Evaluation

Overall I am happy with how everything went during this unit. I felt like I've learnt so many new skills that will help me in the future. I had a basic knowledge to photography but I've now got more in-depth knowledge with the settings and how to set up a studio. 
All the lessons we had for digital image were so vital and I felt like I learnt something new every lesson. 

When it came to my final shoot, I was worried I would forget something or do something wrong. Not having Chris to make sure everything was in the right place was weird! But I can proudly say I set it up and even put the camera settings on the right things (fist pumps air). I did both images in one session. As it was based natural beauty, I wanted to leave my models face bare as she already had lovely skin. For my colour images I applied a dark pink lipstick to make her lips stand out. I did struggle with lighting but eventually I found the lighting I liked and proceeded to take my black and white images.
When it came to editing the photos, I didn't re touch them. I felt like I didn't need to because my models face was naturally clear. I am so happy with the final images and I really like the black and white images because it enhances certain parts of her face/hair.

6 poses

Hung Vanngo make up for Fat Issue Spring/Summer 2014, is really underrated. Hung is also an underrated make-up. Working for big companies like Vogue and Elle. I love the simple brush strokes used to overlap each other. With lovely soft colours, I think it really stands out.

Couldn't not mention a Kardashian in one of these poses. Their show is a guilty pleasure of mine and I do follow them all online. I have respect for Kendall because she did her own thing with modelling and partially like this shoot she did for Look. Showing off her very slim frame, I like the wet hair look that seems to stay in fashion all the time. She also looks great with barest amount of make up.

I came across this stunning photo online by doing random searches. It's a great design with such an awesome fantasy theme. I'm a huge fan of fantasy body paint/make-up. If a bald cap was used this, I'm truly impressed. It looks so natural and the gold that's used on the head/shoulders is so crisp.

I feel like Black beauty isn't recognised enough in the industry. Donyale Luna known for being the first American African in the 60's. This is so raw and natural. Her eyes are so big and that's why I picked this photo because they are so gorgeous.

A fan girl moment for here because I do have a huge crush on Jennifer Lawrence. This recent Dior ad, is makes me incredibly jealous how good she looks. The best word to describe it is bare or nude. I like Dior because I don't always go overboard with their advertising. I always think they keep it plain and simple with small burts of colour.

And finally we have the gorgeous Adele in Vogue. She looks breathtaking in this photo. I've always admired Adele for being "plus size" and still looking absolutely stunning. I love the layout of this photo and gives a fairytale feel to it. The make up and hair is flawless and yet both are so simple because of her great bone structure.

Mood board

Moodboards are a collection of images that relate to what you want to create for your design or inspirations. It's a great way to express you ideas when you aren't good at writing. In the fashion industry mood boards are used to show to highlight the latest fashion trends. My moodboard shows fresh face make-up with gorgeous pink lipstick/lipgloss. With natural beauty, it's how I hope my final shoot to look like. Plus all the lightings are how I like my shoot to be because it makes the faces clear and soft.

Bibliography

Lenders Paige, June 20th 2015, "7 Tips for casting the right model" https://fstoppers.com/commercial/7-tips-casting-right-model-your-next-shoot-74247

Health and Safety

It's hard to not sound patronising at any point for this post because you think with health and safety, it's pretty obvious right? But actually don't be fooled. There is a lot more than just your standard wires.

So when setting up just be conscious of your surroundings. Place bags and other things that won't be needed for the shoot in an area that people won't need to go too. 

Try to keep long wires to a minimum. If you are as clumsy as I am, you don't need any extra help to trip over. I've also learnt from TV and Film is that you should always do a risk assessment. You look round the whole area, assess any possible danger, whether it's barely anything to potentially something major, you write it down. You then try to find a solution for all risks in the room. In case someone was to get seriously injured, you have a risk assessment to back you up.

