Production- Photoshoot Day!!

 Hi blog,

    Today, I did my photoshoot. I started production bright and early at 9am to get a good natural light. I prepared all of my things and brought them together. I took about 30+ photos and changed some settings around to make sure that I had the best material possible!

   I took many photos to ensure that I had the best angle and quality. I ended up with an aerial shot as planned. I did change the settings on my camera to give it a warmer feel.

         

    Here you can see how I made the filter warmer, and it completely changed the vibe of the picture. These were my top two photos because of the layout, but I am going to go with the warmer-toned photos as they match my genre a little better.

    This was my first major step in the production process, and I hope to keep up and edit/finish everything in class!

Production-Camera Setup

 Hi blog,

    Today I prepared my camera for production tomorrow! I went through all of the different settings and tested them with one another. My camera is a 4 K Ultra HD from Amazon. The settings I have put on it include a -3 exposure,  super-high quality, medium sharpness, and the beauty filter.

    I chose the -3 exposure because I didn't want high contrast, which would make the light blinding the photo, and I figured this would give the photo a natural finish. Furthermore, the photo will need a good quality turnout if it is to be my cover image, and it was only right to use the best quality I could get.

    I spent some time playing around with the sharpnesses, and I concluded with the medium setting. This is because the high sharpness felt too artificial, and I didn't want that to mess with the overall vibe and the magazine. I will play around with these settings tomorrow and decide later. Finally, the beauty filter was a must-have just to help with touch-ups!

    Overall, today has helped me figure out and decide the settings and quality of my camera to better my photos for tomorrow. This will help me because I won't have to scramble and change the settings too much.

Production- Photoshoot Planning

 Hi blog,

    Today in class, I created a layout for my photoshoot on Saturday. I will be working in my kitchen and using the afternoon lighting to give off a natural light. The photo will mainly consist of the countertop, plate, chicken pita, tzatziki, and a cutting board with fresh ingredients to fill the cover image. I feel like this is enough things to help fill the space without overwhelming it. If needed, I will find other fillers to use in the background.

    Now this plan isn't set in stone and will probably be subject to change; however, it gives me a good visual and starting point for Saturday.

    I will prepare the food prior to the shoot and get all of my things organized. Furthermore, I will take different photos at different angles with high and low to exhibit the food and see what will look the best.

    This mock photo has helped me develop further into my project because it gives me a layout so that i'm ready for the photoshoot on Saturday!

Production- Planning

 Hi blog!

    It's finally time! We are in the final phase of the portfolio. So far, I have planned out my production schedule; it is fairly flexible, but I intend to keep it to ensure I finish on time.

    Here, I have broken down my time between five different events. These include production, editing, composition, and touch-ups.

    As you can see, I plan on starting production this weekend. I will gather all of my materials and determine a layout for when the time comes to shoot. I have set the fixed time to the afternoon so that I can get optimal natural lighting. I have given myself two days for production to ensure that I can get the most out of my time.

    I intend to work on editing and getting ready for my layout in the following class periods. I will then start on my actual magazine and figure out all those details!

    This schedule has helped me stay organized and ensure that I am on the way to a great portfolio submitted on time. 

My Influences

 Hi blog,

    I've told you a lot about my project, but I have not addressed what influenced my decisions.

    First of all, I love to cook and try new recipes. For about a year now, I have been making healthy and simple recipes for my family and me. A diet that I never get tired of is the Mediterranean diet. There are just so many different things to make and so many variations to try them with. This diet is truly customizable and still healthy! 

    When I decided on a food-focused magazine, I knew that Mediterranean would be a great topic. Moreover, many visible trends are popping up with this food, such as one-pan dinners, high-protein meals, and traditional comfort foods. My plan is to combine all of these and create a sophisticated take on a dieting magazine.

                                                            

Planning- A Deeper Dive On The Cover Photo

 Hi blog,

    Today, I was planning out the little details that cannot be overlooked. I developed my overall ideas and included them in my past blogs. So this one will break down the technical elements.

                                                        

    The background setting will be minimal, probably a countertop, and will be an aerial shot over the food. There will be natural lighting, such as the picture above.

    The plate will be in contrast to the background, but not pop and take away from the food. It will most likely be a cream colored plate, which will allow the vibrant colors of the food to pop. This will help keep the refined feel and elevated the photo.

    The cover image dish will be a chicken pita and will include lettuce, tomato, red onion, tzatziki, grilled chicken, pita, and feta cheese. The pita must be stuffed to the brim to be visually appealing and looked delicious! I will add a filler to the plate as needed such as a lemon or other accessories. 

    Background fillers will include a cutting board with fresh ingredients and a bowl of tzatziki with a spoon. This will demonstrate the things found in the actual dish.

    

Layout and Inspo

 Welcome to the new week blog!

