Final Pieces

Sparkle Work Diary

In this shoot I remembered I had glitter still in the studio from when I did my 'Comme Une Etoile' shoot, so I decided it would make a nice shoot to take pictures of glitter in a close up form. With the use of the boom the light reflected off the glitter, showing how shiny it was. I think this made a really nice effect. this shoot was difficult to complete because I wanted to be very close close ups of the glitter, therefore I had the camera in close proximity of the glitter and i had the camera on full zoom, this could make the whole image become out of focus or parts of it. The fact that some parts of the image were out of focus in some of the shots was a nice effect because it would show one lot of glitter very sharp and the rest of it would be out of focus therefore it would make a mixture of colours and would suggest there was a lot more then there actually was. With this shoot I think it would helped if I had more glitter and a bigger space to spread it on because the majority of my difficulty was that I didn't want to get the background of the studio (the actual room) in the image because it would become hard to crop as the glitter would also be at the top of the image as would be the studio. If I got to do this shoot again I would get more colours of glitter so there was a combustion of colours, I would also consider making images with the glitter, for example, a rainbow.

In this image I mixed all the glitter colours together so they were all together and not so segregated. I think this image relates to my project brief of beauty because of the way it sparkles when the light hits against it. In this image I made the glitter take up the entirety of the image, this involved me having to crop it as the background of the studio got in, however by cropping the image became completely glitter, which I think looks better than if there was a backdrop in it. I like the use of colour  in this image as I think it is more aesthetically pleasing to look at and more interesting than if there was just one solid colour.

In this image I had the backdrop partially showing because I was showing the bottles of glitter pouring out, therefore showing it as a mess opposed to it just being clutter. I did not put the entire bottles in as I didn't want them to be the focal point of the image. This image reminds me of how make up spills around and how it can be spread out when a person gets ready, I think it would make a nice image to do a picture of make up very much like this image and to place them next to each other to create a juxtaposition. This image fits my project brief because the glitter still remains to be beautiful despite the fact that it is just a mess, the use of the colour and how they seem to be leaking down due to the bottles , it is just very pretty to look at.

By doing this shoot it has made me think of shoots which I could complete in the future, and due to the shine of glitter, I definitely think I want to work with glitter again. In the future, possible shoots which I could do with glitter, could be things covered in glitter, for example food. I can envision an image of an apple with a bit in it, and excluding the bite, everything else on the apple is covered in glitter. This photo has also made me consider juxtaposition photography for the future, for example an image with a girl with lots of make up on and an image next to it with a girl with no make up on and glasses. I think an image like this would make people consider what beauty actually is. From my last shoot of Cultural Beauty I progressed onto this shoot through the idea of cultural themes, for example, I mentioned within my Cultural Beauty work diary that I wanted to explore indian beauty themes, within this shoot I have used colours of glitter which are associated with indian themes, this shoot also reminds me of the event 'Holi Holiday' in which people of the indian race throw bright coloured powder paint in celebration, the colours of this glitter reminds me of this indian event.

Sparkle shoot

Differences Work Diary

In this shoot I decided to shoot a variety of different people displaying a variety of different beauties, I completed this shoot in the studio. I only used girls within this shoot as it is mainly girls who struggle with insecurities, so I did this shoot as a message to show beauty doesn't just come in one form. If I was to do this shoot again I think I would gather more girls for my shoot and do a 4x3 multiple imagery piece and I would have the girls beauty ranging more from different styles, e.g. gothic, nerdy, natural etc. I think this shoot went okay, apart from the multiple imagery piece I didn't really think about the other shots which were possible for the shoot, I think I should of done more planning for this shoot considering single shots which I could edit. This shoot was very quick for me to complete as I didn't need to prepare my models and I didn't need to arrange them as such, I let them pose how they was comfortable, as i think when a model is comfortable it is visible within a picture as opposed to them being forced. This shoot fits my project brief of beauty because it is displaying different types of beauty within different people and that some beauties are natural and most beauties feel the need to adjust themselves with the use of make up, however each within themselves, each is just as beautiful as the other.

In this image I made a multiple imagery piece of all of the different models I used, each model has their own pose, even if it is just a smile, they each have their own smile that does not look like the others. I think this piece worked very well as each model looks different. In this image I did not edit the singular pictures within the multiple imagery piece as I wanted it to appear natural. In this image my models range from having no make up to wearing a full face of make up, however each model looks comfortable and this is the kind of message that I wanted to send, to be comfortable in your own skin. I used a black backdrop which turned out to be completely black in the image, which worked very well against the complexion of each model.

