Lady Gaga Observation

Lady Gaga Photos (Q Magazine)

After looking through this issue of Q from 2010, I noticed that the photos of Lady Gaga were taken from the same photoshoot. The slight variation in props (from the gloves to the chain) give each picture a very different mood. For example, the photo on the front cover is very explicit and has been placed there to create a statement, and to catch people's attention - which is what an audience would expect of Lady Gaga's extreme persona. Contrasted with the main image, the photo used in the double page spread is very personal as the mid shot and direct eye contact means that the reader feels a lot closer to her. This image sided with the explicit language and minute details included in the article means that the reader finds out a lot more about Lady Gaga than maybe they were expecting. I think this particular set of photos are ones which a select group of people - Lady Gaga fans - would respect the most because they will have seen their favourite artist in the eyes of the media a lot during appearances at award ceremonies etc, but in this issue of Q magazine, they are in a very different, and more personal, level with her which I think they would prefer. I also noticed this same-photo technique used in the Take That issue of Q magazine, so it appears to be something with the magazine creators think is important to include sometimes. The use not only a colour photograph, but a black and white one (which features in the Take That issue as well) seems to work well because the colour photograph is typical of a photo you'd see in a magazine, but I see the black and white one as though the artist has been stripped of the celebrity-status and their glamorous lifestyle to sit down and have this personal chat with the magazine to open up to them, and the readers have an insight into it. Despite the results of my market research, this is something which I definitely want to do because, for me, it helps the reader to connect better with the magazine. Furthermore, I can vision these types of photo fitting in nicely with the ideas I have for the colour scheme in my magazine as well.