Above is the initial contact shoot from my first art student shoot. I made the decision before conducting the shoot to only use my blue backdrop because I felt that the maroon colour of my hoodie would clash with the pink background. I also felt that the masculine connotations of the colour blue would work better with my scruffy artist look. I also decided to wear no makeup for this shoot despite including an image of dark lipstick in my mood board because I felt that this was more realistic as I don’t really wear makeup on the days when I am home just doing art. I experimented in the shoot with different poses although they are relative predicable and similar, I am assessing a hypothetic piece of art, mixing paint and miming making brush strokes.

I shortlisted these images for my scruffy art student shoot because I felt that these three images depicted three different moments and feelings I experience when painting or working on a piece of art. The first image depicts a sense of contentment and flow, I sometimes experience this when I really get into the flow of a piece, although this doesn’t happen very often. The second image depicts a sense of concentration which is definitely something I experience often, when working at home my family often make fun of my frowning concentration face. The last image depicts a moment of pause where I appear to be considering what colour to use of what action to take next, this image really shows of the colours in my water colour palette nicely. In the editing process I cropped the images as a appropriate and adjusted the brightness, contrast and levels. I also used the spot healing tool to remove a large blemish on my chin.

Above is the contact sheet from my beauty queen photoshoot. I experimented with different poses and expressions although they were all rather similar so it would fit with the format of an official title holder photoshoot that I discussed in my planning post for this shoot. The hand on hips poses with the big smile were an attempt to capture the all-american beauty queen persona but the images just came out looking silly and pantomimic so I decided not to use them, after all the project was about trying to capture a slightly exaggerated version of myself rather than someone else altogether. I found the process of this shoot really enjoyable although walking to and from the camera to check the images as set off the shutter in a full length ballgown with many petticoats proved both difficult and time consuming.

Here are my shortlisted photos from this shoot. I selected these images because they both capture a flattering, exaggerated version of me without being garish or pantomimic. I edited these photos by cropping them in a way that framed the figure nicely as well as showing off the volume of the skirt an my full title printed on the sash. I also increased the contrast, brightness, colour saturation and levels. I used the spit healing tool to remove any blemishes as my skin was not very good on the day that I conducted this shoot. I smoothed out the back drop as there were still some wrinkles even after attempting to iron the vinyl. I personally think that I will use the image on the right because I felt that it is both flattering, serious and dignified which was something I wanted to capture in this portrait.

Above is the contact sheet from my second angry feminist shoot. As you can see, similarly to the previous shoot I experimented with both blue and pink backdrops. And again, similarly to the previous shoot I decided to use the pink backdrop because this element of the feminist stereotype is slightly more “lady-like” and socially acceptable than the previous and the pink background connotes this. I used two of my favourite books on feminism, “Art and Feminism” and “The Art of Reflection” I also wore my graphic tee which has the quote “Feminism is the radical notion that women are people.” printed on it. I also used a empty costa cup to achieve a sort of college student hipster vibe.

I experimented with different facial expression and poses to give an sense of “being done with your misogynistic bull” vibe. I tried many over the top, “in the middle of a heated debate” looks but I felt that some of the more subtle aloof eyeballs or disapproving side glances were more effective and less pantomimic.  Bellow are the two image I shortlisted for final from this shoot. I selected the image on the right because I felt that the raised eyebrow and 3/4 angle of the face gave a sense of being knowledgable and aloof. I selected the image on the right because the expression paired with the titled head gives a reasonable air of being annoyed and frustrated without being over the top.

I edited these photo by cropping them as appropriate, at the top of the thigh to match with my previous outcomes. I increased the brightness and contrast as well as the colour saturation. I used the brush tool on photoshop to get rid of some distracting blemishes as my skin was not very clear on the day of the shoot. I slightly smoothed out the background, similarly to the editing process of the first feminist shoot.