In this image I took a picture of one of my models covering her face, I think this came out quite nicely with the use of the saturation tool, making her a lot more subtle against the black backdrop. I think this picture by itself has its own little message about the girls of todays society, how they are very insecure and feel the need to hide. Within this image i told the model she could pose however she wanted and she hid behind her hands, this showing that she is camera shy and not very comfortable in front of a lens. I think this shot was very good for the title of the shoot of differences as along with the other pictures it shows how some girls are confident and how some girls are very shy and perhaps insecure. I like in this image how her hands cover the entirety of her face as it sends the message more forcefully as opposed to if she was peaking through her fingers.

By doing this shoot it has made me think of future shoots which I could pursue, for example, I could do a shoot showing various different styles which I have mentioned in the first paragraph. I could also do a shoot involving boys as well showing that they too have insecurities and each look different and simply select boys who don't look similar. Prior to this shoot I completed a 'candid' shoot which showed beauty in its most natural element as the images were shot without my models knowing when I would take a picture, and due to them being boys, they were not wearing make up. I progressed from my 'Candid' shoot onto my 'Differences' shoot, through the theme of being natural as I thought this was a nice idea to have running through my beauty project.

Cultural Beauty Work Diary

In this shoot I used the studio to do a shoot of myself wearing a headscarf, the aim of this shoot was so show a different kind of beauty. I achieved this by making my eyelashes really look and putting on extra eyeliner as they are all that would be seen, and they would hang over the headscarf. I got the influence to do this from a picture I found on a social networking site of a girl in a white headscarf with long black fake eyelashes, the picture was very eye-catching. I think this shoot went very well, i didn't take many pictures because I was doing close ups and they would all end up looking the same, however the shots that I did get came out very good. I did this shoot using a selfie pole and despite the fact that i couldn't control the camera very well, the images came out very clear and definitely in focus. If I was to do this shoot again I would do it with a different headscarf as the headscarf I used had zebras all over it which slightly took the attention off my eyes, also a zebra scarf is not what they would use in a country that wears them, the headscarfs would be plain (of any colour) or only with a slight pattern on them. I did a shoot with a headscarf last year which came out really well, however I prefer this one solely because of the focus on my eyes.

In this image when enlarged you can see my eyelashes hanging over the headscarf which is a really nice effect, also because I have taken colour out of this image (using the saturation tool) which makes the blue of the scarf more subtle and the black of the eyelashes a lot more prominent. I like the framing of this image as I like how my eyes are almost central making them the focal point of the image. Apart from my jumper (which is barely seen) my eyes are the darkest part of this image, producing the most eye-catching colour against the subtle tones, which automatically makes them the focal point of the image. I used a black backdrop within this image and due to the use of saturation it became a lighter tone which worked well against the blue of the scarf.

In this picture I created a multiple imagery piece of me wearing a full head burka, therefore the main focus of this entire multiple imagery piece is my eyes as they are all that can be seen. I kept the colour within this image which I think worked quite well as my eyes were still very prominent within the picture because they were hard hitting against my complexion and the light blue of the scarf. All I changed within this image was the levels which brought each image to the right lighting. I think if I was to do this shoot again i would face differently in some shots because as you can see within this image I am solely facing towards the left, which can make the image look the same as I can't really pull any different expression. I also like the use of the black back drop within this image as it brings out the blue of the burka making it very noticeable.

By doing this shoot it has made me think of other possible shoots which I could pursue in the future, for example, I could do a shoot showing what beauty is in more cultures, for example, a geisha, or in an indian setting (including a bindi and traditional indian wear). Prior to this shoot I completed a 'differences' shoot which showed range of different peoples version of beauty, in the differences work diary I commented that I wanted to explore various different styles, I progressed onto this shoot by showing a different version of beauty by visiting another culture of beauty. Within other cultures, the burka is worn however beauty can still be incorporated, therefore I continued to show 'differences' of beauty.

The image that influenced this shoot.

