Pagent Ad

[jetrim]

Part of last weeks shoot with Natalia was for the purpose of advertising photos for the Miss Florida/Miss USA pageant programs. Worked this up as a 1/2 page template. Voting is done by number & title so name isn't critical (some ads from last year had them, others didn't). Everything is printed in black and white, and the other half the page will list her various sponsors, stats, and accomplishments.

Just wondering if this has enough eye catching impact...
(including the color original for comparison sake - it will not be used due to the B&W requirement)

[Anbesol]

I don't know that it does, Jet. The font looks more suited to boys sports than a beauty pageant. Would expect something a little more calligraphic. The hairs fan-blown effect I think looks a little overdone. I actually like the BW better anyway. The Tiara doesn't have a lot of shine to it, what did you do with the hair light?

[jetrim]

The font matches the embroidered font on the sash almost exactly, but may need to rethink that...
She had wanted to use some shots from when we used the fan, but honestly this is about the best of the bunch, and this was my big concern.
She's got really fine hair so unless she's crazy about it, I'll use the one without the flying hair.

I appreciate your candor in confirming the item that I was most bothered by :wink5:

[Greg McCary]

I think I prefer the B&W as well. I think the blue in the lettering on the second one is just to much. Maybe drop the saturation just a hint.

[Asmarlak]

I prefer the color version, it suites the event better. I agree with Anbesol about the font and its color, it should be more of a classical style. The other major thing for me is that the girl doesn't look happy, a girl in a tiara should be smiling.

[armando_m]

I'm afraid this is going to sound blunt ...

Compared to the other shots, this seems to be from a different person

The ear ring looks awfully heavy and she seems to be riding on a convertible

font type seems good for a football match

and agree with asmarlak she looks awfully serious, she is maybe trying to look glamorous but I do not think it is working

[gahspidy]

I would say there are three things that concern me most and have all been brought up already.
The wind blown hair is fine except where it tangles up sorta in the tiara and behind her eye lashes.

The font does look more like a high school football game but does look a bit better in the b&w version which is what matters.

Her expression does look "disgusted" but less so in the b&w version as it seems you have eliminated the shadow of her cheek and that helped with the uneasy look. Perhaps "tweak" a slight smile out of the corner of her mouth and it might go over even better yet.

My last curiosity is her neck...it does not seem to align top to bottom where it disappears behind the earring.

The layout of the whole thing works well, and I actually like the way the hair wisps into the lettering

[jetrim]

My last curiosity is her neck...it does not seem to align top to bottom where it disappears behind the earring.

The layout of the whole thing works well, and I actually like the way the hair wisps into the lettering

Her neck/hair actually does make that angle, no liquify tool used. I had to go back and look at the original, and at full resolution you can see her hair making the turn behind the earring, but just barely. (Also glad to see you took 2 seconds to read the description regarding B&W )

I've decided to scrap all 25 of the fan shots, the hair over the tiara shows up in every last one, even though about half have smiles. 200+ other frames to choose from, so not a real big deal. Wasn't crazy about how her hair was reacting to the fan when we were shooting, and I've decided it isn't worth trying to force the fit...

[Anbesol]

Make sure we can see her teeth in the next one. Asmarlak brings up an excellent point, shes wearing a Tiara but she has a sort of coy quarter-smile on. So, teeth would probably be a good idea.

[LeeIs]

Hey Jet.

Just some random thoughts on design.
1. Just like photography, composition is also paramount in design. In design it comes mostly in placement and alignment.
2. When designing in black and white always think in black and white. Never design in colour then convert to black and white. Just like just turning a colour photo to greyscale doesn't usually work, this method won't work. It's best to design in black and white to begin with to get the greyscale tones right.
3. Font choice is important and it should match the subject matter.

so in light of those quick thoughts.

I'll post a small redesign of the layout of your post card.

1. I moved the subject to the left, better for english speakers that think or look at images left to right to look at what's more appealing first, in this case it's definitely the model and not the type.

This way the type isn't 'behind her also, which was a bit problematic.

Also I alligned the type to her eyes, as they are the most appealing part or the focal point of a person's face. Also the Magic City should be on 1 line and not broken up. Tucking the Miss and usa 2011 (with proper alignment) in either corner of the words Magic City adds contrast in the desing in the way of Type size. Yes contrast is important in design as well In the case of type, you can do it with type faces or size.
2. I began the whole type colour choice in black and white, insuring there is proper contrast in that as well.
3. I like your choice the font type of Miss, as it very feminine, but I agree with others that the rest didn't work and I just chose a simple type face that gets out of the way and is great in tight spaces, it's called impact.

Hope that helped.