Audience/Purpose: The intended audience of my photo are college students, aged 18-22, with the time, resources, and money to study abroad. These students should be interested in traveling and exploring new places. They have probably considered studying abroad, but have not completely made up their mind yet. In my photo, I emphasize the beauty and adventures that come from traveling in London by blending places of London with the red bus. The photo should inspire students to get out of their comfort zone and to visit London. Various symbols of London, such as the red bus and the Buckingham palace are shown in the picture, which can highlight the uniqueness of the city. Seeing this image can encourage students to visit London during 2022 to take a look around and see how it differs from their hometown or college city.
Image(s): There are multiple features of the image that advocate for the importance of studying abroad. For example, on the top two windows, there is an image of a punk band performing in Camden Town and the Buckingham palace. In some people's eyes, the content in these images can contradict each other. The Buckingham palace was the home to the Queen and Prince Philip in the past and is a symbol of royalty, hospitality, and class. On the other hand, the punk band is representative of anti-status quo, anti-establishment, and nonconformism. There is a sense of rebelliousness that comes with Punk music. I included these two images to show students that London is a diverse city. There are many places to explore and a lot to learn out there. On the first floor of the bus, I then included two more images: one of ducks swimming in the pond, and another of St. James Park lake. Despite the hustle and bustle of the city, London also has many places where you can go to relax and visit nature. On the left side of the bus, I also incorporated an image of Canary Wharf, London's business district.These images, along with the red bus, deliver the message to students that London can be a wonderful place to study abroad in.
Process: To create the photo edited image in this project, I first uploaded the image of the red bus from Pexels.com. Afterwards, I created a layer of the image to ensure that I had the original image to go back to if I messed up. I then hid the original image from view and added a new layer. By doing so, I was able to start cutting out the windows on the bus and adding images of London underneath. These photos were from when I went to London back in Fall quarter. I also used the clone tool to hide the original text on the bus. The clone tool was used to make the areas where the text was deleted look as natural as possible. I then added my own text that said: "'22," "Study Abroad" and "London's Calling." London's Calling was the name of the study abroad program I attended. I then added the image of the ducks swimming in the pond and made sure it was on screen mode. Similarly, I added an image of the Canary Wharf and layered it underneath a Pexels image of a window to give it more depth. I also removed the bus driver from the photo by using the clone and blur tool. Lastly, I exported the image into a .JPG file and imported it back into photoshop to make any final color adjustments. I used curves to adjust saturation, brightness, and shadows.
Learning: While working on this project, I got a chance to learn a lot about Photoshop. The Photoshop tutorials helped me learn how to use a multitude of tools, such as dodge and burn, spot healing brush, and quick selection tool. In the past, I used to just adjust the photo in terms of lighting and coloring. However, this project assignment has taught me how to use various tools and become more creative with photoshop.
Next: On the next project, I hope to convey the same message through illustration. I do not plan on using the same images for reference. I would love to highlight different parts of London instead, such as the transportation system or the shopping scene or arts scene in London.