Final project evaluation-2
- 2. Throughout my evaluation I am going to look at the steps I followed in order to achieve my finished product. It will analyse the ways in which I did this and also how I managed to successfully reach my overall aim of representing the ages of 18-21. I'll look at the main aspect in the process and personally evaluate each section with relation to how this sucessful I was in this section, how this section helped my process and how I feel about these certain sections. Evaluation
- 3. Research Management. My research gave me a clear idea of what style magazine wanted to create- a social culture magazine featuring documentary photography. This clear understanding of what I wanted to create was due to being inspired by a few well known photographers and a social culture magazine called '93 magazine'. A Manchester based magazine with a niche target audience, it was aimed at young people living in Manchester and was produced by a small group of creatives who wanted to give those of Manchester a voice. This influenced my magazine greatly with having a magazine that was representing a group of people. From this I decided to base my magazine on representing my own generation(generation Z) 18- 21 year old's because I had the best access to them, them being my peers. One photographer in particular, Corinna Day, inspired my decision greatly with her natural settings which are portrayed throughout my project as a whole. I wanted the people in my magazine to appear(which they were)in their own surroundings which also each individual was accustomed to.
- 4. Research Management This was a major task in achieving the documentary style photography successfully. Looking into vogue was due to my first thought and idea of creating a fashion magazine but after finishing research and moving onto my planning I knew what direction I wanted to take and that was a new one something id never done before, a social culture magazine. Reviewing magazine covers gave me the idea of a simplistic and minimal cover. What I believed would suit my style magazine was a very basic yet capturing image. This idea came from 'LOVE' and 'POP' article covers, having the one focal point meant it grabs your attention, I also noticed that a few of their recent covers had been in very natural surroundings which I pulled things from. Following my research I had a very clear overview of what I wanted it to become, the aundience I wanted to aim for and the overall effect I waned to create.
- 5. Planning. My planning process allowed me to visually process elements such as polaroid film/images, compostion of those images and also basic structure to my magazine. After conducting a few production experiments, I loved the affects of polaroid images as the focal image style throughout my magazine. This decision came from realising the effect of polaroids works with my magazines representations and also adds to the aesethic of a quirky and unique style of my photography magaizine. First of all I planned all the shoots I had in my thoughts that I knew I wanted. I planned shoots to focus on individuals personalities and interests and also general things and interests of those within generation Z. After planning every shoot as particular as I could, which I did find difficult. I found this difficult because I wanted most of the photography in my magazine, to be in the style of doctumentary photography, and therefore couldn’t plan certain images but I could only plan to observe certain people at a certain location. After planning each shoot as detailed as I coukd I began draying basic layouts of my magazine to get an idea of design and structure. I also planned out my cover image and ddrew two versions opf what I wanted. I then planned out the contectual paged through my magazine becayse even though my magazine was primarily photobased I wanted some context so the reader had some clarity with what its about and theres no second guessing. I finally planned colour schemes and style of text, I knew this would help later on when it came to production as I knew It would take a long time to edit the images so therefore planning these aspects ahead saved time in production.
- 6. Instax When evaluating my decision on creating an install edition of a magazine I wouldn’t change it at all. I like how polaroid photography allowed me to grow and learn as a photographer. I felt myself becoming more thoughtful and careful with each shot that I took, due to the expense on film however this gave me a more thoughtful mindset when shooting. The weakness with my process of editing was to scan the polaroid's and upload them onto photoshop, although I did manage to edit the levels of the images to define the details so that the quality was perfect. However I did decide to swap quality for some of the images which appeared quirky as it suited them better. I made this decision because of my new personal interest in polaroid photography and I wanted to explore this. Also being the age 20 myself I thought this was more likely to grab the attention of my peers and the quirky design was intended mainly to make them want to read it.
