Creative Critical Reflection

Wow I am finally done with this project! I am kind of sad it's over, yet relieved at the same time. Here is my CCR:

Final Project

Here is my final project! I can't believe it's done.

Creation of double page spread

I am still working on my double page spread. My layout is inspired by this photo:

I am going to put a photo on the left page with a different colored title beneath it. On the right page I am going to put a large quote in a different color to break up the article.

I think this layout is simple and easy to read. I think a quote is a good idea to break up the article because it gives readers a break. So far this is my super rough draft of my double page spread:

It is still in the very early stages of being made. I just made up a quote to put just so I could see what it will look like. I will probably move the quote down a little bit more. I made sure to include blue so the magazine is unified (since every page has that color blue in it). I hope to finish the double page spread fast so I have more than enough time to work on the CCR. 

Citations:

Imgkid. (n.d.). Retrieved April 8, 2018, from https://imgkid.com/food-magazine-spread.shtml

Update on table of contents and cover

In the group meeting my group told me that they liked the blue table of contents better. I asked about the storylines and they didn't think I needed any, but to maybe put one about the cover picture. Also to maybe make the cover picture less zoomed in so if I decide to put storylines it won't take away from the cover photo. I asked if I should write table of contents on the table of contents. They said that they didn't think it really mattered.

I have taken everything into account and made my table of contents say table of contents and wrote the descriptions for the table of contents. I also made the cover less zoomed in. The reason I had cropped it so much was because I didn't like the salt shaker that was in it. Luckily, I was able to remove it by cutting it out with the lasso tool and using the content aware tool to fill in the space. I actually like the cover better. I also put a storyline about the cover photo.  Here is what they look like:

I really like how they came out. I think making the table of contents blue makes the magazine more unified since the cover has the same blue in it. 

I never explained my table of contents information in my last post so I will do it now. I came up with the restaurant names of:

Cafe de Croissant

Blasus Caws

The Chocolate factory

Reykjavik Hot Dogs

Lily's Bakery

Blasus caws means delicious cheese in Welsh (since the restaurant is in Wales)

I still have to do my double page spread. Then after that is just more tweaking and the CCR. I can't believe this project is almost over. I feel like we just started! 

Creation of the table of contents and cover!

For the past 2 days I have been working on my table of contents (I'm editing my entire magazine on Photoshop). I was going to start with my cover, but I had a lot of trouble with it. This is because the pictures I took are in landscape and they need to be portrait for the cover. I tried many different things to convert it to portrait (I was watching so many youtube tutorials) such as content aware fill, clone stamp tool, morphing the image. They all did not look good. I spent hours and hours trying to fix it and it was stressing me out. I ended up doing a simple fix of just rotating it, and it actually doesn't look that bad:

I also decided to change which photo I am using for the cover because I didn't like they way the picnic blanket image was coming out. Every font and color I chose did not look good with it (and I tried every color). That was also something that I spent hours trying to make look good. I ended up using the photo that was intended for my double page spread, and it looks much better. Basically, I have struggled a lot with my cover, and I went through a lot of trial and error. Here is how it looks now:

I am not sure about where to put storylines.

My table of contents, on the other hand, was easy for me to do since I had a vision for it. I love the way it came out. I am not sure if I should go with the blue or white table of contents. (Blue is my color scheme which I posted in my older post).  Since I had made the table of contents before the cover the blue was darker, so when I made the cover a lighter blue I had to change the blue in my table of contents so it would match.

The white table of contents is with the old font, the blue is with the new one.

I used arial for the description part of the table of contents and chapaza for the page numbers. The masthead is mermaid.

