School Magazine Image Research.

My magazine will be based on the upper years of secondary school, so the final image I choose will need to be an appropriate image of students around years 10-11 and 6th form.

A very common theme in images of 6th form students is a group of students facing the camera with a results sheet. These images generally have a positive emotional feel to them, with students looking happy, holding their results which generates a very enthusiastic feel to them. They are normally taken with a school based background, for example in the first image, the students are standing outside a school building, this is good as it relates the theme of the magazine directly to the school. The second image was taken inside a school building, with the relevant schools logo directly behind and above the students' heads. This partners the students and their happiness directly to the school, which again is beneficial to the readers reaction to the magazine/image. The third image, shows a large group of students standing outside. This gives the image a very open feel.

The lighting used in each of the images is natural sunlight, they are not professionally taken so studio lighting is not used. By using sunlight instead of artificial light, the images have a very natural feel to them, with the bright and sunny day outside reflecting the mood of the students

However, these images are taken in the landscape position, which would not work for a magazine, which is portrait. These images have a good theme which would be fine to use in a school related magazine, but the photo would need to be taken differentley so it is capable of being used in a portrait magazine.


Another style of image that is popular is of a student(s) studying/reading a worksheet or book. This again directly relates to the school theme, this is the style of image I will use in my school magazine, as it directly shows the student in a working environment.

The theme shown in this image is of a student working in a school environment, this is the kind of image I will use in my magazine cover. The focus of the image is on the student, and the work, with little attention to the background which looks to be a library. The lighting of the image presents a large focus on the student, with a shadowy background which draws attention away from the surroundings and on to the student. The shadows cast across his shoulder suggests natural lighting coming in from a near by window, with no artificial lighting used.

This image shows another student working, although this time the image is portrait, which is the orientation that I will need to use for my magazine cover. This image is a lot brighter than the last, with a window behind the student bringing in a lot of natural lighting.

For my final image I would like to use a student in an environment using natural lighting (outside) standing or seated. I like the idea of a photo of a group of students, however the orientation of the image would not be suitable for use as a magazine front cover. Due to this, an image of a single student would be more appropriate.