Cultural Beauty shoot

Best 40

Overall Project Evaluation

In this topic I experimented with the topic of beauty photography which I think had its positive and negative elements. I found this unit to be quite difficult because I was constantly wondering if what I wanted to shoot would fit in the criteria of beauty photography, which means I struggled with ideas for shoots, and some shoots which I would think of which would be quite artistic, I found too hard to create and I could think of a feasible way to create it.  I also feel that this unit has been very long, and has seemed to drag out, making me become very bored very easily. I wouldn't say I am happy with the work I have completed in this unit despite my efforts to try for an A*, I think it is all very mediocre, I have not really enjoyed this unit at all.

What I have liked in this project is my experimentation with face paint and glitter. I liked the fact that it was original and no one else in my class had done it. However despite my enjoyment with the experimentation of face paint I think I should have practiced more as I think the day of the dead face paint could of been more precise, it looked okay however it wasn't completely straight on some points.

I disliked all of the contextual work as I felt it took so long where I was trying to improve it to an A* standard, I also think this effected the concentration of my actual photography work. The thing I disliked the most however was the 3000 word essay, the history part was the hardest as it required a lot of research and it was difficult to keep the times/eras in a consecutive order as I kept finding new things that I felt had to be added into my essay.  I found the other paragraphs much easier and they took me a lot less time as they did not require as much extensive research.

I think the technique I have used the most is easily multiple imagery. I used this technique in my last unit however this year it was a lot easier because photoshop got updated and the spaces between each picture became a lot easier to judge. I have also enjoyed the use of video, however only in the particular context of showing things like a home video, for example, when showing the technique of video I made a video based on every day love, which I really enjoyed as it was simple yet original and music could accompany the video. I have also used gifs quite a lot, at the beginning I found them quite difficult to master however 5 months now down the line I feel I can do them with ease.

I found connecting essays the easiest within the entire process of this unit and they took me no time at all because I found them very easy, which meant that I didn't actually mind doing them. I enjoyed the research log as well because it opened my eyes to a lot of different photographers and I was able to see what beauty photographers had done and build some possible inspiration off of their work for my own. What i found the hardest was the 3000 word essay because of reasons which I have mentioned before, I thought the history part of the essay was too prolonged and I found it very hard to research as I wasnt completely sure of what I had to find.

My favourite shoot was easily the shoot where I had glitter all over my face, it was very itchy, hard to get off, and went everywhere, however it is the shoot I am most proud of from this unit because I think it came out very well when the pictures were edited. I wish I had done it again and wore a top which made it seem as if I had no top on so I could have put the glitter on my shoulders so it would have seemed as if it was over all of my body. My least favourite shoot was the shoot where I used a mask, I dont think I decorated the mask that well. I think I should have decorated the mask with more precision so it came across a lot prettier so the message was more appropriate to the shoot. There was a coupe of pictures I like from the shoot however I think it would have been a lot better if decor on the mask had been prettier.

Overall this unit has been very long and therefore quite unenjoyable, if I was to do it again I would organize my time keeping a lot better as I think this is what has made it feel so long, because I left the majority of contextual until the last minute and I have put in a lot of effort with each piece of contextual where I am trying to make it reach such a high standard. I wouldn't do beauty photography again as despite how broad it is, I somehow felt very limited which made me limited for shoot ideas.

The Last 4 Weeks

In the last 4 weeks I have left to do

• The conclusion and bibliography of my 3000 word essay 
• 2 connecting essays 
• 3 computer experiments
• 2 physical experiments
• My best 40 pictures of this unit 
• 20 final pieces 
• overall project evaluation
• 3 shoots 
• 3 work diaries for the shoots 
• Add what shoots I could do to each work diary 
• Reupload a video which I have created as it has been deleted
• Differences Work Diary

Possible shoots? 

• Secret Garden 
• Skeleton 
• Gothic 
• Preppy 
• Childish 
• Powder Paint 
• Pop Art 

Difference Shoot

Location Portraiture Technique Page

What is Location Portraiture?
Location Portraiture is when you have a picture of a person taken in an environment other than studio.

How do I do it?

