Photoshoot Plan (front cover)

I am planning to create my photographs for my front cover, and double page spread.

Main cover star:

Location: For the main location I will be using a white, blank wall for the backdrop. This will create a more cleaner, fresh look to it as magazines such as Q and NME use plain backgrounds for their front covers. This gives the artist/band a more bold, distinct look making them seem dominant reflecting the ethos of these magazines which defines their strong hold on the music industry. I want to replicate this into my magazine. Using the white background will also allow me to erase it more easily so I can place the image onto any type of background or another colour backdrop.

Clothing/Make-up: I have created a moodboard showing what kind of fashion and make-up I'd like to use on my model/artist for the front cover.

The moodboard includes a few items of clothing that I think that the aritst would wear on a normal day for them, I want to create an image of the artist which portrays them as quite relaxed as they in ordinary clothing (see the NME cover featuring Crystal Castles). Although I do want them to seem quite dominant and powerful as they have made the achievement of featuring of the magazine I am going to create (like how Q is a legendary 'rock and roll' magazine), so I think the choice of red lipstick as part of the make-up gives connotations of power and strength.

The choice of clothing for outfit #1 includes a white shirt, black waistcoat, black bowler hat, and black heels. Outfit #2 consists of jeans, black army boots and a black patterned t-shirt.

The make-up will include smokey/blended eyeshadow, heavy black eyeliner and red lipstick (or lipstick of quite a dark colour) as this is usually what females on the front cover of a similar genre (e.g. Q and NME) wear on magazine covers. For example:

Facial Expression:

I feel the make-up gives them an even more bold, strong look to them and links to the facial expressions I will want to use. Especially as they all are giving eye contact to the camera making it seem they are looking at the audience/reader which signifies their connection with the fans and music lovers of the magazine. For those who haven't heard of the artist who is on the front cover, the eye contact allows the artist to be given a chance as magazines like Q and NME have avid music readers and the artist will want to make an impact on them. I feel that looking straight at the camera allows this and I will ensure my model.artist does the same.

I will also be testing out several facial expressions with different types of moods with the model/artist. Such as sticking out the tongue, a simple smile, or a neutral and serious look.

Camera Angles: 

I will also be testing out different camera angles, mainly I will be using the mid-shot as this the main convention for a camera angle on a music magazine. Although I will be using a variety of angles such as close-up (to portray a close relationship with the reader), a bird's eye view, and low angle to make the artist/model seem dominant and powerful and has a right to be on the front cover of the magazine.

Poses:

Although I will be experimenting several types of poses, I will ensure that model/artist has a strong, confident look to them as all cover stars on magazines show this confidence. I use poses like hand hands on hips, looking to the side, hands behind the head, etc.

Props:

For my props I will be including an amp and electric guitar. This is because they are part of the iconography that my audience would usually associate with a rock/indie-pop magazine. Although I have only seen these types of covers with a male cover star, I am using a female cover star instead.