LIGHTINGIn order to take the images to the quality in which I hoped, I needed to make sure that the lighting was set up well. I was provided with four soft boxes which I had to position myself in order to find the lighting that best worked with my models. When taking the draft images, I did not take lighting into account and did not bother to move the lights from where they were placed, feeling as though they would work with my pictures as they worked for other people. However, this lead to unwanted shadows and pictures that were not up to the quality I wanted for my magazine. As I had two models for my magazine, this meant that the lighting that other people used was not as appropriate for my magazine as they were only using one model. Therefore, when taking my pictures for my final magazine, I ensured I moved the lights that would best compliment my models and make sure the quality of the images where how I wanted them to be. From this, I feel as though I have more knowledge of lighting and the importance of making sure they are in the correct place when taking the pictures. I have also learnt that if do not choose to move the lights when taking images, they may not turn out as good as I hope.

PHOTOSHOPI used Photoshop CS6 for all of my magazine pages. At the beginning of this task, I had never used Photoshop and did not know how to use any of the features included on this item of software. Therefore, when creating the preliminary magazine, I was not able to use Photoshop to the best of its capabilities as I was spending a lot of time trying to use simple features. When creating the draft magazine, I feel as though my knowledge broadened as I was able to do simple tasks easily, however, it was still limited. I feel as though when creating my final magazine, I was able to use Photoshop well, being able to complete all of the tasks I wanted and did not feel as though I was unable to do anything due to my lack of knowledge from the software. Although I am still not an expert of Photoshop, I feel as though I can complete certain tasks well now and it would take me a lot less time to create the magazine than it did initially. Therefore, I feel as though, during the duration of the task I have learnt a lot about this software and I am not able to use it to a reasonable standard. I think Photoshop was a good piece of software to use to create the magazine as I feel you are able to create the intended piece easily, after understanding the software, and it offers a lot of features that can be helpful when creating the magazine.

CAMERA & BACKDROPCamera

Initially, I feel as though my knowledge of cameras was OK as I was able to use the camera easily. Therefore, because of this I was not worried about this aspect when taking my images for the magazine. I had to use a camera three times throughout this process, for the preliminary magazine, the draft magazine and then the final magazine. Each of these times I have had no problem with the camera that I was not able to fix or find a solution for. I used a Nikon D3200 to take these images and I found it took high quality images which provided professionalism to my magazine.

Backdrop

For the pictures, I used a white pop up backdrop which made the images look professional and realistic. This was already assembled when it got to me taking the images meaning I did not have to learn how to put this up myself. However, I did need to make sure that I kept the background as white as possible to ensure the images remained realistic and professional. I have never taken images with a backdrop before meaning this was a new experience that I feel workedwell with the magazine.

BLOGGERI used blogger to create this whole blog, to include all of my work and display everything that I have done in one place. I have learnt a lot about blogger throughout this process of creating this blog. First of all, I had to learn how to create a post and publish it. To do this, I had to learn how to, initially, access the place I need to create a post. I then had to be able to edit the text so it was exactly how I wanted it to be displayed. As well as this, I learnt how to insert images so that I was able to do this if I wanted. I then had to publish it to make sure it was available to everyone to see. I also had to learn how to add labels and schedule work. I added labels to help people look through my work quicker and in a different way. I rarely scheduled my work but this was a helpful component when it came to organising my work to the order I wanted it to be. When creating I post, I also learnt how to embed work. This allowed me to use other sites, to offer variety, but still include that certain piece of work on my blog. If I was unable to do this, this would have left all of my posts being in the same format and it could have therefore possibly be seen as boring. I also learnt how to add my playlist onto my blog. As you can see, on the right hand side of my page I have a playlist that includes 20 songs linked to the genre of my magazine. I thought this was a good featurethat added something extra to my blog as well as me beingable to gain inspiration when creating my magazine.

WEBSITES USED TO CREATE WORKI used a variety of different online programmes to create a lot of my work. Some of which I have listed below.

Prezi- I used prezi in some areas of this task as I felt as though it was a good way to present that certain piece of work. From this, I learnt how to use the programme. I had never used or heard of this website before meaning that I did not know how it worked. I learnt how to choose the appropriate style, insert and edit text, change the arrangements of transitions and overall how to use the website to create the work that I wanted.

Scribd- I used this website to publish the work that I had created on word. I would then embed this document onto my blog. I felt as though this was a better way of presenting some work than if I were to type it directly on to Blogger. I learnt how to upload my document onto this website and then how to embed it onto Blogger.

Slide Share- I used this website to share my work that I had created on PowerPoint. This website enabled me to still create work on PowerPoint but then still be able to place it on my blog. This programme is similar to scribd in the way that it lets me display and include other documents from programmes that I would not be able to put on to my blog otherwise. This meant that I also learnt how to upload a PowerPoint document onto this website and then embed it onto my blog.

Infogram- I did not use this website a lot throughout the process of creating my work, however I did find it useful for some of the tasks. Infogram has a unique way or presenting work and this is why I found it good to display work. From this, I learnt how to use the programme well, this includes; being able to upload images, adding and changing text, moving around items and then sharing it on my blog.