Positives and Negatives of Photoshop

Applying Photoshop to Images

When editing images using photoshop, the outcome can be positive or negative. These are some of the points that when applying photoshop, can enhance the images which also has its negatives or make the image look unrealistic and ridiculous. The following points highlight the positives and negatives of using photoshop...

Positives

• Editing makes it look more appealing- Editing and enhancing the image can make it look more appealing to people. It can inspire people to model themselves on the enhanced images as it is more appealing. If used correctly, editing can enhance the current image by editing the colour or applying a glow/shine to the image.

• Gain new followers- By editing the images, a new look will gain new followers. It inspires readers to want to look like images in magazines and gain new followers. A perfect example of this is the Cheryl Cole edition of Q Magazine. This images gives her the 'rock n roll' look instead of her usual 'pop' look. Through wearing clothes, pulling the facial expression and make-up, Cheryl Cole has been transformed into a rock icon in this edition of Q Magazine.

      

• Breaking into a new genre- By breaking into the rock and roll genre, Cheryl Cole is gaining more readers. Current regular buyers of Q will buy this edition and then read the main article which will reflect the truth and see her for what she really is and this results as gaining new followers

Negatives

• Unreal perception- Readers would have a perception that isn't real. If they were to meet the person in real life, they wouldn't be as attractive and it would be disappointing.

• False illusion- False hope for young girls is created as the image is an illusion, it is false, enhanced too much and heavily edited.

Ideology

Ideology

Ideology is the ideas behind a media text, also known as the secret agenda of its producers. It is important to be able to identify the different ideological discourses that may be present in even an apparently simple photograph. In sociological terms, ideology is a body of ideas or set of beliefs that underpins a process. These types of beliefs are held by groups within society. Media texts always reflect certain values or ideologies though sometimes and we may not be aware of this. Types of ideology are portrayed in these images of my old school building...

The ideology in this image is represented as positive and portrays the building as inviting and welcoming. The sky is blue, bright and clear and the actual building looks inviting and safe to work in as well as a looking like a positive environment and a school which you would want your child to attend.

This image of the school here is a juxtaposition to the one above as it portrays the school as unpleasant. The dark sky makes the image look uninviting and demonic and taken from a low angle, the building looks misshapen and unusual as well as the tree making seem creepy.

Subo and 50 Cent Magazine

HMM Magazine

This is my newest edition of my magazine, portraying the collaboration of Susan Boyle and 50 Cent, resulting and Boyle 50. I tried to apply as much of the terminology to the front cover as possible as well as making look as professional as possible. I looked at the likes of NME, Q Magazine, GQ and Rolling Stone magazine as inspiration. 

First Attempt at Music Magazine on Photoshop

Photoshop

As I am already quite familiar with the Photoshop software, I have a good understanding of how it works. I have it at home as well so I think I have an advantage over those who have not used or are unfamiliar with Photoshop. Furthermore, I have managed to produce my own magazine as a fist attempt using Photoshop. In this blog, I will show the progress of the magazine to prove that it is my own work and then I will post a blog of my completed first attempt, highlighting all the terminology and analyse my own magazine. Below is a progression of screenshots I have taken, each time I have added to the magazine, making it look better. When making the magazine, I tried making it look as professional as possible for example super-imposing the central image in front of the masthead.

As it stands, the magazine is unfinished but this is what I have so far. I imported a picture of Alex Turner from Google, included text and also placed a barcode in the bottom right-hand corner.

Music Magazine Genre Type

Genre Type

This blog is about my idea for the music magazine I am to produce, what type of image used for the main image as well as looking at examples to take inspiration from and what genre of music the magazine will be based on.

The type of genre I am most familiar with is the Alternative/Classic/Indie rock genre and so I have chosen this music genre to focus my magazine on. As well as this, I am a regular reader of magazines such as NME and Q and will usually buy the magazine based on the front covers content. In my research, I will look at different examples of magazine covers in order to create a template on which I will create my magazine from. Looking at different magazines as a template will help me to establish what type of image, font, content, language and colours to use when producing the magazine.

The types of images I will use will be of a band, either a three piece or four piece, with one or two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer.



   
This is a good example of what I would like my main image as for my music magazine. It shows the four band members all directly looking at the camera. The picture is high quality and would be ideal for a front cover image.

Again, this shows the four band members without instruments, even though we know they are band members, looking directly at the camera but this time there is an edit with the blue lighting, highlighting their facial expressions. Also, this image is aligned horizontally and neat which would also suit the front of a magazine cover.



Muisc Magazine Front Cover Analysis

Analysing Front Covers With Terminology

I analysed a front cover of Q Magazine, applying the terminology to the front cover and highlighting the key features of the front cover and elaborating in detail the key features such as the Masthead, Main Image, Headline, Bar-code, Buzz Word and Slogan. I chose this cover in particular as Arctic Monkeys are my favourite band and I have read Q before. I did this as a document on Word and then screen-shotted the document as an image and put it on my blog. This front cover in particular immediately caught my attention.

I recently attended the Arctic Monkeys tour of the UK at the Echo arena, promoting their most recent album AM. I was standing when watching them live and I am also seeing them again at T in the Park 2014. This was my view when watching them in October 2013 performing Old Yellow Bricks....

Looking at Magazine Terminology

Terminology

In order to produce a professional looking college magazine, i will need to be able to analyse all the different features of a music magazine and apply the terminology when analysing the magazine. A range of features can be identified when looking at the front page and contents page. These features make the magazine more appealing to the target audience’s eye. As well as this, if the magazines main image features a band or artist in which readers find interesting or their favourite, they are more likely to buy it e.g. if I seen Arctic Monkeys as the main image of the magazine, I would buy it as they are my favourite band and it intrigues me to read about them.

1. Mast head- Name of the magazine, usually located at the top of the front cover
2. Buzz words- Words such as Wow, Exclusive and Free
3. Caption- Description of an image, usually located underneath the image
4. Copy- The main text
5. Anchorage text- The way in which text helps to pin down the meaning of a picture and vice versa
6. Strap line-  A memorable phrase that is recognisable to a brand 
7. Sell lines- text of the cover that helps to sell the magazine to the audience 
8. House styles- A Magazines distinctive design that distinguishes ait form it competitors 
9. Headline- The introductory paragraph of an article usually written in bold or capitals 
10. Drop capital- Really big letter which start off an article 
11. Puffs- Colourful boxes promoting features inside the magazine
12. Pugs-  Placed at the top left and right hand corners of the paper and are known as the ears of the page. The price of the paper, the logo or a promotion are often positioned there. 
13. Banner- Text which stands out because its on a coloured background