For all the images in my table of contents I edited them all on Photoshop.  I used the dodge tool to make them lighter. This was probably the most useful tool. I also used the magnetic lasso tool to cut out the image. I was going to keep the food's original shadow but I did not like the way it looked so I just used a drop shadow on Photoshop instead. The chocolate sauce gave me some trouble (before I figured out the smudge tool). I looked up how to create dripping effects, but nothing was coming out good. That is when I decided to just put the chocolate sauce photo I took in the magazine and try to edit it. That is when I found the smudge tool and made it look they way I wanted. I had to make the sauce a lot bigger and duplicated it to put the chocolate sauce on the other page of the contents. There was a gap between the two so I had to duplicate one of the chocolate sauce layers and cut out a portion of it to fill the gap. I used the smudge tool on the chocolate sauce to get rid of the flash and to make it look more gel-like. I also cut out a big streak of chocolate sauce because I didn't like how wide it was. I really like how it came out. These are how all the photos looked originally:

I was going to put flags that I hand drew in photoshop to put at the bottom of the table of contents (since it is a travel issue), but it took away from the food and I liked the table of contents without it(which is what my family told me-and I agree).

I also changed my font to something similar because I thought the other font was too skinny (which I found out while doing the cover). I used bevel & emboss to make the text more noticeable. This has been a long, crazy process but I love the way my magazine is coming out.

Photoshoot Day 2!!

I took the pictures for my table of contents which was easier than yesterday because I didn't have to setup a whole scene. I simply put the white poster board on the nightstand and made sure the light would create a shadow on the right side or each food. I used the same camera settings as yesterday.
Here is one of the foods I took:

Please note that the quality is not as good on the blog since it is not in its original size

I took all of the foods at a high angle. I am going to erase any crumbs on the background using photoshop. Hopefully the foods will look 3-dimensional when I put it together.

This is the setup I used:

For the chocolate sauce, I smeared some on the poster board. It doesn't look the best so I may not even use it, but I am going to try to make it work in photoshop.

I definitely have to clean up the chocolate in Photoshop. I am going to put the font on top of it in white, which will hopefully create the illusion of negative space. Again, this might not even come out good.

I love all of the food photos I took and I am happy with how my photoshoot went, especially since I was so nervous for it. Now I have to put the magazine together!

Photoshoot Day 1!!

I took the photos in my room and use my nightstand to put the food on. My room has a sliding glass door which takes in a lot of natural light (which was perfect). I did set up a tripod but I found it better taking the pictures without it. I only took pictures of the cover and double page spread because it was very time consuming (like 2 hours). This is because I had to constantly play with aperture, settings, lighting, etc. I didn't use a reflector because I liked the natural lighting how it was. Here is the setup I am describing:

Here is the picnic blanket and red basket I mentioned in my last post.

I also put little cups of ketchup and mustard to add depth and more color. I really like how the pictures came out. Here it is unedited:

Please note that the quality is not good on the blog because the photo is not at its original size because it won't fit on the page. (It is better in its original size).

I like the shades of color on the chicken and how the picnic blanket is pale in the background. I really wanted to focus on the chicken the most because it is the main feature. I took this in the autofocus setting on the camera but set the lens to MF. This is just in natural light without a reflector and without a tripod. It was hard to get this photo it took the longest (I took 26 photos of this). The napkin was hard to position. I filled the basket with a lot of chicken because when I looked up Nashville chicken it had a lot of chicken. Here is a photo that inspired me:

In photoshop I want to make the ketchup and mustard look better and maybe the napkin.

Here is the chicken for the double page spread:

Please note that the quality is not good on the blog because the photo is not at its original size because it won't fit on the page. (It is better in its original size).

I really like the shadows in this photo and the black and white pattern looks like a table. I did the same thing as my last setup, but I just put this background on the nightstand instead. I do not like the mason jar so I am going to get rid of it in photoshop, but I liked the chicken. I think this photo seems different enough rom the cover because of the surfaces they are on. This photo has a great contrast with the red basket and pattern. I took this without a tripod or reflector (used the same settings as the last photo). Iam going to cut out the whole top of the photo (from mason jar up) since it is the worst part of the photo).

This photoshoot took forever and finding the right lighting and camera setting was extremely tricky. I am just happy that the photos turned out the way I wanted. (And yes I did change out the chicken layout in this photo).

