Final Magazine Reflection

In my final blog post, I will talk about my experiences, my genre, lessons I've learned, as well as challenges and triumphs I've had while creating my magazine.

It is hard to believe that I have come to the end, but when reflection upon these last months I realize just how much I have learned. At first, I researched different genres including food, fashion, health and wellness, and more. I narrowed it own to food and fashion, creating photoshoots for both. Ultimately, I ended up choosing to make my magazine in the genre of fashion. I made this decision because it was really fun to choose outfits and work with my model. We were able to go to multiple locations to shoot and be very creative in the process.

When compared to my first photoshoot, my final photos were definitely better. This was because of the great teacher I had, guiding me throughout this process. In class I learned about camera shots and angles, lighting, typography, and the importance/deeper meaning of these elements. When creating my final magazine, I took all of these factors into account and implemented them in my product. For example, my cover was taken from a low angle to show power and boldness, I also made sure the framing of the camera was straight and neat. For the bottom photo on the first page of my double page spread, I implemented the element of blocking. I did this by placing my model in front of the lifeguard house as the colors of my models outfit and the lifeguard structure were the same. Moreover, I learned how important the font of the text was, so I used a Serif font throughout my whole magazine. I used conventions of fashion magazines such as increasing the size of text that was more important. Also, I made sure that the colors scheme I used had meaning behind it. The colors used correlate to my article on color trends that represent a bright, freeing feeling that allow people to express themselves.

I not only learned how to take photos, but I also learned the skills of graphic design and journalism, something I am very interested in. At first it was difficult to write the article since I never wrote text for a magazine. I soon got the hang of it and in the process learned a different writing style. I also gained an understanding of paying attention to the details. There were many times throughout the process of making my magazine and creating the final version that I made changes. In fact, for the final magazine blog post, I further edited the images before publishing those final photos to make sure what I submitted is something I am truly proud of. What I payed close attention to was which words I made bolded, italicized, in a different color, size of the text, and more. For images, I made sure they were placed in an eye pleasing way that weren't on the edge of page as to not get cut off. Lastly, I paid close attention to my margins, making sure I made my text as neat and cohesive as possible.

First off, I had intended to start shooting pictures around spring break as it was hard to predict whether the weather would be ideal just before the assignment's due date. This gave me plenty of time to take pictures with nice lighting and other elements. Although I was excited to take a vacation, my parents had planned a surprise trip to Orlando, so I was unable to complete this picture session. The first week I was home, I spent Monday finishing up preparations and packing all the clothing and accessories I would need for Tuesday's after-school picture session at Hollenadale Beach. The sun was setting later than I had anticipated, which resulted in the last batch of shots (the last outfit) being a little flat and lifeless.

There were other things that contributed to the success of my photo shoot, despite my challenges. This includes the fact that the beach was largely deserted because I visited during the week rather than on the weekend. As a result, I didn't need to use photoshop to remove backgrounds because each photograph simply featured the girl. Additionally, even though the sun began to sink behind trees at the end, daylight savings gave me an extra hour before it was dark. Whatever problems I had with the sun, I just tweaked the lighting to make the image more vibrant and let the clothing's colors stand out. The light was really brilliant at first, so I was able to take my "naturally radiant" cover shot. The last factor that helped my images be as clear and clean as possible was that there wasn't much seaweed in the water and there were clouds in the sky. I am really appreciative of the circumstances that were offered on the day I went to shoot images. I am also thankful towards Canva as it was simple to understand with a wide variety of templates and tools to make my magazine look professional.

While my magazine has seen a multitude of successes, I consider the entire year a success as I have learned valuable knowledge to help me in the future. Before taking Media Studies, I was unaware of the process behind making a movie and developing a magazine. Everything I have learned really interested me, and I can't wait to go into journalism to make a difference in the world.