Unorganisation

Being unorganised throughout this project has lead to some of the project elements being missed out.

SOCIAL MEDIA
Unfortunately I never got round to creating social media pages for my online magazine due to lack of organisation on my behalf.  I am annoyed at myself for this, because I believe that they could have really aided the project and encouraged a lot more interaction from people.  Originally I had planned to have an Instagram and Facebook page where I could post BTS images from photoshoots and teasers leading up to the launch of the website.  I feel that I have really let myself down with this aspect of the project.  However for the next time I do a project like this I know that it should be one of the first things to be created at the beginning, and as I would like to continue with the magazine once the projects have been marked, it is something that I can consider when developing The Beauty Prophecy.

FRAGRANCE PAGE
As I was getting closer to the launch of my website and finishing the other pages of my magazine, it became apparent that I was not going to have enough time to create a feature about fragrance.  Therefore I have made the decision to take this feature page out of my magazine so that I can focus on getting the other features to a good standard.  I have made this decision because I do not have enough time to write and create a feature that will be up to standard with the rest of the features, and I believe that if I was to create a quick one that it would not fit with the rest of the magazine and let it down.

WEBSITE
Although my website is now nearly finished, I know that there is a lot more that I could have done and improved on, had I allowed myself more time.  I am pleased with the content that I have on there, however I know that there could be a lot more depth to what is there.  As I am planning to continue with the project after hand-in, I think that this is something that I can work on and improve over time.

Revised Website Designs

Since my mid-point presentation, I have been rethinking my website layout and how I want it to look.  As the lecturers thought that I should drop the fashion feature, I have, and I have also taken into consideration their points made about the menu bar and how many tabs it should have.  I have also decided that I no longer want the 'News Feed' section on the right hand side, as I realised that it would not work well for a start-up magazine.  Whereas if the magazine had been running for longer than three months and if it had more content than I plan to have finished for the hand-in, then it would work as a really nice feature to aid the accessibility of the magazine's features.

HOMEPAGE

I want the online magazine to land on the homepage, where the reader will be greeted with a slideshow of images that will take them to a feature within the website when clicked on.  Also featured on the homepage will be a written piece about the overview of the upcoming trends for the Autumn/Winter season.

BEAUTY/HAIR HOMEPAGE

The Beauty and Hair homepage's will be similar to the main homepage, with an arrangement of images that relate to the different features under each section.

FEATURE PAGES

Each feature page will be arranged differently, but here I have drawn a general outline with what sort of things will be featured in each section.

ABOUT PAGE

As a magazine it is important to have an About page so that your readers can learn more about you and what you aim to achieve and give to your readers through your magazine.

CONTACT PAGE

Again, it is important to have a mode of contact so that your readers can contact you about any enquiries that they may have.

Overall, I think that the revised designs will improve the layout of the magazine's website.  Key features for my updated website design include the accessibility of my menu bar - I want the menu to scroll and stick at the top of the page as the reader scrolls through the site.  This is important because I think it will bring the whole website together and make all of the other features more accessible, as they will not have to scroll back up again to navigate elsewhere on the site.  Hopefully I can make this work with John's help.

Tutorial with Elizabeth

In today's tutorial with Elizabeth, we went through the work that I have produced so far.  I showed her my photoshoots that I had done since I last saw her, which she was pleased with, and we discussed more ideas within forecasting.

Having shown her my milk bath photoshoot for skincare, we discussed the idea of 'routine' and how we create our own schedules to stick by.  We talked about Clinique and Dr Orentreich, who is someone that I need to research into to progress in my project.  Elizabeth also showed me some forecasting booklets that she had, and we decided that I should do another still life photoshoot to create a colour palette with ordinary day-to-day objects, as well as having a colour palette with make-up products.  Retail and Instagram were also discussed as extra possible areas that I could look into for my magazine, as Instagram is becoming more and more popular and a lot of brands have started to sell products through their accounts.  With regards to Instagram, there are a lot of American 'natural vegan beauty' accounts that have started their own businesses through the social network, which could be another point of interest.

I am happy with the areas that Elizabeth and I discussed in my meeting with her, and I feel confident that I know what I need to do now in order to get my magazine ready for it's launch.  I believe that creating more still life imagery will give me a wider variety to work with, and I think that researching into Instagram will give my magazine more depth.

Next Steps:

- Research Dr Orentreich and Clinique's skincare policy

- Look into how retail is developing

- Develop website further

Mid-point Presentation Formative Feedback

What has been successful so far, what have you been pleased with?

Are you on track with your original production schedule, if not why and what needs adjusting?

How have you resolved any major issues?

What requires further improvement?

What other ideas do you have for further development of your project?

Based around the questions above that were set out by the lecturers, I explained in my presentation how and why my project has changed direction, and how I am currently behind schedule.  I also showed the group a selection of unedited images from my recent photo shoots, and then went on to talk them through a rough layout idea for my online magazine (refer to previous posts for details).

FEEDBACK (Emma, Jane and Elizabeth)

The feedback from the tutors on my presentation was mixed.  They liked the photo shoots that I showed them and liked the layout design of my website, however they had some issues with certain areas of my project.  For example, neither three of them were keen on the name that I had come up with for the magazine, and they believe that my knowledge of fashion isn't enough to cover that area on my magazine.  Instead, they suggested that I should focus on the hair and beauty aspects, as that is my area of expertise and they believe that I can achieve my full potential if I just focus on these areas.  Emma also suggested and believes that some still life product imagery would fit well with the magazine and boost the content.

