College magazine photo-shoot

During a time when I was waiting to get enough responses on SurveyMonkey, I decided to plan a photoshoot using an SLR camera. I went ahead with what I was organizing in order to make the most out of my sixth-form time when I don't have a lesson to attend (free periods).
After that, I thought it would be a good idea to create three folders and put a picture which best fits the subject of the folder. Therefore, it is much easier for me to be able to pick out an image for the front cover and also which one I could possibly use for my content's page.

This screenshot is an evidence that I have organized the pictures into three folders for short-listing. 

This screenshot showcases images that are blurred/not focused properly and also those that are not of any use because in order to encourage a target audience to read the magazine; there needs to be some kind of interaction.

This screenshot shows that in this folder I have put together all the images which I think would be useful more for the content page than the front cover.

The slideshow above is put together to show all the images that can easily interact with the audience merely because the model is looking directly into the camera lens. During my research of looking at existing college magazines, I had noticed that if not almost, then every front cover had an image where the model is smiling while looking directly into the camera which is an indication of happiness through facial expression. This lets the target audience feel the same way; it is a persuasive trait as it encourages the audience to get the magazine and read it. This is the main reason why I decided to short-list it up to these seven images as I would like to achieve a finished look that is within the similar standard of existing college magazines.  

Having short-listed the pictures, I was easily able to show seven of those particular images and ask my teacher which one she thought would best suit for my front cover. The sixth picture from the slideshow was the one she chose. The reason being is simply because of the composition and the concept of the image shows that the model is smiling and looking directly into the camera lens. However, I finally decided to go ahead with the post-production for the first picture as it's focused and in good quality. 

Below is the before and after, edited on Pixlr.com and put together for comparison on Picmonkey.com - both are websites which allow for easy and straightforward editing process to happen. 

  Before                                                                                                        After

The process of achieving the finished look:
*First, I cropped the image so that the audience can see the model's facial expression better. The composition now looks a lot similar to the other existing college magazines.
*I then increased the brightness, contrast, and the saturation so that when viewers look at the image; their perspective would be of a positive response as it's no longer dull. Rather, it is vibrant (compared to the original picture) although it consists of only three colors in sight; green, black and blue.