Citations:

Hattie B's Hot Chicken. (2014, July 02). Retrieved March 29, 2018, from https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/hattie-bs-hot-chicken-3363027

Getting Supplies

I changed my cover picture to fried chicken because I couldn't find a place to buy beignets. Also, I decided to change my table of contents to a different layout. I want my table of contents to look like this:



I really like the 3-dimensional aspect of this layout, and I really wanted to include it in my magazine somewhere. I also decided to put chocolate sauce and use the negative space to write my title. This is what I am basing it off of:



I think these changes will make my magazine better.

Here are the supplies I bought (I chose the food based off the list I made in my other post):

I bought all of the foods I need for the photoshoot at Publix and I am going to use a picnic blanket I have for my cover. This will give the cover the little cafe country feel I am going for. I also have a red basket to put the chicken in (again for the country feel).

I bought a white poster board for when I take pictures of the food for my table of contents. The black and white pattern that is next to the poster board is going to look like a table for my double page spread (since the pattern looks like a marble table). I am going to put the chicken on it.

I am really excited to start my photoshoot and explain visually what I am talking about in this post.

Citations:

Top 10 Cooking Magazines. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2018, from http://www.allyoucanread.com/top-10-cooking-magazines/

Texture - Unlimited Access to Digital Magazine Subscriptions - Free Trial. (n.d.). Retrieved March 28, 2018, from https://www.texture.com/

How To Get The Best Texture And Color

As I said in my first blog post, texture, lighting, and color are the 3 techniques to make the food photos appealing/engaging.

I have already researched lighting, so now I researched color and texture. I found information on this website about photographing texture. It says to use a tripod and to use a high aperture. I'm not going to use my macro lens because it will be too much of a close up on my food. The website also says that if you put your light source at an angle on the side of the texture it imitates sunlight. I want my images to look very natural, so that is a good tip. They also say to play with depth of field and angles. I am definitely going to practice different methods to take my pictures to see what I like best.

Here is their example of texture:



For color, I found information on this website. It says to use the curves adjustment on Photoshop to make the color look more powerful.

It also says bouncing the flash on a wall creates a warm, indirect lighting. Also, that natural lighting is the best during sunset and sunrise.

Here is their example of color:



I knew about photos being the best at sunset and sunrise, but it's a cool idea to bounce the flash to create an indirect lighting. Usually I use the burn and dodge tool to play with brightness or just go straight to the brightness option on Photoshop. I also use the sharpen tool on Photoshop.

I am really enjoying all the research, and it has helped me immensely. I feel much better about taking the food photographs, and showing the process in my next blog post!

Citations:

How to take a WOW photo: Bringing out the color. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2018, from http://www.digital-photo-secrets.com/tip/387/how-to-take-a-wow-photo-bringing-out-the-color/

How to photograph textures. (2018, February 11). Retrieved March 20, 2018, from https://photographylife.com/how-to-photograph-textures

Lighting Techniques

I will not be implementing these techniques until next week when I take my photos, but I wanted to do research on it beforehand so I am prepared. While I have done some food photography, I really wan these photos to look especially stunning, so I really want the lighting to be spot on.

I have done some research and this is what I have learned. When I take my photos I will say which techniques worked and didn't work.

The first website I went to was a blog on food photography lighting tips. This was one of the more helpful websites. It said that shadow contrast is very important, and to use a white foam board to deflect the light. They used their window for their light source, and covered it with a bed sheet to diffuse the light. This is their setup:



They said it is important to add fill to a scene and what type of light to use. I want my pictures to be natural, so I am going to use light from the window. This website was very helpful with soft and hard shadows, and it taught me a lot.

The next website wasn't as helpful, but it also said to use a reflector. They also gave the ISO, shutter speed, and aperture that they use to take photos. Their setup was a little different because they used artificial light.



