Location, Props and Costume

The location I used when taking photos for my magazine was the Media/Photography studio within college. I did this due to the available lighting equipment. Another factor which contributed as to why I shot my photos there was the plain backgrounds. I felt that having plain backgrounds would make my photographs easier to edit and therefore make them more effective. Also, I feel that the use of a white background in my main cover image creates a brighter and more fresh air about my magazine. It also gave me more choice as to which colours to use as almost every colour went will with the image and the background. For the cover image, I asked the model (Rose) to simply stand and smile. I did this to create a more inviting feeling in order to try and attract more readers, as much as the fact that I think it shows effectively what the person is truly like if you can get a good view of them.

I didn't use any props because I didn't deem it necessary. Having decided to create a magazine based on pop/acoustic music, I thought that the best way to reflect these genres is to show what is really there without covering anything up. This is specifically in relation to acoustic music as it is really stripped down and raw. Another reason I decided not to use props in my shoots is because I knew most of my photos would be close-ups, meaning they would be irrelevant as they probably wouldn't even be visible. On my contents page, I used two black and white images in order to balance the colours on the page which are bright shades of red and blue. I also feel that these two images are some of the strongest ones I took. For the feature article, I felt that I still needed to incorporate a photo despite already having the minimum four images throughout the rest of the magazine. This image was actually intended for use as part of my Photography coursework, but my Media tutor and I both thought it worked too well with the article to let it go amiss and so I used it for both sets of coursework, and I feel it really added to the overall mood of the article.

I asked the model on the cover to wear something plain and simple for the cover photo, which is why she is wearing a hoodie. I feel that this gives the sense that she is relaxed and open. However, in the second photo that she is in, in the feature article, she is wearing a blue dress with black tights. I did this in order to relate it to the article and I also feel that having such a simple photo on the cover adds to the effectiveness of the other images throughout the magazine, especially the one in the article. I think that my target audience would probably wear similar clothes to those that the female models (Rose and Chloe) wear in their photos, possibly establishing a connection with the readers.