I have developed my skills in various different ways;

Photoshop CS4

This was the main editing program I used. At the start of the year, I had no experience in Photoshop what so ever. In the past 6 to 7 months I have learnt how to use most of the many tools used available in the program.

The tools that follow are only some of them that I have learnt how to use;

• Magic wand tool
• Colour editing
• Blurring
• Hue/Saturation
• Photo cropping/manipulation
• Text

Camera work and lighting

Taking pictures to add to the magazine required planning and skills that I wouldn't have had at the start of the year.

Lighting the pictures in such a manner to get the required effect using ambient light in some cases, or using a white background with artificial light was a technique I picked up quite easily to get the lighting correct. It made the difference between a poor quality image and a good image that was adequate for my magazine. I learnt mainly by using trial and error.

Different shots give different effects, as do camera angles. Learning which ones give these different effects and which ones are appropriate for the images purpose was in important part of the learning in my opinion. Taking a picture and not being able to apply it in the correct manner would be a waste of time and the magazine could have been ruined, but using correct shot sizes and angles helped make my images fit my criteria.

Graphical composition

Putting the various images, texts, mastheads and cover lines etc in a coherent fashion to make sure the magazine was sound in aesthetics was a skill picked up by study various other magazines such as Kerrang! and applying techniques they use, to meet my own audience and their needs.