Thursday 19 May 2011

Fashion Photography Inspiration

                                                               





<<<< LIGHTING













Tuesday 17 May 2011

New Idea


After doing my first test shoot, I decided that it wasn't working the way I had hoped it would, so I have taken aspects of my concept to produce a new idea. I want to focus on the idea of the fallen woman, in particular women through history. I will be looking at the character Miss Havisham, in particular focusing on representing her story and character through images. I aim to look at how a woman today might reflect key aspects of her character but how modern society can alter and tweak the modern woman with the same emotions that Miss Havisham might have had.

Vasilisa Forbes 

I have been looking at photographer Vasilisa Forbes, and have found some inspiration from her style and concepts. The above photograph is by Vasilisa Forbes, she has used Chromogenic film, which has given the image a grainy effect, almost as thought it's a painting. I would like to focus on the theme of isolation and the modern woman that feels this emotion every day but can't face it in a mission to fit the expectations of an independant woman.
My aim is to have a profile shot in a studio of a younger woman, with certain fashion traits of Miss Havisham. Much like Forbes photograph above, I will have a photograph of either a landscape or the beach. The other photograph will represent isolation and the woman looking into it as though she is facing her fears. The above photograph is very similar to how I imagine mine to look, but with a slightly different concept and atmosphere.
I aim to use chromogenic film as I feel I work best with using 35 mm and I feel it will go well with my general concept. The subject is desperatley seeking companionship and is hiding under a false persona that the modern world has moulded her into, but inside she still has the same vulnerability and lonliness of Miss Havisham. The two shots are meant to represent a damaged woman looking head on at nature, and the realities of it all, the subject will represent nature and the landscape will represent her emotions and the feeling of isolation.

Wednesday 11 May 2011

Evaluation of first shoot

After taking my first shoot I decided I wasn't completely satisfied with the results, and decided to asses what I wasn't sure about and look at how I can adjust it to carry on shooting.

Tuesday 10 May 2011

My Shoot

For my first shoot I took influence from the painting ' The Awakening Conscience.'
Camera Techniques
I shot it all in my living room, with the curtains drawn, so relying on a tungsten light and a  bit of natural lighting a long with camera techniques I got the lighting perfect for what I am attempting to re create.
ISO - 1600, Shot on RAW on F4.  1/50, TV mode.

Monday 15 November 2010

Bibliography

Websites of photographers that use image and text.


Websites I used to research the sins.


Photographer's websites.


Articles.

Evaluation

I have learnt a lot from the project, image and text, I have learnt about experimenting in a studio with different lighting techniques, which has taught me a diverse way of achieving certain looks. For example, with the idea that I have used, using high key lighting and an all black back drop created a mysterious and dark images.
Initially it took me a while to execute my final idea as I had to consider a number of things to achieve meaningful and well shot images without being unoriginal, which was challenging at times.
Involving text with an image is not something I usually approach in photography so it was different, but I have looked at a number of ways you can approach it. It has given me the chance to experiment a lot more with digital and photoshop, which will help for future projects.
I think that having to use text was the biggest challenge simply because I was focusing a lot on producing meaningful images and at times forgetting that the text had to have a strong impact on how the images are perceived. I don't feel that my text is completely relevant to what I am trying to show over all, I think the text has relevancy to the sins but not to modern day issues, which was my original idea. 

Overall, I have learnt a lot for future projects, working in the studio on a time limit is quite pressurising and for my next studio based projects I will know how to be a bit more prepared before hand. I have enjoyed this project, as it has given me opportunities to work with new equiptment and work around fashion photography which I havn't tried before in a studio.

35mm film


400 speed film. F8

When experimenting with different ideas initially I went out with my 35mm film camera and looked for inspiration and examples of image and text on the street. I took a few shots of a small protest that was going on in Brighton. I looked at the idea of putting up peoples thoughts and opinions on problems going on in the media at the moment for example in this image the board on the far left says ' 5.7% voted for a racist party.' However, I struggled to combine this idea with giving my images an editorial look at the same time, and decided to go down a different route but took influence from some of these shots.

