experiment. I found that making numerous experiments helped me develop my
ideas further for my FMP. There is also things I will not include in my production, due to the fact that I feel it didn't’t help or improve my
experiments.
• Fonts/colours- In my first experiment I liked using Dafont.com because I find they have a wide range of font and different styles applicable to
different genres of magazine or print product. I also enjoy the fact I can add my own spin to the fonts, similar to what I did on my ‘Foodie’ front
cover. I used the ’Eyedrop’ tool to select the colours from my main image and applied it to the font to add a pop of colour and contingency from my
front cover and double page spread, I also find that having a colour scheme that is perfect for whatever genre I do, is very important for making a
piece go from average to professional, I find it is important to attract the target audience by researching colour schemes in similar existing products
to attract the right audience, this is something I'm very keen to apply to my own production.
• Images-For my FMP I hope to include my own images that I have taken in different environments, this could be in the college studio or in another
place. The reason for this is that I can take them how I wish with different lighting or different cosmetics/props. However using a stock image similar
to the one I did in experiment 2 did make my process easier and left more time for editing and photo manipulation on Adobe Photoshop, so I will
hope to use my own individual images and occasional use stock images. And of course it is important to get the right kind of imagery to attract the
target audience I had set out in the first place. So when I take my images for my final product I want to ensure that they are perfect for what I want. I
also liked in my experiments I took photos of different types of model/prop. In my final experiment I wanted to ensure that I had not only used a
camera and photographed models, I wanted to make sure I had taken photos of cosmetic products, which would be essential for my FMP as my
actual production is based on makeup and cosmetics. Before I took these images I made sure I researched some tips on how to photograph
cosmetics and came up with the following steps which I stated in my in one the previous slides.
• Photoshop and InDesign- For my FMP I want utilise both software's, as I feel they were crucial for making my work more polished and professional.
And it is strongly advised by my tutors and is a software I am personally used to. I also find that the many of the tools within both software's I have
not used and I'm excited to use in my FMP to I can extend my knowledge even further for future products past my FMP. However the tools I did use
on my experiments I became very comfortable with for example the use of airbrushing tools which I used on experiments 3,4,5 . Airbrushing was
something I had never done before those experiments so using these skills were essential for making my FMP as technically difficult as possible.
• Overall the tools I used throughout my numerous experiments I found that many of the tools I used helped me develop my skills in photography,
Photoshop, InDesign, fonts and of course colour schemes. All of these things will help me make my final major project as technically difficult as
possible and something I might enjoy doing and hopefully achieve a good grade.