Locations,props and actor

Through out the past week I have explored many locations such as primrose hill, Alexandra palace, Soho, West end and east London to get a full perspective of London and to also have a wide variety of possible locations.
These locations would be great locations because my target audience will be able to associate with these areas, some may visit these locations on a weekly if not daily basis so it creates a sense of relation and familiarisation.
They are also a touristic location which immediately create impressions in our head.

This picture was taken on top of primrose hill. Now I have decided to take this picture from this long shot angle because behind we can see iconic buildings such as the bt tower, London eye, the shard, Euston tower which all create allusions that then allow the audience to associate with more urban backgrounds. 

This also applies to Alexandra palace as well. From the top we can see the urban landscape fully which in a sense gives the cover person power as they are seen on top which the audience then will aspire to. In addition Alexandra palace is located in north London where Afrobeats as well as Bashement is widely listened to. That is also a location where young adults and teens go and hang out as there are many activities to take part in.  

This is just one of the many pictures I took at Alexandra palace. I thought from this perspective it would create a contrast between my cover star and the life they used to live before they reached fame through afro beats. The altitude shows the status difference from the 'slums' of north London to the top of the world. I want to make my audience feel they can accomplish anything with afrobeats by there side.

All of these locations are very centralised and this is where most of my target audience come from. However I don't want to base my pictures somewhere where my audience live, I want to bring them out of there comfort zone so my franchise can truly say they have introduced something new to the music industry with the settings as well as the music. 

One of the models that I have chosen to take pictures of are my 2 friends TJ and Annabella. They are both of African decent which I thought was necessary for my magazine because they come from parts of Africa where Afrobeats is widely listened to as well as there location in London; TJ is from Ghana, one of the motherlands of afrobeats and Anna is half Italian half Nigerian, also some one who can relate to Afrobeats.  My to models look very urban because they represent the future generation, the generation of people who listen to current Afrobeats.  Annabella is seen wearing a "cocaine and caviar" beanie which is very current and is seen on the rapper asap rocky. Afrobeats has been influenced by rap and there are small aspects of rap within afrobeats. The colour of her beanie is red/maroon which I wanted to use to create a sense of passion not only with Anna and the genre but Anna and her collaborate partner; TJ. The big hoops Anna is wearing is a style teen girls can relate to as it is a trend amongst young readers so when the see this picture they will automatically think that this is a magazine they will be able to relate to. In other pictures of Anna by herself there is some flesh on show such as her belly which creates slight sex appeal amongst the male audience however it is not in my intention to objectify her as a sex object and therefore I have picked appropriate pictures to feature in my magazine. 
The leather jacket is worn by both Anna and TJ is meant to represent new beginnings and the end of a harsh road to success. Leather jackets were originally worn by people who weren't as fortunate to be able to afford nice clothes and therefore pined leather together. However I have used leather in both my models to show an edgy more rebellious side in order to engage my audience.  It is also quite trendy not only in the 16-19 year olds but also the older generation who have grown up listening to genre's such as metal. I intend to expand afrobeats in the nearer future not only to a young audience but to an older audience as well to change there ideas of afrobeats in a positive way. The leather print is very trendy amongst teenage girls and it also combines with afrobeats as leopards are mostly found in Africa so it gives a sense of culture aswell as urbanisation. TJ is dressed very casually to show the audience that even though they may have reached fame and 
fortune they are still down to earth regular people. So I have a contrast between Anna; the high life fashion diva and TJ; the edgy, laid back, cool artist. 

The pictures I have taken are located in East London, Hackney, where new trends are always being introduced and I didn't want to follow a typical cliche of urban pictures being taken in obvious places such as west end.
I wanted to give my magazine a sense of belonging as East London is known for being a working class area but as times have changed more industrialisation has begun in East London. It also gives a chance for my East London audience to be able to relate because most urban magazine hardly feature in places such a Stephen green. 


My second shot takes place in doors with the same female model. I have chosen to use a gold background with a big, prestigious, comfortable chair to give a sense of royalty as the dominating head line is "The Queen". With the prop and background combined I intend of giving a sense of royalty. I have used the name 'Cleo' short for 'Cleopatra' as my cover stars name. I made this decision because when thinking about Cleopatra we think of the Queen from ancient Egypt and this conveys my artist as timeless, she is representing Afrobeats which then conveys Afrobeats as timeless.
In addition Egypt is in Africa so my audience can instantly make links between Egypt, Africa and the mother land of Afrobeats.

The outfits that I have decided to use for my model consists of three costumes.
The first one is of 'Cleo' in a black, mid length, lace dress which creates a sophisticated but also sexy look representing the magazine as a more classy magazine and not cheap. This was one of my costumes as it breaks conventions of music magazine's aiming there music at a young audience as you wouldn't expect a cover star to be fully dressed but to have some sort of nudity/sex appeal. 
My second outfit is going for a more casual look with my cover star being in a red dungaree. I specifically used the red colour because my cover star is associated with exotic music and also the colour red is quite sensual therefore the audience gets a more warm vibe coming from my model.
And the final outfit is of my model in a blue crop basketball crop top and red trousers with Jordans.
This is a more 'tomboy' outfit and appeals to boys mostly because there is some nudity creating sex appeal. This is a typical convention used amongst many magazines. Although I mentioned that I didn't want to objectify my model I have decided that I would use a little bit of nudity as the top is more revealing towards her belly not her cleavage. It will also attract boys attention because brands such as 'Air Jordans' are recognised as many of my male target audience are athletic and do use these shoes to play basketball in. This appeals to boys because it shows that my model is outgoing, fun and athletic meaning she will be an interesting person to bond with. 
I'm hoping that my model will inspire my female audience to become something greater and take a chance as my model has and she has made it big. I have used these outfits to aspire the female audience to take a chance and become as successful my model has.