Research on Props

While the word 'prop', when speaking in artistic terms, means any movable articles or objects used on the set of a play or movie or photography. It also means support against something to keep it from shaking and falling, which is exactly the kind of role props play when photographing for a magazine, as they act as a crutch to even the most simplistic of covers.

Props help place focus on the genre of the magazine e.g. when a reader sees a person holding a football on a magazine cover, they will immediately recognize it as a sports magazine. Same is the case with a Literary Magazine, if features books, the indication of the genre would be obvious. Which is why when photographing for my Final Task I made sure to incorporate as many props as possible.

Props also add life to photographs and make them look interesting. However, a prop isn't just something one holds, it could also be a backdrop, either added by Photoshop or physically placed, which can essentially block out any background distractions and draw attention towards the subject. For my Final Task, if I feature an author in the Literary Magazine and add a plain backdrop, it would serve the same purpose and make them stand out given that the text would be about them.