photoshop practice

After being taught how to use photoshop, I was asked to create a poster advertising a collaboration between Susan Boyle and 50 Cent. this is what my final product looked like.
In this task I have shown a variety of skills including cropping, filling, re-arranging layers and adding text to the image.

Photoshop First steps

As I haven't had much practise on Photoshop before I have a very limited knowledge, but this is what I do know.

Firstly you find a picture that you want to edit whether that be from google, or your picture library. Copt and paste this picture onto your blank piece of paper. to begin you will want to re-size your image. you do this by selecting the 'marquee tool'. drag a box around the area you want to use, right click and select the 'free transform' option. with this you should be able to rescale the image to any size you want. when you have reached the size you need you can click the enter button on your keyboard to restore the picture quality.
 You can also crop the picture using the crop tool, simply surround the area you want with the dotted lines and press enter, everything apart from the selected area will be deleted, leaving you with the part of the image you need.
The fill/paintbrush tools allow you to manually draw or re-colour part of an image by selecting the colour you want from the pallet and using right click. The paint bucket/ fill will fill an area connected to the pixel you select with the colour you have chosen, whereas the paintbrush will only colour where you drag your mouse.

Ideology

Ideology

Ideology is the ideas and beliefs we have. These opinions can be consciously or unconsciously displayed through in media. These ideas and beliefs shape our perceptions of things, for instance if we were to make a rap magazine you would expect it to be a darker, more serious than a pop magazine.
These elements can be shown through things like, House style, clothing, seriousness of the picture or even the background of an image.
some of these stereotypical views can seem negative, however some artists take on board these points and embrace them, as it shows through different pictures of them.


On this cover, Eminem, a rap artist, is portrayed as dark and or somewhat dangerous/aggressive. This is due to the dark background of the image along with the stance, both very bold points showing confidence but also some anger. The facial expressions also show his anger. Looking at this cover you could immediately tell what type of music Eminem would create based on these stereotypes we have of artists/genres.
Other genres house styles would vary. For instance Pop magazines would contain a lot more colours and would seem more girly than other genres. As shown in the image below.

Magazine Comparrison

Features and characteristics vary between different magazines depending on genre and target audiences. The two magazine covers below have many differences, but they also have some comparisons, for instance, the first magazine featuring Chris Brown would be considered a hip-hop magazine, whereas the NME magazine with Lana Del Rey on the cover is considered an indie or alternative rock magazine. we can see this difference clearly through its features such as the house style. Magazine one has dark colours in the background and then a bright foreground and masthead, this is completely different to that of magazine 2 with its bright, bold colours, making it stand out more and also gives the magazine a more light hearted feel. We also get this less serious feel through the main pictures. Lana Del Rey, although still keeping direct address has her head tilted to the side rather than a conventional head on medium shot, the hands on her hips and also the tongue being out of her mouth gives a sense of fun to the picture. Chris Brown however is more relaxed with his hand in his pocket, he also looks to be leaning on a wall giving the magazine a more laidback VIBE. The puffs on each magazine are different, magazine 1 keeps its text to the sides and out of the way making the cover look rather formal. Magazine 2 has different text boxes all over the page making it look as though a lot is going on, on the one page in these bright bold colours to make sure the reader notices all of the features they are promoting inside.











        (Magazine 1)                  (Magazine 2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Magazine Covers

This blog post will be explaining the uses of a front cover and how magazine publishers try to pull in the audience using the front covers. This will be explained through a Voki. The speech has been implemented lower down in the blog for people who would rather read it.



The front cover of a magazine is used to show what is on the inside of the magazine. The cover is used to promote what ever articles and other segments are shown inside the magazine. The front cover is the only thing they can see when the magazine is on the shelf in a shop.This is why publishers try to make the front cover as eyecatching and appealing to its audience as they can. The front cover also shows what genre of music the magazine is based on through its house style, colours, layout and also the artist(s) on the main image.

Negative Effects of photoshop

The models on the front of magazines, posters or most other forms of advertisement are usually airbrushed. This is the term used when the appearance of a human (usually women) is altered to make them seem more attractive to the opposite sex. These effects can change anything from height, skin tone body shape or even the smallest of details such as eye colour or size.

Women can be manipulated into thinking this is the way they 'have' to look in order to gain attention from males, this can lower self esteem of girls who aren't considered thin or pretty. However cruel this tactic may be, it draws in these less attractive women to buy make-up or whatever else they are selling. 

Air Brushing not only demotes the feelings of the audience, but can also lower the models self esteem. Why should their image be altered, should everyone not be seen as attractive in their own way. This editing points out the models 'unattractive features' and changes their overall image. 

 

Men's image of women can also be altered through these images. Most of these women are wearing little to no clothes in these advertisements, this may portray these women as sex objects that have no self respect. This puts a stereotype in these males minds which for most women is untrue. 

Men may also get the image that these women on these posters are everyones image of beauty and that women who do not look like this are unattractive when in actual fact the image has been edited so much that the model is almost unrecognisable. 

The video below shows the transition of a normal picture, to when it would be used on a poster.

Photoshop Evolution Of Women