Photo Permissions

I had both of the students involved in my photo sign paper work and had their parents sign the paper work so that I could have permission to use them in my course work. This is both for the school policy of taking photo's with permission otherwise it could be illegal and for my benefit so that i could do it without any awkward problems.

Magazine Cover Photo

When I had found the location, I needed to find a suitable person to be in the photo. I decided on a student in a uniform so people can see the school uniform colours and so people will know that he is a student. I had him smile to show that he is happy to be in the school and he was holding a text book to give the impression that he was a smart educated person. The person with the shoulder in the shot is a sixth form student so they have their own clothes and a different hairstyle so it looks like the school accepts everybody. The only problem is that the camera was too focussed on the students shoulder and head at the front rather than the student who is the main subject of the image. This is something that I can learn from. This image uses the rules of thirds by having the student be a little to the right so that he is the subject focussed on. This image also leaves a little bit of space at the top for the masthead and the cover lines can go to the left over so that they cover the student on the left and have the student on the right be the main subject of the photo. The date and term will be on the bottom right and this image will take up the whole background and image of the front cover.

Front Cover Plan

I planned the front cover of my school magazine that I am creating on paper by hand. This was to give me a rough idea of the picture i wanted to take and where the text would be when the magazine cover will be created. The cover shows that there will be a masthead, a main image, a few cover stories and the date.

My plan of my magazine front cover.

I then wanted to find a location in my school to take a picture. I travelled around with I wanted to have a plain background of a wall so that it won't take the attention away from the pupil. I wanted it to have good enough lighting so it wasn't too dark with a colour of the wall in the background giving a colour of the school. 

This is my and my media group taking pictures together.

This is the location that i will have the photo taken.

Magazine Example

Before starting to make my own magazine cover, I decided to take a look at some other school magazines to get an idea of what to put on it and how to lay it out. The magazine that I want to base my cover on is this:

This magazine has the masthead at the top of the page with a small tagline below it. The photo shows a happy child which means the child is happy to be in the school and she seems to be having fun. It has a logo in the bottom left and the date of release in the bottom right. I would like to recreate the image and layout for my magazine cover with an over the shoulder angle with the main person holding books and smiling. This will show a happy educated person who is in the school uniform too.

Starting Camera Work

In the media lesson, I walked around my school taking basic photographs of people and locations within the building. This was for the preliminary task, however I only have basic skills at photography. With limited time, no props and only using the people who were available at the time, the pictures were not the best quality. 

One thing I managed to do though is try different camera angles which do make a big difference depending on what you are taking a photo of.

Here is an example of the kind of photos I have taken:

 

 

 I tried using different backgrounds but some may be too colourful to put text on and still have the text readable. I took the same picture a few times and moved a little each time to make sure I got at least one good photo out of the bunch. I like the photo, however it doesn't follow the rule of thirds which can improve a photo significantly. It may not be too good for a front cover of a school magazine either. The picture of the student working and on the piano I believe are the best photos. This was just a practice session though, so i will try to recreate these photos using the rule of thirds and different camera angles for the best quality for a front cover. It also needs to be able to have a little more space in the picture for the masthead, headlines and cover lines.

Important Addresses

http://ocrmediastudies.weebly.com
http://oamedia.blogspot.co.uk