Cover Photo Editing and Selection

Introduction. In this post, I will edit three different photos for my magazine cover. I will write out my process and then decide what I do and do not like.

Technology Used to Edit Images

I used Adobe Lightroom to edit my pictures. Lightroom is a cloud-based service that gives you everything you need to create, edit, organize, store, and share your photos across any device. This app is free on my phone so it was easy to use.

General Process

I entered the app and added the image I wanted to edit from my camera roll into the "library" section. After clicking the picture, I went to the different categories of editing and used the more specific tools to change the picture.

Image #1

Before

Why I Chose It

I chose this image because it was taken through an interestingly shaped window. This adds to the intrigue of the image and the scene on the other side is reminiscent of one in a movie. The cliche of someone looking through a window to the world is shown through this image and I think it is fitting for a travel magazine cover.

Editing Process

Light Category

In the light category, I increased the "Exposure" to 0.11 and the "Contrast" to 6. This emphasized the difference between the light and dark parts of the image, though not too much since I do not want the image to be too dark. I decreased the "Highlights" to -6 because having it at default (0) along with the changes to the exposure and contrast made the image too bright, which is also why I changed the "Shadows" to 36. Since there are many bright parts in the picture, I exaggerated them to draw attention to them by changing the "Whites" to 15, and to balance that out a little, I lowered the "Blacks" to -14.

Color Category

I moved the slider for "Temperature" to -11 to give the picture a blue tinge and the 16 for "Tint" helps even it out so that it is not too blue that it looks unrealistic. I increased the "Vibrance" to 36 and the "Saturation" to 12 because they made the colors in the image look brighter and made it look lifelike instead of dull.

Effects

The only two things I changed in this category are the "Texture" and "Clarity." This is because the image did not qualify for anything past "Vignette," and because text and clarity are the only things I felt I needed to change. I made the texture 100 because this would make the window frames clearer and show the texture of the material and that of the buildings in the background. The clarity helped make the image less blurry and made everything sharper.

After

Image #2

Before

Why I Chose It

I chose this image because not only does it show an activity that people can participate in while traveling (air ballooning), it also has a really nice view. These are usually featured on the covers of travel magazines so this is one of my main options.

Editing Process

Light Category

I changed the "Contrast" to 54 because it exaggerates the dark parts of the image against the brighter parts. This, along with the "Highlights" decreasing to -42 makes it seem less like a dull, singular color. The changes to the "Whites" and "Blacks" evened out the proportions of dark and light parts in the image and brought the color of the sun on the mountains into peoples' attention.

Color Category

The only thing I changed in this category is the Vibrance. There was already an obvious difference in the colors in the picture, so by raising the vibrance to 31, I made the colors brighter. This made the mountains in the back of the picture and the sky look less washed out.

Effects

I increased the "Texture" to 20. This helped the ridges of the mountains and the shape and details of the trees be more visible to the viewer. The picture was already clear enough so I did not need to "Dehaze" it, and adding a "Vignette" (blur around the edges) would make the image look unrealistic.

After 

Image #3

Before

Why I Chose It

I chose this image because it appeals to the type of people that like to sit, relax, and read a book. This attracts people who want to go to a location that is peaceful and calming. Greenery is usually associated with relaxation, especially for people who work a lot, so if this was put on my cover, a good place to put the magazine would be in an office lobby.

Editing Process

Light Category

I increased the "Contrast" to 54 because it highlighted the darker parts of the image which I think is important especially if there are so few of them. This, with some help from the "Shadows" slider, evens out the balance of dark and light in the picture. The "Highlights" and "White" ensure that the photo does not become too dark.

Color Category

Since the colors in the photo are already bright, I changed the "Temperature" and "Tint" to add a yellow-orangish tinge to the image. This makes the picture look inviting and makes the viewer want to experience what the image is showing; in this case, it is reading or relaxing surrounded by nature. I did not change the "Vibrance" or "Saturation" because it would have made the tint to the image more obvious and make it look tacky and unnatural.

Effects

I increased the "Texture" to 100 to highlight the details of the plants, the chair, and the cat's hair. This makes the image look more realistic and helps immerse the viewer into the picture because the details are so defined that the viewer feels as if they are there.

Detail

For this image, I decided to play around with some of the features in the "Detail" category. I wanted to make the image less blurry and to exaggerate the smaller details of the picture, so I increased the "Sharpening" to 100 and the "Detail" to 25.

After

Wrap Up

As I was editing, I learned what each tool did to pictures and what those changes mean for my genre. It was difficult noticing the differences while editing sometimes since some of the tools were very similar like "Vibrance" and "Saturation." My last picture's theme, relaxation surrounded by nature, is not usually depicted in the same way my picture shows it. This goes against the normal conventions of travel magazines, but it is a unique way of portraying the concept, so I am going to keep it as one of my options (Blog Post #1, "Codes and Conventions: Travel Magazines"). If it does not work with my masthead and coverlines, then I can simply put it in my table of contents or spread instead. I like the first picture (looking at a town through a window) the most because it reminds me of a scene from a movie. It looks similar to the scene in Paddington (movie) where Paddington (character) is looking through the window of an attic and looking at the world through a different perspective.

Works Cited

• “Travel Magazine Codes and Conventions.” Prezi.com, https://prezi.com/p/p__p013k5erz/travel-magazine-codes-and-conventions/.

• Bigman, Alex. “This Is How You Rock a Magazine Cover Design.” 99designs, 99designs, 24 Jan. 2018, https://99designs.com/blog/tips/how-you-rock-a-magazine-cover-design/.

• Fussell, Grace. “10 Tips for Designing High-Impact Magazines.” Design & Illustration Envato Tuts+, Envato Tuts, 15 June 2020, https://design.tutsplus.com/articles/10-tips-for-designing-high-impact-magazines--cms-25956.