Researching Photography

The aim of my photoshoot is to take the photos that will be used in my magazine and on my website but the most important images that will come from my photoshoot is the one used as my main image on the front cover of my magazine.

Location

Because the main objective of my magazine is to inform people about Cornwall and the fashion that is popular here I feel the best location for my main image will be either in the centre (around the shops) of a large town or city such as Truro or Newquay or in a landscape such as Bodmin Moor, a beach or a country house. By setting my images in a town centre there will be one or two clothing shops in the background of my model which tie in with my aim of wanting to incorporate fashion with landscape, which is also the reason for my idea of setting my photoshoot in a landscape such as Bodmin Moor or the beach. I think having a landscape as the background is a better idea and suits the aim of creating a regional magazine more accurately as Cornwall is known for its gorgeous beaches and its vast countryside whereas shopping is not a unique part of Cornwall. However if I was to choose the city setting I would make sure I had unique boutiques in the background, not shops such as New Look or Topshop which can be found anywhere in the UK. However, following the conventions of other fashion magazines my main image could contain my model standing in front of a plain black/white background in a photography studio which would give the image a classier look and tone.

Shots

For my main image I want to go for the conventional portrait mid-shot as this means the outfit will be a big part of the image but also as this means my model can look directly at the camera which causes the audience to feel like they are more connected to the model because they can have eye contact. Another shot I will try is a full body shot which is very similar to a mid-shot but it means you can see the models whole body including their legs and feet. The reason I feel this is an appropriate shot is so that the reader can see the whole completely outfit that the model is wearing instead of just the outfit from the waist up. As my magazine is a regional magazine, I could use a wide shot or an extreme wide shot in my main image so that it gets some landscape in, because this is what Cornwall is known for.

Cast

I have chosen one female model for my photoshoot that I feel has the style that represents the type of youngster from Cornwall that is not the stereotypical surfer, tom-boy type. Even though I feel picking a model that represents the stereotypical Cornish young person would be an easier and more obvious choice, the aim of my magazine is to show the side of Cornwall that isn't so well known and also because in Cornwall there aren't really that many girls who have the typical surfer look anyway. The outfit I would ideally like my model to wear is a smart casual style so either a skirt with a nice jumper as we are in Autumn/Winter now or a maxi dress with long sleeves. The reason for this is because if the outfit was too casual (jeans and a tshirt) this would not follow the conventions of a fashion magazine outfit and would not appeal to my target audience.

Crew

The only crew I will need is me and my model as I will operate the camera, the lighting, do the make up and hair etc and my model will get herself dressed and then model for my photos. This is good as my magazine is a small, local business and does not have a very big budget so can not afford to hire many people to do jobs that I can easily do myself.

Budget

I have a reasonably low budget for this shoot which is not a problem because I do not need to pay to hire anyone to be in my shoot or to assist me in it nor hire any locations, props or cameras/lighting etc.

Lighting

This is the typical studio lighting set up for photoshoots and is exactly what I would use if I was shooting in a studio.

But as I am shooting my images outside in a natural location, I can not use this lighting set up as there is nowhere to plug the lights in and also as this will not create the same lighting effect as it does in a studio. This means I will have to take portable lights along with me or just use natural lighting. Natural lighting may be difficult in the location I have chosen as it is an area with a lot of trees that block most sunlight so portable lighting may be the most effective option.

Other lighting setups include:

Hard lighting

This style of lighting creates harsh edges on every curve or corner in the image. It also makes shadows and the background very very dark whilst accentuating almost every flaw on the model in the image. This is not a style I would consider using for my images because these create a completely different effect and tone to the images that I want to feature in my magazine.

Soft lighting

This is the opposite to hard lighting and is a lot less harsh and a lot more fresh. This is a style that is used frequently in the main images on the front cover of fashion magazines so this is a style that I would strongly consider using if I was conducting my photoshoot in a studio where I could use a full set of studio lights. However, this is achievable by using natural lighting and brightening the image up using the brightness, contrast and exposure tools on Photoshop.

Natural Lighting

This is the style of lighting that I will be working with as I am shooting my images in a natural location (a woods). This image shows that if you use natural lighting you will get shadows and brighter spots on the main feature in the image. This style of lighting is not one that it used frequently on magazine front covers but are seen in feature spreads inside the magazine. 

If I did take portable lighting the following styles would be appropriate for the style of images that I am shooting and also for the platform and audience that my images are going to be viewed on and by:

Top half of my model accentuated. This would be appropriate because only the waist up of my model will be showing on the froth cover of my magazine as this is the generic convention for main images used on front covers. 

Full body lighting with a bit of natural lighting. This image shows a photoshoot that was done in a wooded area which is where my photoshoot is going to take place. This image looks like the photographers had no problems with lighting and it looks like they may have used a lot of natural lighting and maybe not used any portable artificial lights at all. 

Video explaining how to set up a photography studio, specifically lighting

Editing

If my images do not come out the way I want them to in terms of lighting etc, I can edit them on either Photoshop or iPhoto using the brightness, contrast and exposure tools as this will brighten the images up and also make the colours more vibrant giving the effect that it was not edited and the photos were just naturally bright. 

Equipment

The equipment I need to carry out my shoot is:

• DSLR Camera with memory card and batteries
• Clothes
• Tripod
• Make Up
• Lighting (studio lights etc)