1. Make sure the camera is zoomed out so enough content can be seen in the image so that the background can be seen (the outside environment) 
2. The aperture must be set to the lowest f number to allow an element of depth of field to be shown
3. Make sure flash is on so that the picture will come out slightly lighter, also by doing this shadows will avoid being seen in the image 
4. Get a model to stand in front of an environment, for example, a building, however don't have her standing too close to the background
5. Take the picture and your final product will be that the model is in focus and the background is out of focus

Connecting Essays

(1) Jack Eames 

In this photo Eames has shot a woman looking fairly natural, you can see her imperfections and the black and white almost highlights them. I like the use of a black background as it makes her skin colour stand out, especially with the use of black and white. The colour of her face almost hits against the black backdrop as the contrast in colours is so different, its almost light against dark. In this image the woman is not posing and this emphasises how natural the picture is. The woman is looking into the image which defies the idea that this is a candid photo which slightly takes away how natural this is however I think it still comes across quite natural. In this image you can see the chapped of her lips and the freckles on her face, which are considered to be imperfections however i think this image is quite beautiful within itself and her imperfections makes her beautiful. I like the way the photographer has composed the camera for this photo, I like that not all of her is shown as it makes her face seem like the focal point of the image.

In this photo I took a self portrait of myself looking natural, in this image I have no make up on. In this picture I am slightly posing as I have my back towards the camera which takes away a bit of how natural the image is, however concerning my facial expressions I am not actually posing. I turned this image black and white which made the different colours of my hair stand out, especially with the use of the black background. In this image I have not used photoshop to alter things I would usually change e.g. the size of my nose or the size of my lips, therefore in this retrospect this image is very natural. In this image I like how the black and white makes my skin colour shine out more making me seem like the focal point go the image. I like the composition of myself in this image as it comes across as if I am slightly hiding myself.

Both of these images connect because they both have the theme of natural beauty, my hair is unruly in my picture and I have been left unedited and in Eames picture he has allowed the models imperfections to remain. Both pictures have faults with the models yet they both have came out quite beautiful. Both of these images also connect through the use of black and white, and the black and white both have the ams effect of making the model stand out because both have also chosen to use a black backdrop. Both images also don't show the entire model, only mainly showing the face, which means both images have focused on facial beauty.

(2) Camilla Akrans

In this photo Akrans has created a photo that falls under the beauty sector of photography however due to the lack of make up the woman and the picture comes across very natural. The picture also comes across as natural because of her action in the image, she seems to be covering her face so only a partial amount of her face can be seen. This comes across as very playful and therefore innocent because playful is usually related with children and their innocence. This picture has been put in black and white which makes the model stand out against the black back drop as her skins highlights in the image and almost glows. Despite the fact that this picture is natural and the model is wearing no make up and is pulling her little pose (almost as if she is slightly hiding from the camera as if she is slightly embarrassed) , the model still comes across flawless which stands for natural beauty. Her skin comes across as very smooth and she has her hair in a messy bun however she seems to make it look good. I like that in this image you can see not only her face but a slight bit of her body and it works well with the action she is pulling and allows the audience to see it how the photographer most  likely sees it.

This image that I have took is a self portrait of myself with no make up, it is from a shoot in my project where I wanted to highlight natural beauty, to emphasise this I left my hair in its natural state and had no make up on. I positioned myself in the corner of the camera however you can see my face and actions with ease. In this image I took out some saturations which make the back drop turn a bit grey which made my skin colour and hair stand out against the back drop which highlighted me , making myself the focal point of the image, which makes the naturalness stand out. In this image I put my arm across my face so that I am sort of hiding my face, which makes me come across as quite bashful and innocent, this is enforced with the smile you can't see but can through my squinted eyes.

Both of these images connect because the content of the images are the exact same, for example, it being a natural image with messy hair and no make up, being completely bare. These images also connect through the person that is portrayed, in both images the models have covered their face which suggests they are hiding themselves because they are slightly embarrassed or don't like the camera, which also comes across as very natural because most people don't like to be photographed. In both images the have almost the exact same amount of the model showing, they are just positioned differently, in Akrans picture you can't see a lot of the back drop, however in mine you can because of the way I put myself in the corner of the image.

(3) Ryan Doco Connors

In this image Connors has created what seems to be something inhuman, an image that could be considered disturbing and a little bit weird. He has  used props to enforce a character he has created, his use of lighting also enforces this because it is quite dark and dim. This photo is very hard to see because of how dark it is but if you really look at it you can see her eyes have been made black which to me suggests a possessed character. The image is quite contrasting against itself because the character comes across as evil however the model is in a white frilly dress which pink hair and a fairy headband which suggests innocence, however her stare and stance to the camera says that she should be feared. There is not a lot of backdrop in this image because the model takes up most of the image, you can tell she is the focal point of the image because she takes up most of the image.

