To create my music magazine cover I firstly imported the photograph I wanted to use into Adobe Photoshop.

Then I used the Polygonal Lasso Tool to accurately select around my friend in the photograph, then I inverted the selection so that the background was highlighted and then deleted it (leaving the area around my friend transparent). Then I copied the image onto a new A4 document in Photoshop, rotated it and resized it so that it is central on the page.

Then I used the Gradient Tool to fill the background layer with the colour grey which had a vertical fade out effect- similar to Vibe magazines. Then I adjusted the colour levels of the photograph to increase the contrast and add more depth to it, so that it stands out more e.g. the cap is much more vibrant.

Then I added the masthead using the Type Tool and adjusted the character settings e.g. font size/colour, vertical/horizontal scale, character spacing etc. I used a large bold bright masthead in a similar style to Vibe. Then I added another text layer which is the cover header and includes the names of the main artists featured in the magazine, and I adjusted the character settings e.g. font size/colour. Then I adjusted the size of the main image slightly so that it overlaps some of the masthead in a similar way to Vibe covers.

Then I got a real barcodes/text & logos strip from a Vibe magazine cover and then created my own strip similar to it. I made the top barcode related to downloading an exclusive Drake album cover, I added a small version of my masthead, added the ‘.com’, and changed the price on the barcode to ‘£2.99 UK’ as it is in the most popular price range recommended in my audience research questionnaire.

Then I added the barcode/text & logos strip onto my magazine cover in the bottom left of the page, resized it so that it was in proportion to a Vibe magazine, and added the date of the issue underneath, using the Type Tool.

Then I added cover lines around the main image in a similar layout as Vibe magazine- ensuring that the main cover line was about the main image, the other cover lines were about popular Hip Hop/R&B artists, and they were current. Then I used the Blur Tool to soften the edges of the main image and give it a more natural look.