Above are the contact sheets from my first angry feminist shoot. In this shoot I took inspiration from the topless protests by the radical feminist group, Femen. I did some dramatic makeup, back combed my hair and painted the words “My body, my choice over my chest and torso. I experimented with using both pink and blue backgrounds, I made the decision to use the images with the blue background because of the masculine connotations of blue and to protest in such a way is not considered particularly lady-like.

I experimented with using the jacket but I felt that did not work with the “shocking” sense of “nudity” (I made the decision to wear a bikini top as an authentic recreation of the Femen protests may not be appropriate for a school project) I also experimented with various poses including fight or flight like stances and the typical fisted hand above the head. I most of the images I included an angry screaming or shouting expression as this is seen in most of the press photos from Femen demonstrations and protests.

I selected these images as my shortlist because I felt that the battle stance captured the sense of desperation and not too over the top warrior feel. I edited these photos by cropping them to frame the figure around the tops of the thighs. I also increased the brightness and contrast, adjusted the levels and slightly smoothed out the backdrop as their were still some creases that I could not fix with iron without melting the vinyl.

Above is the contact sheet from my second blonde shoot. This shoot was heavily inspired by the character of Regina George from the 2002 film “Mean Girls” I was inspired by a scene where they perform a raunchy dance routine(completely inappropriate for a school situation) to the popular Christmas song “jingle bell rock”. Surprisingly I already had this Christmas costume from the Christmas of 2015. Due to the off the shoulder nature of the dress and the strange fit i found it hard to pose in a way that was flattering. Similarly to the previous blonde shoot I was rather uncomfortable posing for this shoot as I felt that the character I was trying to create was not me at all. I made the creative decision to use a blue background for these photos as the red of the dress clashed with the pink background.

These are the shortlisted images from the shoot that I decided to edit. I selected these images because they captured the playful flirty nature of Regina George’s character as well as the stereotype of the “dumb blonde”. to edit thee images I increased the brightness, contrast and colour saturation to make the red of the dress slightly more vibrant. I smoothed out the complexion by removing any distracting blemishes, I also cinched in the waist slightly in the centre photo, although it does look a little strange. Similarly to the previous shoot I had to edit out the lace of the wig by using a combination of the spot healing tool and the airbrush, selecting various toned from else where on the forehead. Although I am happy with how the images came out I don’t think that i will be using these photos as final outcomes because I feel that the stereotype is very reliant on people having seen the film “Mean Girls”. However the shoot was fun to conduct and it was a good from of experimentation.

Above is the contact shoot from my first blonde shoot. This character was based on the stereotypical all american high school “it” girl as well as public figures such as Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie. I experimented with different poses that exuded confidence, sass and glamour. I actually struggled with the posing for this shoot as I felt so far removed from this stereotype as I felt that I did not conform to the personality connoted through my appearance. This outfit was something that I wore frequently to work and once to a garden party when I had blonde hair, however I felt very strange re-visiting a look that I only distanced myself from a few months ago. Before conducting the shoot I decided that I wanted to use a clue background despite the masculine connotations because my pink dress was lost against the pink backdrop.

Above are the 3 shortlisted images from this shoot. I selected these because they have a sense of glamour to them, some of the more exaggerated poses looked a little pantomimic and ridiculous. The editing process for these images was slightly more extensive than previous shoots because (as you may be able to see from the raw photos in the contact sheet above) I did not glue the lace of the wig onto my forehead, which would be the proper way to wear this theatrical wig. I decided against gluing the lace of the wig down because during my research online, spirit gum was the best option, however I only had liquid latex to hand and I knew that I would only be wearing the wig fro a couple of hours and wouldn’t be taking part in any vigorous motion that would case the wig to slip off. I had to edit out the unsightly lace using a combination of the spot healing tool as well as the airbrush. I also increased the brightness, contrast, levels and colour saturation. I used the liquefy filter to smooth out the crinkles of the dress around the waist and cinch it in to create a more pleasing hourglass shape. I also slightly smoothed out the background and used the spot healing tool to get rid of any distracting blemishes.