1. Taking photographs When taking the photographs for my music magazine front cover, I had to consider various features like: mis-en-scene, clothing, the model, lighting, semantics, representation/conventions and inference

2. Mis-en-scene Mis-en-scene is always an important feature to consider when taking a photograph. I carefully chose the surroundings of this image by deciding that it would follow the conventions of a folk/acoustic magazine if I used the nature of the outdoors for my background. This creates a more atmospheric image and appears more artistic. This is an expected feature to find within a folk or acoustic magazine and therefore is a believable front cover.

3. Clothing Another feature I had to consider when preparing for the photo shoot was the clothing the model would be wearing. I deliberately chose clothes that didn’t look too main stream. This is because the image would have to appeal to the expected audience of amore middle class, high brow and an older generation of people. I also had to choose clothes appropriate for the genre of the magazine, so that the model appears as a believable artist.

4. The model Although considering an appropriate model for the front cover is an important feature within a magazine, it has to be imagined that the subject is a famous and recognisable music artist and so would appeal to the audience for that reason alone. However it is vital that when making my own music magazine, I chose an appropriate representation for a music artist. I choose a model that looks between 19-21 which would appeal to the targeted audience of around that age which would be the expected targeted audience for my magazine. I would also consider including other artist interviews on eh front cover to appeal to an older generation or people unfamiliar with the main music artist.

5. Lighting Lighting can manipulate and completely change a whole image. By using natural light in this image, no feature of the model or background is highlighted. However I positioned the model so that she stands out against the dark background and is outlined by light so that we are clear of the main focus. To improve my image I could position lighting equipment towards her face so that it stands out even more, drawing the audience straight to her face.

6. Representation The one thing that puts features like; mis-en-scene, lighting, clothing and the choice of model into context is the representation of the product. Does the product look believable? To achieve this I had to consider the conventions of my chosen genre and if it follows these conventions. To achieve this I had to carefully consider all the talked about features to try create a believable representation of a front cover for a folk/acoustic magazine.