In this image I have recreated the famous characters which take to the streets on the 5th of May, Cinco De Mayo, The Day Of The Dead. To do this I used face paint and followed the image of another persons face paint online, however slightly altering mine so that it was individual. In this image not much of the backdrop is showing however it is noticeable because it is pink which isn't a particularly subtle colour. I got the model to stare into the camera which with the heavy use of black around her eyes, produces quite a holding stare, which can come across as a bit disturbing to an audience.

These two images connect because both have what could be described as quite disturbing imagery due to the stares that both models hold in both photos. Both models in both images take up the majority of the image in each photo, displaying that they are the focal point of the image and this draws an audience to look at the extent of editing of each picture. In both images coloured back drops have been used which match to the colours of the image, for example, in mine I have used a pink which almost matches the light red around my models eyes, In Connors picture his backdrop matches the colour of the models headband and hair.

(4) Sue Bishop

In this image Bishop has took a close up of a flower and has created minimum depth of field which creates a blurred background with the flower in focus. By this image being close up, the audience can see the detail of flower, down to each little ridge in the patterns, also when blown up, the audience can see the texture of flower, which I think is a really nice effect. The colours in this image stand out as in the flower there is a subtle yellow, a  dark brown/black and bright purple, I think these colours are very eye-catching next to one another because they are each very different and very bold. In this image I like the mixture of colours in the background which is the out of focus flowers, I think this blends really nicely next to the flower as it brings out the yellow that bit more.

This is a picture i have taken of a leaf in college. in this image I have created a minor depth of field as the background is slightly unfocused whilst the red leaf is in focus. This picture is a close up therefore the details of the leaf can be seen by the audience, the lines of the leaf can be seen in detail. Also in this image due to the close up the audience can see the different colours within just one leaf and how it transfers back into the red, which I think is a really nice effect. In this image the leaf takes up most of picture therefore there is not a lot of the background to be seen, however this doesn't particularly matter because the background is simply a brick wall (which doesn't fit in with the natural feel of the photo) and it is out of focus due to depth of field anyway.

These two images connect because they both have the contact of nature, in Bishops image she has a flower, and in mine I have a leaf, both things that cannot be manufactured manually (well not that are real anyway). Also both images have a use of close up and depth field, both producing the same out of focus effect, however mine is much smaller to Bishops. Also both use colour which seems like a main theme, both use colours which stand out, in my image the red is very vibrant and the colours in Bishops photo seem to stand out, both colours are very eye-catching.

(5) Jamie Nelson

In this photo Nelson has used the material of glitter as a cosmetic almost like an eyeshadow. He has accompanied this with normal make up, for example face make up (foundation, bronzer, blusher) and more evident make up like lipstick and mascara. This makes the glitter come across very natural and almost every day because it is accompanied with other every day materials. In this image Nelson has made the face the only thing within this image and I think this was a good idea because it makes the glitter stand out more, if this was a full body shot, the use of the glitter would probably be unnoticeable. In this image Nelson has made it so the models eyes are closed so it is available to see the entire extent of the glitter being used on her eyelids. Despite the use of the glitter, the lipstick is the most eye-catching thing within this image because it is the brightest colour and the most bold colour within this picture, this is very clever as it makes the glitter on the eyelids seem even more natural.

This is my own image and in this image I have used glitter to cover my entire face, I have used a range of 3 different colours. Blue, silver and gold, this breaks up a solid one colour which would be quite boring because it is covering the whole of my face. In this image I decided to look away from the camera and look down, this allowing the audience to see how I have used this on literally my entire face as it can be seen covering my eyelids in this image. I used a black back drop in this image however it has came out a charcoal grey, the dull background colour allows the bring, sparkly glitter to be the focal point of the picture which is the intended focal point of the picture. In this picture it can be seen that only my face is covered, not my arms or neck, therefore slightly referencing to make up, the message behind it being how make up can make you shine, meaning make you confident.

These two images connect because the material of glitter has been used in both and as a make up reference, although Nelsons appears more natural, both give the message and idea of glamour and being sparkly and all done up. In both images, mainly only the face is showing, despite my shoulders and arms being in this picture, the focal point of both images are the faces due to the use of glitter. In both images dull backdrops have den used which keeps the attention on the portraits of the faces, and it allows the faces to seem more colourful.