If you are really keen to find out more about the learnt and safety act for photographers, I found a great link that goes into more detail about the healthy act etc: http://www.michaelwayneplant.com/health-safety-photographers/

The 7 photographs that changed fashion

In this blog post I will be discussing the video we watched in class 'The 7 photographs that changed fashion'. 
The famous photographer Rankin sets off to recreate 7 most famous photos in the fashion industry. The recreated photos are from the following photographers; Cecil Beaton, Erwin Blumerfeld, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Herb Ritts, David Bailey and Guy Bourdin.

So let's have a look at the images Rankin selected;

Cecil Beaton:

The original image created by Beaton in 1934 used with 10 by 8 camera which shows the image upside down. Rankin also used a digital camera to recreate this image so he could see the final result. Rankins model was Sophie Ellis Bexter as she had similar features to the original model (Elsa Schiaparelli).

I really like Rankins version with the digital camera but in the documentary I prefer the image Rankin uses with the 10 by 8 camera. 

Erwin Blumerfeld:

This image was a Vogue Cover in 1950’s with 'Jean Patchett' as the model. Rankin used Heidi Klum as the model to recreate his version of this image. Back then it would of taken anyone ages to create this image because it didn't have photoshop technology. With this image Blumenfeld wiped out the majority of the image leaving only the eye/eyebrow, lips and beauty spot. The enhance the make-up they had to paint it on after to make it stand out more. I like the modern photograph as Rankin has added his own twist by keeping the nose and with Heidi's tongue showing. But I prefer the Blumenfeld photo because I like the way it looks like a painting and how bold it looks.

Richard Avedon:

The third image is Dovima with Elephants with Dorothy Horan1955. Rankin used Erin O’Conner to recreate this image. I'm not a big fan of this image because you can see Elephants chained to the ground. I know they did this to protect the model from getting hurt but it's really cruel. But I do like how it looks like she is touching them. Almost like she is comforting them. Rankins version is very different and looks like O'Conner isn't comfortable around the Elephants.

David Bailey:

I love both these images from Bailey and Rankin. But I do prefer the original as it looks a lot softer which makes it look nicer. The shadows are more defined in Bailey's. I also like Rankins recreation but somehow doesn't have the same affect as Bailey's. 
Bailey used one of his previous lovers, Jean Shrimpton to create his image. Rankin used his girlfriend (Tuuli) to recreate the image. I love how a simple action of moving your hair can look so elegant. 


Helmut Newton:

Aubriot Vogue Street

I really liked watching this part of the documentary because Rankin got hold of the original model. She spoke about how the shoot happened and how Newton was a photographer. Rankin went to say street as the original photo was first taken place (Paris, Rue Abriot). I like how nearly identical both images are and how Rankin slightly changed the leg/hand to give it his twist. With the wet hair look it reminds of Natalie Portman in Dior adverts. 


Guy Bourdin:

I have to be honest and say this is my least favourite photo out of the seven. It was created by Bourdin in 1970's and it doesn't really say much to me. I like how simple it is but I feel it lacks something and I wouldn't have picked this image from Bourdin. Bourdin is known for doing different shoots/designs. Rankins used Daphne Guinness to recreate his version. I'm not a big fan of his version, it isn't really nice on the eye with the choice of clothes used to recreate it. The layout as an image a whole is nice but just isn't the kind of style I like. 

Herb Ritts:

Tyres 1984

This is certainly a favourite of mine. To not sound like a hormonal girl but both images appear to have two gorgeous guys. Again both images look identical to each other with Ritts shoot in Paris and Rankins in dull London, you can't tell the difference. David Gandy is looking fine in Rankins version and looks rather natural holding two tyres. It's nice to have an increase of male models in 21st Century. Many years ago if you wanted to be a male model, you were seen as being gay. I think Rankin should be happy with the final outcome of this image. 

Casting the right model

So how do you cast the right model when you are in first year of university? You aren't exactly going to get Kendall Jenner but with the right knowledge you should be okay at picking a model.

