How does your media product represent particular social groups?

My magazine is not of the conventional type, you would expect to see it in newsagents but not as commonly as celebrity and gossip magazines as it is more of a niche product. Therefore the market for my magazine is smaller than usual as it doesn't apply to the mainstream ‘hipster’ or ‘girly’ themes so its design needs to stand out from the rest of the niche products. My magazine is based on, punk rockers who want a magazine that they can relate to.  I have chosen colours and themes that relate to this genre of music as I will enhance its purpose and will appeal more to the niche market. I have kept the language a particular way so that it will appeal to a younger/teenage audience; this is reflected in the choice of products that I am displaying inside. These products link closely to my target audience of males ages 14-20 as they are very technological and this reinforces the stereotype that the media has places on men.

To keep with the individuality I have decided to take my pictures in a similar way to those that are already on the market, but because this market is much smaller than mainstream magazines I feel that it gives me more freedom to experiment with the images and how they should be displayed.

Similarities between You Me At six’ photo and mine:

Posture: The boy’s photo is loose and relaxed, giving off a clam, easy-going atmosphere. Essential when presenting the magazine as it encourages the readers to relate more to the models. Therefore my model shall hold himself in a calm relaxed position to make the reader feel the same.

Gesture: In this photo there is an obvious hand gesture from the model closest to the camera, he holds his hands as if he is framing something that the other models may be looking at. But the rest of the group seem to just be looking straight into the camera, this could represent how direct the image is, but it also gives the image a welcoming atmosphere. To me this stance seems a bit too common to be seen on my genre of magazine, so my model shall be looking away from the camera in a dismissive manner, to show the distance he will have from the readers. This may help the teenagers connect to the feeling of being different.

Angle/ shot type:

Lighting: The lighting in this image is quite unclear as the image is in black and white, but I can see all of the faces of all of the models. The lights on the boys hair shows how lights were also on either side of them, this would be to highlight their facial expressions. The models are set on a plain white background, giving us more of a reason to look at the models. My photo is also set on a white background but is not as bring at this image, the brightness has been turned down because there is not much need to focus on the models face because not much of it is seen. It also creates a much darker atmosphere, which highlights the way people see teenagers.

Expression: The expression that most of the boys are holding is a very blank one. They don’t appear to be posing for a flashy pretty magazine, and I think this shows well how down to earth they are. Many rock magazines don’t represent people as big show off's  it just shows them for who they are. That not everybody is constantly trying to look perfect or pretty. This creates a sense of equality that everybody is the same no matter how you look at it. I have tried to mimic this with my model, even though he is not looking at the camera; he still has a quirky, down to earth image.

Hair: You would expect to see people on rock magazines with slightly untamed hair shows off their rebellion. All of the models have the same hairstyle to show equality. It hasn't been styled much but it doesn't cover any of their faces. I have chosen a model that has this same style of hair; the media would expect people who have this kind of image to read a rock magazine with similar images to these on them.

Costume: This is seen as a vital element on any magazine, the costume of all of the boys seems like something that they would wear every day; they have a casual look which, in the magazine industry, allows us to connect more with the models. I have recreated this with my model, he wears casual clothes that we would expect the reader to wear, by doing this I have instantly mad a connection with the reader.

Stereotypes: I feel, like this image, the image on my front cover supports many of the stereotypes linked with rock music. It supports the fact that most people who like rock music are: male, teenagers and have a messy casual look, and aren't bothered with mainstream styles and brands.