Photo Shoot Recce

Photo Shoot Recce

My photo shoot will take place inside meaning there will be no health and safety hazards where traffic is concerned. I however will have to ensure that the floor in the room that the photo shoot will take place in is clear of anything that could potentially cause harm to my models. I will have to sweep the floor to ensure that theses risks are minimised.

I considered taking the images outside however I decided against this because if I needed more images I could not guarantee that the weather conditions would be similar again. The images will be taken inside so I know that I can definitely replicate the lighting and other conditions if necessary. The photos will be taken against a white background so that my sell-lines and other text will be clearly visible on the front cover. This also means that I know I will be able to take more photos that will look exactly the same if I am not happy with the first images. I will remove wall decorations and other furniture in the room to ensure I have the plain white background that I need for my images.The room which I plan to take my images in is rich in natural light due to large windows throughout the room. I plan to take the images during the day so I can make use of the natural light. However if this natural light is not bright enough there is artificial lights in the room that I can use. I hope to use as much natural light as possible. The camera that I am going to use has flash on it which I will make use of on all of the photos. Whilst I think the natural light will be bright enough to ensure bright pictures I will be using the flash to make the images as bright as possible. I am going to remove all reflective objects from the room to ensure none of the flash is reflected in the image.

I do not need to receive any formal permission to take photos in the venue I have in mind as the room is in my house. However I have checked that the room will not be required for anything else on the day I have planned to take my photos and I have checked that all of the furniture in the room can be moved easily. Other people/crowds are not likely to affect the quality of my photos as nobody will be around when I am taking the images. As said before I have ensured that the room I am using for the photos is not required for any other use that day so nobody else will be around.

The only thing I am reliant on for my photos is the models themselves. The camera used will be my own and no other equipment is needed. I have agreed a time with the models and we have planned the outfits they will be wearing and what image they will need to portray in the photos. I have briefed the models of the aim of the shoot and told them of my hopes for the product. We had a seconded date in mind in case something happened and one of the models could not make the original date. This way I know for sure my photos will be taken to the highest of standards. I hope I have planned for every eventuality and especially where the health and sfety of my models is concerned. 

Target Audience and Conventions Essay

The Conventions – the Producer and Target Audience of my Text

If my product was produced in the ‘real world’ it would be produced by the magazine production company ‘Natmags.’ They are a British production company who also produce Cosmopolitan and Reveal. They do not currently produce any teen pop magazines so I think my magazine will benefit from this as it will have no competition. The audience demographic that this production company targets is mainly females with an age range from15 – 65. My target audience is slightly younger than that but it is very close.  My target audience is young teenage girls aged 13-16 years.  I think the fact that this production company produces texts for females is an advantage to my magazine because they will know and understand the conventions that a female target audience will enjoy and they will know what attracts them to a magazine. All of the magazines that they produce are very successful and the majority of them well know with also bodes well for my magazine.

The target audience of my text is young teenage girls aged between 12 and 15 years. They will have an interest in both celebrity gossip and music, mainly pop music. Social media will be very important to this particular group of people so I will therefore try to include as much of this in my text as possible. My target audience is fairly mainstream as the interests possessed by this particular group of people are fairly broad. I do not expect the target audience to be local. They are likely to enjoy younger pop bands such as ‘One Direction,’ ‘Little Mix’ and ‘Girls Aloud.’ It is likely that they will not enjoy rock music so I will try to avoid bands from this genre in my magazine. In terms of economic status, there is not a particular social group that I believe they will belong to so it could vary from working class to upper class. There principal role models may include people like Cheryl Cole, Beyonce, Kimberly Walsh, Nicole Sherzinger and others similar. I think my target audience are most likely to listen to media stations such as Capital and Metro Radio as these stations play the most pop music. I may try to include a reference to these stations in my text.

The image on my front cover will be a medium image that has eye line match with the audience; these are both common conventions of images on the front cover. I decided to stick to this conventions as I think that eye line match in particular is good way of drawing a reader in. I plan to use a consistent text colour, font and size (as far as possible) throughout the text as it creates a sense of continuity and house style. The colour palette will also be consistent and include a variety of pinks, purples and blues. I think it is good to vary the colours as it would be dull to have the same colour throughout, however too many colours is too distracting to the reader. Disregarding one or two conventions I am trying to stick to the common conventions that I found when researching teen pop magazines. I am not going to copy them exactly and will try to make them unique to my product so they appeal to my specific target audience.

I think it is a good idea to use a diverse range of media platforms to broadcast my text so it can reach as many readers as possible. Primarily the text will be sold in local shops and supermarkets as well as online and via post subscription. There will be links to social media websites throughout my magazine as I know that my target audience will spend a lot of time on these websites. 

Masthead Fonts

These are some potential fonts that I have selected from the website 'Da Font.' I have decided that I would like a bubble font for the masthead as this is common in teen pop magazines. My target audience would like this font and it will attract them to my magazine. These are only some fonts that I have selected as potential fonts, I may pick a different one for my final product. I have highlighted the strengths and weaknesses of each font. 

 'Debussy' is my favourite font of all of the five I have selected. This is the font that I am considering using as I think it is plain and simple but is very eye catching and will attract the attention of the reader.

 I think that 'groovy' would fit very well with genre of my magazine as it is quite fun and youthful. However a masthead has to stand out from the front cover of the magazine and I do not think that this font would.

 I like this font 'glamour girl' as it is very pretty and feminine. These qualities are something that I think my target audience will like. However I would like the font to be thicker in order to standout from the page and attract a reader.

 This font, 'Disko' is very eye catching and bold. On a magazine shelf I feel that this font would attract the attention of a reader. However, after reviewing other teen pop magazines I think that this font is too cartoon-esque and do not think that it fits with my  magazine genre.

I like 'Merkin' as a font because it is plain and simple but at the same time it is bold enough so that it would stand out from the front cover. 

Inspirational Mood Board

I have created the mood board shown below so  I can bring together all of the creative ideas I have about my product. It has allowed me to look at all aspects of the magazine from the font style to the models. I feel I have covered a broad range of topics on this mood board. I am going to use this mood board while producing my magazine of a reminder of all of the different features that I liked. I have been putting together ideas for this mood board throughout my research and planning but wanted to leave producing it for as long as possible so I could gather as many ideas as possible.

The Simpsons Task

Below there is a movie poster that I completed on Photoshop in a two hour lesson. There is also the mark sheet which my teacher used to critique my work. This is the second task that I have completed on Photoshop and it has consolidated some of the knowledge that I gained whilst completing my first Photoshop task. It allowed me to exercise many skills which I will be using during the production stages of my magazine. I also gained new skills which I had not used during the first task. I think that my main issue whilst completing this movie poster was the time in which we were allocated to complete the task. I feel that my work could be of a higher standard had I had more time to work on the piece. However it was useful to see how long tasks of Photoshop can take so that I can devise a plan so that I am on track when making my magazine.

Upon reflection, these tasks have been very useful in increasing my knowledge of Photoshop. Photoshop is not a programme that I used regularly but now, going into the production of my magazine, I feel confident in using the programme and am hoping to produce a final product that look professional and polished.

Typical Reader

This is a document that I made that highlights the key features that I would expect to find in a typical reader of my magazine. I took inspiration from myself and friends that I have that fall into the age category specified on this post. I plan to use the information from this to ensure that my final product will appeal to my target audience by including some of their favourite things.