NEXT STEPS

- Decide on a new title for the magazine

- Create a sell/tag line to go underneath the heading

- Make sure that the trends are dated for the readers

- Scrap the FASHION section

- Include some product imagery

- Make separate tabs for the magazine, do not just have all the content under TRENDS

- Look at some 'edgier' magazines, such as V Magazine, for inspiration

Fragrance Photoshoot

INSPIRATION

Here is a basic moodboard of inspiration for my fragrance photoshoot.  The key element to this look will be the gel lighting, to create a moody atmosphere in the image.  The main colour gels that I want to experiment with are red, green and blue, as I think that these will work best as a combination.  To work with these colours, I will apply a shimmery orange lipstick to my model's lips.

https://uk.pinterest.com/dannilove09/color/

https://fstoppers.com/studio/shooting-color-gels-2723

https://modxchange.wordpress.com/2014/03/10/how-to-wear-orange-lipstick-this-spring/

UNEDITED IMAGES

The theme behind this photoshoot was to represent fragrance, so I decided to play with coloured gels to create different moods within the images.  I am happy with the outcome of these images, however I think that I could have been a bit more adventurous with the poses and stances for the model  had I been more prepared leading up to the shoot, as the images are all quite similarly structured.

Luckily one of my photographers was free to help me with this photoshoot, as I am not confident in using gels, and I think that the lighting looks really good, with thanks to my photographer.  I was really happy with the make-up that I had created for my model's face, however it does not show up greatly in the images due to the lighting.  Looking back, I think that we should have captured some images without the gels to give me a variety of choice when it comes to finalising my images for the magazine.

Overall I am fairly pleased with the outcome of these images, however there are a few changes that I would like to make in post-production.  Firstly, I would like to play with the lighting and see if I can make the make-up any more visible than it is in the unedited images, and secondly I would like to take out the model's nose stud and tidy up the wispy hairs around her head.  The images will also need to be cropped to take out the models top and the excess areas of background.

Eye Photoshoot

For the eye look, I want to create a dark smokey eye that has been glossed over with vaseline, similar to what can be seen in the moodboard above.  Paired with the dark glossy eye, I will give my model a matte nude lip to create contrast in the make-up.  This will also be so that the make-up look is balanced nicely, because if I were to opt for a dark lip and dark eye, it would confuse the viewer and I want them to be solely focused on the eye make-up.

http://newsbeat.co.ke/gossip/12-different-eyeliner-looks/

http://dy6g3i6a1660s.cloudfront.net/Gg3AyXuPBm1Bzvdeud9l6wPUAaM/orig.jpg

http://makeup.lovetoknow.com/Homemade_Lip_Gloss

https://briellebrennerbeauty.files.wordpress.com/2014/01/25-best-blue-smokey-eye-make-up-ideas-looks-of-2012-26.jpg

UNEDITED IMAGES

Unfortunately I am not very happy with the outcome of these images and I am considering not using them for the final outcome of my project.  The aim of my outcome was the achieve a dark glossy eye with a fairly nude lip, but what I did not anticipate was how creased the eye would become when I added the gloss over the top of the eyeshadow.  I was continuously blending the eyes in between shots, however this did not do much for them and the creasing continued to show through.

I will attempt to correct this in post-production, however I do not think that I have the correct skill set to be able to recover these images.  Although I do not think that this would achieve the desired effect of the photoshoot, as it would make the eyes lighter and blurrier than I would like them.  An alternative option would be to re-shoot this look, however I know that the model I used is very busy herself with her own projects, and so I feel that it is unfair for me to call on her again.

From doing this photoshoot, I have learnt that I need to plan my looks better and consider all possibilities when it comes to using innovative ideas within photoshoots.  In the future if I want to create a glossy eye, I will test the products that I want to use first on myself to ensure that they will look good on camera and not smudge or crease.

Behind Schedule

Having been primarily focused on my dissertation throughout February, I have fallen very behind on my original production schedule.  Above is the production schedule that I proposed in my original project proposal.  Since then I have changed the outline of my project, however I was sticking to the same production schedule as it was still relevant.  So far, in relation to my schedule, I should have completed a week's worth of shooting, along with interviews with creatives and a developed website design.  In reality, I have not yet started shooting and I have not yet interviewed anyone, however I have sourced my models and begun designing the looks for upcoming photo shoots.  I have also visited some exhibitions, however they are no longer relevant.

My organisation skills within this project so far have not met my expectations as I have struggled to manage starting my FMP whilst still working on my dissertation.  This is due to me being originally unorganised with my dissertation, however now that it has been completed I can get back on track with production.  Below is a revised production schedule that I shall work to moving forward in my project.

Tutorial with Elizabeth

In today's tutorial with Elizabeth we discussed the concept, direction and content for my online magazine.  Her opinion is that, for my magazine to be innovative, it needs a forecasting element within it, however I do not have the knowledge or resources that would allow me to stay ahead of my target audience.  It was discussed that maybe an arts project would not be the right direction for my online magazine, as we both agreed that I am not knowledgable enough within that area.  Therefore we have removed the arts element from my project, and my magazine will now focus on the future of fashion, hair and beauty.

I am happy with this decision, as I definitely feel more comfortable and am more knowledgeable with these creative areas.  Removing the arts element also means that my work load will be slightly less, because I will no longer have to go to London to continue reviewing exhibitions and it will not be necessary for me to find artists to collaborate with in my work.  This will also allow me to really focus on the three elements of fashion, hair and beauty, in order to create some great features for my magazine.

Moving forward:

- Define the trend and how far into the future that the magazine will look to

- Research into the three magazine areas

- Look for inspiration for online layouts

- Begin shooting