PRE-TASK Photography Planning

Photography Planning

Lighting

The lighting for my photo should be bright and clear but must be glare free. The face of the model must be easily seen and the tone of her skin should not clash too much with the light or it will just turn white. However, at the same time I did not want the lighting to be too dark as you would not be able to see the main features of the person and the background I chose especially because my model has dark hair. An example of bad lighting that I found online can be found on the right. It shows how the light has blended to easily with the tone of her skin making it hard to distinguish the difference between the model and the background. If the lighting is right, this will appeal to the target audience because they can see clearly what the photo is trying to tell them as well as who is in it. Also, subconsciously, students like it when amateur work looks professional. Making people impressed like this will make them want to look at the magazine more.

Background/Setting

The background and setting that I chose for my photo had to be chosen carefully because there had to be fairly clear space for me to put my cover lines and advertorials etc. I firstly decided that I wanted the background to be in school grounds as this represented the nature of the magazine better which is about college/sixth form. I then had to choose whereabouts in the school I wanted to take the photo. In the end I narrowed it down to several places around the school, and took several shots at each place at different levels and zooms. Once I had done this I looked through them and spoke to some of my target audience to help me choose which one was best for the magazine but still represented the theme of a school well. In the end, I chose to take a medium close-up shot of her leaning against a wall with an unfocused view of he rest of the school behind her. Taking the photo in school grounds with a view of the school will help the reader relate to the magazine better because it is their own learning environment that they recognise.

Model

The model that I chose has to be somebody that may draw attention to the magazine so I asked her to wear a brightly coloured piece of clothing that would catch the eye of the reader. I also wanted her to look professional but still as though she is going to school rather than to work, therefore I asked her to wear a top that was quite casual but showed intelligence, for example, a turtle neck top. Finally, just to make it look even more like a school environment and so that she had something to do with her hands, I asked her to hold books so that she represents a student well. I also tried a picture of her walking with somebody else down some stairs, looking like they were talking but it didn't look as good as my final shot.