Evaluation Question 6

What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product? 

I have learned a lot about constructing this product, I've learned a lot about photography and Photoshop and how to use each of these technologies to make an effective media product.

Photography

I hadn't spent much time developing my photography skills before starting this project so my understanding of how a DSLR camera works was limited. One of the things I learned about was the cameras aperture, what is was and how it works. I was able to adjust this in my preliminary project to create a blurred background and a focused foreground. I had also learned about the shutter speed and ISO but didn't feel like I needed to adjust these as I wasn't taking pictures in low light or of moving objects. 

Another thing I learned about was the importance of camera angles. I had used a bad camera angle for the cover image of my preliminary project which makes the picture come across as confusing, I then learned from my mistake and used a camera angle to my advantage in my actual cover image.This knowledge will be useful in future as I would say that I now have a moderate understanding of DSLR cameras and photography.

Photoshop

I had used Photoshop before but I would have still considered my self as inexperienced. I have learned new things in Photoshop as well as building on my current knowledge and understanding of the software. I have build on my understanding on tools such as the lasso and magic wand tool, and basic effects like text manipulation and drop shadow. All these tool became most useful when I was constructing my double page spread article because i had to remove the background and put in my own.
One new skill I learned was how to change the contrast and colour levels of a picture. I did this to make the pictures on the contents page look brighter and more colourful to match the colour scheme on the page.
I also learned how to add more blur to pictures using the blur tool and effects. I used to the blur tool to soften the edges of things like the models hair in front of the masthead. I did this because using the lasso tool and magic wand tool leaves harsh edges to pictures and makes them look unprofessional. Blurring the edges makes the picture more natural and is hardly noticed when used in moderation.

Overall I have learned how to make more than one technology work together to create a good media product. Using good Photography skills and Photoshop skills together make for a very good looking final product rather than just using one or the other. If I where to do anything different I would try to incorporate even more technologies into my media product to try and make it as professional looking as possible.