PHOTOGRAPHY PLANNING

Patrick Smith

Cover PageThe main focal image of my cover will feature a medium close up of a fictitious female artist that I have created. I will have her staring directly into the camera creating a direct address in an attempt to engage observers of the product, she will not be smiling but instead her face will be of a neutral expression, this will be done to follow medium conventions as well as to capture an enigmatic persona. I intend on dressing my model in a stylish black leather jacket to keep the aesthetics inline with my chosen genre of alternative rock.

I will be shooting this image in a studio space which will allow me control over backdrops and lighting. The backdrop is not too important as the image can be cut out using the polygonal tool in Adobe Photoshop and then pasted onto my desired background, lighting however it is extremely important that the space is lit accordingly as if the image is greatly over or underexposed then there is little that can be done to fix it in post.

Like the example covers to the right of the page I will not be including any other imagery on the front cover of my product. I have made this decision based on my research and the type of magazine I am trying to create, I also feel that having the featured artist as the focus creates a sense of prestige behind their name (eg. Paul McCartney, John Lennon).

To conclude I want the cover page to be simplistic but effective by keeping the placement of cover lines limited as to not distract or overwhelm the consumer with the content inside, but instead to draw them in with an established artist. This theme of simplistic content delivered in a stylish manner is something I hope motifs throughout the final product.

Contents pageFor the contents page of my magazine I intend on having the featured artist on the cover along with her band mates as the principal image, this will once again be taken in a controlled studio environment but this will be taken as a long shot. The long shot will provide an opportunity to show off the band consisting of the aforementioned female artist along with two males, this wider framing will allow the reader to see the band’s clothing which should help to reinforce my brand and chosen genre.

I intend on changing the girl's outfit from the cover to a black overcoat with a black and grey dress, this will follow magazine conventions as the artists featured are regularly seen wearing different clothes and will also keep the established colour palette. One of the male’s will be wearing a grey THRASHER branded hoodie which creates connotations to the younger demographic with it being a popular skateboarding brand, along with black skinny jeans and trainers for a stylish casual aesthetic. The second male will be wearing a plain black jumper along with jeans and black boots, again keeping it simple but effective.

The three models will be directly addressing the camera with a neutral expression, for the reasons made on the previous slide. I will also be shooting pictures for the featured articles of the contents page, for one these will use a variant of the model used in the double page spread to create sense that this is a real product with real page placement etc. The second image will be of a male wearing a waistcoat and white shirt, this conveys a sense of musical prowess and keeps the aesthetic motif of the models used.

Double page spreadThe double page spread will feature a two images the first being of a female with her hair partially covering her face wearing a black jumper while directly addressing the camera, keeping it inline with the other images featured on the cover and contents pages. This image will be the dominant of the two with it taking up the majority of the page as she is the focal point of the article.

The second image will feature the same female model along with a male model stood behind covering her eyes, this pose was chosen as I think it adds a welcome sense of variety to the spread and to the product itself. This will be placed in the lower right hand corner of the page and will act as an object to break up the text.

Again keeping a sense of visual consistency is something that I feel if done right will add a premium feel to magazine, and will engage a new demographic that is looking for something that does not play to a older or younger age range but is something that can be consumed by anyone as a result of it’s design.

I will yet again take these images in a studio as it will be easy for me to match the exposure of each individual image taken. For the shoot itself I will be taking the photos in full colour so that I can manipulate them as I please during the production of the magazine.