As I said in my techniques and lighting post, I will be doing my main photo shoot at Lanhydrock Gardens, hopefully on a bright day so that I can use natural lighting. By researching the best lighting for outdoor photography, I have decided to photograph during the evening through until dusk in the summer so that I can get a range of photographs and lighting. Photographing in this season will mean that my images will appear warmer which will fit well with my fashion genre.
As Lanhydrock gardens cover a vast amount of land and are home to a range of greenery and flowers, I will be able to create many different scenes and backdrops around the gardens so that the photographs won't look similar. Although, I am planning to do another photoshoot in a corn field using an outdoor lighting kit.
As I want my photographs to have a natural look, I don't want other people in the shot. This could be difficult at Lanhydrock because it is a public attraction, so I will have to do it after closing time. This will work in terms of the lighting because less people will be in the location in the evening.
In term of my models, I am going to use people who have different looks and will be able to attract and represent my target audience. For my first photo shoot, I am going to use my friend Sophie. This is because I feel that she will represent my target audience in terms of the fashion genre as she is fashionable in the way she looks with middle length blonde hair and very blue eyes. I will dress and style her so that she looks young and natural in soft blue colours to match her features. Her look will be contrasting to her historical surroundings which will make her stand out.
I will also use my younger sister as a model in the same location with the same idea to look young and natural. I think she will attract my target audience because she represents the idea that Cornwall is full of natural scenery and is beautiful. Although she is only 10 years old, I think her look will attract my target audience because she is youthful and natural looking with wavy light blonde hair. This time, I will dress her in white/cream colours so that she seems angelic and elegant, which again will be contrasting to the historical surroundings.
I will photograph my last model in a corn field. I have chosen this location because the natural green surroundings will represent the Cornish culture. As this area will be quite dense with greenery, not much natural lighting will get let in. In this case, I will have to take an outdoor lighting kit which will consist of two umbrella lights and a wireless flash trigger so that I can produce more creative lighting and cast shadows of the corn stalks and leaves. I think my model will stand out in these green surroundings because of her contrasting auburn hair. I will dress her in a metallic purple dress which will also stand out against the greens. I think she will represent my target audience well because has a fashionable appearance.
I think these photographs will attract my target audience they represent the culture and heritage in Cornwall as well as representing the fashion genre. I think by using these locations, models and styling, I will be able to produce some creative photographs that show off the natural beauty of Cornwall.
Tuesday, 23 December 2014
Saturday, 20 December 2014
Photography Research: Techniques & Lighting
I have decided to do my photoshoot in and outdoor location rather than using a studio so I will need to research the use of natural light or outdoor lighting kits to ensure success for my photographs. I will be doing my photoshoot at Lahydrock Gardens, hopefully on a bright day so that I can use natural lighting. To make sure my photography is at a professional standard, I will need to plan my photoshoot based on the time of day so that I can make the most of the natural light. The different types of natural light can produce a wide variety of appeareances even though the light has come from the same source.
There are three factors that will affect the appearance of my subject when using natural lighting: the weather, camera direction and time of day. By using the direct sunlight, it will create a warmer and higher contrast image, whereas if I use diffused skylight, it will create a cooler and lower contrast effect. This lighting will change throughout the day which will result in different white balance or contrast on the subject. During midday when the sun will be nearly vertical, the contrasting light will be at it's highest and the main colours and tones will be neutral white. During the morning and evening when the direction of the sun is mid to low, the contrasting light will still be quite high on a clear day with warmer colours and tones featuring in the photograph. The sunrise and sunset is known to photographers as 'The Golden Hour'. This is because the sun will be near the horizon, creating a medium contrast and warm to fiery colours and tones in the photogrpah and on the subject. The sun falls closer to the horizon during this time which means that the light has to pass through the atmosphereand will bounce off the ground and onto the object more easily if the photograph is being taken in a clear area. Additionally, the atmosphere will filter more of the suns blue light which means that there will be an overall warmer light. During dawn and dusk after the sun has gone below the horizon, the contrast will be low creating cool tones. This might be a nice effect at the right time, but if the photogrpah is taken to late will result in an image that is too dark and therefore not very good quality.
Another factor will be the amount of cloud cover. This will influence the variation of light because it changes the balance between direct sunlight and diffused sun light which will affect the contrast and temperature of the light source.
