Production: Photo's 1

I have began shooting photo's for my magazine. I organised this by booking a camera from the department, then I arranged for my friend Jordan to come round to my house on Tuesday 12th January at 5pm. The reason I chose Jordan to be my model was because he looks artistic, has very strong features especially his cheekbones and is very photogenic. I organised the shoot by re-reading my shot list. I explained to Jordan the style I wanted to create for my magazine, Indie Jazz. I explained that I wanted him to look cool, edgey and individual. I dressed him by asking him to wear his army style black jacket which I feel connotes a sense of moodiness and the dark colours contrasted well with the outdoors, which was heavily laid with snow. I then took some photo's of my sister, she plays the saxophone so I wanted to get some shots of her looking fashionable and 'indie' with her saxophone so I could possibly use her as a jazz musician in my magazine.

I like this picture of my sister because she was laughing during the picture being taken, therefore it connotes a natural and happy image. I like the saxophone being in the shot because it gives the impression that she may be in a rehearsal of some sort, with the possible indication that she is 'serious' about music, as I want the magazine to seem. I took this shot by dressing her in casual clothing; a baggy shirt, beaded necklace and leggings. I like how she was dressed because it looked comfy but still cool and fashionable. I then asked her to sit against a blue wall in our living room which looked nice against her top and her make up. I told her to make sure that the saxophone was in the shot and to look into the distance and look happy. I took photo's as she was laughing and this was my favourite shot. I edited it in photoshop by increasing the light across her face and saxophone to make it stand out. I got rid of any blemishes she had using the magic wand tool. However, I was worried about her 'double chin' due to her laughing and tried to edit it out. I am worried that the bleeding from the magic wand tool is noticable and therefore should consider trying to edit the blemishes out again on photoshop. I feel now that maybe her 'double chin' would look more natural and less airbrushed in the photo as my magazine is trying to connote a raw music feel that does not care about what people look like, only the type of music they play.

I like this picture of Jord as my two favourite photo's which I have of him are very contrasting. During this shoot, I asked him to play the guitar casually and I took photo's. At certain points I asked him to look straight at the camera, this is my favourite picture because the eye contact is very intense and his strong facial features stand out, such as his jawline. I edited this picture on photoshop using a wash of sepia effect. I then increased the shadow around his knees and the guitar to give a contrast to the strong intensity of light that I washed over his face. I also got rid of his blemishes using the magic wand tool and cropped the picture so it was at an odd angle. I asked Jordan to dress casually because I wanted the picture to indicate a casual jamming session. I feel this picture makes Jordan look like a 'serious' musician, even though he cannot play the guitar. However, I am not sure about the colouring of the photo, it does not connote an older feeling as well as I wanted it to. I may go back and edit the photo more to look more rustic, a deeper sepia shade.

Here are my favourite pictures of Jordan I shot which I will possibly be using for my magazine front cover main picture. I really love this picture of Jord. I love the way he is staring straight into the camera, which I feel gives the picture a certain strength and connotes pride. It also creates a intensity.I also like the way he is holding his coat coller up. This along with the winter hat and the backdrop (which connotes winter colours) connotes a 'wrapped up' winter picture. It makes me feel like Jordan is outside on a cold winters day. The first picture is obviously the unedited version. I used photoshop and the 'magic wand' tool to get rid of any blemishes. I found this slightly easier to use as I have begun to get accustomed to photoshop. Next I tested different shades of light across his face. I liked this light strength because it did not distort any of his features, I especially wanted to highlight the structure of his face because I feel it is almost empowering and connotes the strength of indivodiality which I want my magazine to represent. However, I used a blurring tool across the photo and in retrospect I am not sure wether it looks effective or just blurry. I will consider this and possibly edit it again in photoshop.