This document evaluates 5 potential shots for the front cover of a magazine. Shot 5 is ultimately selected. The photographer likes that Shot 5 shows the subject smiling, looking away confidently with one hand on her hip. It has bright lighting so details are visible. The dark dress contrasts with the white background, drawing attention to the subject. Shot 5 reflects the magazine's alternative style. While some shots were too dark, showed unflattering expressions, or didn't show enough of the subject's body, Shot 5 depicts the subject as stylish, confident and happy, conveying the positive personality and image the photographer wants for the front cover.

1. MAIN FRONT COVER IMAGE

2. Shot 1
• I like this shot because it the higher
angle makes it more alternative than a
eye-level shot. This reflects the
alternative style of music that my
magazine produces. I like the contrast
of black dress against a white
background.
• I don’t like it, however, because the
flash was too bright and makes her
look very pale. Also the camera was
too high up so a lot of her body cannot
be seen. This restricts the way she is
seen on my magazine because I
wanted her to be a music artist and a
fashion icon; if you cannot see her
clothes then she cannot be stylish.
Also I wanted a longer shot than this
so that the text on the front cover can
go around it. I also don’t like that it is
landscape rather than portrait.

3. Shot 2
• This shot is similar to shot 1 but from
further back to show more of her body.
This is good because you can see what
she is wearing and it is slightly more
conventional as a front cover than a
high angle shot. I think that it looks
better without the flash because she
looks warmer and less washed out. The
white background makes it simple to
focus on the main figure and it allows
me to add text around her.
• I don’t like the expression she is pulling
and would prefer something different
for my front cover to show the artist as
happier and to give off a more positive
personality. I also don’t like the lighting
from below because low angle lighting
has connotations of horror etc. so
would be unsuitable here.

4. Shot 3
• This shot is from a low angle, I used a low
angle because I wanted to show her as
powerful. I also did it to experiment with
an unconventional angle which will
contribute to my alternative music genre.
I also like the position she is in with both
her hands on her hips because this shows
confidence and her facial expression
shows that she is happy.
• However I don’t like it because it is too
dark as the lighting is from behind so the
features cannot be distinguished very
well. The low angle is also associated
with the viewer being helpless against
the person in the picture which is not
what I want to express on my front cover
because I want the reader to relate to the
artist, which would work better with an
eye-level shot.

5. Shot 4
• I like this shot because it depicts the
artist as happy, cheerful, and quirky. This
is the type of positive light I want the
artist to have. The smiling expression
with the body position shows confidence
and femininity. She looks pretty and
stylish which are two of the things that I
wanted her to be viewed as on the front
cover because I want female readers to
want to be her and aspire to be like her.
• I don’t like that the image is quite dark so
wouldn’t be very suitable for a front
cover, it may be used within the
magazine though because I like the
impression it gives of the artist. I think
that because it is quite dark, there is little
detail on the dress so would not look as
good on a larger scale that fills up a
cover.

6. Shot 5
• I really like this shot because the lighting
is bright enough for it to be seen. The
dark dress contrasts the blank wall which
brings the eye’s attention to the figure. I
like the position because she is looking
slightly unconventionally away from the
camera, reflecting my alternative style.
The position also shows confidence, she
has one hand on her hip, is smiling and is
looking away, this shows that she is
relaxed and confident which is exactly
the positive personality I wanted to get
across. The dress is clearly seen and
shows her as stylish.
• If I use this image I will have it in the
centre of the page and will edit some
colours/brightness/contrast etc. on
Photoshop to create a more
alternative/indie style picture.

7. MY MAIN FRONT COVER IMAGE
I have chosen shot 5
as my main front
cover image because
it shows confidence
and happiness in the
posture and facial
expression. It is a
medium-long shot so
there is lots of
opportunity for it to
be enlarged. It shows
the artist as pretty
and stylish to make
readers aspire to be
like her. I have found
some relating
magazine covers that
are similar and have
inspired my idea and
choice from Rolling
Stone magazine.