Clear Midday Sunshine
On a clear day, midday lighting will be direct and downward facing. This light doesn't scatter or diffuse through the atmosphere so doesn't bounce off the ground to illuminate the subject indirectly. Typically, this is the least desired natural lighting for photography because it is the hardest and most neutrally coloured. During this time, colour saturation is lower and the downward shadows that are produced don't particularly make a flattering portrait; which is something I will have to take into account when creating fashion portraits. Potentionally, I sould use polarising filters to manage the contrast and create more warmer tones if it is neccessary to photograph at this time of day. If the shadows appear too harsh with colours that are saturated, I could still use these photographs with a Black and White filter because this effect will benefit from having the high contrast in the image from the midday light.
Mid-Morning and Evening
During evening and morning, the light will become warmer and will cast more noticeable and flattering shadows. Also, the subject will have more of a three dimensional appearance because the light will come from a side rather than directly above. This type of lighting can be more predictable because it isn't effected by the surroundings or location as much. Evening and morning light is not as neutrally coloured as midday light, but isn't as warm or as intense as sunset lighting. Additionally, it is less harsh than midday light but isn't as soft or diffused as the light during twilight or the lighting of an overcast day. The benefits of the lighting during this time of day mean that it is a good time for photography, however this could mean that my images will look ordinary and less unique than if I used more interesting light.
The 'Golden Hour'
Because of the horizontal light that casts long shadows and gives subjects a warm glow, the 'golden hour' is known as the most desirable of the natural lighting for photography. This time of day creates exciting and diverse lighting because of the influences from the weather. The sunlight reflects off of the bottom of the clouds instead of diffusing through them, creating the sky to have a soft and warm light. Although this lighting known to be spectacular in person, it is not often translated this way in an image. If I were to take my photographs at this time of day, I would need to make sure that my camera's auto white balance doesn't counteract the warmth in the scene or that it doesn't saturate the colour.
The lighting is at it's most dramatic look during this time of day, but doesn't last very long because the sun doesn't have to move very far to either be too high to start to diffuse the light across the sky, or too low to become dusk. Typically, this will most likely be the time that my camera will make an error with it's exposure, so I will need to take several photographs to make sure I capture the right moment.
Although a photograph of a sunset and a sunrise could look the same, the weather patterns can cause them to be different, so photographers will usually favour one over the other. If I decided to use this time of day for my photo shoot, I will need to take experimental photographs at both times of day to make sure I will get the best result. Other photographers find that they are more prepared for the sunset rather than the sunrise because the light quality strengthens gradually as it builds up towards the sunset. Sunrises however, start at their best and then begin to fade. Additionally, being at the necessary location in time and prepared for the sunrise is more impractical during summer. On the contrary, there is a serene quality to the sunrise because of the low-laying mist and dew-kissed greenery which isn't present during the sunset, particularly in scenes with moving water. This may not be necessary for my portrait photographs because the main focus should be on my model. Also, because this lighting only lasts for an hour, it may not give me enough time to find the best setting or pose for my model before the light changes.
Twilight, Dawn and Dusk
During twilight, daw and dusk, the sky is still light during the summer without any direct sunlight - typically the half hour before sunset or sunrise. The entire sky becomes the primary source of light, featuring warm tones of where the sun will set or rise and cool tones on the opposite side. This time of day can produce soft and colourful lighting that emits a calm and peaceful mood to the scene.
This lighting however, lasts for the half the time of the 'golden hour' so I would have to capture the desired photograph in even less time. Another disadvantage is that there can be a lack of contrast and ambient light, which means that cameras often over expose twilight scenes when using an auto setting and therefore wash out the delicate colours, creating fully white objects which wouldn't otherwise be contained in a twilight scene. In order to achieve a sense of depth within the image, I will need to make sure I pay attention to the composition. Also, I will most probably need to use a tripod so that I can experiment with a longer shutter speed to let in more light without any camera shake. This time of day would be good for the photographs that I am taking because the lighting and colours would fit with the type of portrait and fashion photography that I want to produce.
Shade & Overcast Sunlight
Because the light is spread across the entire sky without any direct light, shade and overcast lighting has a cool and soft appearance. Reflections will show to be more subdued on smooth surfaces and textures will be more subtle. This lighting can be ideal for outdoor portraits because it doesn't cast harsh shadows depending on the degree of cloud cover, although photographers usually avoid it because of the grey skies that often come with it. The appearance and saturation of colours usually improve with bright overcast light and enhances close-up and macro photography. However, low contrast light can alternatively be better when the subject involves high contrasting colours.
