Coursework - Music Magazine Photographers

I have conducted research on the type of photographers popular music magazines use as their portfolios in their magazines. Such photographers are found in magazines like mojo, kerrang and Q. 

The most common names for music magazine researchers is Andrew Cotterill, Andy Fallon, Paul Harries, Mick Hutson, Rodger Sargent and Andy Willsher.

Images such as this one have been previously placed in popular music magazines, supplied by the list of photographers shown above. I particularly like the look of this photograph and the band it is representing.

I have done this specific research on photographers because I believe it is important to get an understanding on all sections of music magazines. Photography work is widely incoporated within magazines and I feel that having researched into it I can have a better grasp on a professional look when it comes to completing my coursework.  From what I have gathered, self portriture work is the most common use of photography within magazines, whether or not it portrays a specific part to music or just the artist. Therefore I have concluded that in my final music magazine I will use specific portriture work with an indie twist on the look as that is what I am aiming for. I will also ensure that the artist is looking directly into the camera as this is what many of the magazines achieve with their photography work. This is because it engages the reader and makes them connect to the artist that is being previewed on the front cover.

The Use Of Artificial Lighting In Photography:

When photographers use artificial light they are drawing with light, and photographers normally the light in a way that makes it look natural. Therefore when positioning the lighting you are going to use it is essential that it is positioned where the sun might be in relation to the subject. This is normally fairly high and coming from behind the camera at an off centre angle. The beneficial points of using studio lighting is that you have total control over both the direction of the lighting and the effect of it, creating an image you want to achieve is always successful.

Overall after this research it has become clear that using a studio would allow me to achieve a professional outlook on the photography side of the magazine, therefore I will use this reseach and apply it to my photography work which will be portrayed in my overall music magazine.