Tuesday 9 November 2010

Examples of using photoshop


With the use of photoshop I have put my chosen text into the images as well as lightening them, as they were a little under exposed before hand.
For this image (Greed and Envy) I have used lyrics from the song 'All I want' by Joni Mitchell. The text talks about greed and jelously so it fitted in well with what the over all image.
''Oh the jealousy, the greed is the unraveling
                                                                It's the unraveling
                                                  And it undoes all the joy that could be.''

For the image with wrath and pride, the text that I used was a quote from C.S Lewis, 'A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and of course, as long as you're looking down you can't see
something thats above you.'

'The flesh endures the storms of the present alone; the mind, those of the past and future as well as the present. Gluttony is a lust of the mind.' This quote comes from a political philospher, Thomas Hobbes. I wanted to use this quote because it has a lot of emotion behind it. I particularly like the ending 'gluttony is a lust of the mind' It ties into both sins, and I think it worked quite well with the image.

Sunday 7 November 2010

Different ways of approaching my idea

I don't want to go down the typical cliché route, but instead give my project some meaning behind the idea of the seven deadly sins.
I wanted to show that the seven deadly sins were invented originally as a way of controlling society and giving some moral structure. Religion doesn't have such a strong impact on society as a whole any more, instead we look to the media for advice and structure and it's the media that has taken over religion in the sense that it now gives us the facts and controls us in many ways. After researching this a bit further I've decided to give the idea of the 'seven deadly sins' a modern twist. I think the old sins do reflect a lot of what could be classed as wrong and sinful in our world today.

I was looking at the sins and trying to connect them with what is currently being talked about the most in the media: The spending cuts and an ongoing subject in the media; the perfect image. I think that wrath, greed and sloth fit in quite nicely with what's going on at the moment. The spending cuts were announced the day that I shot my first film so I aimed to tie it in with the idea of the modern sins.

For greed I wanted to show a very wealthy woman reading about the spending cuts, with a look on her face that says 'This doesn't concern me, I don't care'
The spending cuts are going to hit a lot of people, but there are a majority out there who it won't affect at all. I wanted to show a stereotypical wealthy person, who this wouldn't effect and in turn you could class as the modern day greed.

Sloth is another sin that fits in with what's currently being talked about in the media. As well as there being a majority of people the spending cuts won't hit, there are also that other majority that it will hit and quite severley. Some people's opinion of people that are on benefits could be that they are sitting around all day doing nothing for the money of others who work hard. This does happen and there are a lot of people in England who are involved in benefit fraud, I wanted to show the stereotypical person on benefits. The modern day media's sin of laziness.

Wrath could be a good representation of how people felt after the spending cuts were announced.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/video/2010/nov/10/student-protest-london-millbank
There were angry protesters over the educational spending cuts, which resulted in violence.

The other three sins in the media
Gluttony is a modern sin that we are constantly reminded of.
Weight is a topic that the media are obsessed by, and we
are bombarded with images of the results of gluttony. Then and
now photos of celebrities losing and gaining weight.
For my photoshoot I want to show the emotional results of gluttony,
why people do it and the damage it causes. I don't want to show
gluttony the way the media shows it to us but how gluttony could
look behind closed doors.

Envy. I believe that the reason for some people's envy is due to
 what they are shown through the media. We're always wanting
the latest phone,or the latest car because somebody else, mainly
celebrities have it and were in a dellusion that with this type of
materialism our lives will be better.
Advertising has a strong impact on this, which is something
I have been looking at for image and text.

Inspiration: Fashion photographers

As I want to give my shoot a fashion/editorial look, I am going to look at some fashion photographers work that I have found looking for relevant ideas to aid my ideas for my final shoot.

I have been looking at the fashion photographer/film maker Joaquim Barreto. I really like his style, some of his photographs are very dark which is the look I am going for.
http://www.joaquimbarreto.tv/photography/
He has used two models in a lot of his photographs which has given me composition inspiration as I will be using two models also.
I've also been looking at this website:
www.jedroot.com
It shows a number of different fashion photographers and stylists, some of which have given me ideas toward how I will style the models aswell as inspiring me to use colour instead of black and white.The stylist Jessica Diehl uses clothes similar to the ones I have used for fashion shoots.
Eugenio Recuenco


Earlier on in the project I looked at some fashion photographers for inspiration on initial ideas. Recuenco has really stood out to me. His images reflect the techniques used in classical paintings, which is the type of look I am going for and trying to re-create with lighting.

