Luke used various software and hardware to create his music magazine. He used a Mac computer which took some getting used to but provided the power needed for his media work. He took photos with a Nikon D3100 camera, learning techniques like close-up and long-range shots. For lighting in his photo shoots, he used a horseshoe flash trigger, strobe flash, and auxiliary lights along with soft boxes and backdrops. Adobe Photoshop helped him edit photos with tools like airbrushing and layering. InDesign allowed him to lay out the magazine pages with images and columns of text. While the software took practice to learn, it enabled Luke to achieve a professional look and feel for his magazine.

1. What have I learnt about
technologies making my music
magazine.
Luke.M

2. Hardware : Mac computer
Throughout my music magazine I have been using the
Mac computer, these Mac computer are very difficult
to get use to if you have never used them before or are
use to using a windows computer. Using the mac gave
me a good understand how professionals work with
the media. Whilst using the mac I learnt that you had
to use safari rather than Internet Explorer. Another is
that using Photoshop on the Mac works a lot smoother
and does not take as much time to loads than other
computers. I think using a mac is a good way to get the
best out of your work because they run a lot quicker. It
was hard to get use to but when you get the hang of
things it becomes really good and vital for your work.
Mac
Build:9L31A
Version:10.5.8
Processer:2 Ghz Intel Core 2
Duo
Memory:3GB 667 Mhz
Startup Disk: Mac HD

3. Camera: Nikon D3100
In order for myself to construct my music magazine, I
had to be able to take suitable photographs of my
models. This involved getting my models dressed up
and making sure hey were there on time. Also making
sure that I booked an appointment for my photo
shoot. I learnt how to take close up shots and also
long range shots. The camera settings have a manual
aperture f11 and the shutter speed is 1/300th. Using
such a good camera has made my models look even
better and has gave the the picture a professional
feel about it.

4. Studio/Lighting
Whilst shooting my photo shoot I used an
Horseshoe flash trigger which is like a T.V
remote just with cameras. The infra red
signal send to the strobe flash triggers the
flash in sync with the camera shutter. This
helps to get the correct lighting for my
picture.
I also used a strobe flash and the one
I used was an hemisphere 3000. The
strobe light is a device which is used
to produce flashes of light. This help
me get the correct amount of light
on my picture. The dial on the back
of the strobe light adjust the output
so I can turn how bright the flash is. I
also used Auiliary lights which set to
slave which trigger in sync by a built
in light sensor.

5. Studio/Lighting
When I was taking pictures I used soft boxes
and these soft boxes just gave the picture a
softer image. The soft boxes get rid of the
bright lights to give a smoother and rounder
look to the photo, if you were in a professional
photo-shoot they would use huge soft boxes so
it makes the model look much better.
I also used a Backdrop and all that these
backdrops do is give my magazine a
strong white background so the image
stands out. The backdrop is lit with two
strobes which are on full power to create
high exposure.

6. Software: Adobe PhotoShop
I have used Photoshop in order for me to get the best out of my front cover.
I only used Photoshop a little bit before the magazine and I only knew the
basics. Using the software I have learnt a lot for example how to airbrush
the images. I also have learnt how to cut out my model and post it onto my
magazine and bring him in front of all the writing on the magazine for
example the masthead, I did this by using the magnetic lasso tool and
cropping all the way around my model and then copying the layer and then
moving the layer onto my magazine. I also learnt about the technical
element of photoshop to like saving my work as a PSD file. I learnt how to
make a new canvas for example by going to new> international paper> A4. I
needed my paper to be A4 because that would be the size of a magazine
printed off and also it could have pixilated when i printed it. I also learnt
that after my magazine was finished it needed to be saved as a JPEG. This is
so the magazine would show on my Blog and be placed in Adobe InDesign.
Using Photoshop has definitely helped me get the professional feel to my
magazine which allows me to make it easier connecting with my target
audience. Whilst using Photoshop I didn't experience any major problems, it
was just getting the hang of the tools and getting use to the layers and after
a couple of lessons it was simple.

7. Software tools
The box tool is used to select shapers from and images
can be cut or edited
Lasso tool is uses to cut out detailed shapes leaving
them with no background
This tool is used to soften marks on any images
The paint bucket is used to make block colours for
example the background
This is to type all of the writing on the magazine up
The colour palate is where you can choose from a
variety of colours.

8. InDesign
I used InDesign to help me complete my article. I have learnt that InDesign was
a little harder to get the hang of in comparison to Photoshop. InDesign was
much more practical to use when putting everything into position and making
sure you had the correct boarders and that everything was in the correct place.
InDesign really helped me get the look and feel for my R7B/Hip-Hop feel for
the article as I could create three columns and place an image in with the text
so the Q&A writing would fit around it. whilst using InDesign I learnt how to
import JPEGS to InDesign by going to file>place. Whilst using InDesign I found
out that when you did place your work it will be a little blurry and it was hard
to see if the work was suitable or not. This did leave a doubt in my mind that
after I printed or placed on my blog if that pixilated image would appear but it
didn’t.