Lens Flare - Brightening

Cross media convergence

Here is a UK Hip Hop music video with Chikaku Untitled clothing being advertised by the male models. The music also suits my hip hop genre.

Cross media convergence - Chikaku Untitled Clothing

My magazine features an advertisment for a fashion clothing line which suits my hip hop genre. The target audience for my magazine and the clothing line are much alike. It also suits my artist profile which talks about the clothing line. 'Chikaku Untitled' is a clothing line which created mainly black and white coloured clothing for both women and men aged approximately 17-25yrs old. 

These are example of the clothing line being advertised on Web 2.0. I am in one of these pictures along with other male models advertising their clothing.

My Graphics

I first chose to add the red line graphic as I thought it made the magazine stand out more.
I then made another change and decided to add the 'J BROWN' text inside the graphic.

Changes made

After gaining feedback, I made a few changes.

 I started off by adding a graphic. I made this graphic by using a circle. I also decided to minimize the text I have on my cover. I realised that my cover had too much text before which was making it look less attractive.

I selected the eyes using the magnetic lasso tool. I then went to Image > Adjustments > Shadows/Highlighting. Here I was able to make the eyes look brighter so that the angle of gaze is much stronger and effective.

Using the healing brush tool, I was able to clear up imperfections in his skin. Like spots and other things. I made his skin look much more clearer than it was before and I think this is really effective. I also selected his earring and made it look brighter.

Feedback on my magazine

What do you think of this magazine?

Feedback 1: I think it looks far too busy. There is too much text which makes it look unattractive. I don't like the red text underneath the pull quote.

Feedback 2: It's way too busy, too much text and not enough graphics. Take away some of the text and also, the 'J BROWN' text is very hard to read. 

Feedback 3: I like the colour scheme but there is too much text on the page which makes it look really cluttered. You need a graphic to make it more attractive. Also, the text that says 'UK's HOTTEST HIP HOP MAGAZINE' isn't really nice. You should either change the font or not have it there. 

Magazine process

  I had a lot of difficulties using this image because when I took it, I used a black background. So it looks like the artist is just floating on the page which isn't really effective.  

I played around with different shadow options to see if it would look better. However, I still wasn't please with the results and after gaining feedback I thought about making some changes. 

This is the image I have decided to use as my front cover artist photo. Although this picture doesn't have a more eye-catching feature like the other image, I think this picture is more suitable as the background is white so it looks more realistic. I've also changed the masthead on the cover as I thought the red was too bright and big. It now looks more subtle.

I played around with different aspects of my image. I used the sharpening tool to make the image look more effective and bold. I have also used the exposure, highlight/shadow tool to make the eyes look brighter so that the angle of gaze is more noticeable. I used the healing brush tool to fix imperfections in his skin. Here is a before and after picture