A common trick used to make make photographs taken in this lighting is to keep the grey sky out of the image, unless they are particularly moody. Because there won't be many shadows created by this light, like in twilight, capturing a sense of depth may be difficult but this time without the pastel colours to make up for it. The images that the camera takes will appear slightly blue, but if I were to shoot in RAW, I would be able to adjust the white balance, levels and curves afterwards to compensate. I think this lighting may be a bit dull for the style of photography that I want, but the advantages and disadvantages are worth knowing incase I have to photograph during this time.
Weather Conditions
In terms of lighting, the weather is effectively a filter that sits between the sun and the subject. Sunlight from a clear sky would have warm tones and will be direct, whereas a densely overcast sky would diffuse the sunlight and would create cooler tones. The amount and denseness of the cloud is what will effect the colours and tones as well as how direct the light will be.
Other weather conditions such as stormy skies can create high contrasting light as the the rain will clear the sky of haze and dust. Additionally, a sunset after a storm will be dramatic because the sky can become darker that the land, which will create a high contrast backdrop where rainbows are most likely to appear.
For my photo shoot, I think the best type of lighting to use would be evening lighting through until dusk so that I can get a range of photographs and lighting. By being ready to photograph from the evening, I should be able to capture photographs that have a high quality lighting with the right scenery and pose from my model. Furthermore, by shooting in the summer months I will be able to capture warmer tones that will fit better with my fashion theme.
There are three factors that will affect the appearance of my subject when using natural lighting: the weather, camera direction and time of day. By using the direct sunlight, it will create a warmer and higher contrast image, whereas if I use diffused skylight, it will create a cooler and lower contrast effect. This lighting will change throughout the day which will result in different white balance or contrast on the subject. During midday when the sun will be nearly vertical, the contrasting light will be at it's highest and the main colours and tones will be neutral white. During the morning and evening when the direction of the sun is mid to low, the contrasting light will still be quite high on a clear day with warmer colours and tones featuring in the photograph. The sunrise and sunset is known to photographers as 'The Golden Hour'. This is because the sun will be near the horizon, creating a medium contrast and warm to fiery colours and tones in the photogrpah and on the subject. The sun falls closer to the horizon during this time which means that the light has to pass through the atmosphereand will bounce off the ground and onto the object more easily if the photograph is being taken in a clear area. Additionally, the atmosphere will filter more of the suns blue light which means that there will be an overall warmer light. During dawn and dusk after the sun has gone below the horizon, the contrast will be low creating cool tones. This might be a nice effect at the right time, but if the photogrpah is taken to late will result in an image that is too dark and therefore not very good quality.
Another factor will be the amount of cloud cover. This will influence the variation of light because it changes the balance between direct sunlight and diffused sun light which will affect the contrast and temperature of the light source.
Clear Midday Sunshine
On a clear day, midday lighting will be direct and downward facing. This light doesn't scatter or diffuse through the atmosphere so doesn't bounce off the ground to illuminate the subject indirectly. Typically, this is the least desired natural lighting for photography because it is the hardest and most neutrally coloured. During this time, colour saturation is lower and the downward shadows that are produced don't particularly make a flattering portrait; which is something I will have to take into account when creating fashion portraits. Potentionally, I sould use polarising filters to manage the contrast and create more warmer tones if it is neccessary to photograph at this time of day. If the shadows appear too harsh with colours that are saturated, I could still use these photographs with a Black and White filter because this effect will benefit from having the high contrast in the image from the midday light.
Mid-Morning and Evening
The 'Golden Hour'
Because of the horizontal light that casts long shadows and gives subjects a warm glow, the 'golden hour' is known as the most desirable of the natural lighting for photography. This time of day creates exciting and diverse lighting because of the influences from the weather. The sunlight reflects off of the bottom of the clouds instead of diffusing through them, creating the sky to have a soft and warm light. Although this lighting known to be spectacular in person, it is not often translated this way in an image. If I were to take my photographs at this time of day, I would need to make sure that my camera's auto white balance doesn't counteract the warmth in the scene or that it doesn't saturate the colour.
The lighting is at it's most dramatic look during this time of day, but doesn't last very long because the sun doesn't have to move very far to either be too high to start to diffuse the light across the sky, or too low to become dusk. Typically, this will most likely be the time that my camera will make an error with it's exposure, so I will need to take several photographs to make sure I capture the right moment.
