Models and Arrangements

 Because my magazine is such a niche topic and a smaller interest focus, I've decided I will start asking some people to be my models as of now. Though I plan to take the pictures later, I want to assure that I will have people to actually take pictures of. I will also be interviewing these models, so I want to make sure that they're truly comfortable with both taking the pictures and being interviewed about these topics. 

All my models will be sapphic women/ women aligned people. I want to make Belles-Lettres a safe space for all, but most especially sapphic youth. To stay true to this respect, I plan to put their pronouns and prefered name next to their pictures to assure that their identity is known. The last thing I want is for people to feel uncomfortable or unsure because of this magazine. 

So far, I have asked a total of 10 people and 6 have accepted. As I get a better idea of what I want to accomplish with the look of the magazine, I'll update them and make sure they're still comfortable with modeling for me.

Title for Magazine: Belles-Lettres

In the hopes of furthering my progress because I don't have access to a professional camera or time to schedule photoshoots yet, I have decided to figure out my magazine's name and a general outline.

For the title, I have chosen Belles-Lettres. 

Belles-lettres is a category of writing, originally meaning beautiful or fine writing. In the modern narrow sense, it is a label for literary works that do not fall into the major categories such as fiction, poetry, or drama. Because of this definition, I believe it fits the image of sapphic love that I'm trying to convey— odd in some ways, and different from what's considered 'normal', but beautiful and worthy of appreciation. The sapphic experience is so different from many in the LGBTQ+ community, but the common experience of feeling like an outsider in a place where acceptance is supposed to be.

I've also planned a rough outline for the articles I'm going to write and photoshoot ideas. I'm familiar with my models dimensions, so I've made rough sketches on how to use their different heights and sizes to my advantage to make a visually compelling layout. I've also outlined ideas for the articles I'm going to write. These will center around the subject I'm using, so I've come up with the general topic and some questions to ask them. Overall, I'm glad with the progress I've made on the more technical front.

Tone and Color Scheme

Color meanings:

• Orange — joy, and enthusiasm, making it a good choice for positive messaging

• White — safety and innocence,

• Red — typically associated with power, passion, or energy

• Pink/ magenta is a tint/tone of red (adding white to a primary color)

This color scheme is based on the lesbian flag (attached image). Because my magazine is about sapphic relationships (romantic relationships between women), I wanted to incorporate the lesbian flag. I may not end up using these exact colors, but it will be the general color theme. I want this magazine to have a very positive and empowering feel to it. The bolded words are things that resonated with me and encouraged me to use this color palette. 

A useful tip I found on the website I used to look for color meanings was to use “a main color for 60% of your design, a secondary color for 30% of your design and an accent color for the last 10%.” I think this will help everything flow well in my magazine, even though the information was meant for an online platform.

 

Writing an Editor's Letter

 I wanted to include an editor's letter as a part of my magazine. Because the subject means so much to me, I felt that I could add in my own input of the subject into my magazine. Writing this editor's letter has made me realize that doing something like this in the future would be something of interest, even if it is not in the form of a magazine. I think that this letter also establishes a tone for the magazine in general, so I'm excited to add it into the final product. Here's an excerpt:

"It wasn’t until I was able to surround myself with an amazing group of people who were also queer that I was able to understand that being sapphic didn’t mean I had to be a certain thing; I realized I didn’t have to exist within stereotypes to be assured of my identity.

[...]Loving women is beautiful. It is pure and good. Far too often are we shamed for going against religions or ‘dirtying our souls’. But you cannot tarnish a soul as pure as one of a woman who loves another woman."

About Me and My Magazine

 About Me:

My name is Sophia Garcia and I'm a junior in high school. I'm currently very interested in poetry and gaming. I'm currently living in Miami and study at Miami Lakes Educational Center. I'm currently doing my AS level for AICE Media Studies, Environmental Management, English Literature, and A level for United States History.

About My Magazine:

In my magazine, I plan to highlight sapphic voices and the sapphic experience. According to Mariam-Webster, the definition of sapphic is "of or relating to sexual relations between women". Being a lesbian myself, I am very aware of the lack of representation sapphic women get in any and all forms of media. I hope to be able to amplify their voices and show how varied sapphic women are, unable to be put in a box no matter their sexuality. 

The Game Plan:

My first priority is staying true to the women I interview. I aim to give them a space to talk about the problems they face as a minority. I've already gathered a list of potential candidates to photograph and interview. I hope to make this very oriented towards learning more about the sapphic community as a whole, sometimes delving into the more specific communities included in this large group (lesbians, bisexuals, etc). 

Other than gathering people, I hope to learn more about photo editing and color theory in order to make my magazine more visually appealing, as the layout is equally photo- and article-based.