Demographic Skills Development

To further my development of photographic skills I was asked to take a range of composition photos. I had to make sure that lines and shadows were present in every photo. The first photo that I had taken was of my subject leaning against a brick wall. This is an ideal composition photo as there are both shadows and lines present. Including shadows and lines are important as this is what can attract the target audience and add energy to the photo. To make the photo look professional, I had to ensure that the subject was in full sight and the photo focused.

The second photo that I had taken was of my subject standing in the sunlight. I placed my subject in the sunlight as this created a large shadow. Creating a large shadow is essential as it helps make the subject look important. In order to make this photo look professional I had to make sure the subject was in focus. If the subject or any part of the image was not in focus, the photo would not attract the target audience as their eye sight would be drawn elsewhere. When taking the photo I also thought about distance. Distance is important as it can connote different things. I took my photo at a long distance, I have done this as I can capture the full subject and his shadow. If I took a close up, the camera would not be able to catch the full effect of the shadow.

The third photo that I had taken was of the subject lent up against a tree. This is an attractive photo as there is an interesting background and shadows and lines are present. The photo has captured the full subject but at a close up angle. I have taken a close up image as you can see the details on the subjects face and every crinkle in his clothing. An image that holds these features attract the target audience as customers like to see details within an image. I have made sure that there are shadows and lines present within the image. There is a large shadow on the tree as the sun cannot get round the side of the tree and subject and light the rest of the photo. This is a benefit as a bright background and a darker lit subject makes the subject stand out against the background and therefore look important.

The last photo that I had taken was of the subject looking up at the camera. This makes the subject look powerful and important. This is important as this will catch the customer’s eye. I also took into consideration the lighting. Lighting behind the subject has many advantages. The first advantage is that it makes the subject stand out. This is essential as the subject needs to jump out to attract the attention of the customer. Another advantage is that the lighting of the background is the correct brightness. Lighting the background efficiently makes the photo look professional. Creating a professional image is important as it will make the magazine have an overall professional look and feel. I also took the subjects eye line into consideration. The subject’s eye line needs to be in the top third of the page in order to attract the attention on the customer. This is because the reader’s eye line is attracted to the top of the page as the top of the page is more in proportion to the customers overall eye line. If the subject’s eye line was at the bottom of the page, the customer would not engage with the magazine, therefore not selling many copies.

Photoshop Image Editing

I was asked to edit an image in Photoshop. I was asked to transform was a women into a vampire. This is the original image that I am going to edit. I downloaded the image from the internet and imported it into Photoshop. The image is ideal as you can easily see the subject’s eyes and teeth. 

This is the outcome of the editing process. The woman has been transformed into a vampire. I used many techniques in Photoshop. To start I opened the smudge tool and chose the de saturate mode. I them changed the brush size to the appropriate width. I gently applied the brush to the woman to make her de saturated. This feature is essential to make the woman look scary. I then opened the dodge tool and made the woman’s lips redder. This is also essential as vampires have dark vibrant lips. To make her teeth longer and more vampire looking, I opened the magnetic lasso tool. This allowed me to grab a section of the tooth and stretch it down a desired length. I then navigated to edit, transform and warp. This allowed me to complete the editing of the tooth. To make the subjects eyes glow red I first created a new layer. I then coloured the eyes red with the brush tool. I then selected the layer and selected the option linear burn. This made the colour blend in with the eye and create a vampire effect. 

Photoshop Spot Removal Tool

I was asked to use the spot removal tool to remove the infected areas of the subjects face. I downloaded the photo of off the internet and loaded it into Photoshop. Once the image was in Photoshop I navigated to the spot removal tool. I selected and changed the size of the tool. I needed to change the size of the tool to treat both large and small infected areas. The tool is designed to remove spots and marks from the face.

This is the end result. I used the spot removal tool to remove all of the blemishes on the subjects face. This tool is widely used in the fashion industry as it makes models look more attractive. This is a cheap and easy editing technique that is widely available. To use the tool you simply select the brush tip size and ctrl click next to the infected area and then you click on the infected area. It is important to ctrl click next to the infected area first as this gives Photoshop the correct color that the tool needs to use in order to heal the face. If you did not ctrl click next to the infected area, Photoshop would not have a color to use to heal the spot.

Photoshop CD Cover

I was asked to create a CD cover. I opened Photoshop and set the page size to 120mm x 120mm. I set the page this size as this is the size of an average CD case. In order to create an effective cover I had to open a website called www.brusheezy.com the website allowed me to download a wide range of brushes. I downloaded a range of brushes in order to create my CD cover. I inserted the brushes into Photoshop and used them on my CD cover. To create a unique CD I downloaded brushes that would attract the customer and relate to the CD. The text that I used connotes the genre of the DVD as it is a casual yet effective font. Overall, looking at the CD cover, the design is very effective and attractive. This has been done by inserting white text on a dark background and inserting black text on a white background. These colours contrast well with each other and make the CD cover look important.  The colour scheme of the CD is de-saturated. I have chosen to create a de-saturated CD cover as it makes the cover look casual yet important. I have placed the main image on top of a plain white background, by doing this I have made the image look important as it is the only main feature on the cover. The text is also laid out in a way to attract the customer, I have placed the name of the CD on top of the main image as the text connoted the image. I have also placed the track name along the side of the CD, not the top or the bottom. By doing this, it allows me to angle the text so it is not straight. This is effective as is makes the cover look interesting and unique. This method also fills white space and makes the CD look important.