 
I think these two photos in particular share some similarities, one is similar to how I want to show the idea of lust and the image of the subject in a boxing ring has given me ideas toward how I will show wrath. I've decided to use boxing gloves with the model in a very vibrant red velvet dress.
These are some examples of more of his work that I have taken relevant inspiration from.


This image was photographed by the fashion photographer Marcin Tyszka for Vogue Latin Americas October 2010 issue.
This is a good example of the type of editorial fashion look I am trying to re-create. I want to have the text, sayings and lyrics, typed up on photoshop in the corner of the image next to the subjects.
I want it to look as though it's an interview and the writing is quotes from the models. The model Anja Rubik's composition in this photograph reflects the type of composition I am looking to have for my shoot. Tyszka has used high key lighting here to create dramatic shadows and the lighting on the subject is similar to what I am aiming for. He has also used a black back drop, this has given me some really good ideas for how I will set up the studio focusing on lighting to re create this look. I need to focus on the composition of my subjects so the lighting creates dramatic shadows on them.

Thursday 4 November 2010

Studio work

Working in the studio for my shoot

As this was the first time I have ever shot in a studio I was quite nervous about getting the lighting right and whether I would be able to re create my idea properly as lighting is key. I'm mainly used to using natural lighting and shooting outdoors but I actually really like the results of working in a studio. I was able to create the dramatic imagery that I wanted, which couldn't be done without the black back drop and the hard lighting on the subjects. There was a lot of pressure due to having a time limit and being unfamiliar to shooting in this type of environment, so initially it took a while to get everything together.
 I made sure I did test shots so I got the perfect lighting on the subjects before I shot the actual film on medium format and digital. 
Once I was in the studio I realised that I was at some points limited to what I could do with the models, the composition of the subjects was hard to alter at times because the lighting would not fall on them both correctly. Over all, I felt that you don't get as much freedom when working in a studio but for this project in some respects this worked for me, and the specialist studio lighting really helped finalise the look of my prints. 



Experimenting in the studio before actual shoot

Studio equiptment includes: a flash head (strobe), light meter, stand, power leads, umbrellas, soft boxes, honeycombs, beauty spots, slave unit, sync cable, boom stand, back drop, wind machine, battery pack.

We went through different lighting situations such as using low key lighting and high key lighting (using three or more lights.) Learning about the studio was really useful to learning about what type of lighting I would use for this project, because I want an editorial look for my final prints I'll be using a black back drop with hard lighting therefore I will need to use a smaller attachment over the light so there is not much diffusion and more definition there will be in the shadows. 





Wednesday 27 October 2010

Medium Format Contact Sheet


This is my contact sheet for my medium format film taken in the studio. I used F8 and the shutter speed was 125. There are a few problems with this film, for example the lighting has made some of the images have an almost green background. As well as this I was unaware of what was in the frame as you can see the lights in the background.
There are a few shots that I would identify as the best of the film the last two of 'sloth.' The lighting in particular in these shots really stand out to me because it almost looks as though the television is glaring back on to the subject.
I could always edit this by scanning the images onto photoshop and change the lighting as well as cropping some of the images. I really enjoyed used the medium format camera though, I found it quite hard to remember the order in which you have to do things but the longer process generally means you concentrate more on the image you're taking. It is very different from a normal 35mm camera however, I really like the way you can look into the viewfinder and you're still able to see everything without having to move the camera at all, also the sharpness a medium format can give an image. I don't think I will be using my medium format film for my final prints as they weren't as sharp as my digital images.

Sunday 24 October 2010

First film shot on digital


Contact sheet showing a few of the shots I'm considering to use for my finals.
Some of the shots will need cropping if i plan on using them, it was quite hard to avoid getting unwanted background in to the shot whilst having the models standing.


