What Have I Learnt- Mise en Scene

When thinking about my genre I knew that to follow conventions an outside shoot wouldn't be appropriate. I wanted my images to look clean and purposeful; increasing the production values appearance. Continuing form these thoughts I realised it was key to have he correct outfit for my models. I want clothing that presented my models well, which additionally weren't to revealing. As this could have an effect on the audience and their guardians opinions when purchasing the magazine.

Background: I experimented a few of my images onto the black screen roll, which I thought looked good but didn't really fit my plans. So I then too some picture on the white background and felt this was a lot better and complimented my models more than the harshness of the black. I would definitely use this white screen again, I thought it was a great way to make my images feel more welcoming. When it came to the background itself I wanted to leave it as photographed, rather than editing one in, as this kept it image simple.

Clothing: For my main model, I organised three different outfits. Which had a range of colours an styles. I chose them because they gave style and presents to the model. I used more than one outfit as this would allow me to have a different look for all three pages, which follows the convention of a typical pop magazine. For my contents page models, I wanted to keep the outfits simple, which therefore allowed me to bring out their personalities through my choice of posing.

What Have I Learnt- Posing

When organising a photo-shoot I knew it was important to choose the right model or one that is similar to what is expected in that genre. With having limited resources when I came to choosing a main character I decided to  go against the typical convention of a female; rather I chose a young male. I knew it was important to incorporate an element of music when planning my images. Therefore I used a guitar as a prop, I thought this object tied in with the genre nicely as well as keeping it familiar to the target audience.

Medium close ups: for this shot type I learnt it was important to firstly make sure the lighting was correctly positioned on the models face, this meant taking a few picture before hand in order to change anything if needed. Because this shot type shows up al lot of detail it was key ensure they had soft eyes and a smile; as this is what is typical of my genre. I found it was very hard to keep my model smiling throughout the images of my shoot. It was also necessary to try and cover any imperfections before the shoot such as spots or blemishes, as it makes it less complicated later when editing the picture.

Medium Shot: in this shot type I learnt that it was crucial to start thinking of positioning the body. For example I wanted my model to look as natural as possible. I used techniques such as as looking away from the camera as this looked less forced and made the image more comfortable; which will have to same effect on the audience.

Long Shot: when composing this shot type, I learnt I was important to get the models whole body in the image; head to toe. Therefore this would allow me to play around with it if I needed to during editing. By cutting of parts of the models head or feet, it could potentially limit the uses of the picture. I found that standing side on to the camera or having the models face turned away, made myimages look better and less forced.

What I Have Learnt- Lighting

From previous experiences I have only worked with natural lighting outside, therefore I had a slight understanding of the cameras abilities. For example how the aperture, ISO, exposure and shutter speed effect the lighting of the final image. The two photo-shoots I set up have developed my knowledge. I now feel more confident with these terms and feel i was able to put them to use whilst photographing my models:

Aperture: this term refers to a hole in the lens of the camera, through which light travels. It gathers external light and bends it around the body of the camera. The aperture either expands or shrinks depending on the amount of lighting used, this can be done automatically or manually. This then regulates the amount of light that passes through onto the film inside the camera when the shutter closes and then opens again during an exposure process. It is sometimes called the camera diaphragm, as it opens to let light in. The aperture number is easily adjustable on an SLR camera; the most popular type of camera used today. Aperture size is calibrated in f-numbers or f-stops, these values can be found on the barrel of the lens.  I found that I used an aperture of f16-18 with the studio lighting. I learnt that the aperture number affects the depth of field of an image. For example the higher the higher the f- number the more in focus the background objects will be, where as the lower the f- number the more out of focus the background will be. Every lens has a limit to the range of aperture number depending on its purpose. However the maximum aperture of a lens is more important than the minimum as it shows the shutter speed.

ISO: This referrers to the sensitivity of the camera depending on the light availability. The lower the ISO reading the less sensitive to the light the camera is, the higher the ISO reading the more sensitivity the camera is to the light. The ISO number can be changed automatically or manually. This feature allows the photographer to take an image in an area of low light with no flash.

Shutter Speed: the shutter speed of a camera depends on how long the sensor will be open or closed for, this then controls the income of light to the cameras lens.When the camera fires the shutter if fully opened, which lets the light pass through the lens aperture. It is basically how long light is allowed to come into the camera. The shutter speed works with the exposure; a faster shutter speed means a shorter exposure time. If a shutter speed it fast it can 'freeze' an action, it is typical used on the sport auto setting. Where as a slow shutter speed is used generally in night time images.

Exposure: this feature allows the photographer to determine how dark or light they want their image to be. This is done when the picture is initially captured by the camera. The exposure is all down it the aperture, ISO and shutter speed settings.

Soft-boxes: these are lights that correspond with the fire of the shutter on the camera. They are large frames, covered in cloth which are used to diffuse the harsh light of the flash. I used two soft boxes during my photo-shoot, the reason behind my decision were;

• because it was a main source of lighting in the studio 
• and to create contrasting and showing, rather than the same lighting throughout the whole image 

I found this piece of equipment very helpful and would use in again in future shoots.

Photoshoot 1

Photoshoot 2