Contacts Sheets Photoshoot 2

 We decided to take some photos and develop our images. We experimented by doing another shoot indoors and then doing a shoot outdoors. We also decided to experiment with outfits and clothing with our models. This will help us showcase more outfits which fit the image and genre of our magazine. We also decided to use the flash when taking the images as it created a nice shadow in the background.

To create the contact sheet I used Adobe bridge as it allows you create one. I selected the images from our photoshoot which I wanted to present. I then selected the output and preview contact sheet. I then screen-shotted the content sheet.  These images will fit the genre of our magazine as they are simple and also artistic. The clothing the models are wearing is trendy and the shots taken outside show a variety of locations. I really like the image of one of the models with sun glasses on as, I think this would work well for our front cover. Whereas the other images would work well for smaller pictures on contents pages and double-page spread. I think the images of them walking would work really well  on the contents page as it looks natural.

Font Testing and Masthead/Logo Planning

Arial - Pros: Simple, Easy to read, would appeal to most audiences. Cons: Could be seen as too simple, could be overly used. This font was included in my survey, as this font was the most popular of all the fonts. This font was well received by our audience, therefore this would be a good font to include in the magazine. The font would fit our genre as it is simple and would tie in well with the magazine. Being easy to read and simple this means it will benefit and appeal to readers. 

Calibri - Pros: Easy to read, Simple, Sophisticated. Cons: Does it fit the genre?, Audiences of our survey show they would prefer other fonts. This font would be a good idea for our magazine as it is simple and easy to read, this would appeal to our audience. The font would fit the image for our magazine as it is sophisticated and readable. This is font will be considered for the magazine.  

New Times Roman- Pros: Sophisticated, Simple. Cons: Dated, doesn't really fit the genre. The font is simple and sophisticated, however this font could be seen as dated and too sophisticated for our genre. The indie rock genre is fun and exciting and the font might not really appeal to the audience of the indie rock genre. With the audience of indie being mostly made up of the younger generation, this font may not appeal to that generation but sway more to older generation. We want the font we choose to appeal to majority of our audience and therefore be flexible.  

Arial Black- Pros: Bold and striking, eye-catching, simple. Cons: too thick, quite small. This font is very striking and would catch readers eyes which is a good quality. However this font might not be the right font to suite the genre, this is because it is quite a bold font. Another reason is due to being so thick this means it would take up a lot of space on the pages. This also might mean that the font is hard to read, this wouldn't appeal to older generations.  

Comic Sans MS- Pros: Unique, Cartoon like, Easy to read. Cons: Not sophisticated enough, childlike. This font has good aspects to it as it simple and easy to read. However this would not fit the image of the magazine and indie rock genre as it isn't a very sophisticated font. This would lower the image of the magazine as we want to appeal to audiences as a serious magazine company. This font also might not appeal to the older generations as it almost unprofessional for a serious magazine.  

Courier New- Pros: Type-writer effect, unique and different. Cons: Doesn't fit the image of a magazine. This font is simple and easy to read so this would benefit audiences. However this will not be used for our magazine as this font doesn't fit the genre and overall the image of a magazine. The font is quite thin and has the effect of a type-writer which doesn't really fit the image of indie rock. Indie rock is very current whereas this font is slightly too sophisticated for the magazine. 

Masthead Planning: 

We started with a basic Arial font as this was the most popular font shown in the results of my survey. I decided to add two copies on top of each other as this created a shadow effect, overall the finish looked quite simple (bottom left). We then tried out a different type of font which is shown above which was a more sophisticated and fancy font (middle left). I quite liked this font however I don't think this type of font suites the genre of our magazine. We took inspiration from another magazine called NME and INDIE. These magazines showed to have bold lettering with bright/simple colours. We took this idea and it inspired the middle fonts. I first tried a fully black bold font. I then tested out blue and red versions. I think the blue was the best version, however red was picked more by our respondents in our survey. I also tested out writing the rest of the words in white along the large lettering. I quite liked this effect. I then tested this idea out on a white version which I think as my favourite as it simple and readable. I think this fits the image of the magazine the most. I think the bold lettering is stylish and simple which makes it quite effective.

This will appeal to our audience as the audience is majority the younger generation, which are very on trend and stylish. This would also appeal to our audience as it is easy to read and understand for the older generations. 

Contact Sheets

Contact Sheets: 
I created a contact sheet on Adobe bridge. Overall I think photos came out well. I like the images in front of the white backdrop as it has impression of being in a studio set. This makes the shoot/magazine more professional. I like the images which contain three of the models as I think it creates a good composition for the image. It also shows a variety in models. I like the images where the two models are close together, compared to the first few images. In the film 10 shots, the models are captured more in the moment than actually posing. Compared to a few shots in they become more comfortable and pose more closer together which I prefer. This is because it shows they are comfortable around each other and would show the bond they have from being in a band. The images we will most likely use will be one containing the three models. Another image we will most likely be editing and using will be one of the two models in front of the white backdrop. The images fit the image of our magazine as they are fun, trendy and simple. It will attract both the male and female audience.

Another idea we had was to photograph our models sitting on a sofa. This added a vintage effect to the image as the sofa's pattern was very unique and bright. Vintage is a popular trend within the indie rock audience therefore it would appeal to the audiences of the younger and older generations. I like this images as they look natural for our models and they are playing a guitar which also enforces the idea of them being musicians. I think one of these images will be used for our double-page spread or our front cover. However they will be edited as the images need to enhanced. The images in front of the white backdrop would be a good for our front cover of the magazine. When the images are edited we will create mock-ups of the front cover and double-page spreads.