When looking online at agencies for your budgeted shoot, you should look for the following things:

That the model has a good portfolio. If they lack in this, you won't know know or see anything they've worked on. Also see if they've worked on similar shoots as yours. This will help you because the model will be able to be more at ease at the shoot. 

You should make sure the model is what you are looking for, for your shoot. If the model doesn't look right for the genre of shoot, it could ruin the whole look you are going for.

Always keep in contact with your model. Keep each other up to date with any changes or to make sure the model is still coming. If your model was to cancel on you at the last minute, always and I mean always have a back up model. There is nothing worse than a last minute panic to find someone for your shoot.

Because we are in first years, you probably won't be able to afford to pay them, so the best you can do on your loan is pay for your models transport fares and lunch during the day. Both you and model need the experience, so it's a fare compromise.

The last part is to make sure you make the shoot fun. Play music and get people chatting when they aren't working. If your model isn't comfortable, it will show in the pictures. Just putting the radio on or a upbeat playlist, will make a big difference towards your shoot.

Colour Inspiration

Black and White inspiration

Final colour images

Here are my three final images in colour. I really like how natural my model looks. I just wanted a hint of pink lipstick to stand out. Overall I was happy with how quickly I set up the camera and took the photos. But I do prefer my black and white images. 

Final 3 images (Black and White)

I am really happy with the outcome of this photos. I think it makes the model face look a lot softer. I feel like if I was going to adjust the contrast, it would ruin the photos. I think the models eyes stand out more when in black and white. I did change the lighting when taking photos for colour and in black and white.

Practise in Class

So today's blog I will be discussing one of the lessons we had in the last two months.

A lot of Chris's lessons before the assessments, we practised our photography skills. It's safe to say I'll only be used in emergencies if all photographers suddenly disappear. 

Once we had set our camera to the right settings (iso 100, Manual, 1/160, f11 and I'm sure I've missed something) we were ready to practise with taking photos and the lights.

When I was trusted to touch the camera, I pressed the button and took a photo. I know, I'd be impressed of me too. As you can see below the photogenic Katie looked stunning and I rather liked the photo because of the dark shadows.

I know photographers over the world are shouting at me because of the dark shadows on her face. But I feel it gives it a dark edgy look.

I did enjoy Chris's lessons even if I didn't look at certain points. I do honestly felt like I've learnt a lot since when I first started. I can say if I can't get a photographer to any future shoots I do, I know I'll be able to do my own shoot.

When do you cross the line when editing photos?

So in today's lesson we discussed when do magazine companies go too far when they edit their photos?

What happened to natural beauty? When did it become such a thing to edit someone so much that you don't even recognise their face? It's truly worrying that an industry can manipulate a whole audience of young teenage girls into thinking that what you see on front of their cover, is what you should look like. We have teenagers obsessing over the latest trends and trying to find ways to look like women that don't even look like themselves.

But because of the internet, nothing is kept a secret anymore. There is leaked photos of Queen B (Beyonce) that are unedited. I think it's great to show people (specially young girls) that nobody is perfect. That even someone as famous as Beyonce doesn't always look flattering under certain lightings. It is necessary for photos to be edited as the lighting could be wrong or the lipstick might have smuged and you didn't see it till after the shoot. 

In one lesson we tested an app called 'facetune' to see how much you could edit yourself. In group of 4 we all tested the app by taking selfies of ourselves. Down below you will see the before and after photos we edited on each other. We used a selection of tools such as; Smooth skin, detail, reshape and certain filters. We all applied the same tools on each photo and this is the results:

As you can tell there is a big difference between the before and afters. I also know neither of us can edit with a phone app. But with the basic tools on this app, you can easily reshape your whole entire face. I think you could easily spend a whole evening playing around with the tools on this app and with how quickly you get carried away with it all. In the 21st Century we shouldn't be teaching kids that it's okay to want to change yourself like this. We need to teach children about inner beauty rather then the high expectations we have on women.