Album Cover Brief

for this weeks brief we were tasked with choosing a song of our choice and making an album cover for the chosen song.
this was to be taken as a photograph then edited with added text layers in either Photoshop, Light room or Aperture.
this brief was to give an insight in to what we would be expected to accomplish on a normal day, which is a single day for a single brief and to have it completed at the end of the day the brief was set.

The song of my choice was "lil freak" by the artist "Usher"
the title said it all to me and i wanted a model who i would be able to turn into this weird, distorted figure but still remain as a woman that was recognisable.

to give the image of this "freak" i decided to put make-up on my model that would reflect this, i only put facial make-up on and on slightly around the eyes and the mouth to emphasise someone who is messy, crazy and strange.
after choosing which image to use as my base cover i began editing in aperture then finally adding light adjustments and text in photoshop. this is my first attempt.

First attempt

the first attempt for the album cover just seemed a bit too over-the-top for what i wanted and very busy and actually quite uneasy to look at, also the cover didn't really suit the tone and style of the artist and the actual song. so i decided to start again and use different editing techniques, this time only using aperture slightly and trying different filters on photoshop to see what results i would get.

The final cover

The above image is what i finally chose to use as my album cover.
there are a number of improvements over the first image that i was going to submit.
firstly the text looks a lot more professional and isn't too fancy, just right for an album cover
next, the sepia/brass over all colour gives a minimalistic feeling to the image and isn't too dark or bright to focus on and i have done away with the brushes and toned down the overall bustle of the image so that its easier to concentrate on, something that is very important within that industry so that potential buyers are not put off.
finally my model is a lot easier to look at, her hair seems a lot softer and her face is not as unsettling as was before and i have managed to keep a feminine feel but also keep to the true nature of the "freak" within the title. i have also made her eyes completely white and almost seem hollow, i decided this as it draws people right to the centre of the image.
Although the make-up cant actually be seen, the outlines of it are still there and without it, the image would not be as striking.

overall i am pleased with this experimental brief and what i have managed to accomplish within a day, going from receiving the brief, choosing a song, photographing a suitable cover and then finally fine tuning and editing it before submitting.