Saturday, December 28, 2019

Creating the Official Logo

Creating The Final Logo For 'GUAP' Magazine"

   This is the finished logo for 'GUAP' Magazine. It is nice and simple and catches the attention of anyone who would see it from a distance due to the bright color. I will have the logo placed on the top center of the magazine. the colors will go hand in hand with the color scheme.

Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Interview / Feature Article Research

Feature Article / Interview research and ideas

When it comes to the information on the magazine one of the biggest things will be the feature articles and feedback the I get back from the two Artists.

 I will ask questions about :
  • Their up-bringing
  • Their work
  • The experience
  • Future Projects 
  • Their style in music and Fashion
I plan to Record the interviews of each person in order to have a record of what exactly is being said but that will not literally be the feature article. It will talk about all of the things listed while using quotes from them when asked of their opinion.

What is a Feature Story

"Most people think of a feature story as something soft and puffy, written for the arts or fashion section of the newspaper or website. But in fact, features can be about any subject, from the fluffiest lifestyle piece to the toughest investigative report. Features aren't found just in the back pages of the paper, the ones that focus on things like home decor and music reviews. Features are found in every section of the paper, from news to business to sports. Feature stories aren't defined so much by subject matter as they are by the style they are written in. In other words, anything written in a feature-oriented way is a feature story."


Basically when you think of a Feature story people think of like a super drastic story of how someone overcame a huge hurdle in their life and where they are now. It does not have to be like this though. Feature stories can tell you all about the person whether it be the good or the bad or both, and that is what I intend mines to be like.

Saturday, December 21, 2019

Final Model Decision/Reasoning

Final Models/Artists Decision and Reasoning

In this post I will be talking about the final two artists that i have chose to be on the magazine and the reason why.

Conveniently, two of my friends at my school are both up and coming Artists that I know personally and that are quite simple to work with. Their names are Kevin, aka "Nw Jetski", and Jamael, who goes by "RFW Jamael". They are cousins and both come from similar backgrounds with somewhat similar interests. Overall the main reason I chose to go with these two, besides the fact that I know them, is because of their background, Their style, and their music. Kevin overall is more popular when it comes to music with songs on multiple platforms like Apple music, Soundcloud, etc. Anyway, The process of orbiting my magazine around them would be more enteraning, interesting, and more convenient.

On the magazine itself Kevin will be the Cover artist and Main Feature but Jamael will also get his own either page or section in the magazine. I will talk about their pasts and their work while also branching into their opinions on their fashion interests. I will mainly talk about their music though and whats its like trying to branch out and get know from highschool.

Monday, December 16, 2019

Professional Photographer Research



Photographer Tom Medvedich

       For today, I looked a bit closer into the creation of some of the most popular rap magazine covers, especially of which my audience could even recognize. The piece that Ii will be speaking of is the cover shot for the magazine of the 2014 class of XXL freshman. They are a group of young artist selected as new young and upcoming artist. Being on the cover for XXL is a dream for many artists which also leaves a lot of stress on poor photographer Tom. Though it may look like just a normal shot a lot goes into the behind the scenes of the shot. I looked into what he was thinking during the shot. 

This is the cover page he shot:


When Asked about preparations this is what Tom had to say:

"As you guys know, it's pretty crazy, just based on getting everybody together. But as far as my end, it's probably a month out, just for something of this scale. We have to coordinate with the prop stylist; we have to sit down and talk about what the set will be, because obviously with 12 people it gets a little crazy. So we have to make sure that everything is wide enough to fit all these people in a frame. With one person it's easy, you just use a simple backdrop and there's no problem. But with 12 people, we have to figure out how to stagger them so they flow on the frame and they don't just look like six dudes across on two different rows. So we had to figure out how we could build a set that was stable and sturdy for 12 people to sit on and not get hurt or whatever, 'cause obviously safety is the first concern. So that's one thing."

