PRODUCT 1 DO YOU THINK THAT THE IDEAS YOU DEVELOPED FOR PRODUCT ONE ARE CREATIVE AND INTERESTING? I think the ideas I developed for product one are creative, where I think that I have taken initiative with my work and put my own style to it. I feel that I have taken the colour of the products into consideration and tried to create a certain theme within the product, to create some kind of emotional impact on the customer to make them feel more tempted to eat/buy it. I feel that with both approaches I have tried to experiment with different compositions and lighting that will have different effects on the customers. Where for the first approach I have made the cupcakes appear mysterious and tempting by having the lighting dim; illuminating the colours of the cupcake and it’s packaging in order for it to appear more attractive by standing out against the dark background. Then with the second approach two I have experimented a lot more throughout that photo shoot. This approach was a lot brighter and prioritised the vibrant colours to tempt people. I think this first approach has a feeling of autumn with the royal purple tones and golden colour from the acorns that I have used for decoration. To enhance the acorns more I have saturated the colours slightly to the point where the colours in the acorn are harmonious with the colours in the cupcake. I think the light coming off the acorns illuminate the photograph and has enhanced it than if they weren’t there. With the second photoshoot I feel as if the photographs look appropriate for winter months where the white in the photographs have been highlighted as a main focus for the customer to see. When editing the first set of photographs I tended to turn the contrast up, where with this approach I have put the contrast down to give it a much softer and delicate look.
ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE TECHNICAL QUALITITIES OF YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS FOR PRODUCT ONE? I think that the lighting for the first approach for product one is how I wanted it to come out and has created the same lighting effect that I found appealing in the artists I got inspiration from. I have made the photographs have a clear and apparent light sources; where it is only coming from one angle, which I think works well as the light seems to work around the curvature of the product and highlights the shape of the product. I think that increases the highlights and sharpens the shadows of the product. I tried to create a Bokeh effect with the light that is reflecting off of the acorns as I think this softens the harsh look the photograph has created from everything else being in focus and dark. I feel that this gives the viewers more to look at, but doesn’t distract from the main product. I have taken the natural lighting to my advantage where I feel that it gives the photograph quite a pale/bleached wash to it that makes it look natural and not overly edited – so people can imagine it being there as they are looking at it a lot more. Even though I feel it has given a bleached wash-look to it, it doesn’t take away the vibrancy of the colours on the product, where I have saturated it slightly to maintain the colours vitality. For the first approach I have chosen a reasonably basic font with tails at the end of the letters. I feel that this is the one that suited the photograph the best as I experimented with a few before making a final decision. I feel that the font is well structured and holds the photograph in place. With the overhead photographs like the one below, I decided to put the font over the photograph as I felt visually it balanced everything out and gave it a centre component to make the photograph appear even- where things are arranged considerably randomly is some of the photographs. Also I put some space between each letter on the photographs as I have seen this before on advertisement posters that I have looked in the past and felt that it was an effective way of presenting short phrases or words- making it looking high-end and modern. By having more spacing between the letters I felt it would have more of an impact on the viewer. I also tried to experiment with the positioning of the brand name ‘Waitrose’trying to put it somewhere convenient to the type of product it was going to be printed out to be and where the viewer would see it. Also I tried to alternate the colour of the brand name being green and white as I was unsure what the brand would typically do on their products; although I felt that both colours would work. Preferably I would have kept it white. On the second approach for the font I went for something that I felt was more of an elegant font where it was italic and the style involved of artistic looking flicks. I felt that this would make the customer think of a French patisserie sort of
environment that the cupcakes may have been made in. I feel this font made the products appear as if they were high quality, traditional and rustic. Where there was a lot of warm colours coming through from the LED lights and white in the background of these photographs, it was effective where I made the font fairly transparent. I think this blends with the photograph well and doesn’t stand out to much ; distracting from the product itself. I have kept the Waitrose brand name in full opacity as it is important for this part of the promotion to be clear.