I am going to buy nice surfaces to take my pictures on like how these photographers have wood slabs.

Another website said to try different angles for the best shot. They also use natural light. They said using a shallow depth of field is best when shooting a food people recognize. They also said to shoot wide as possible with natural light. This is their setup:



I also watched the beginning of this youtube video on how they setup their shot. It was basically the articles I read, except I got to see the person actually setting up.

I am going to use natural light, get a reflector, and a nice surface to take the photos. I definitely want to try a high angle shot for my cover. I definitely like the soft diffusion of light the best, and the contrast it has. I have a tripod and my Canon EOS Rebel T6 already. I am also going to use artificial light from a ring light to see which photos I like best.

I am also going to have light coming from the left to get the 3-dimensional look that I have been mentioning in my posts. I am going to use Photoshop, which I am extremely familiar with, and After Effects, which I have never used before.

I am excited to try new techniques and get better at photography, because the only way to go is up!

Citations:
T., V., L., K., J., M., . . . Nurdin. (2011, February 28). Home. Retrieved March 20, 2018, from http://taylortakesataste.com/food-photography-lighting-tips/

L., L., K., Thornton, A., K., T., . . . Happy Valley Chow. (2018, January 18). Artificial Lighting Tips for Food Photography. Retrieved March 20, 2018, from https://pinchofyum.com/artificial-lighting-tips-for-food-photography

Guyer, J., & Guyer, J. G. (2014, May 09). 15 Awesome Food Photography Tips. Retrieved March 20, 2018, from https://www.diyphotography.net/15-awesome-food-photography-tips/

(n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2018, from http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=food photography lighting techniques&view=detail&mid=910E58BFBD3306D853DE910E58BFBD3306D853DE&FORM=VIRE

What I Learned From The Group Meeting

The group meeting gave me a lot of confidence for my project because it made sense to my group and  there were no critiques of anything major.

I asked my group about which of the fonts to use, and they all agreed on this one:



This was extremely helpful because I wasn't 100% sure on which font to use for the masthead. They also said if I wanted to use the negative space like in the Food & Wine Magazine, the masthead wouldn't be good for it.



As a result, I might use the negative space title for my double page spread.

My group also referred me to an app called VSCO to edit my pictures. I also got tips on how to make my pictures look 3-dimensional like on this magazine (to have the light come from the side to create a shadow). I am going to do more research on lighting in my next post because I really like the 3-dimensional look of this layout.



They also agreed on the table of contents layout that I want to do, which is having a big picture on the top on both pages and having columns of information. I drew it out in my last post.




I also got advice on having pictures have depth. This can be done through putting other objects around my subject. If the focus is only on the subject, but the other objects are around, the subject will pop out like in this photo:



It was really nice to get feedback and tips on how to make my magazine the best it can be. I am looking forward to the next group meeting.

Citations:

DaFont - Download fonts. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2018, from https://www.dafont.com/

Top 10 Cooking Magazines. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2018, from http://www.allyoucanread.com/top-10-cooking-magazines/

(n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2018, from https://hiveminer.com/User/tbdesignwi/Interesting

Texture - Unlimited Access to Digital Magazine Subscriptions - Free Trial. (n.d.). Retrieved March 20, 2018, from https://www.texture.com/

More Production Planning

For the table of contents photo I am going to take a picture of the award winning cheese from Wales. I want this picture to have a lot of texture and to be bright. 

I want my picture to be closer up and horizontal. I like the texture, but I want more depth of field. Also, I like the bright lighting.

This is a layout of what I want the table of contents to look like:

For the double page spread photo I am going to do the article on Nashville's fried chicken and biscuits. I am going to call the restaurant Yours & Mine Cafe. I got the name from a Cafe Name Generator.

I like how clear the chicken is in this photo. I want my photo to have more texture. I do like the lighting int this photo.

The layout for the double page spread is harder for me to decide on. I might use different layouts and see which I like best because I want to physically see which I like better. I'm going to use the layouts I have shown in my previous posts that I mentioned. These are my top 2 contenders:

I absolutely love this layout and I want to get a 3 dimensional look on my food. 