Saturday, December 14, 2019

Cover Photo Set Up Inspiration





Cover Photo Brain Storm And Ideas

For my cover photo I would like to keep the overall look and design very sleek and calm which would allow the details on the model and the details of the magazine to be able to pop. The background color fr the shot will be black. If i will shoot the shot in the sun and crop out my model or shoot in the black area has not been decided. I am leaning on taking the shot outside though which would allow lots of natural light on the model.

Here in example of a possible setup:
Image result for camera shot setup black background














Placing my model in the sunlight however would allow for the sunlight to make his/her skin glow and pop even more on the black background. Commonly, when photographers use a black dark background they tend to make the character black and white as well which adds to the dramatic look they were going for. I would rather like my model to stand out but just as equally stand out with the color scheme.

I imagine the models face would contrast the background like this:
Related image






Tuesday, December 10, 2019

Female Artist Possibility

Female Artist Possibility

For this shoot I used a female model in order to be able to vision what the magazine would look like with her on the cover. I imagined her body cropped out with a black background. The shot would be cropped from the waist up allowing her upper wear, jewelry, and face to be highlighted.




Saturday, December 7, 2019

Model Possibility #2


Model #2
Here we have my second model option, Kevin. Since he is a rapper himself I chose him because he fits the genre I am pursuing. We did three different sets of shoots with a similar color scheme in each outfit.

Shoot #1
Outfit: Black Kappa shirt, ribbed jeans with color contrast, silver chains, Rolex, and miscellaneous bracelets.I sat my model in the chair with the concept in mind that it would add creative development to the image. It would help display the models outfit in a clearer view as well as create a better angle as the model shows off his shining piece of metal.







Shoot #2

Outfit: Black bomber jacket, ripped jeans with patches covering the holes, Air Max 97's. Unfortunately this was the best shot I got as the model was continuously making incoherent facial expressions. The scenery in the background helps the image attract more eyes.






Shoot #3

Outfit: Balenciaga sweatshirt, ripped jeans with patches over the holes, Balenciaga shoes. This photo is a way for the model to casually show off his hefty purchases. The model holds a straight face throughout the picture to create a sense of seriousness in the image. For a rap magazine this is exactly the type of vibe I want. 




Thursday, December 5, 2019

Model Possibility #1

Model #1
Here we have my first model option, Kymauri. Since we have taken pictures in the past I chose him because of the poses he chose to take and his overall out fit. We took two separate shoots on separate days with different outfits each day.

Shoot #1
Outfit: White Polo shirt, Blue bomber jacket, Sprayground book bag, blue denim jeans, royal blue Nike Vapor max. The only unique shot is the first where the model is squatted down. This was a very nice and casual pose that fit the model well. Also since the model is not the tallest being squatted down cancels out the height.



Shoot #2

Outfit: Striped Hilfiger T-shirt, No rip denim blue jeans, Blue Nike vapor max plus. In the first pic he has a very casual pose where he is simply sitting down on a bench. He holds a straight face in all the shots. In The second photo he shows off his 'waves', a pretty popular majority black hairstyle for generations. In the last shot we lowered the angle of the camera which was not the best idea due to the lack of sunlight in the shot.





Monday, December 2, 2019

Model Attributes & Features



Model Poses

For this post, I will be looking into how rappers pose in their shoots so that I can have an idea of what represents my model should strike. The reason that poses are essential is that they help to portray the rapper's personality and gives a feel or mood to the entire magazine. If a model strikes a specific pose as soon as the audience sees it, they will mentally give themselves an idea of what type of magazine they think it is. Also, the pose allows the viewer to provide initial opinions about the artist in the magazine as well. One thing we would not want is for one of the softest rappers to be throwing or gang signs or anything that portrays them as someone they are not. Their identity can easily be misunderstood, and that's why the pose and appearance of the artist are fundamental.


Image result for popular rap poses


- Here the model is on one knee which is a very subtle and neutral pose which goes great with the corresponding artist. It is simple but at the same time matches very well with the artists' appearance and style. His outfit may be to portray a 'New York' style judging off his shoes and jacket. He also makes sure to show subtle jewelry.


Evaluation: Question 4

Evaluation: Question #4 Question: How did you integrate technologies in this project? Throughout the course of producing this entire pro...