Contents page photoshoot

I needed to get new images for my contents page to work in the way in which I wanted it too. This meant that I had to arrange another photoshoot with some different models. I believe that the images that I took are appropriate and would suit my purposes well. The clothes that I chose for my models to wear are what I think would appeal to my target audience. I decided that one of my models should wear a hat as I believe that this looked quite unique and 'celebrity like'. Some of the images taken during the shoot are shown.

Problems with contents page

After filling out all of the copy for my contents page I found that I didnt have enough photos for what I wanted to achieve. I really wanted to do something like 'heat' magazine does with having smaller images (long shots) of people related to the stories in the magazine. This looks really effective and would also appeal to my target audience. To solve this problem I had to hold another photoshoot with some different people.

Progress of contents page

This is my contents page in progress. I am really happy with the way in which it is coming along as I believe that it is already starting to look like a real contents page as it follows a number of conventions. I think that the sub-headings of different sections within the magazine look really professional, with the drop shadow really helping them to stand out. I think the sizing of the different artciles and page numbers is good and the colours used on the page work really well together and also fit in with those used on the front page. At the moment I am not sure that the main image of James looks quite right as it might be a bit much having the starry background and the smokey one that hes in front of. Also the fact that he doesnt have a direct mode of address stops the reader really connecting with the star. The subscribe advertisement at the bottom of the page doesnt really stand out and needs more colour added to it.

Contents page progress

My contents page is coming along well. I really like the layout so far and am pleased with the section ON THE COVER. I think this works really well however I am not too sure about how the line goes through the full body image of Sasha Fierce. I have chosen to feature a border around the page in the same starry effect as the front page to keep the magazine consistent and also help it become more conventional. I think that there are enough stories on the page as my target audience is the younger generation (teens). I think that the headings (News, Music, Fashion) need to be lined up as it looked a bit unprofessional at the moment as they are all on different levels. The same goes for the lines near the bottom of the page.

Comparsion to main competitor and the next step

In comparison to my main competitors I believe that my magazine would appeal to my target audience really well. This is because the cover lines are set out realistically and easily grab the readers attention. I also believe that my target audience would be drawn to the cover image as the model is very striking and shows attitude similar to that in the Madonna image. Also my front cover is conventional in the way that I have only used a limited amount of colour which has worked really well as it makes it look more professional. The problems that I have now unearthed is that my masthead doesnt quite stand out quite as much as it should do which means that I will need to go back and change this. Also I think that it needs to have more contents as at the moment there are only 3 cover lines which makes it look quite bare in comparison to my main competitors. I think this will be fairly easy to overcome as it just means I need to add more cover lines.

After completing work on my front cover I have started to work on my contents page. I have started to work out articles to be included on this page and have gathered some more photos. I plan on keeping the consistency between the front page and the contents page by using similar colours, fonts and styles.

Above is my final front cover design after the changes have been made. I am very happy with the way it looks and think that it will appeal well to my target audience. I think that the cover works better with the banner being slightly thinner and featuring a 'FREE' within it as this is a buzz word and will help attract my target audience. I also think that having the other cover lines run downwards instead of across has really made the main article stand out and has made the cover overall more conventional. I decided to leave the cover image as it was as most of the feedback that I had liked it as it was and didn't say anything about it being too Photoshopped as this is genuinely what you see on stereotypical conventional music magazines.

Front cover feedback

Before finishing my final front cover I decided to get some feedback from my target audience. The feedback that I received is shown below:

1. "The layout of the cover is very clear with a good heading which stands out. The hair for me is a bit too bright, and if you were to keep the hair colour you could maybe change the colour of the Sasha Fierce to a more orangey colour to help it link in more. The cover image I would say was a bit too over Photoshopped for me as well.
2. "Love the name of the magazine and it has a clear layout, not too crowded. I find the Photoshopped hair and eyes a little over powering though"
3. "I love the title and the fonts used as well. You can't really see the issue number and if you are talking about the US as in the country then it needs to be in capitals"
4. "I love the title design but the 'you' is hidden by the models arm. Im not sure about the 's' on superstar but overall it is really good!"
5. "Love how the hair really stands out, lovely colour scheme, everything is clear to read and the masthead looks original. It isn't too busy and I would buy this. It also looks good for your target audience."

These comments that I received were really helpful and let me get an insight into what other people thought about my magazine. I have taken into consideration the things that they have said and will make a few changes to my front cover.

Front cover editing

After looking at my front cover I realized that the cover lines were too straight and just looks like a list of text and not like a relevant music magazine. I also found that the cover lines were covering the image too much. I decided to change the text so that it read downwards instead of across.

Cutting out an image

The Screen Flow video above shows the processes on Photoshop of how to cut out a person from an image. I used this process to cut out all of my images from the backgrounds as they were not appropriate. This process worked really well, to produce the effect of the image already being like that.

Changing the colour of the models top

The video below shows how I changed the colour of my models top on Photoshop using the colour adjustment tool. It shows the step by step process of how I achieved this. I created this video using the program Screen Flow. I also used the colour changing process on my models hair and eyes to create a more eye catching striking image.

Front cover progress 2

After more changes had been done, I think that my cover looks much better than it was. I changed the masthead to have a blue outline as before it didn't really stand out and was becoming a bit lost on the page. the blue works really well and helps the masthead stand out again. I have chosen to keep the main colours as blue, red and white as I think these work really well together and also stand out against the black background. The problem is that I have a space on the left hand side of the page which needs something to be added to it.