Although a photograph of a sunset and a sunrise could look the same, the weather patterns can cause them to be different, so photographers will usually favour one over the other. If I decided to use this time of day for my photo shoot, I will need to take experimental photographs at both times of day to make sure I will get the best result. Other photographers find that they are more prepared for the sunset rather than the sunrise because the light quality strengthens gradually as it builds up towards the sunset. Sunrises however, start at their best and then begin to fade. Additionally, being at the necessary location in time and prepared for the sunrise is more impractical during summer. On the contrary, there is a serene quality to the sunrise because of the low-laying mist and dew-kissed greenery which isn't present during the sunset, particularly in scenes with moving water. This may not be necessary for my portrait photographs because the main focus should be on my model. Also, because this lighting only lasts for an hour, it may not give me enough time to find the best setting or pose for my model before the light changes.
Twilight, Dawn and Dusk
During twilight, daw and dusk, the sky is still light during the summer without any direct sunlight - typically the half hour before sunset or sunrise. The entire sky becomes the primary source of light, featuring warm tones of where the sun will set or rise and cool tones on the opposite side. This time of day can produce soft and colourful lighting that emits a calm and peaceful mood to the scene.
This lighting however, lasts for the half the time of the 'golden hour' so I would have to capture the desired photograph in even less time. Another disadvantage is that there can be a lack of contrast and ambient light, which means that cameras often over expose twilight scenes when using an auto setting and therefore wash out the delicate colours, creating fully white objects which wouldn't otherwise be contained in a twilight scene. In order to achieve a sense of depth within the image, I will need to make sure I pay attention to the composition. Also, I will most probably need to use a tripod so that I can experiment with a longer shutter speed to let in more light without any camera shake. This time of day would be good for the photographs that I am taking because the lighting and colours would fit with the type of portrait and fashion photography that I want to produce.
Shade & Overcast Sunlight
Because the light is spread across the entire sky without any direct light, shade and overcast lighting has a cool and soft appearance. Reflections will show to be more subdued on smooth surfaces and textures will be more subtle. This lighting can be ideal for outdoor portraits because it doesn't cast harsh shadows depending on the degree of cloud cover, although photographers usually avoid it because of the grey skies that often come with it. The appearance and saturation of colours usually improve with bright overcast light and enhances close-up and macro photography. However, low contrast light can alternatively be better when the subject involves high contrasting colours.
A common trick used to make make photographs taken in this lighting is to keep the grey sky out of the image, unless they are particularly moody. Because there won't be many shadows created by this light, like in twilight, capturing a sense of depth may be difficult but this time without the pastel colours to make up for it. The images that the camera takes will appear slightly blue, but if I were to shoot in RAW, I would be able to adjust the white balance, levels and curves afterwards to compensate. I think this lighting may be a bit dull for the style of photography that I want, but the advantages and disadvantages are worth knowing incase I have to photograph during this time.
Weather Conditions
In terms of lighting, the weather is effectively a filter that sits between the sun and the subject. Sunlight from a clear sky would have warm tones and will be direct, whereas a densely overcast sky would diffuse the sunlight and would create cooler tones. The amount and denseness of the cloud is what will effect the colours and tones as well as how direct the light will be.
Other weather conditions such as stormy skies can create high contrasting light as the the rain will clear the sky of haze and dust. Additionally, a sunset after a storm will be dramatic because the sky can become darker that the land, which will create a high contrast backdrop where rainbows are most likely to appear.
____________________
For my photo shoot, I think the best type of lighting to use would be evening lighting through until dusk so that I can get a range of photographs and lighting. By being ready to photograph from the evening, I should be able to capture photographs that have a high quality lighting with the right scenery and pose from my model. Furthermore, by shooting in the summer months I will be able to capture warmer tones that will fit better with my fashion theme.
Friday, 19 December 2014
Photography Research: Svetlana Belyaeva
Svetlana Belyaeva is a Russian photographer who is best known for turning her photography into art. She usually works in themes of nude, fashion and beauty. Belyaeva specializes in capturing high quality motion figures with great style. Her models wear glamorous fabrics that are used as props to create a sense of movement within the image.
