Key Features of a College Magazine

Each of these features will be included in my preliminary task. I think this is a strong example of a good quality College Magazine. The main image in this case acts as the background, I am going to try and achieve this layout also. I like how the person has layered the 1st image of the park, the Masthead and then the 2nd picture of the Medium CU. This adds depth and shows the ability to use Photoshop.

The main image uses an Institution via a Stereo Type, a Young Pretty Girl aged 17-18, wearing College promotion top. This is a clear representation of what the consumer would expect a college girl to look like, showing that they have thought about the appearance of the girl and her clothing. The focal point of the picture is the girls facial expression, happy. This is to represent students at the college and their feelings about the college. This portrays an idea of how other college students perceive college life. The eye contact of the girl offers a connection with the audience, engaing our attention. The camera will have been position centrally, however the models position is slightly horizontal adding a qwerky look to the picture.

The photographer has clearly thought about still-shot realism. I can imagine this girl just casually walking through a park with her friends. Capturing such a real shot, of everyday activity connects with the audience. Allowing them to relate to her. Everything within the shot is real and natural. The background is a huge contrast between the shot of the model herself and yet I think they work to well together. The image is cropped as a half body shot from a cinema frame.

The college magazine represents good attitudes and beliefs of realism though appropriate image and text.This connects with ideology and how it is anchored by the main CU image.


The language they have chosen as subtitles and smaller features are written as questions, allowing the audience to connect with the cover and question themselves, this then makes the student want to read what is featured inside.