My magazine front cover and contents page are, in many ways, are similar
to real media products such as Vogue or Men's health. Firstly, the photography I used for my front cover follows the usual guidelines that professional magazine covers also follow; the camera shot wasn't taken at too far a distance so a lot of the model can be seen. Also, like many main magazine covers, I chose not to have the model holding or being surrounded by any props. The reason for this is that, because the target audience for my magazine is young male and females (more specifically aged sizteen to eighteen), I want to ensure tht the images portray a sense of coolness which appeals and relates to my target audience. With the models looking sombre and serene without the use of unecessary props, I can ensure that my magazine front cover makes the audience feel they can connect with the magazine.
The lighting I used for my images is also similar to the lighting used for other magazine front cover images;I made sure that even lighting hit the subject of the photograph so there were no shadows. As my magazine is aimed at sixteen to eighteen year olds, I ensured that my models wore clothing similar to what the target audience would wear to help the target audience relate to the magazine. Also like the images on a front cover of a real media product, I had my model standing coolly and looking professional.
The page layout of my magazine front cover also follows the usual layout format of real media products as the skyline and masthead are at the top of the page and sell lines take up space around the sides of the page while the main sell line is appropriately in the middle. A barcode and price is seen in the bottom corner of the magazine front cover and the main image is centred in the middle and is shot from the waist-upwards on the model to emphasise the purpose which is to entice the customer to read.
The contents page layout also follows the layout of a typical magazine with the title in large letters across the top, a list of all the pages of the magazine with their title and page number, a box offering for customers to sign up for the magazine and images regarding the content of the magazine. I used similar fonts and a consistent colour scheme of purple, black and white throughout the two pagesand the sell lines on my front cover give information on the content of the magazine.
However, I feel that my magazine front cover and contents page isn't as professional as those of real meadia products because the image quality isn't as good because my editing skills are still developing. I also didn't include as many sell lines of some of the more up-market media products, the background of the front cover and contents page is plain white (which isn't uncommon), but the lack of sell lines makes the front cover look empty with too much empty space. Another reason I feel my magazine front cover isn't as professional as real media products is because the skyline gives information on the content of the magazine and acts as more of a sell line which isn't it's purpose.
