Chosen Cover Photograph

I took some photos in the forest as I thought it was a unique setting for the photographs. This is a photograph I have not chosen to use because it's a long shot of all of his body. This would only really be suitable to fill a page that is not the front cover because his face would be very small and hard to see.

This is the original version of the front cover image. It is a head and shoulders mid shot. It is good quality and has detail. It is clear and not blurred or too pixelated. i got him to wear a hoodie and t-shirt as they are casual clothes and he looks like a typical reader of my magazine, the target audience. I also made him look casual by resting his head against a tree with another just behind him. I did this because I wanted most of the background to be dark instead of being light like the colour of his hoodie.

I made sure he had a straight face and wasn't smiling. I didn't want it to look like a cheesy pop magazine or like it was trying to appeal to girls alone. I want it to appeal largely to males so I do not want them to be turned off my the cover image as it is a very important area.

This is what the image looked like after I edited it on Photoshop. I made the colours brighter and lighter. I also removed the blemishes to conform to the typical magazine cover. All of the editing makes the "celebrity" look better than they do in real life. You're more likely to purchase a magazine with a celebrity looking good on it than if they were looking rough and not very good! they wouldn't seem so 'amazing' and they wouldn't be idolised as much if they appeared to look like any old person!

This image is not exactly how my magazine will look, my final cover will have strap lines and different fonts to the ones here.

These are other photos I took but did not decide to use. I did not use the first one because although it has his head and shoulders, he is not looking at the camera and most magazine covers feature artists looking into the camera so it seems like they are looking at the audience/reader which makes it personal and more appealing. I did not use the second photograph because of his expression! This photo would be ideal for a pop magazine for a younger audience but I do not think it is really appropriate for

my magazine's target audience!