    I started to make a layout for my magazine and went over what I was going to include. I used PowerPoint, only to get a quick and easy base, to brain-dump inspiration and start forming my layout.

    I want to have a chicken pita as my cover image, and I want it to follow the conventions of this photo:

    This is a great photo because it highlights the food and uses the ingredients to fill the scene.

    I also started playing around with fonts, and I really like this one titled Copperplate, and it is in bold. I think that this font is satisfactory to the name and establishes sophistication. 

The smaller articles the i would use as my cover lines are things like:

    These are some of the ideas that I had in mind for my magazine and course. I will have to play around and find the perfect colors and font to complement the cover image and masthead.

    Anyways, here is the full screenshot of my planning. I will use this to help me further decide and plan out what to do and how to get everything perfect!

The Proposal

 Hi blog, 

   This is my formal introduction to my project! To start off, my name is Melanie, and I will be working by myself. I will be creating a lifestyle magazine. My magazine will be about food and will focus on the Mediterranean diet. I chose this because I enjoy cooking, and this will be a fun topic for me.

    My target audience for this magazine is young adults who enjoy cooking and want to incorporate new, healthy foods into their diets. It will also be for people who are interested in a cultivated, simple food rotation.

    Potential issues I will address are access to food and cultural traditions. I will focus on these by providing alternate food/ingredient options. This magazine is meant to focus on the Mediterranean diet; however, cultural traditions can differ in how the recipe is cooked or prepared. That said, I don't intend for this to follow every cultural tradition, but just the most common one.

    The software I plan to use is InDesign. I will have to touch up on my skills. I hope to get better at my editing and design skills.

    My plan for the portfolio will be to get a step done every week and keep constant progress. My style will be clean, sophisticated, and engaging. I will keep looking at different magazines and keep finding inspiration for my project!

                                                    

Planning- Final Steps

 Hi blog, 

    In class today, I finished my ideas for my magazine! I have been playing around with names and layouts of my presentation.

    Last class, I was deciding between The Cultivated Spoon and Kitchen Diaries as the name of my magazine publisher. Today, I narrowed it down to The Cultivated Spoon because it feels more sophisticated and fitting for my project, which will target young adults or mature individuals.

    Furthermore, I was brainstorming ideas for my feature article and what it would focus on. Of course, it's going to be the front cover, but it was a little harder to come up with ideas for the actual two-page plan. That said, I am going to feature a picture of the food, followed by the recipe. The page will also include a brief history of Mediterranean food and highlight the dish in particular. Since my feature article will be based on Greek chicken pitas, I could do a little section about tzatziki.

                                            

    Aside from the context, I will give an introduction to the magazine and why the Mediterranean diet is the way to go. If needed to fill space, I will include the typical elements in this die. Whatever is not included in the feature article will be placed in the table of contents as fillers.

    The content to be included throughout my magazine will be engaging and include features and elements to be entered, yet minimal. This is a great example of how I would plan my layout for my article. There will be a photo of the food, some description, and a basic enlightening feel. 

                                            

    The tone of my magazine will be playful and conversational to keep a fun, light atmosphere of my publish. My information will be written in different columns to break up the information. The different sections will be spread out through the page and fill it up. They will most likely be short paragraphs to explain the topic.

    This week I really figured out all the little details and I mapped out my portfolio and am ready to start action, stay tuned for the proposal!

Planning- Part 1

 Hi blog,

    It's officially time to start planning out my magazine and start putting pieces together.

The style of my issue will be sophisticated and structured, making it visually appealing. It will be a minimalist setting with bright, bold food to create contrast. To complement the food, natural elements like ingredients will be placed around to give the photo a softer feel. The incorporation of minimalism and simple elements will create a warm, blended feel.

    For my front page, the cover image will be a picture of the finished recipe from the feature article. The photo will be just the food, so that I can fill the open space with cover lines and other fillers. For example, this photo down here displays the cover image as a stand-alone image with nothing else in the background, opening up the space.

                                                    

    The table of contents area will span across two pages and consists of about 40-50 pages. some pages included will be an intro, why it is good for you, the background of mediterranean food, common principles, and recipes (broken up into sections). In the table of contents, there will be some photos to help fill the page.

    The location of my photoshoot will happen in my kitchen or in natural settings, such as outside; this will help me get organic lighting. The dish wear i'll use will contrast with the dish and make it pop. For example, if I use a gyro as my cover image, I could use a blue plate to make the food stand out. The photo down here exemplifies this idea well. Simple elements will also be included, such as ingredients and cookware, to warm up the photo and emphasize the main focus.

    Now that stuff is starting to get situated, I can figure out my timeline to ensure that I have as much time as I need to ensure success with my project. My plan of action is to finish my layout and propose my project as a whole. After this is good I will start getting my props and taking photos. Then, once I have my confirmed images I can begin on layout and presentation of the magazine itself.