How Does Your Media Product Represent Particular Social Groups?

On the left is the picture I tried to model my photograph on, and on the right is my picture after manipulation in Photoshop. I manipulated my image to make the models resemble the original band members as closely as possible. I got my models to stand in the same position and order as the actual band members and I also got them to make similar hand gestures to match the bands style. I took a straight-on Long Shot (LS) to match the style of the original picture. I tried to have my photograph in high key lighting to match my picture I was aiming to achieve, but this was hard to do, so I used Photoshop to increase the brightness of the picture and to increase the vibrancy of the colours. The costumes in my picture are very different to that of the original. The three people in my photograph are all wearing jeans, with one person wearing a shirt, one a cardigan and one a hoody, as opposed to the original image where the band members are wearing a zip up jacket, a dress and a black jacket. However, I don't think that the costumes I have used in my picture are a problem as it is not out of style for the band and the actual band members do wear similar clothes at times, as shown in other photographs available of the group. Another difference between my image and the original image is the type of hat I have used, however the hat in my picture is more common of the style worn by Dappy (the person on the left hand side of the picture) in the band, and once again it does fit the style of the band. My fake band members in my picture do have slightly different facial expressions to the picture I was trying to mimic, however I don't think this affects the image as I have shown the picture to people and asked them who they think the band was and I have been told that it is recognizably N-Dubz. Another difference between my picture and the original image is that Tulisa (the name of the singer in the middle) has a different hair style to the girl in the middle of my photograph; the actual band member has long, blonde hair whereas my models hair is darker and tied up.

The demographics are very different of the models in my picture to the actual band members. My models are aged between 16 and 17 years old and the actual band members are aged between 21 and 23. My models are also from very different areas of the country; the actual band members are from Northern London and my models and from East Anglia.

Another example of a picture in my magazine that bears similarity to the actual artist is this picture:

This picture has been take from the same angle and with a similar posture to the original image. Similar clothing has also been worn and the earrings are used as props as they are similar to those of the artists in the picture. Both pictures have also been shot with high key lighting and are both mid shots. Demographically these images are very different, with my model being British and the actual artist being American. There is also a big difference between there ages, background and social status.