APPROACH 2
Approach 1
ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE FORMAL ELEMENTS FOR YOUR PRODUCT FOR PRODUCT ONE? (COMPOSITION, LINE, TEXTURE, COLOUR, TONES AND SHADES) I feel that the colours in these photographs are harmonious, where the warm toned colours complement the colder toned colour of the cupcake case. Also I feel that the colour of the acorns link with the colours of the sprinkles on the cupcakes which helps it come together. None of cupcakes in the first approach are taken directly in the middle or centrally- which makes some of them look quite scattered. I felt that if the
photographs were taken too even- it wouldn’t work as well with the dark theme. Where the product is hiding to the side of the photographs ( not so much so that you can’t see them properly); the customer feels as if they want to see more of it and are drawn in to try and see as much detail as they can. It is also like the photograph has been taken to show the best bit – which tempts them more. Having the shadow cascade over the product, makes it appear mysterious where it merges out of the shadows; encouraging the customers to want to see more that they can’t see in the dark shadows. With the second approach I was taken with more of a central alignment for a small majority of the photographs where the theme of this photo shoot wasn’t to pick up on the shadows, but to embrace the highlights. Therefore the photographs that were positioned centrally tended to be well lit or taken as a ‘ariel’ shot- which didn’t invite as much light and shade in as it would of if taken from an angle. In some of the photographs ,in both approaches, not all of the cupcake is in as much focus as I would have liked it to be- where the front of the product may be in focus, yet the rest of it is not in as much detail as I would have preferred. This was only realised once analysing the photographs on the computer. DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS FOR PRODUCT ONE ARE VISUALLY INTERESTING AND CAPTIVATING ENOUGH TO CAPTURE THE ATTENTION OF YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE IN YOUR DIFFERENT COMERCIAL SETTINGS? I feel that my photographs are captivating enough to capture the attention of my target audience where Waitrose is more along the high-end spectrum of super markets and I feel I have presented that within the photographs. Black and purple are a running theme in the first set of photographs for this product which I think provokes the thought of high quality and indulgent products. Then with the second approach I feel that the lights gives a homely/ warm feel that will attract the families that shop there. I think that I have catered for all of the customers that shop at Waitrose which could be anyone- although it will be mostly middle to higher classed people. With cupcakes; it’s an extremely universal product that most people will find appealing. Therefore I tried to enhance the photographs in the way that I would find appealing if I saw it being advertised; that I also thought would tempt a majority of the customers as well. I did this by working around the product and trying to use the term ‘eating with your eyes’, where if the product and it’s surroundings look attractive- the product is going to be looking even better.
PRODUCT 2
DO YOU THINK THAT THE IDEAS YOU DEVELOPED FOR PRODUCT TWO ARE CREATIVE AND INTERESTING? I think that the ideas I created were creative and interesting. I feel I have put my own style to it; while working in the styles of the artist’s that I got inspiration from. I feel that both approaches were similar in the way that they were both studio based and shared a couple of the same ideas within them. Although my editing differentiated them, and I also had different intentions within their themes- I feel this is obvious from looking at them. I tried to use the given slogan,’ a clearer sound’, as much to my advantage as possible and incorporate it into both approaches. I feel like I did this with creativity by using different visuals through editing. From looking at existing headphone advertisements, I noticed most ideas are very simple. There is not usually much going on, and most of the time there is just one person modelling the headphones. ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE TECHNICAL QUALITITIES OF YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS FOR PRODUCT TWO? With the lighting for approach 1, for product two, I am pleased with how the majority of it came out. I was pleased with the strong contrast of the light and shade in the photographs and felt it gave the photographs a bold light source, which I think illuminated the photograph a lot. Although with some of the photographs, they appeared to be a lot darker than anticipated when it came to editing them and the beats were difficult to distinguish in the photographs, which is a negative when the beats are the products that are trying to be promoted. I have tried to enhance the photographs that face this issue as much as possible, although they appear grainy from trying to enhance it so much. Alternatively, I think the grain does add to the 60’s vibe I feel that I was channelling with the faded, yellow toned photographs that made them look aged. Both of the approaches are taken on the same Photoshoot, so with both of them, they faced the same issue with the lighting. Approach 2 didn’t seem to be as affected by this since I made these black and white which I think helped it appear sharper. I created the desired lighting by using studio lights. I didn’t use the flash as I just wanted a warm toned light from one side to only pick up certain details of the subjects. I also intended the photographs to be darker in order to put in the light painting style. When taking the photographs in the photoshoot I also didn’t realise that some of the photographs I had taken were out of focus. Despite this, I decided to try and use them in the background of some of the photographs. I am pleased with how this turned out as I think it adds depth to the photograph, as shown with the one below. The headphones are in focus, yet the person modelling the headphones
isn’t- this makes it appear as if the person is at a further distance than the headphones and creates the space between the two subjects.