Her use of colour in her images connotes the theme or meaning behind her works, such as the colour of red which could suggest the theme of passion, power and love. She also uses the colour yellow in her work a lot; this colour has a less obvious meaning, but could suggest purity and optimism. The vibrant colour that she uses suggest power and make her models seem strong and elegant.
The way she uses clothing and fabrics as props give the images a sense of freedom as if her models are flying. The way she edits her images on Photoshop adds to this and helps her models and colours stand out against the backgrounds and surroundings. Her editing technique involves blurring sections of the background to make it seem like the models are the only thing in the image as it brings them forward in terms of depth. This gives them more importance and shows that they are the subject of the image. In certain images, blur used in a tilt-shift style is used to make the models seem like they are quite a height from the ground; which again helps helps to give it a sense of freedom and depth. The images are often given a vignette effect and have been edited with software similar to Adobe Lightroom to make the colours and skin tones seem brighter an flawless. This helps the subject of the image to stand out. Along side this, the movement in the image makes it seem like she has captures a still moment in time.
Her work links with the idea of escapism in that her images look like freeze frames of beauty and peace. The idea of capturing a moment where it seems like time has stopped still is something that I would like to portray in my own work. I would also like to experiment with the use of colour and editing with blur. Additionally, I would like to experiment with movement of the model and of clothing and fabrics.
I think Belyaeva's work would be good to use as inspiration for my magazine photography as her style of work would look beautiful in a fashion magazine. I will take inspiration from the styling of the model, locations, poses, lighting, composition and the editing techniques she has used in order to create work of the same standard with similar themes.
Masthead Ideas
To create the masthead for my hybrid regional fashion magazine, I firstly looked at the mastheads of the real media texts with the same genres:
These mastheads use similar Times fonts that are clean and sophisticated. However, Bazaar and Vogue use a more feminine style that connotes the fashion genre.
The masthead for my magazine will have to connote both regional and fashion genres, so needs to be sophisticated and feminine, but not as stylized as Vogue and Bazaar.
Possible fonts:
Effloresce
Bodoni
Perpetua Tilting MT
I think the font that best represents my genre is Perpetua Tilting MT. This is because it is similar to the style of Vogue, but isn't to modern and stylized to cancel out the regional genre. I think the font will be better suited to my masthead than the others because it is lightweight and capitalized like Vogue and connotes femininity and sophistication. The other fonts are more heavy weighted making them less elegant and fitting with the hybrid genre.
For my magazine cover, I may use a different colour for the masthead other that black so that it fits with or stands out against the image used. I have found this to be a common convention on real media texts such as Vogue:
Thursday, 18 December 2014
Colour Research
In order for my product to be successful, I will need to consider the use of colours. This is important because research has revealed that colour matters in marketing and branding and plays a crucial role in visual experiences.
When purchasing products, the majority of people put most of the importance on visual factors. Research has shown that when people make a subconscious judgement about a product, an average of 75% of the assessment is based on colour alone.
It has been proved that colour can increase brand recognition by up to 80%. An example of this is when Apple brought colour into the market place by introducing it to the Macs and then the colourful iPods.
The colours that I use within my images will also be important because research shows that coloured images may sustain interest for two seconds of more, whereas a black and white image may only hold the attention for two thirds of a second.
In terms of a colour pallet, I have researched colours that connote summer as I will be making a summer issue of my magazine. Most of the summer colour pallets that have already been made are very bright like the colours below on the left. These colours are very loud and create a bold statement. Because my magazine is regional to Cornwall, I think more natural and soft colours (more like the colours below on the right), will suit my magazine better. The reason for this is because Cornwall is slower paced and a calm area compared to cities, and I think softer colours will show this better. Also, Cornwall is best know for its beaches and coastal areas, so sunset colours and soft blues will best represent this.
The colours from the colour pallet on the right are more natural and show the summer colours that the Cornish wildlife has during the summer months. The colours on the right are described as 'dirty pastels', which relates to Cornwall because a lot of the region is filled with natural landscapes and wildlife which contains natural/dirty colours, as opposed to cities that are mostly full of man made buildings and less natural colours. These neutral colours are more suited to Cornwall, but because my regional magazine is a hybrid genre with fashion, I will need to include some colours that represent this genre too; similar to the colours used on the fashion magazines that I have analysed. In order to incorporate both genres in my colour pallet, I will use pastel colours mixed with neutral colours so that the overall look will be summery, but more natural than that of a fashion magazine that caters for other audiences in different regions.
