Main Image for my School Magazine

My main image was initially thought to be an astronaut; based on the idea of child aspirations for their future. The colourful cartoon that would generate a child's interest into whatever they would like to do with their lives. This idea for an astronaut, was constructed during my planning as it was a unisex figure which could involve gender, stereotypical child occupation icons, but have the academic side; it might link with any school work connected to astronomy, and that you have to persist to achieve this as your profession.

However, when further developing my idea into practicality, I realised that using my own photography to capture my idea was an impossibility. Therefore, I re-thought my concept for a main image and produced the concept from a slightly different, and more relatable, angle; this was a medium close up of a child in puzzled thought over what to become. This help the audience (children) relate more the concept behind the issue from a more realistic view point, as it creates empathy as to the situation.

 



 This is my image for my school magazine cover. The clothing is school uniform, to re-enforce the genre and to specify and relate to the target audience (school children). The expression is a mixture of puzzlement and almost depression, at how she can not grasp an idea or an icon she can aspire to. This situation can often be an experience filled with the sense of loneliness and isolation, as it is one of the biggest decision children seem to be constantly on their minds at this age. This is why it is a child posing, not a young adult or an authority figure; so that the target audience feel connected to the something that understands, and build up trust with the magazine. I have used no other models in the photograph to capture this concept of loneliness further.

 

Unfortunately, I found that the background of the photograph gave a certain amateur feel to the picture and did not fit with the message that I was trying to convey. From this, I made the decision to remove it using the editing of pain to remove anything unwanted. However, this feel to fault, as the tools of paint made constructing a smooth outline of my specific shape almost an impossibility and was quite strenuous and time consuming. This is why I decided to use Adobe Photoshop to isolate my back ground and clear it away with ease. The overall result, I felt, look more professional and clean cut.