This is some picture analysis I did for the creation of my magazine which I had forgotten to add to this blog beforehand. I narrowed down the options from the photos I've taken to a couple for each different page.

Double page spread

The picture is a medium close-up as it’s halfway between a mid shot and a close up. I really like the blurring lights in the background, which is also a common style of picture for the genre. The slight blur on the model’s face could be sharpened and the shadows on his face can be lifted to make him more visible using Photoshop, but the expression on his face doesn’t really fit with the kind of look I’m going for. I could possibly edit in a different photo of him, but, if there are better photos, it’s not worthwhile, especially as it may look contrived. The setting is appropriate for the magazine, as it looks urban because of the lights and car and it’s quite dark, going with the dark sounds of the music genre.

This is a mid shot as it zooms in on the subject slightly, but still shows the majority of it. The picture could perhaps be cropped above the model and the tree in the background could be edited out, because, while it looked quite good when I took the picture, it now looks quite straggly and weak, plus it looks quite gothic which is inappropriate for my target audience. Also, the left side of the model’s face needs to be lifted slightly which can be easily done in Photoshop. Alternatively, I have an image which I used a flash on of the same pose and setting that I could dim and tint instead. If I can remove the tree, the picture could be suitable for the audience.

Like the one before it, this is a mid shot as it shows a part of the subject while still giving an idea of all of it. There’s very little that would need to be done to the picture, only removing the dark rails in the bottom right corner, and the lighting is very good. The dark and urban setting is also perfect for the music genre. This is probably the picture most likely to be used.

This medium close-up offers something different from the other photos. I could possibly lift the light on the face and remove some of the glare and extra details from the screen that could be distracting. It looks even darker than most of the other pictures and, while it isn’t in an urban setting, it does look quite digital which goes with the electro genre. It’s probably one of the favoured pictures.

This is another mid shot in a dark urban-looking environment that fits the look I want. However, there are several things that need to be edited: the Fila logo on the bottom of the shoe needs be removed as it draws away attention from the model, the bush in front of his face and the shadows from the same bush on his arm. This could be potentially difficult to do and may not look right when I do it, especially as I probably need to lift the light on the model’s face anyway.

Cover

I really like this mid shot. With the hood up, the model’s serious face and mug shot style stance, it fulfils some of the features of the music genre. I need to darken the background like in all the other cover photos, lift the record area and possibly alter the colour on the model’s skin as it looks quite pale.

This is a medium close-up. Other than perhaps removing some of the shadows from the visor, there’s very little about the photo which needs to be doctored. The expression and costume keep in line with the look I’m going for, but covering up his face seems to remove part of the idea of having an artist on the front cover, as he isn’t recognisable because of it.

This is another medium close-up. I think the light on the left side of his face could do with dimming a little, but that’s all that’s really necessary to edit. The expression is, again, suitable for the magazine, but the light gives the picture a religious look, which is an inappropriate connotation for the magazine.

This is another medium close-up. Some of the light surrounding the face from the hood need to be lifted slightly and the blur on the record and clothes need to be sharpened slightly. The low angle makes the model look bigger and thus more dangerous, which goes with the genre.

These images are mid shots and are intended to be used as a pair. Together they look like a prison mug shot, which gives them a dangerous connotation which is very fitting for the genre. A lot of work needs to be done into adding colour to the model’s skin as it looks very pale which can be done using the selective colour, brightness and contrast tools in Photoshop.

Contents

This is a mid shot of the record. You can slightly see a reflection of me taking the photo in the record which would need removing and the shadows in the upper half of the record need to be lifted to make it easier to view the detail. The picture ultimately fulfils its purpose as a music-related object as it’s easy to identify.

This is a close-up image. I edged the camera slightly when taking the picture to make a motion blur, but it hasn’t really came out correctly and instead just looks low quality. It’s possible if I use Photoshop to sharpen the image a bit it would be usable, but I’m still not convinced it would look too good. It’s also quite hard to tell it’s a record, making it unsuitable for what I wanted to create.

This is essentially the same close-up image as before, but without the blur. There’s a good level of the detail in the image (probably a better level than any of the others) which makes it easy to identify as a record and is therefore usable as a music-related image. However, I may need to remove some of the specks and fingerprints on the record as it takes away from the slickness of the image.