This is more of a classic layout and I really like it.

Citations:

ChefSteps. (n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2018, from https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/can-t-f-it-up-fried-chicken

(n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2018, from http://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/cafe-names.php#.Wq6Hy2aZPq0

Gorwydd Caerphilly wins Best Welsh Cheese. (2010, November 28). Retrieved March 18, 2018, from https://trethowansdairy.wordpress.com/2010/11/28/gorwydd-caerphilly-wins-best-welsh-cheese/

(n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2018, from https://hiveminer.com/User/tbdesignwi/Interesting
(n.d.). Retrieved March 18, 2018, from http://cargocollective.com/jinglidesign/Bon-Appetit-Magazine

Planning for Production...

For my cover, I am still going to photograph beignets for New Orleans. For my table of contents, I want to make it 4 pages because it has to cover the entire magazine.

In one of the food magazines I bought, the table of contents had 14 items on its table of contents. There was one large picture that covered both pages, and the stories were written underneath the photo. I want to include at least 14 stories in my table of contents as well.

That means I have to research the most popular foods in the places I have chosen. Here are the places I have chosen and the foods I will feature in the table of contents (which reminds me I have to make up names for the restaurant you can find the food):

Nashville- Fried chicken and biscuits
Paris-Macarons
London-Fish and Chips
California-Sourdough bread
Iceland-Icelandic hot dogs
New Orleans-Beignets
Colorado-Elk osso busco
Vermont-Lake Champlain Chocolates
Vienna-Chlebicek
Scotland-Scotch pie
Wales-Award winning cheese
Australia-Lamingtons
New Zealand-Kina
Paris-Croissant

I picked these places based on the Women Traveling Together website. I have 14 places, which I think will be enough for the table of contents. I don't think I will take pictures of each food for the table of contents. I like the layout of a photograph at the top of the page and the stories at the bottom. I think it is nice and organized and I like the simplicity of it. 

Next post I will decide on what photos to take for the magazine.

Citations:

7 Nashville Restaurants You Gotta Try. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2018, from https://www.southernliving.com/travel/south-central/nashville-restaurants#nashville-restaurants-mackes-kates-cafe

Top 10 foods to try in Paris. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2018, from https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/top-10-foods-try-paris

Stockton-Davies, M. (2018, February 20). Top 10 British Foods to Try in London. Retrieved March 17, 2018, from https://freetoursbyfoot.com/top-10-british-foods-london/

What food is California famous for? (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2018, from https://www.reference.com/food/food-california-famous-c2ca201d85b11d59

The 6 best things to eat in Reykjavik, Iceland (and what it cost!). (2018, February 01). Retrieved March 17, 2018, from https://jetsettingfools.com/the-6-best-things-to-eat-in-reykjavik-iceland-and-what-it-cost/

10 Must-Eat Foods in Colorado. (2018, February 15). Retrieved March 17, 2018, from https://www.colorado.com/articles/10-must-eat-foods-colorado

Traditional Czech Food in Prague: What to Have and Where to Have it. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2018, from https://www.tasteofprague.com/pragueblog/traditional-czech-food-in-prague-what-to-have-and-where-to-have-it

Chalmers, T. (2016, August 11). 16 Foods You Must Eat When You're In Scotland. Retrieved March 17, 2018, from https://theculturetrip.com/europe/united-kingdom/scotland/articles/16-foods-you-must-eat-in-scotland/

Our top 10 most iconic Australian foods. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2018, from http://www.australiangeographic.com.au/topics/history-culture/2015/01/10-iconic-australian-foods-and-their-history

10 Foods You Have to Try in New Zealand. (2017, July 21). Retrieved March 17, 2018, from https://www.backpackerguide.nz/new-zealand-food/

Top 10 foods to try in Paris. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2018, from https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/top-10-foods-try-paris

What food is Wales known for? (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2018, from http://www.visitwales.com/explore/traditions-history/recipes/famous-welsh-foods

These 13 Iconic Foods In Vermont Will Have Your Mouth Watering. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2018, from http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/vermont/iconic-food-vt/

Women Tours and Vacation Travel. (n.d.). Retrieved March 17, 2018, from https://www.women-traveling.com/

Research on Distribution

I decided to do some research on how my magazine would be distributed in real life, so when I write my CCR I have one less thing to worry about (my future self will thank me).