Gluttony and Lust
Sloth
Greed and Envy
Wrath and Pride
Greed and Envy 

Evaluating my digital prints

I shot this film on F8 and shutter speed 125 using a Cannon 5D SLR.
I wanted hard lighting so I could create definition in the shadows and also to give it a dark look reflecting the idea of the seven deadly sins and religion. I decided in the end not to use text projecting on to the subjects as I wanted to really focus on the models and their characters. Instead I have decided to put the text on to the images through photoshop. My two faviourite images of this shoot are the bottom one, 'greed and envy' and the top 'lust and gluttony' I paticularly like the subjects composition in these images and the lighting also works very well. For example for greed and envy, the light falls on to the newspaper highlighting what I wanted to show, the spending cuts. I have also noticed that there is a colour theme occuring through the images, reds and skin tone/beiges.
 I have styled the models myself and love the way the clothes really bring out the idea of their sins, especially gluttony with the flesh coloured lingerie. The facial expressions are especially strong in the top and bottom images and overall  I'm pleased with the results.

Tuesday 19 October 2010

Inspiration for my idea

When looking at the seven deadly sins, I thought about different ways I could portray these sins without being too cliché. 
I found this on a website which I thought was quite interesting because its a different way of looking at the sins and it gave me some inspiration toward what angle I could come at for my shoot. There is a list of each sin and the punishment you would supposedly receive if you were to sin.
I could possibly show the punishments instead of the actual sins, this could be done in a number of different ways as well as being quite a diverse way of showing the sins and I like the idea of combining the editorial idea with it also. However, some of them would be hard to show literally as I will be doing it in a studio I might be restricted.
SinPunishment in Hell

Pridebroken on the wheel
Envyput in freezing water

Wrathdismembered alive

Sloththrown in snake pits

Greedput in cauldrons of boiling oil

Gluttonyforced to eat rats, toads, and snake

Lustsmothered in fire and brimstone


This photograph of Kate Moss was taken by Juergen Teller in 1994. I intend on producing an image similar to this for the sin Lust. I want the subject to be in all red, looking seductive and I will have LUST with the meaning projected on to the face and body.

Lust

The most violent appetites in all creatures are lust and hunger; the first is a perpetual call upon them to propagate their kind, the latter to preserve themselves.” 

'' Lust is the craving for salt of a man who is dying of thirst''
This quote has given me inspiration toward how I will present the models. I am thinking of having the sin's lust and gluttony together and this quote would work well with how I plan to present them. I want gluttony to look helpless and emotional as well as looking trapped, with lust looking at gluttony as if she is getting a thrill from gluttony's desperation.   
Gluttony
Gluttony is an emotional escape, a sign something is eating us.” – Peter De Vries
This quote has given me some inspiration for how I will show gluttony. As I want the images to reflect modern issues in society I aim to reveal through imagery problems that we are faced with everyday. In a media saturated society we are constantly aware of body image, the 'perfect' body, and the undesired body. In my photographs I want to explore the sin, gluttony, and how our emotions can be responsible for this 'so called sin.'  I feel that these dated sins are a good reflection of the modern world, gluttony is clearly still seen as a sin but for different reasons. 

Wrath

“Fairest and dearest, your wrath and anger are more heavy than I can bear; but learn that I cannot tell what you wish me to say without sinning against my honour too grievously.” – Marie de France

Sloth

“Sloth like rust, consumes faster than labor wears, while the used key is always bright.” – Benjamin Franklin
''Sloth and silence are a Fool's virtues''- Benjamin Franklin

Pride

“A proud man is always looking down on things and people; and, of course, as long as you’re looking down, you can’t see something that’s above you.” – C.S. Lewis

Greed

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Envy

Envy eats nothing but it's own heart.
I am thinking of using these quotes as my text in the image, I will look at some more and see whether they work well with my final images. 
About my idea.


The Seven Deadly Sins — lust, envy, gluttony, sloth, greed, anger and pride — have had an enormous impact on the moral compass of the modern world. These sins have had different interpretations in Christianity, Islam and Judaism, and some argue that they have even greater significance than the Ten Commandments.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/seven-deadly-sins-get-a-modernday-makeover/2008/03/10/1205125821756.html

My idea

After looking at a range of photographers and artists text based work I realised I wanted to go down the editorial fashion route. I looked at the idea of involving quotes as my chosen text, I really enjoy the idea of involving religion and decided to look at religious quotes. I think involving fashion with a such a controversial topic could work very well, I intend on giving religion a modern twist through imagery. First of all I looked at 'The Ten Commandments.' Using religion as my main theme could work very well with the projected text I plan on using over the subject. The idea is to project the text over the model, giving it a dominating feel, similar to how religion could feel for somebody. I want the text to look over powering which links to the idea of how some people perceive religion today, as well as how it would have been historically when the commandments and the seven deadly sins were produced.
  • You shall not steal. ( Subject with bloody hands in focus, words projected onto hands.)
  • You shall not commit adultery. ( Subject in lingerie, a seductive look, focus on wedding ring)
  • You shall not steal 
The Seven Deadly Sins.