- 7. Instax Another negative to using polaroid images as my main design element was excluding most of the experiments that I did, this was because I just didn’t believe they fitted in with my magazine and that if I had used any new editing styles it may have tarnished the effect. however if I were to do this same project again I think I would have felt more confident trying out a different range of styles and themes. With completion of my production I was happy with my project , I liked my layouts and I loved the aesthetic look. I do think though that because I was new to not just the style of photography but also the camera itself, timing was tough due to learning the ways to use it. With more time on my hands I think I would have created a few practice shoots just to make it less stressful. I believe from what I learned and what I produced I can leave this module feeling successful.
- 8. Layout-Changes Halfway through my project I decided to change a few of my layouts. As you can see below the changes I made, such as straightening up images and simplifying, then made my magazine link together making it easier on the eye. This is because there is now a focus to the pages rather than the images and illustrations being erratically spread everywhere. Another aspect I changed was the use of grids across all my pages this allows my points of focus to become clear. I was then able to achieve a quirky layout which consisted of simplicity and held a constant flow. Before < > After
- 9. Before < > After Before < > After Before < > After Before < > After
- 10. Time management Throughout my whole project time management has been an ongoing issue due to my other responsibilities. I found it difficult to stay on top of schedule when also working 25-38 hours a week, however I have managed to find enough time somehow. This project in particular was hard as I needed time off work which meant I also had to find a way to spend quality time with my peers who featured in my magazine, this I found almost impossible. Also with not having the experience like I previously mentioned with polaroid photography I needed time to trial and error with the device. And learn the ways in which it worked. I have considered the fact that if I was able to have more time with modules it would have changed my project ideas as I could have focused on more aspect in more detail.
- 11. Aim Overall I believe I achieved my aim in representing my generation, (generation z) the ages of 18-21. Throughout my work I have portrayed a balanced representation of different characters and personalities of this particular generation, which meant bringing to light that were all different and spend our time doing a variety of things yet we go through such similar experiences whilst growing up. To achieve my aim I organised with friends and family(of the ages between 18-21)photoshoots and day trips, where I took photos in the style of the documentary photography which I followed. I decided to do this so that I could capture my peers doing what they do best, acting their age. These were genuine and honest moments that I managed to catch making them seem believable when seen on the page, this is why I knew I wouldn’t be able to fully plan out my images and that I would just have to observe behaviour's and go off what I found saw and heard.
- 12. Aim I also added each name to the individuals page which allows the reader to get a personal overview of the people featured inside. I also added a couple of significant quotes and doodles that best represented that person in question this meant there was an equal flow between the people in my magazine, I added this for another personalised touch. With many of my layouts I tried focusing on the design based on the likes and interested of the individual, for example Charlie is obsessed with his car so I have captured him in his car-his most comfortable place. Tom and Jake are gamers and I caught them playing games, in their most natural habitat meaning no one in my photos look uncomfortable everyone is doing what they please. The people I observed were all completely contrasting to me; this meant I was able to open my mind to our world and generation as a whole this helped me conclude my aim.
- 13. Conclusion However overall I am very happy with my project and feel I represent the ages 18-21 well with the resources I had. I have learnt many new and different ways and styles within my work that I shall be able to use in my future projects whether it be at college or not.
- 14. My long term plans for my career are still the same but with a wider audience. I would like to focus on photography or work with a graphics design company. I believe during the course of the year I have believed my skills within photoshop and editing massively with my work having a better standard. I worked alongside two employers with their social media, taking pictures for them to use on Facebook and instagram. Both employers weren't media companies, I found it difficult to locate media companies within my area. Year Reflection
- 15. When directing shoots and organising multiple people at once, I found I deleopved my leadership skills. I was able to manage people and time on the shoot days succesfully. Perseverance along side working under pressure is something I've always had and used to my advantage within the year. With 5 relocations and a hecklic schedual, I managed to complete the final project with a finished printed product. My comminications skills grew within the year due to having to approach clients and individuals for shoots, I learnt how to approach different people that I haven't come across before.