The colour pallet above shows pastel colours that are more natural. Also, most of the images that show examples of these colours in real life are images of objects that could be found in Cornwall, e.g. natural landscapes, small boutiques and sunsets. The colour pallet that I will use for my magazine will be similar to the one above so that I can represent both fashion and Cornwall in my images and colour choices.
When purchasing products, the majority of people put most of the importance on visual factors. Research has shown that when people make a subconscious judgement about a product, an average of 75% of the assessment is based on colour alone.
It has been proved that colour can increase brand recognition by up to 80%. An example of this is when Apple brought colour into the market place by introducing it to the Macs and then the colourful iPods.
The colours that I use within my images will also be important because research shows that coloured images may sustain interest for two seconds of more, whereas a black and white image may only hold the attention for two thirds of a second.
In terms of a colour pallet, I have researched colours that connote summer as I will be making a summer issue of my magazine. Most of the summer colour pallets that have already been made are very bright like the colours below on the left. These colours are very loud and create a bold statement. Because my magazine is regional to Cornwall, I think more natural and soft colours (more like the colours below on the right), will suit my magazine better. The reason for this is because Cornwall is slower paced and a calm area compared to cities, and I think softer colours will show this better. Also, Cornwall is best know for its beaches and coastal areas, so sunset colours and soft blues will best represent this.
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The colours from the colour pallet on the right are more natural and show the summer colours that the Cornish wildlife has during the summer months. The colours on the right are described as 'dirty pastels', which relates to Cornwall because a lot of the region is filled with natural landscapes and wildlife which contains natural/dirty colours, as opposed to cities that are mostly full of man made buildings and less natural colours. These neutral colours are more suited to Cornwall, but because my regional magazine is a hybrid genre with fashion, I will need to include some colours that represent this genre too; similar to the colours used on the fashion magazines that I have analysed. In order to incorporate both genres in my colour pallet, I will use pastel colours mixed with neutral colours so that the overall look will be summery, but more natural than that of a fashion magazine that caters for other audiences in different regions.
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
The colour pallet above shows pastel colours that are more natural. Also, most of the images that show examples of these colours in real life are images of objects that could be found in Cornwall, e.g. natural landscapes, small boutiques and sunsets. The colour pallet that I will use for my magazine will be similar to the one above so that I can represent both fashion and Cornwall in my images and colour choices.
I have created my own colour pallet to show the colours that I am going to use throughout my magazine, billboard and website. The colours that I have chosen are summery, but are still soft and natural so that they represent the calm nature of Cornwall.
I have given my colours names and have wrote it's hex colour so that I will be able to use these exact colours in Photoshop. I think these colours work well together to suggest and calm and natural mood. Additionally, some of these are washed-out pastel colours which are very fashionable in clothing and make up.
I have chosen and will use variations of the pink, purple and blue because they are more summery and fashionable, although they are faded. I have also chosen a soft green to represent the greenery and wildlife around Cornwall and a beige to represent the sandy beaches.
I think that my target audience will be attracted to these colours because they are very fashionable at the moment, and my target audience will want to be involved with something that is up to date. Also, they will want to read a magazine that represents Cornwall instead of a magazine with bright and bold colours that could represent the fast-paced life of a city.
I have given my colours names and have wrote it's hex colour so that I will be able to use these exact colours in Photoshop. I think these colours work well together to suggest and calm and natural mood. Additionally, some of these are washed-out pastel colours which are very fashionable in clothing and make up.
I have chosen and will use variations of the pink, purple and blue because they are more summery and fashionable, although they are faded. I have also chosen a soft green to represent the greenery and wildlife around Cornwall and a beige to represent the sandy beaches.
I think that my target audience will be attracted to these colours because they are very fashionable at the moment, and my target audience will want to be involved with something that is up to date. Also, they will want to read a magazine that represents Cornwall instead of a magazine with bright and bold colours that could represent the fast-paced life of a city.
Wednesday, 17 December 2014
Flat Plans
After researching and analysing existing regional and fashion magazine cover, contents and feature pages as well as billboards and websites, I have made my own flat plan designs for my magazine using the same conventions that I found to be common in real magazines. I have produced a range of designs on paper so that I can decide on the best layout for my magazine before creating it. By completing this process, I will be able to make sure all aspects of my layout suit my genre and represent the target audience.