Photo shoot planning Locations

Photoshoot Planning - Storyboard

Photo shoot 1 idea: Studio/Blank backdrop

One of our ideas for our shoots is to have our models stand in front of a plain white backdrop as this could replicate a studio for the front cover. I found these images for inspiration as they fit the idea of our shoot. We want to capture the models having fun and being themselves as this shows they are in a band and have chemistry. The outfits they are wearing also fit the image of our magazine, they are wearing stylish and dark clothing with leather jackets and styled hair. We will aim to recreate these for our magazine as these are the type of images we want on our front cover. The lighting we would use for this shoot we could range from natural , as we are taking photos in a conservatory, however artificial lighting would work better. We would also use the flash on the camera which will help the artificial lighting. The types of shots we will be planning to capture would be wide shots, we would also be conscious of rule of thirds as there is three models for this shoot. However in some shots we will be planning on using two models. We will be aware of the composition as we want a good amount of space in the shot. We will take photos that are zoomed away from the models as we want them to take up most of the shots.

Photo shoot 2 idea: Outside/Alleyway/Graffiti

 Another idea for our magazine would be to do an outside photo shoot, we liked the idea of alleyways and graffiti as it fits the image of our magazine. This shoot would give a grunge and indie vibe to the magazine compared to the studio shoot. This will also help us have a variety of shoots/images in our magazine. We would also think about using male models in this shoot as it would help appeal to more male audience as well as female. For these shoots, there will be limitations due to natural lighting therefore we will have to go out when the lighting is bright. Otherwise we will need to rely on artificial lighting and the flash of the camera. The type of shots we will be using for the outdoor photo shoot will be wide shots, and some close up shots. We will be using deep focus on the main models and the surroundings. For the close up shots we will be mainly focused on the band members. These type of images will fit our magazines as they would appeal to our audience.

Costumes and Props List

Potential Props for photo shoot: Sunglasses, guitar/musical instruments, necklaces, lollypops/food. Accessories are often wore with the outfits that our models will be wearing. Festival bands, and wrist wear would be an idea for our models to wear. A guitar would be a good idea to include in the photoshoot as this would add to the idea that they are actually musicians. 

Potential costume ideas for photoshoots: We wanted to have our models be comfortable and be able to move, the clothing we chose is loose and casual. From our research of clothing of the indie rock genre vintage clothing is common as well as brands. We decided for costumes we'd have the models wearing jeans , can be ripped, and oversized shirts. Leather jackets would be a possible idea for outfits, and sunglasses would be used. Dark colours and patterns are often common for the audience of indie rock, checkered shirts. During festival season, for girls shorts with oversized shirts and crop tops are very common. Boys tend to wear skater brands and also sports brands such as Adidas and Nike. Older generations however would most likely wear dark colours and even merchandise from the bands they like. Older generations are harder to pinpoint as to what they wear, this is because younger generations tend to follow tends nowadays. 

Models Planning

We contacted our models through email, we decided to contact them this way as it is professional. We kept the email sophisticated as this would be best way to present our company/magazine. We also added the name of our magazine at the bottom of the email to make sure they knew who was contacting them. We gave them details about the photoshoot. 

The models we are using for our magazine names: 

Ellie Scobell- From Reading, Age 16, Female, Height 5’8, Dark Brown hair, Hazel eyes. 

Sheena Austin- From Reading, Age 16, Female, Height 5’10, Blonde hair, Green eyes.

Eleanor Ward- From Reading, Age 16, Female, Height 5’7, Blonde/Brown hair, Blue eyes. 

We chose these models for our magazine as they are young and would fit the image of our indie rock genre. Our research and surveys showed that our respondents were mainly female. Having a female band as a representative for our magazine will help us stand out from other magazines. Having young people on our front cover would appeal to younger generations more as our research showed mainly young people make up the audience of the indie rock genre. The models are relatable and fit the look of our magazine. We asked them to dress in casual clothing, we had them wear over-sized shirts including a checkered shirt. We wanted them to be dressed in loose clothing and wear sunglasses leisurely. We used the sunglasses as a prop as it added another element to the shoot and gave the models a ‘rockstar’ sort of look. The shoot we decided to have the models be comfortable and be themselves as it created a nice spontaneous fun shoot.  Both males and females would be attracted to the front cover, it would also attract the majority of the audience which is the younger generation, this is why they are suitable for our magazine. 

Magazine Mood Board - Inspiration

I have presented some images of certain photoshoots, bands, magazine covers and colour schemes which have interested and inspired me for my magazine. I really liked a photoshoot of a band called Haim, they are classed as pop/rock band. There is a fun and spontaneous vibe shown in their photoshoots this is because their personalities are showcased. I really liked this idea of a laid back photoshoot and will consider creating this atmosphere when carrying out my photoshoot. I really liked the idea of grunge and dark locations also, I think the idea of graffiti being included creates a really grunge and indie mood to the photoshoots. For colours I will consider using reds, blacks and whites tones, however I will also think about using green, purple and blue tones. The best way to test out the colours will be when I am creating mock ups for the final draft.  I want to make sure the photoshoot is casual and will make sure to create a chemistry between the models as most bands have good chemistry.  I will think about doing a shoot outside and one inside with a plain backdrop. The clothes that current band members tend to wear are comfortable and trendy, I will look for this type of clothing when creating my costume plan for the models.

Planning- Timeline