I want my magazine to be distributed through print (for many reasons I will be discussing) and to publish 9 issues per year.

I found this article, HuffPost: The Best Food Magazines: A HuffPost Deathmatch, which lists some of the best "under the radar" food magazines. Out of the 16 magazines it listed, most were published quarterly. Here is a pie chart I made on Meta-chart to display the data:

These magazines are not mainstream, but I still wanted to get an idea on how often all food magazines are published.

I also researched how frequent the food magazines that have been my inspiration publish (Saveur, Food & Wine, Bon Appetit). Here is what I discovered on Wikipedia:

Saver publishes 9 issues a year 

Food & Wine publishes monthly

Bon Appetit publishes 10 issues a year.

The more popular magazines publish more frequently. I decided for my magazine to publish 9 issues a year because it is a good amount between quarterly and monthly. Also, one of the aspects of Saveur's magazine is travel (which is one of the aspects of my magazine and the special issue I am doing) and they publish 9 issues a year). I think quarterly isn't frequent enough, so that is another reason I want to do 9 issues a year.

I mentioned earlier in my post that I want my magazine to be distributed through print. This is because of the FreeportPress article I found about print vs. digital.

They had some really great bar graphs on how frequent people read print vs. digital magazines. Here are the graphs that stood out to me:

1-2 magazines was answered more than none, which shows more people read magazines than not.

More people answered with none than 1-2, which shows a lot of them do not read digital magazines.

The amount of subscriptions is low, but higher than digital subscriptions. 

None was answered WAY more than 1-2 digital magazine subscriptions, which shows most read print.

More people read print magazines for 30 minutes than not reading them at all. I was surprised that people spend a good 30 minutes reading print magazines.

This shows again that digital will not be a good way to distribute my magazine.

This is who answered the survey:

There were slightly more females answering the survey, and the 3 highest ages were 36-65. This works out well because the target audience for my magazine is females ages 35-45.

My magazine will be subscription based like Saveur, Food & Wine, and Bon Appetit. I think this will be better since my magazine is intended for an older crowd, who aren't very tech savvy.

Also, according to the Forbes article on subscription businesses, 

"In the month of April 2017, subscription company websites had about 37 million visitors. Since 2014, that number has grown by over 800%."

This article refers to businesses such as Birchbox, but I think it is still relevant to magazines because it is discusses how subscription businesses in general are popular. 

My next blog post will be about exactly what I am taking pictures of since production begins next week. So my other posts this week is planning for production.

Citations:

Create a Pie Chart. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://www.meta-chart.com/pie#/display

Orchant, R. (2013, May 14). The Best Food Magazines: A HuffPost Deathmatch (PHOTOS). Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/best-food-magazines-deathmatch_n_3268893.html?slideshow=true#gallery/225211/13

Print vs. Digital: How We Really Consume Our Magazines – 2017 edition. (2017, October 01). Retrieved March 14, 2018, from http://www.freeportpress.com/print-vs-digital-how-we-really-consume-our-magazines/

Kestenbaum, R. (2017, August 10). Subscription Businesses Are Exploding With Growth. Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/richardkestenbaum/2017/08/10/subscription-businesses-are-exploding-with-growth/#380362a26678

Bon Appétit. (2018, March 12). Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bon_App%C3%A9tit

Saveur. (2018, March 12). Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saveur

Food & Wine. (2018, March 13). Retrieved March 14, 2018, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_&_Wine