Caitlin's Photojournalism Blog

Wednesday, December 9, 2015

Thursday, December 3, 2015

First video:
- The models lips, nose and eyes were moved down.
- Her neck was elongated and made thinner.
- Her eyebrows were arched further up.
- Her eyes were made bigger.
- Her temples were made slimmer.
- Her hair was made longer and more voluminous.
- Her face was made into more of a heart shape rather than a square shape.

Second video:
- Her eyes and other facial features were made bigger.
- Her legs were elongated and made slimmer.
- Her neck was slimmed and made longer.
- Her hair and skin was colored to be lighter.

Third video:
- Her entire body was made much slimmer, and any stretch marks and wrinkles were blurred over.
- Her head was made smaller.
- She was given longer hair.
- Her hand was made smaller.
- Her skin was made to look rosier and pinker.

Questions:
4. In my opinion, it is not ethical to photoshop a person's appearance to look so different. By the end of most of the videos, the models looked like completely different people. These changes to make someone look prettier can not only affect those models perception of themselves and their self esteem, but also alters society and everyone who views those photo's perception of beauty.
5. I think that it's only morally right when the model themselves really wants one part of them changed. Unless she actually requests it, then I don't think it's okay.
6. Again, unless the model requests a part of them changed, then I don't think it's okay to do any manipulation.
7. Photojournalism tells a story with pictures, whereas fashion photography only shows a person or a topic, and doesn't really show the whole story.
8. In photojournalism, when someone manipulates a picture, it can cost them their jobs. Because of this, photojournalism photography is usually true to reality. On the other hand, in fashion photography, photographers and editors are encouraged to edit and manipulate their photos, resulting in fashion photography usually not being like real life.
9. You're showing us these videos to show us what the fashion journalism industry is like, and to discourage us from manipulating our pictures like this.
10. None of the videos are about guys because society accepts guys for what they truly look like, and then turn around and tell girls to change themselves for men and society and use makeup, and even when girls change themselves to the best of their ability, they're still put into photoshop to look even more different.

Magazines Part II

1. Early Magazine Covers

The earliest magazine covers looked a lot like book covers. The covers were always vague and didn't really show what was specifically in the contents of the magazine. Most covers only showed the title of the magazine and had a table of contents or a picture that either symbolically showed the spirit of the magazine or was just there for decoration.

2. The Poster Cover

Poster covers were commonly seen from the late 19th century to the mid 20th century. Poster covers had a picture that didn't specifically describe or relate to any article in the magazine, but mostly described the emotion of the magazine. The logo almost never covers the picture. Professional artists were often hired just to make magazine cover illustrations. Cover lines were almost never on the front cover, and when they were they were often overshadowed by the colored picture.

3. Pictures Married to Type

These covers relied heavily on text and cover lines to draw readers in, rather than pictures and illustrations. Over time, photographs took over illustrations on magazine covers. The text on the cover gives the reader an idea of what will be in the magazine, unlike other covers which gave the reader of an idea of the mood of the magazine. As time progressed and the magazine industry became bigger, cover designers began to experiment with the relations with cover lines, logos, and pictures to create what modern magazine covers look like.

4. In the Forest of Words

These covers rely very heavily on text, and the text that describes what's inside the magazine is usually more prominent than the picture on the magazine. They are usually used for music magazines. The cover lines and logo almost always cover over the photo, and use bright colors to catch the reader's attention.

Tuesday, December 1, 2015

My Favorite Cover

"The cover of Kinfolk Issue Eleven: The Home Issue was shot by Maia Flore, a Paris-based photographer we love working with because of her interesting conceptual ideas and dreamy style. The cover image was part of Maia’s photo essay inside titled “Becoming Your Home.” After a long, cold winter, the image seemed to express that feeling of cabin fever, climbing the walls, sinking into the furniture. At the same time, the image has a warm color and a childlike feeling of play. The Home Issue was one of our more straightforward themes, but the photography displayed on our simply designed cover marked a change in direction toward more artful content."

I've seen this picture about a hundred times, and I've always loved this picture, even before I knew it was one of the best magazine covers of 2015. Kinfolk covers have a very minimalist design- which I like- and that style choice is reflected into this photo. Besides the model and the dollhouse, there is nothing in the photo besides the floor and the wall. The subject is centered, which results in it filling the space of the photo. The colors are mostly soft, primary colors and muted browns which is easy on the eye and gives the viewer a sense of the dreamy style that the photographer is known for. The surreal-ness of the photo and the fact that the viewer can't see the model's face reflects this dreamy style.