Camera and Photography

For the photography,  I used my Nikon camera, which is great for taking clear, sharp pictures.
This camera was also great for reducing the amount of blurring, meaning every photo came out looking clear and professional.

I turned the flash on to create a sharper image when taking the photographs. I think the flash did work well but on certain photo's it did make the background colour look grey rather than white, which wasn't too much of a problem but I did plan a white background.
However, when applied to the page the photos looked really professional.

I am glad I used a professional camera rather than my phone camera as it made all the difference.
I know this because when doing some practice photography I tested a few shots using my phone camera. This was more blurry and the flash didn't create the same effect as on the Nikon camera.

Prop and Costume Choices

For the design of my front cover, I ensured my photographs would be fitting with the colour palette and themes surrounding the page.
For this, because of the house colours of pink and splash colour of yellow, I didn't want my model to wear something too colourful or vibrant, as magazines that use too much colour tend to look tacky.

Therefore I chose for my model to wear an animal print jumper dress, which suited the lead cover story which would also be the story on the double page spread.












There were no props included in my photography, as I felt it was not necessary.

The lighting and background we used was a simple white blind that was pulled down to give a simple backing colour that would work well on all my pages.
There was lighting from above, as the room was lit and it was still daylight. Also, the flash from the camera created a nice finish to the face and produced hardly any noticeable shadows.

Did I Stick to my Plan?

When I began thinking about my music magazine, I came up with a plan so that I could follow it to guide me in the right direction.

Most of the aspects of this plan were followed, however a couple of things have changed throughout the planning.

MY ORIGINAL PLAN

CHANGES TO MY PLAN:

1. Once I got started, I realized that with my masthead, photograph choice and some of the ideas I had come up with for the magazine would be best suited to a younger audience. So, I changed my idea of the target audience being aimed at 12-16 year old girls, to aiming it at 11-15 year old girls.
2. I also changed my original idea of the masthead 'Love Pop' to 'Popaholic' because after experimenting with colours, size as well as getting feedback off my friends, I realized that 'Popaholic' was the best choice for making a completely original and fresh magazine.                                                           (As some people said 'Love Pop' was too similar to 'We Love Pop' an already existing magazine.)

Thoughts so far...

At this point, I have managed to complete my front cover, as well as making a start on my contents page.
I have also produced the majority of my double page spread, which is the page I have most enjoyed producing. I quite like the way each page has turned out, and I can see the potential it would have if sold to my target audience.

One of my favourite aspects of the front cover is the main image, as it brings a sense of positivism and fun to the magazine which is exactly what I am aiming to present to my target audience. Also, as the age range of my audience is 11-15, I want them to feel involved with the fun the magazine shares with them.To further enhance the audiences sense of involvement with the magazine, the model on the cover is looking directly at the camera lens in a posed shot.

My favourite aspect of the double page spread so far, is the interview. I think by including an exclusive in a magazine creates a sense of excitement and brings in the whole idea of fun too.
My interview, with a pop star called 'Ally Child' is new and exciting, and the interview presents the magazine's genre well too. As well as this, the image really suits the headline and that's what I was going for when taking my photography.

Applying my Photography

This is the photo I chose to use on the front cover.

The next step was to apply it to my front cover, and adjust the page to fit this picture on successfully. 

Firstly, I copied and pasted the image onto my front cover page (a Publisher document).

Then I used the 'Crop' tool to crop my photo to fit the size of the page, but making sure that the main feature of the photograph is still visible (the face)

 I then used the 'Send Backward' tool to send the picture to the back, meaning the text and other images would overlap the photo.

Developing my Double Page Spread

Now that I have started the development of my double page spread, I am coming up with ideas, preparing my photography and planning the layout of everything on the pages.

This is the start of my development. I have begun the article, which is an interview with the pop star i have created, Ally Child.

The headline still needs to be adjusted, but the caption works well with the story so I think I will keep this as it is.



The text as a whole looks good on the page. I have used a simple font, and a small size too, which is very conventional. The columns are also conventional, making the interview structured and easy on the eye.

This suits my target audience too, as my magazine is aimed at younger teens, this is an easy article to read.

I also used the idea from the 'We Love Pop' interview, and used colour coding to clearly show who is who in the interview.

I used pink for the interviewer (Rosie from Popaholic magazine) and blue for the pop star being interviewed (Ally Child).

This works well and gives the whole page a fun look, which also fits the colour scheme and theme of the pop genre.

Article Writing Practice

Ally Child, one of the UK’s biggest pop stars of today, now speaks the truth on why people perceive her to be the ‘Wild Child’ of the pop industry in a tell-all interview exclusive with Popaholic...

Ally Child has been repeatedly been slammed in the press for behaving so outrageously recently. So our journalists have swooped in to take action! We want to get to the truth, so Rosie from the Popaholic team interviewed Ally Child to find out what is really going on…

Rosie– Hi Ally! Really nice to finally meet you!

Ally– Hey!

Rosie– So, let me just ask you first of all, are you really a ‘wild child’?

Ally– Well… It’s sort of my nature. I can’t help having fun!

Rosie– And do you get irritated by some of the stories made about you nowadays?

Ally– Not really! You know, my motto in life is Live, Laugh and Have fun!

Rosie– So your behaviour recently has nothing to do with gaining media attention?

Ally– No not at all! I don't care about that stuff. As I said, I just live for now and have fun.

Rosie– But sometimes, do you admit it can get out of hand?

Ally- (laughs) well, yes... there has been a few times.

Rosie– Lets talk about the time you jumped off stage and broke a girls arm! Was that fun?

Ally– Oh gosh (laughs) I knew you’d bring that up!

Rosie– Well?

Ally– Obviously I didn't intend to break someone's arm! I was just messing about, and it just sort of 

happened. Looking back, it was totally silly and of course I regret it.

Rosie– Lets talk about your new album, what can we expect from it?

Ally– You can expect a lot of fun, edgy pop music tracks. My favourite thing to do is record tracks. There's nothing better...other than chocolate of course! (laughs)

Rosie– That sounds great. So are all the songs    written by you?

Ally– Yeh they sure are! I know people might think I’m wild and the only thing I do is party… but there is a serious side to me and when I get into my music, there’s no stopping me!

Rosie– And is there a romance on the cards any time soon?

Ally– Well only time can tell, you just don't know what’s around the corner.

Rosie– Would you like to explain these rumours about yourself and Martin Cliffshaw then?

Ally– There’s nothing I can tell you really, we are really good friends who like spending time with each other, is there harm in that! And I am certainly allowed a personal life!

Rosie– Yes you are! Well I wish you all the best with your upcoming album and with your pop career in the future!

Ally– Thanks!

Rosie– And thanks for coming to meet with me, it’s been fun!

Ally– Yeh, any time!