Tuesday, 16 December 2014
Audience Research
In 1998, Hall and Holmes stated that, 'Any media text is created for a particular audience and will usually appeal most to this particular audience.' In other words, it's very important for a media product to have a specific target audience and for it to appeal to directly to them. In order for my product to be successful, I will need to focus on my target audience and their interests so that I can make sure that the product I produce will be about their needs and desires. I will need to make sure that I target it to the correct audience so that I can include the correct content. After researching my genre, I have decided that my audience will be a mass market because of how popular the genre is.
The Hypodermic Needle Theory implies that mass media has a powerful effect on it's audiences so much so that their behaviour and thoughts can change as a result. This theory relates to the audiences in regards to media representation. In terms of my own text, I don't think that my product will have content that will support this theory and won't fit accurately in regarding representation.
Additionally, Blumler & Katz's Uses and Gratification theory states that as the consumer, my audience will use media for specific purposes. In relation to my product, these purposes will include informing the audience as well as for entertainment.
As my magazine will have a regional slant, my target audience will mainly be people in the county of Cornwall. Also, because my genre is fashion, my audience will probably be within an age range between 18 - 35 year olds. It is mainly the older generation that read regional magazines, but because of the fashion element, I think it will appeal more to young adults. Also, by narrowing the audience down to this age group, I can focus it on more youthful fashion and include photographs and content that will include the right styles of fashion and appeal to the right target audience.
In terms of gender, I think my magazine will primarily appeal to females because of the use of fashion and because it will mostly represent the female gender. As the age group of my target audience will start at around 18 years, I won't have to represent young people of who Stanley Hall described as depressed and badly behaved. This means that my content and choices of font and colours will not have to represent this age group. However, certain fashion statements could involve darker colours and bolder fonts that could connote a more depressed theme.
The next question I asked related to the gender of the audience. I can see that the target audience is predominantly female as 76.92% of the audience selected female in my survey. This could link with the genre of magazine that the audience have selected as females maybe more interested in a particular genre.
For this question in my survey, I added 'Cornish' as a response so that I could see how many of the people who answered were interested in a Cornish regional magazine in particular. 100% of the responses were 'Cornish', which means that I will need to include content that will represent them. The reason for this ethnic group being selected the most is probably because I shared my survey on Facebook, and the majority of my friends are from Cornwall.
From this graph, I am able to see that my target audience is between C1 and C2 in terms of their social grade. Again, the lack of range could be because of the people who filled out my survey from my friends on Facebook. I will have to take this into consideration when creating my magazine so that I include content that these social grades will be interested in.
Probably because of the lack of diversity in Cornwall, these results are very unbalanced. Nevertheless, I will make sure that my magazines is aimed primarily at heterosexual females so that I can portray my audience precisely.
These results show that the larger part of my target audience only 'occasionally' read regional magazines or newspapers. This could mean that my target audience doesn't have a magazine that directly represents them, so will therefore be more interested in the magazine that I will produce.
This feedback confirms the fact that my target audience would be interested in reading a new regional magazine that represents them better. For my magazine to be successful, I will need to make sure it is appealing to the right market.
The Hypodermic Needle Theory implies that mass media has a powerful effect on it's audiences so much so that their behaviour and thoughts can change as a result. This theory relates to the audiences in regards to media representation. In terms of my own text, I don't think that my product will have content that will support this theory and won't fit accurately in regarding representation.
Additionally, Blumler & Katz's Uses and Gratification theory states that as the consumer, my audience will use media for specific purposes. In relation to my product, these purposes will include informing the audience as well as for entertainment.
As my magazine will have a regional slant, my target audience will mainly be people in the county of Cornwall. Also, because my genre is fashion, my audience will probably be within an age range between 18 - 35 year olds. It is mainly the older generation that read regional magazines, but because of the fashion element, I think it will appeal more to young adults. Also, by narrowing the audience down to this age group, I can focus it on more youthful fashion and include photographs and content that will include the right styles of fashion and appeal to the right target audience.
In terms of gender, I think my magazine will primarily appeal to females because of the use of fashion and because it will mostly represent the female gender. As the age group of my target audience will start at around 18 years, I won't have to represent young people of who Stanley Hall described as depressed and badly behaved. This means that my content and choices of font and colours will not have to represent this age group. However, certain fashion statements could involve darker colours and bolder fonts that could connote a more depressed theme.
