FourFourTwo is a football magazine mainly aimed at the male audience. The image used on this cover shows Balotelli, a footballer renowned for his bad behaviour on and off the pitch. This picture shows Balotelli as a strong and independent person; By the way he is standing, he is trying to show his masculinity through standing straight and slightly opening out his arms; this is a stereotypical representation of men in todays media as men are made to look 'hard' and 'tough' in today's society as a role model for younger viewers. The shirt the footballer is wearing is his teams shirt and from the player slightly smiling in the photo, it suggests that he is proud to wear his shirt. The lighting in the picture is bright and vibrant, and this could potentially suggest that despite his reputation he could be a new person with his new team and the bright lighting is suggesting peace and purity. The photo has been taken at a low angle showing the power and dominance of this male as the footballer is made to look as if he is looking down on the reader.

 

Men's Health is a fitness magazine aimed at men. In this edition Jason Statham is in the main image. Jason is a Hollywood actor involved in many action films. The picture shows Jason as a strong, independent male, someone who would be a role model to many aspiring men who want a muscular body. The pose Jason is in shows his muscular arm and attracts the male audience into wanting to be like him due to how powerful and dominant he looks in the picture. From the films Jason is in, his fans will already know how serious and aggressive he is within his films, and this attitude is reflected in this main image through his serious facial expression and the way he is tensing his upper arm. The T-shirt Jason is wearing is not only fashionable but is also slim-fit to outline his muscles again making him a powerful male and role model for younger men.

 

NME is a music magazine aimed at older teens. Jake Bugg a young guitarist and singer features in this magazine. Jake has a reputation for looking almost sad when in front of the camera and in this photo this sadness is shown. The photo has been taken at Jake's eye level and is a medium shot. From this type of photo the audience sees Jake at a neutral point of view due to the level it has been taken at. As this photo is a mid shot we can easily view Jake's body language and notice that despite Jake's miserable facial expression he is in a very casual and normal pose whilst leaning against a bar and holding a drink. The Jacket which Jake is wearing is zipped up to the top meaning the viewer can only view Jake from the head upwards; This could potentially suggest the enclosed lifestyle Jake lives as he is a very quiet and laid back person. The photo has been edited to be black and white and a possible connotation of this is that it suits the type of music that Jake plays; Jake is almost seen as a modern day 'mod' in today's society and the black and white represents the age of the type of music he is inspired by. The lighting of the photo is soft and this has been used because if the hard lighting was used as well as the black and white editing, his facial expressions would have been poorly visible. Jake has been presented in this photo as very dependent and tough despite only being 18. Jake has been represented in this way to be a perfect role model for male teenagers. The facial expression of Jake sends a message out to the audience suggesting that despite being only 18, he is capable of standing up for himself and saying his own views and opinions; this is re-enforced in the masthead as it introduces Jake as 'The 18-year old enemy of The X-Factor', this shows Jake has voiced his negative views on the TV show. The location of the bar again shows his independence as we associate bars as being a place for adults, so therefore the Mise-en-scene of the magazine has been well placed to represent Jake a role model and almost a 'teenage hero'.