I have learned more about various technologies such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, DSLR cameras, and blogging platforms through completing this project. Specifically, I have gained a better understanding of how to use Photoshop to edit photos, how to manipulate settings on my Nikon camera, and how to utilize features of Blogger to document my research. Completing this individual project has allowed me to fully explore and experiment with these technologies, rather than just gaining a basic understanding during previous paired work. The technologies helped me produce high quality, professional-looking outputs for my magazine.

1. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
I believe that my product has been fully and successfully achieved by the use of new technology, or
existing technology that I have personally learnt more about for example a better understanding of
Adobe Photo-shop and DSLR cameras.
During the preliminary coursework project I was part of a pair, and it seemed that the use of the
technology in the course of that project was split in half. I feel that I did not know, or explore, the full
extent of the technology that I could use. During this recent coursework project I feel that I have
been able to fully explore the use of technology that was available to me.
The first thing that I learnt more about when planning my magazine was the blog that I used to
document all the information in. This was created on a site called ‘Blogger’, and I was able to make
frequent posts for research planning, and then my production work. For example, I found that I was
able to take screen shots easily and put them into posts. In my blog I was able to layout my
information, and the pictures that I had collected to go along with the images, clearly and
coherently. I learnt how to include links easily into my blog. I learnt that I was able to scan images
then open them in Photoshop and post them into my blog. By making regular posts I was able to
compact the information and make the different parts very specific, it helped my keep track of the
work I was doing at different times.
To take the photographs that I needed for my coursework I used a DSLR camera. The make that I
used was a ‘Nikon’ camera, and I had learnt a little about how to use this type of camera in the
preliminary project. During this project though, I was able to fully explore the camera that I used,
experimenting with different modes and settings to get the images that I needed. The images that I
took varied between black and white, and colour photographs, and I had to experiment with lighting
and flash to determine what settings were the most useful to get the kind of image I wanted.
I learnt about different Adobe programmes while doing this project. I used the image manipulation
software ‘Adobe Photoshop’ to edit my photographs, and ‘Adobe InDesign’ to create my contents
page and double page spread. Again, as with using the cameras, during the preliminary project I
learnt about using Photoshop but not as much as I did during this project. I learnt how to change the
saturation of the images, the different lighting curves, how to crop images and create drop shadows,
and much more. I think that Photoshop was extremely helpful because in enabled me to make the
front cover with a look that I wanted, to edit my images properly, as a pose to a different
programme that would not have looked as professional, and helped me to create a professional
looking album cover. This technology helped me to produce pieces of work that I believe are
recognisable as a real magazine. ‘Adobe InDesign’ was also very helpful to me, and I learnt a lot
more about how to use it than previously. I learnt more about how to make my magazine more
presentable as a real magazine, for example alleys, CVIs and negative space. InDesign helped me
layout my work clearly and neatly.