In regards to social grades, I think my target audience will fall between social class B - C2. This is because the clothing in fashion magazines is expensive as well as the cost of the magazine, so will mainly appeal to middle-higher social classes. Also because my magazine is regional, it will generally be higher social grades that will want to know about events in Cornwall and costly days out as well as expensive fashion. By analysing other fashion magazines and regional magazines, it was apparent that they targeted people of a higher social grade most probably because the research has already been carries out that higher class people show more of an interest in these areas. For example, Cornwall Today's audience fall into the social brackets of A - C1, and Vogues audience which are also A - C1. I think these magazines represent this social grade because they will be more interested in the valuable fashion and activities and scenery that Cornwall has to offer.
By researching magazine publishers, I can see that they profile their audience by exploring the demographics and features of their audiences, such as their age and gender.
I will explore the following questions for the development and creation of my magazine as magazine publishers would:
1) What is the age of the primary target audience?
2) What is the gender on the primary target audience?
3) What is the ethnic group of the primary target audience?
4) What is the primary target audience's social grade?
5) What is the sexuality of the primary target audience?
6) Would they read Cornish magazines or newspapers?
7) Would they be interested in a new Cornish magazine?
8) What genre of magazine would they be interested in?
9) What stories would they be interested in reading?
10) What would they like the name of the magazine to be?
By using Survey Monkey, I will be able to conduct my own primary target research which will allow me to understand my audience better. To ensure that I represent my target audience correctly, I will ask my them direct questions about who they are and what they would like to see on my magazine which will allow a better understanding of them. In order to get results, I have posted my survey onto social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
This is the link to the survey I created using Survey Monkey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JTNKD8V
I will now analyse my results from the audience who filled out my survey.
The first question I asked my target audience referred to their age. By analysing my results, I can see that the age demographic of my audience are primarily between 18 and 24. This information shows me that I need to base my content of my magazine to a younger audience. As 92.31% of the people that filled out my survey were of this age, I will need to represent them in particular as well as incorporating content that will interest this age bracket.
By researching magazine publishers, I can see that they profile their audience by exploring the demographics and features of their audiences, such as their age and gender.
I will explore the following questions for the development and creation of my magazine as magazine publishers would:
1) What is the age of the primary target audience?
2) What is the gender on the primary target audience?
3) What is the ethnic group of the primary target audience?
4) What is the primary target audience's social grade?
5) What is the sexuality of the primary target audience?
6) Would they read Cornish magazines or newspapers?
7) Would they be interested in a new Cornish magazine?
8) What genre of magazine would they be interested in?
9) What stories would they be interested in reading?
10) What would they like the name of the magazine to be?
By using Survey Monkey, I will be able to conduct my own primary target research which will allow me to understand my audience better. To ensure that I represent my target audience correctly, I will ask my them direct questions about who they are and what they would like to see on my magazine which will allow a better understanding of them. In order to get results, I have posted my survey onto social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
This is the link to the survey I created using Survey Monkey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/JTNKD8V
I will now analyse my results from the audience who filled out my survey.
The first question I asked my target audience referred to their age. By analysing my results, I can see that the age demographic of my audience are primarily between 18 and 24. This information shows me that I need to base my content of my magazine to a younger audience. As 92.31% of the people that filled out my survey were of this age, I will need to represent them in particular as well as incorporating content that will interest this age bracket.
By asking this question, I was able to narrow down what my target audience wanted to see. 92.31% of respondents answered with 'fashion'. This links with the fact that the majority of them also answered female because fashion is stereotypically something females would be more interested in.
To narrow down what my audience wants even further, I asked them what stories they wanted to see. 84.62% said that they wanted to read about 'fashion tips and stories', while the only other answer was 'local stories'. Being a regional fashion magazine, it will have to include stories around both of these areas.
I then asked the audience about what they would like the magazine to be called. 100% said they wanted it to be called 'Kensa', meaning first in Cornish. I think this name is very fitting to the magazine because it is a Cornish word, so relates to the fact it is regional to this county, but additionally because it is a pretty sounding word so also relates to the fashion genre.
In conclusion, this survey has helped my to understand my target audience and what I need to do to portray them accurately. As a summary, my target audience are primarily Cornish, heterosexual females between the ages of 18-30 years, within social grades B-C2 that have an interest in fashion, with a secondary audience of males. I will now need to create a magazine that is best suited to this audiences needs and desires.
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