My final idea will be based on the seven deadly sins.

  • Sloth
  • Gluttony
  • Lust
  • Envy
  • Wrath
  • Greed
  • Pride

Photographers with Image and text

Victor Burgin

'Possession'
For the image below Burgin has deliberately designed the layout to reflect that of typical advertising. The opposition of the text and image immediately catches the audiences attention and triggers questioning as to the reasons behind it. Burgin explores the idea of capitalism and uses this as a staple to produce meaningful images combined with contradicting text. 

                                                                
Victor Burgin: Life Demands a Little Give and Take

The image above is titled ' Life diamonds a little give and take' taken in 1974.
For this image Burgin has used a piece of text in a context that makes it's unrealistic assumptions evident. It's layout is that of a fashion magazines, but by looking at the text there seems to be some meaning behind the use of subjects used here. The cameras gaze seems to fall onto the black woman standing at a bus stop in modern day England, by looking at the text Burgin could be attempting to show some binary opposites through his imagery. Burgin usually shoots in black and white and his images have a documentary look to them, they seem to be shoot mainly outdoors using natural lighting, the image above is a good example of this, the subjects are not posed and the overall image is quite grainy and high contrast. 

Lorna Simpson

Lorna Simpson became well known for her photographic work in the mid 1980's. Her work with image and text challenged and confronted conventional views of gender, culture, identity, history and memory. Simpson looked at how our gender and culture differences shape our interactions, relationships and experiences in a contemporary multi racial American society. I have been looking at Simpson's work for inspiration as she also has works with confronting modern societies issues through imagery.


The image above is called, Waterbearer, 1986. Simpson has used Vinyl lettering and it is a gelatin silver print. The combination of black and white makes a great binary opposite here, as well as the highlights really standing out. I reckon Simspson has used a slow shutter speed to capture the water falling.  Lorna combines text with her images to express modern society's relationship with gender, race and ethnicity. 

File:Simpson necklines.jpg

The image above is titled 'necklines,' taken in 1989. 
Simspon shows in this photograph a black woman's mouth, chin, neck and collar bone. For the text in this image Simspon has used the words: ring, surround, lasso,noose, eye areola, halo, cuffs, collar, loop,' The text is quite suggestive, and could be used as a technique to confront an audience's opinions and views on the subjects that she explores through imagery. 

Taryn Simon

The photographer, Taryn Simon has been influential as to how I will approach and execute my final idea. . I have been looking at 'An American index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar.'
For this series of images she examines diverse subjects such as science and medicine, religion, entertainment and nature as well as government. She has used a large format camera and it took her 4 years to shoot the whole project. For my project I am also examining the idea of religion as well as exploring the government, and modern day issues, and like Taryn Simon I aim to expose different ideas through imagery. Taryn uses the technique of text to inform and engage the public, but after processing the visual side she adds text to define the images fully. 
Taryn Simon's work relates to my idea to a certain extent as she tries to expose the hidden sides of cultures and religion and the government. I am interested in exploring this idea further through my images. 

I particularly enjoy this series of images, it is obvious that Taryn Simon has taken so much time into researching these subjects, and I admire her bravery in exposing them to an audience. The image below really particularly stands out to me amongst her other work. It is a photograph of a man on death row, it has an strong element of ambiguity, you find yourself questioning and debating over the subject and the meanings behind why this picture was taken.

Barbara Kruger

Barbara Kruger re-makes signs. Unlike the bulk of signage we see every day, Kruger's work tries not to deceive us into believing we have a need to fulfill, but to allow us to discover the deception of signs. Kruger is considered a montage artist.  
 Her key influences are "movies, television, and the stereotypical situations of everyday life. I particularly like her work titled "Your comfort is my silence." It is a good example of an image that really involves the audience with the use of text. The use of the pronoun 'you' leaves the viewer shaken because the natural reaction to the piece is that the "you" does not refer the viewer in particular, but to some otherness that is not viewing the picture at the moment. The viewer reacts by stepping out of there normal frame of reference to evaluate the picture, almost forcing an audience to form their own micro narrative of what the image is referring to.


