Introduction to photoshop

Here is some more useful information about when , by whom , etc. photoshop was developed , released , etc.

Photoshop is a software program developed by Adobe that allows users to edit graphics . It is used by graphic artists , designers and photographers , among others , and can enhance and manipulate images to improve their overall appearance . It is an excellent tool that makes photo editing easy and efficient . Once you get the hang of it , you can manage and edit photos in a fraction of the time it would take you to do it in other ways . For this reason , photographers , editors , designers and artists love using it - both beginners and professionals .

Here are some examples of products/pictures that has been created using photoshop . They are not my own ones , I took them from the internet , but I just think they are good examples in terms of different ways in which photoshop can be used . Photoshop is used by so many people and in different jobs as well . Most of the time photoshop is used by digital designers or just any designers .

This week was my first experience with photoshop and I found it an incredibly interesting and useful program and really want to learn even more skills than I was given .

Lasso Tool can be found by simply pressing the letter L on your keyboard . There are two other types of lasso tools as well - the Polygonal Lasso Tool and Magnetic Lasso Tool . They are both hiding behind the standard lasso Tool in the Tools panel . 

All these three tools share the letter L as their keyboard shortcut for selecting them , so depending on how you have things set up in Photoshop's Preferences , you can cycle through the three tools either by pressing the letter L repeatedly or by pressing Shift+L .

These are some of the examples that I found on the internet just to use as an example . 

These five pictures show us how to take two different pictures and make one out of them . People's hand's picture was taken as the first one and it shows how to cut around it and transfer it onto a different picture . In this case, we are changing the background leaving only  their hands . 

Why should we make a sketch before starting Photoshop ?

Making a sketch before starting creating it on photoshop is a very useful skill , as I think that if you are working in a big company who asked you to create a certain product and if you only give them the very final outcome , they might not quite like it and ask for something different and if you have your sketches they might be very useful . 

These are some of the digital examples , bu probably creating a handmade one will be easier , less complicated and more useful

When you are thinking about the album cover , you need to take into the account some important things , such are : genre of a band or an artist ( as colour can really tell a lot about the type of a music and whether it is something calm or if this music is more suitable for dancing in a club  ) , the second important thing is to understand if you want to put artist or artists from the band faces on it , so that it can easily be noticed by their audience . Another important thing which can only appeal to some artists is maybe their own label should be created  ( again , so that they can be more easily recognised ) . 

Researching musical styles and campaigns

Lapsley     

Holly Lapsley Fletcher was born 7 August 1996 and known by the stage name Lapsley . She is an English singer , songwriter and musician .

While searching about her I found that she has her own website where her fans can find all the information aout her and her concerts . When opening her website , the first thing that we see is her photograph right in the middle which suggests that the whole attention should only be on her and for those who haven't heard her before this can help to find out whether lapsley is a name of a singer or if this is the band's name . Also , her name is  written on her neck with a capital letters to draw the attention when opening her web . There is also an information about her new album and it is says that the album is now on . Right below it there are three sections 1). Where we can buy it from 2). Stream on and 3). Lapsley live 2016 . 

Here is some more information about her :

The second page is all about her new songs that have recently been released with the videos .

Going down the site , we find all the information about her tours , when and where they are .

Dyer's Star theory is the idea of the star as an image and not a real person which is constructed out of a range of materials . They are commodities produced and consumed on the strengths of their meanings . Lapsley is an organic artist .
Here are some of her albums . Both her website and her album cover are in the same colour scheme and also her face is right in the middle to bring all attention to her and so that people can recognise her and her work easily .

Looking at websites

The main point for the website and homepage is to promote the artist or a band to the audience . All the websites are different even though they have some things in common so that for example the website of an organic artist and of a synthetic artist will be different .
Here are some good examples of organic music artists : Ed Sheeran and Adele . They are both organic artists .

Ed Sheeran is an organic artist because he writes most of his music . We notice that Ed holds a guitar in his hands which really emphasizes that he is an organic artist . Organic artists are often sold
on their authenticity both musically and socially . Organic artists are also shown by the style of their music , but some people, for example, may argue that some DJ's write their own music but still don't count as an organic artist .

Looking at Adele as an artist I would say that she uses organic instruments to create her music , so for example piano and guitar . She is a very well known singer and she doesn't need to act like Miley
Cyrus , as people love her for her amazing voice and only her beautiful voice has made her gain loads of followers which have led to many awards such as eight Grammy's .




Looking at their websites :
Adele 

The main concentration of her website is mainly on her , as throughout the whole website we can only see her face and her on the stage . Another interesting thing that I have found about her website is that at the very end she tells some words about herself and how she always wanted to grow up quicker . The colours of her website are really calm , which may give some suggestions about 

her style of music .

