2. How do the images you have used in your magazine represent particular
social groups (Unit P4, M4, D4)
O I made sure to include a minimum of 1 image with every article in my magazine. I used original images
taken by me for the interview feature piece and images from the internet for the rest. I used images from the
internet because my articles were about or included singers, making it impossible for me to take original
images of them. I aimed my magazine towards both genders between the ages of 16-18, so I made sure to
images of singers that this age group are bound to know, for example I used Miley Cyrus. These images are
of people this age group admire, giving them more reason to read the article, they’ll want to read the article
if they can see it’s about this artist.
O For my feature article I used a model and took original photos, I was originally planning on using one for the
front cover so I took both headshots and full body shots. To keep to my genre and target audience, I dressed
the model in fashionable clothes because pop music includes a huge amount of fashion and also had her
pose similar to models I saw in other magazines such as Billboard and Vogue.
• What I did differently to other
magazines is to make to
model more laid back and in
a personal place, for example
I took the images in this
models own home to go with
whole interview feature, also
making it more personal. The
audience can see into the
subject more, instead of just
putting the model in front of
a green screen/wall and then
photoshoping in a
background.
3. How do the images you have obtained reflect the professional practice?
O Photo-shoot Plan:
I had to plan my photo-shoot before hand; who the model will be, where to shoot it, what the
model should wear/look like, what day to do it on, a back up plan if the weather messes up
the outside shoot, whether I want the shoot inside or out. I meet the model through a friend
and also used her for my interview piece, this was useful as she is a local performer which
gives the magazine credit and draws in an audience of local performers who want advice.
Eloise (the model) and I lived close to each other and did the photo-shoot in her house using
an IPad as I could not get a hold of a camera, I would like to improve my photography for this
assignment by using a better camera and taking photos outside as well as in.
I took into the the weather and it’s fluctuations, but unfortunately it was raining on the day of
the shoot and the model was only fully free for this day only so I took photos inside but kept
the model near the windows to get good lighting. I also used the rain to my advantage by
having the model look outside through her window to give a good side profile of her and to so
the type of area she’s living in.
4. O Post-production software (Photoshop):
I used the program Adobe Photoshop to enhance my photo’s but not to change anything
about the model. Most magazines Photoshop their models to look different, ‘better’, than
what they normally look like, this can have a bad effect on young girls so I chose not to
Photoshop the model. I used Photoshop to take away any blurriness from the photos and to
change the lighting, showing more of the model instead of just darkness.
The tools I used from Photoshop were crop, brightness and contrast. I used crop so I could
get rid of any edges I did not need. I used brightness and contrast to enhance the lighting in
the photo so I can see the model and surroundings better, I needed to do this because the
lighting was bad on the day I took the photo because of the weather making it hard to see
what’s in the actual photo.
Before: After:
What I would do differently if I had the chance would to use Photoshop more instead of just
using it for the basics. I would put more time into my photography and post-production
software so I can get the best out of my photos.