Jim Goldberg

Jim Goldberg is a good example of a documentary photographer who consistently combines text with image. He uses the technique of hand written text to add emotion and depth to an image. Goldberg takes photographs of his subjects and gets them to write about their themselves and their lives or emotions below the image. His style of photography is very complex, the images almost talk to you and they have the ability to have emotional hold on an audience, reading the text offers you a glimpse into not only their lives, but into their psyches. I find the individual narratives, for example the photograph below, hugely compelling.

(c) Magnum Photos
  SAN FRANCISCO—"To me life seems so messed up but littel by littel I am trying to over come that. Because it is hard being a woman and to accept me as I am," 1978


Looking at Text used in Advertisement




These are some images taken from the book 20th century Fashion. I want to give my final images an editorial look so I have been looking at possibly mixing advertising with fashion and using text in that way. The book looks through 100 years of apparel adverts and I really liked these examples of image and text used in advertising. The text on the last image isn't as clear, but it says ' The only way to get higher is illegal.'  This really draws an audience in and is a good example of how companies create and maintain a brand identity and image.

Text can also have a huge impact on the way you view an image, sometimes just adding a few words to an image can change the connotations instantly and can be used as a powerful tool especially when used in advertising. Adbusters, a magazine that consists of advertising that we are familiar with however, instead of the text we are used to seeing, beneath the images we are presented with text that completely changes the tone of the original images. 
Obsession Women


Reality for Men Calvin Klein

I have picked these two particular images as examples of work from adbusters. 
Typically, above the well known label 'Calvin Klien' we are used to seeing a woman or a man with a great body, and the purpose of this is to make an audience believe that if they buy that underwear their bodies will look just as great as the models. Adbuster's has basically turned that whole idea upside down and shown what the majority of real audience would look like. Although the Calvin Klien for men advert here is quite humorous, the one above, for women has a serious tone to it. The one for women explores the issues of eating disorders and how body image through advertising could effect how we see ourselves. 
I have taken some influence from adbusters as it has helped me to explore further into the sin of gluttony that I'll be looking at and how I could present it in different ways. Looking at gluttony through a media's perspective could be a route to go down.

Text

How I will present the text

For my final idea I want to project the chosen text on to the
model and the background, similar to the image on the right.
For my idea which is based on the Seven Deadly Sins, I will have the religious meaning of each sin projected over the model.
For example for sloth: ' poisoning of the will; to despair, faintheartedness, and even desirelessness, a lack of real desire for anything, even for what is good.'
I will hand write the text to make it more personal. 



I might use the projector as my main light source, but I will experiment with that once in the studio. 
I have taken quite a bit of inspiration from the composition of this image, I'm considering experimenting with a range of body compositions in my final piece. 



Brainstorm: Image and Text





These are some pages taken from my work book, I've decided to brainstorm some of my ideas for the project.
Key ideas I have explored:

  • Labelling
  • Religious quotes, images.
  • The Ten Commandments
  • Seven deadly sins
  • Style I will explore: Fashion, editorial.
  • Famous quotations
  • Well known sayings
  • Juxtaposition with text and image. 
I quite like the idea of using postcards as a way of showing text and linking that into exploring the idea of different cultures and religions. As I want to go down the fashion route I was thinking of exploring the idea of how we stereotype a country through fashion. For example the French are normally associated with wearing a beret and a stripy top, and the Japanese with quite a quirky and colourful style. I've had a look at some photographers for inspiration to see whether I can develop this idea further.  

 .: Eugenio Recuenco :. Online portfolio
These images were taken by Eugenio Recuenco, Who's work I really aspire to. I really enjoy his use of location and also the way he works within a studio http://www.eugeniorecuenco.com/fichas/1021.html
That is his website with his portfolio of images, I'm not too sure what this series is called. His images seem to follow a consistency of being very dramatic almost theatrical, overall he produces very allusive photographs.

I would be aiming to present my images similar to these with stamps on the image showing what country I am trying to show with writing also, like a postcard. I could possibly have the writing in different languages as if it's a language barrier for the audience giving the image and text a sense of ambiguity.