Photos for our contents page

Hannah Knight

Explanation and InspirationIn order to gain inspiration for the image we use on our contents page, we used the internet to look at other images from contents pages. This image is from a well known music magazine, and features RnB artist Ciara. We were really inspired by this photo, mainly due to the posture and position of the model; her body creates a shape around which the rest of the text fits, creating a very visually interesting effect and attention to the writing on the page. We therefore decided we wanted to re-enact this image on our own contents page, slightly changing it to make it more appropriate for our target audience.

Our photosThese are the first examples of images that we took. In this image, we decided to have the model’s legs both down, with one slightly raised. We wanted to do this so that we could experiment with developing and innovating the image on the professional contents page; we thought that we could have the writing above the model on our own page. In the end, this image was unsuitable because the model’s head and foot were slightly out of the frame, creating an unprofessional look. We took this image from the floor, so that the lense was in line with the model, making it look balanced and even.

In this image, we further experimented with the posture of the model; slightly raising one leg so as to create a vague ‘L’ shape around which text could be based. We took this shot from a standing position, so that it was of a higher angle than the previous photo; this created a feeling of inferiority for the model, as well as showing more of the background in the frame. This was useful for reasons which I later explain.

These images were taken with the flash on the camera. We already had stage lights on, but with the flash the image is a lot more sharper and defined, as well as being lighter. These aspects overall created a much more professional feel for the photos, making them more appropriate for a magazine. both of these images were taken from a higher angle, once again creating inferiority and more space around the model.

The image we usedThis was the image that we ended up using on the contents page of our magazine. We decided that this was the most appropriate shot to use for a variety of reasons. Firstly, the posture of the model is perfect; though it is not exactly the same as the image on the professional contents page, it has the same intent and concept – text will be perfectly based around it. The model’s eyeline is also appropriate; the fact that she is looking to the right and upwards will mean that the reader will be drawn to the area where she is looking, meaning that we can use this to our advantage and put important text here. Finally, the amount of space around the model which is captured in the image is also perfect. The fact that there is a lot of space means that we can put more text around it, making the magazine more informative and traditional. The fact that the top half of the image background is black and the other is white means that the ‘white space’ is not as dull as it would be if it was all one colour; creating a more visually dynamic and interesting photo.

Mise-en-sceneCostumeThe original image in the professional contents page saw the model wearing a

leotard and high heeled shoes. We decided not to copy this exactly, and instead have our model wearing high waisted shorts and a plain crop top. We did this in order to appeal to and attract our target audience – teenage girls – as much as possible. If our model wore an expensive looking outift, this could make our audience feel inferior, as they often have a budget when buying clothes and therefore can only afford high street items. By putting our model in clothes from the high street which are suitable for girls of all sizes and backgrounds, this creates a sense of community as well as enabling our target audience to feel that they too can recreate the look seen on the model, giving them new confidence about themselves. As our model had similar shoes to the model in the original photograph, we decided to keep have our model wearing these shoes, so as to bring some professionality and glamour to the image, towards which the readers can aspire. We also thought that by having the shoes in the image we could use them as the item to bring out in purple, as can be seen in the final, edited image.

Mise-en-sceneProps

Not many props were used for our own photos. The only real prop that we ended up using was an iPod and headphones. Our original intention was to have a purple iPod, which we could then exaggerate the colour of in the edited photograph. We thought that, by doing this, we would be obviously depicting the fact that our magazine is a music magazine; as the iPod would be the focal point of the photograph. However, this plan did not work in the end for various reasons; firstly, we could not find an iPod which was purple. Although this might not have completely inhibited us from carrying our plan out, it certainly set us back because the iPod would not have been in the right colour. Secondly, on more carefully considering our idea, we decided that exaggerating the colour of the iPod would not really draw much attention to it as it is such a small object. Therefore, we decided to instead alter the colour of the shoes on the photograph, making them bright purple instead. We did this using Photoshop, making the rest of the photo black and white. By doing this we have exaggerated a part of the photograph which is not necessarily linked to the genre of the music magazine, but more relating to the target audience of the magazine. I noted in my reader profile that the main interests of teenage girls include fashion and makeup, and this is why we eventually decided to exaggerate the colour of the shoes; so as to bring some more glamour to the photograph.