Front Cover Image

I am going to use a Canon EOS 350 Digital SLR camera on a low ISO shutter speed of about 100, similar to the technique used on the front cover of this edition of 'Empire' magazine. I will ensure that my subjects backdrop will be dark (black) to make sure that the figures portrait will be clearer and extremely detailed, white backdrops wash out the features of the portrait. Although this cover is in black and white, i am unsure whether my final cover will be in black and white or colour after the final edit. The fact i will be using a slow shutter speed and a low light intensity means that i will have to use a tripod to prevent camera shake and therefore an unclear image.

I think that a highly detailed picture on the cover of my music magazine will create a very professional and fresh look. These sort of images can be very effective, recently The Sunday Times: Style Magazine printed Robbie Williams using this same camera technique and it created a very emotive response. The majority of music magazines use images of groups or solo artists on their covers but using a style like this is a little bit more alternative and makes the magazine more individual in comparison to mainstream music magazines such as NME or Mojo.