Ed Sheeran 

His website is quite different to Adele's website , as for example I can't really see his face and can only see his body with a guitar . Another thing that we notice is that there is a picture of him in the stadium on his concert . A number of people suggest how popular he is and that he has many fans .

I had a look at organic artists and now will look at a Synthetic artist . So , for example, David Guetta is one of them . it is really noticeable that he uses his face as the main image to get sales and I would say that this statement goes for the idea from Richard Dyer who sais that artist don't exist  and they ar only created through the image .

His website is so different from the previous two that I have looked at . Mainly , it is different because of the colours . The colours are really bright so that it can attract the audience .

Talking about the main things to have for a website , I would say that it is always good and useful when you have the whole information about a certain artist , so maybe their biography  , dates of concerts , their songs , important events , ticket links , etc. Personally, I think that the website should be a place that gives all the extra information about a specific person . Also , maybe the website should have a contact number or an email address so that their fans can easily contact someone who is in charge of an artist and ask all the questions that they might have .

Analysis of : Madonna 'Like a prayer' Video

'' Because in Catholicism you are a born sinner and you're a sinner all your life. No matter how you try to get away from it, the sin is within you all the time. It was this fear that haunted me; it taunted and pained me every moment. My music was probably the only distraction I had '' - Madonna

When Madonna understood that as she is growing up , her core audience is growing with her . She felt the need to attempt something new and different as she wanted the sound of her new album to indicate what could be popular in the music world . She had certain personal matters on her mind that she thought could be the musical direction of the album. For lyrical ideas of the title track, she chose topics that until then had been personal meditations never to be shared with the general public. Thoughtfully, she sifted through her personal journals and diaries, and began considering her options. She said : '' What was it I wanted to say? I wanted the album and the song to speak to things on my mind. It was a complex time in my life. '' . " Like a prayer " was released by Sire Records as thelead single from the album on March 3 , 1989 . The song was written and produced by Madonna and Patric Leonard , " Like a prayer " denoted a more artistic and personal approach to songwriting for Madonna , who as I said earlier felt like she needed to cater more to her adult audience . 

The narrative of Madonna's video clip " Like a prayer " is about a woman witnesses the rape and murder of a woman . She stands by and doesn't help that lady while black man who didn't commit a crime goes to help . When police arrive and the black man is safely accused of the crime . The woman who was only looking and for some reasons couldn't help runs off to church where she sees a statue of a black man who looks exactly like that man who wanted to help lady who was raped and killed . The woman utters a prayer and the saint is seen crying , She then lies on the bench and falls into a dream where a woman catches her and throws her back , telling her to do the right thing . While she is still dreaming , the statue comes back to life , kisses her on the forehead and walks out of the church . The woman than takes a knife and cuts her hand with a knife . When the dream ends she goes to the jail and tells the police that the black man is innoent . They believe her words . The video ends with the entire cast taking a bow and the curtains closes . 

Race is very noticably represented in this video clip throught a black saint and Madonna is represented as having a relationship with this black man which could have caused controversery at that time . The black man is also accused of a crime that he did not commit , but the police didn't want to even ask him as he was black and in those times black people were represnted as a lower class and they were not respected and treated the same way as white people were . Madonna's video clip can be compared to the film " The green mile " which was released in 1999 , which is only a bit later than " Like a prayer " . We notice how black people were  treated in those days and how unfair the police and the people were . The burning cross was also very offensive to black people as it was a sign of the KKK supporting white power . 

Representation is also a crucial factor in this music as it really affects race , religion and sexuality . The lyrics " Like a prayer " can be seen and understood in many different ways . Usually either sexuality  religion or both . However we see that the music video explores the relationship between the two but also it shows issues of race . The lyrics of this song can also be interpreted in different ways , either literal or sexual . So , for example " I am down on my knees , I wanna take you there " , this line could be perceived as a sexual act or an art of a prayer . It has two meanings . But looking at how she is dressed , which is not really appropriate for going to church and for praying , as when you are in church , you are not only with femails but also with mails and her cloths is a distraction for others and it is not suitable and appropriate . 

Towards the very end of the music video the audience see some evidence of ritual celebration , so that for example there is a choir in a church and madonna as dancing with them . This is a suggestion for us as the audience that there is a happy ending . 

Racism does not only apply to black people , but to women as being a femail as well , as the objectification of women is shown when a woman is raped by a gang of men and as we know that Madonna saw it , why did she not help her ? Why did she not stop them ? Was she scared to appear in the same situation and that's why she didn't stand for that girl ?

Peligion plays one of the most important parts in this video and takes a really important place . In this video the audience see Madonna pick up a knife and leave a cut on both of her hands . This is a representation of Jesus , so that it gives an impression like she is touched by God . This might as well be really offensive to Christians as it would have been viewed as a lack of reverence for a God .