Magazine front cover research

 For the front cover of my music magazine, I thought it might be a good idea to do some research into typical photographs for front covers. I decided to start with the magazine that I bought: Q. The main image is a close up up Tinie Tempah, with him looking directly at the camera and adjusting his top button. I thought this was a good photograph for a front cover as you can see all of his face (that isn't covered by the glasses) and the reader gets a sense of importance due to Tinie Tempah looking directly at them. Another thing I noticed was that his face is devoid of expression or emotion. I noticed this with several other magazines such as Kerrang and NME.

 This cover of Kerrang! features 3 men (Biffy Clyro) all looking directly at the camera and with emotionless faces, similar to Q's main image. I thought this was also a good picture because you can clearly see what the band looks like and gives the reader a sense of importance. The way the man in the middle is holding up his hand to his face gives the reader a sense of mystery and we are able to see that there is something written on his hand, also adding to the mystery.

 Florence Welch (singer of Florence + the Machine) is the artist featured on the front cover, and again I noticed that this image is similar to the front cover of Q and Kerrang!; the person is looking at the camera with a relatively emotionless expression. We can see more of the artist than on the cover of Q and Kerrang!, we can see what she's wearing and what her body looks like. This is similar to Q's front cover,  as Florence is adjusting the button on her shirt, which is exactly what Tinie Tempah is doing.

 The main thing I noticed about all of these front covers was that the artist's gaze is always fixated towards the reader, making the photo more personal and gives the reader a sense of a importance. Thus, I will be using a photograph that is similar in style to the pictures used in these magazines.