On The Page
Our brief is to create a magazine with 10 images including the front and back covers and a photostory, all of these images should link with one another.
What is a feature image?
A featured image is the main article image which represents the content. Featured images are designed to make the magazine look attractive. Images like this give a quick glimpse at the content and gets the readers to look at the entire article.
What is a photo story?
A photo story is a group of images which link together to tell a story, these are normally around five images so that the narrative of the story is clear.
How does the cover of a magazine draw the attention of the viewer?
The cover image is one of the main parts of selling a magazine, this is due to setting the tone and showing the reader what the magazine offers. The magazine cover has to be eye catching otherwise the buyer wont even think about buying the magazine.
To get an idea of what we were going to do we chose 5 images from a previous shoot and re arranged them to become a photostory. My story showed the style of my model to showcase the quirkiness of him. I liked these images as there are two shots of the model facing left and right and one in the middle as the two images on the outside face in and draw you to the middle image, I also like that the images have repetition to consolidate the point of his unique fashion style.
We also did a research task to find out more about how magazines are set out so we went to the library and looked at the different magazines and examples of the images we needed to take. These images are taken from Monocle magazine. This article in the magazine caught my attention due to the repetition of everyone doing the same thing, this reminded me of Hans Eijkelboom's work, this article is about Udon noodles in Asia. This photo story grabs the readers attention due to the starting image being appetising and being a close detail shot of the noodles, they have been put in such a way to appeal to you reader and draw them in.
Another magazine i have found to be of interest was Hunger magazine. Hunger is a Fashion and art magazine owned by Rankin, i liked this magazine be cause of the way the images are set out and they are set up how i would want my photobook to look like. I like the full page bleed images and i like the way the the images are composed to fit the magazine especially the three quarter spread.
For my first layout planning we were set a task to take pictures of people in a job or leisure activity. I chose to photograph my local kebab house, Topkapi, I chose to focus more on the preparation of the food most, and their processes, this highlights the quallity of the food produced from the shop. I enjoyed this shoot because its not something i would normally do and was a bit out of my comfort zone, and in the end i got nice images that i could put in a layout.
Contact sheet
After this we also made mock ups of front and back covers from the 3 portrait shoots we completed. This was beneficial to be as it gave me a idea about the framing of the cover and gave me ideas of how to make my final idea. I liked the middle image best and i will use this concept in the final photos, this is because it shows the person and only the person it shows them for who they are.
Another magzine that I liked was GQ Style magazine (Fall 2018) after looking through the entire magazine i found an article that related to what I wanted to do. The article is called '3 Labels on Fire', this article was about upcoming brands and showcasing the brands clothing and designers. This magazine fitted what i wanted to achieve by the end of the term as it was directly related to my project and gave me a clear idea of what i wanted to take pictures of so i can take direct inspiration.
Michaela Mclucas
After looking at the Hunger magazine I found a photographer called Michaela Mclucas. I like her work as it is urban and best suits the style that i would like to replicate this style in my magazine. I like how her photography also conveys humour through the characters in her work.
Narrative of images
Photo stories always have a clear narrative throughout the page. There will be a initial image and an expansion to show how the pictures link to eachother. For example, the photostory below shows the designer at the start of the page and expands to show the designs that they have created.
Moodboard
My ideas
After looking at the GQ magazine i have decided to document what my friend does with the brand 'Stitch' he has been working on the project for a year and a half and has started to grow.
-My front and back cover will be the profile shots of the designer of the brand (front and back)
-My inside spread will be a candid picture of the designer sleeping (showing hardwork/exhausted)
-My photo story will be about the process from sketching designs to showcasing the new products.
-My single page feature will be an action shot of a model/designer wearing the brand, jumping over the camera, to show the pace.
Plan
Contact Sheet
After taking my photos for the magazine i soon figured that i had to change my plan. My inital idea was to put the creator of the brand sleeping on the double page spread but i soon realized this wasnt allowed, so after looking at my pictures and taking a few more i found a solution to the problem. My plan had changed quite a bit after taking the picures as there were iones that i took which i liked better than my original ideas.
Overall, I have enjoyed this task as I aspire by the end of university to get my photos into magazines, this has given me knowledge and more of an insight into what i have to consider to make a successful magazine shoot. using other models also has given me more confidence as i had planned its easier to tell the models what to do to make the shots work in the magazine. Also, looking at the design layout helped me frame the images and give me an idea of how i wanted my magazine to look. One thing i would do next time if i had the chance was to more than two shoots as it gives me more options for my magazine.