In the photoshoot, when experimenting with different angles to capture the headphones, the logo of the beats created a reflection when hitting the studio lights at a certain angle. I thought this looked interesting where it appeared as if the headphones had energy of their own. Also it was another way to make the logo a lot more noticeable and include it more in the photographs. For both approaches I decided to incorporate light painting, as when I thought of what related to a clearer sound, I thought of sound running smoothly. I felt as if the light painting would be a quirky way of showing the sound waves. I am pleased with how the light painting turned out and thinks it gives the photographs energy and colour. A lot of the time with beats headphones advertisements, they focus on the colours as the main focus in what makes them appealing- so since the ones I was capturing were white I decided to try and make the light painting different colours. On the second approach I interpreted the slogan, ‘A clearer sound’ as something actually being clear. In these photographs I made the model have a slightly transparent head, where you could see the sound waves travelling through her. I think this contrasts the black and white photographs where it is the only pop of colour in the photographs. I think it stands out well and capture people’s attention by having one bright part, standing out against a desaturated background. With the light painting I tried to write ‘beats by dre. Dre’; this didn’t work as the letters were too untidy.
ARE YOU HAPPY WITH THE FORMAL ELEMENTS FOR YOUR PRODUCT FOR PRODUCT ONE? (COMPOSITION, LINE, TEXTURE, COLOUR, TONES AND SHADES) For both approaches I didn’t have an apparent composition that I kept to. Although with the over head posters I tended to use the high angle side profile photographs as I felt the framing worked well with the models face. I tried to experiment with alternative angles when I was taking these photographs Most of the photographs were taken in side profile in order for the beats to always be in shot and be the main focus- also to make sure the logo of the beats were in shot.
With the black and white photographs (second approach) I tried to make these as sharp as they could go without making them bad quality. I wanted these photographs to have a gritty look where it picked up a lot of detail on the models face. I feel like this was a lot simpler than the first approach, yet is just as effective. The detail picked up on the face contrast well with the clear, pure looking beats against the small ‘imperfections’ on the models face like blemishes and freckles. It makes the beats appear pure and ‘clear’- almost angelic from how white it appears in the photographs. For the first approach I chose a bold font so that the when turning the opacity down, it would still be clear to read. I also think that this font is quite youthfullook that a younger target audience would find appealing. I turned the opacity down so that it related to the slogan ‘A clearer sound’- so that the words were that were reading this were actually clear themselves. I tended to position the text where the text was most visible on the photograph; also where it looked the best. I found the correct font that dr.dre traditionally use on their products and promotions. I decided to keep this white as this what they would generally use and it works the best against the background colours. The text on the second approach was a basic font that I think worked well as it seemed to make a statement. What created the statement as well was the spacing between the letters and having the full stop at the end of the slogan. This seemed to cover more space on the photograph and appears more prominent and important to the viewer. I also turned the opacity down slightly on this font where I felt as if the font would be too distracting; clashing with the details behind it on the model if it was to be a full block white. With the logo on this approach I made it appear as if the logo had been cut out it into the leaflet as an
illusion on a couple of the photographs. I feel this just adds a twist to what beats usually do with their logo. DO YOU THINK THAT YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS FOR PRODUCT TWO ARE VISUALLY INTERESTING AND CAPTIVATING ENOUGH TO CAPTURE THE ATTENTION OF YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE IN YOUR DIFFERENT COMERCIAL SETTINGS? I feel that my photographs are appealing to their target audience, which I would believe is teenagers from about the age of 13-18. I think that the photographs appear that they are targeted for a younger audience, but are not patronizing by involving stereotypical environments (parks, clubs, etc). I have made it about the beats and shown that they are made for mostly the younger generation where the model is a young person them self- so demonstrates to the customers who it was intentionally marketed for. Even though I have featured a young model in the photographs, I don’t think that, that is what will stand out to customers as I feel that it has been made more about the headphones- so it will reach out to a larger range of people. I think that the overhead tube posters will work well as they are simple the message will be easily received. Lots of people use headphones on the tube, so something that is clear and gets the message across will get noticed by a lot of different customers. As well with bus stop advertising spaces- lots of people use headphones their whilst travelling; especially young people, therefore I feel that my posters will be something that they will notice and be interested in when seeing in public.