Reconnaissance into Locations

Front Cover Location

For the front cover of my magazine, Poppin’, I am going to use a plain white screen for the background. The advantage of using a plain white background is that I will be able to manipulate the image however I want on Photoshop in order to make it look as professional as possible. A white background will avoid running into problems when editing such as having to crop out unwanted objects in the background. Another advantage is that the artist in the main image will stand out more on a white background than on a blue background, for example. If I used a coloured background, then the sell lines, the main image and the masthead will not be as visible and there would be too much happening on the page. Also, from my research I know that a white background is conventional on pop magazine front covers so by using a white background on my magazine, it will help me achieve a professional look for my magazine.

I will also use high key studio lighting to achieve a more professional look to my images. This lighting is often used in magazines and television. It will be particularly successful for images in a pop magazine as it will give the images an upbeat mood to the images.

Contents Page Locations

For the main image on my contents page, I will use a white screen as the background because this image will feature the same artist that is featured in the main image on the front cover so that there is a link between the images. For the smaller images on the contents page, I will not use a white screen. Instead the artists will be photographed in quite normal and average locations, possibly just in a room with coloured walls. This will highlight the informal tone to the magazine and will reflect that the articles will focus on the artists in more of a relaxed and stripped back sense. Even though the smaller images will not be taken in front of a white screen, they will not have any irrelevant objects in the background. This is to ensure that nothing can divert attention away for the artist in the image. Therefore I will edit the images so that the background is blurred and the artist stands out. This will achieve a more professional look to the images on the contents page.

Double Page

Spread Location

Typically, the main image on the double page spread features a plain white background. I will abide by this convention of double page spreads in pop magazines and have my artist posing in the studio, displaying the professional side of the artist and emphasising their success and fame. Taking the image in the studio in front of the white screen will mean when I

edit the images on Photoshop, I will be able to manipulate the image and add effects onto the background to make the image look more professional. The smaller images on the double page spread will not be taken in front of a white screen. Conventionally on double page spreads in pop magazines, the smaller images are of the artist meeting fans or backstage at concerts. I will base my double page spread images on this convention and have images of my artist meeting their fans, highlighting their success in pop.

Location Analysis

By taking the images in front of a white screen like in this Little Mix image, it allows the artist to stand out without anything in the background diverting attention away from the artist. Also, using the white screen displays the artist having a professional photo shoot which highlights the idea of the success and fame that the artist has achieved in the pop industry.

Smaller images in the magazine could be of fans taking a ‘selfie’ with their favourite pop artists. This will be popular with the target audience as if they have a ‘selfie’ to share they will feel accepted and involved in the magazine. This will also show the love that the artists have for the fans and show how friendly they are towards these fans.

The location of this image of Taylor Swift is on the Jonathan Ross show. Images like this in my magazine will be successful in enticing the target audience to reading the magazine to find out what was said in this interview. Pop fans are well known for wanting to know everything about their favourite artists so a chat show backdrop would draw in the fans.