Process

Once that was done because this photoshoot was done in a studio the set up was quite simple all I used was both a black and white backdrop. I also used a ring light for more of a dramatic spotlight.

Editing

Final images

From this photoshoot I think I’m only going to use one or two of the successful images and put it at the end of my photobook as the skin is a lot more dramatic than I was expecting. Which is fine however in order for it to work well within the “story” and sequencing wise it doesn’t make sense for it to go at the beginning like I had originally planned as I am hoping to be able to show the further into the book you get the more destroyed she becomes.

Photoshoot 1 -Studio

For my first photoshoot I am planning on using the studio so I have the clean background and the artificial lighting. I am hoping to do more of an editorial photoshoot of just a close up of my model in order to create more of this empty looking picture to help show and extenuate the emptiness within the model and how she’s losing her identity and personality. This photoshoot I will also be using the Aztec face mask on the model so I can get the cracked I’m able to do this because it starts off as this thick paste which it painted onto the skin and then as it dries it starts to crack so then with any big facial expressions the cracks start becoming more dramatic.

Photoshoot 2- Beach (rocks)

For my 3rd photoshoot I am planning on finding a beach with big rocks similar to these images. I think it would make for some interest photos to try and get the model to climb the rocks. I think I might use this photoshoot as the second set within the book as I feel like the setting/locations feels more free and open compared to the locations for my other photoshoots. In order for this photobook to work and really tell a story i need things like the location to be perfect as im wanting to show her being free at the begging so you are able to see a visible shift not just with the makeup getting more cracked but within the background i want it to become more chaotic as it goes on until she breaks completely.

Photoshoot 3- St Catherine’s Woods

For my third photoshoot I want to go to St Catherine’s wood specifically for the little rivers there and the stepping stones over the water like in the image below. I think this location will be the perfect spot as I think this will be the second set of images in the photobook so I want to be able to show that the model is feeling kind of trapped and surrounded so if I can find the specific location of the first image below that would be perfect as you can see the trees and plants creating this spiral and it would give the illusion of the plants surrounding the model.

Photoshoot 4- Beach (water)

This photoshoot I’m planning on making it be the last in the photobook as this one is symbolising the model as her personality is being washed away. I’m using the idea of objectification and how the more it goes on the more she loses herself so by having her cracked skin be really dramatic and then this location will really help add to the idea of almost being an object.

For my project, I am focussing on the male gaze. However I’m not just going to show what that looks like, I want to show the effects it can have on women. I’m doing this because everyone’s heard about how objectification and the “male gaze” is wrong but that doesn’t seem to be enough. So hopefully by showing how being mistreated in that way can destroy someone from the inside the message will be more successful and impactful.

In order to show this, I’m planning on using makeup to show cracking on the model to try and symbolise her breaking down, I’ve kind of taken inspiration from percaline dolls and how they are an object and have cracked skin. so I’m trying to recreate that through the more woman are objectified the more the models starts to crack/break.

I’m planning to present my work in a photo With that I find that presenting work in books tends to accentuate any flaws within the work. Therefore, I need to make sure I focus and take time considering my layout (rule of thirds, Fibonacci spiral). It will also be important to try and focus on lighting and weather this is because I wanted to do lots of photoshoots outside. Therefore different weather conditions will create very different vibes for the image.

I have a very specific way I would like to present/start the picture book. My first and last picture in the book will be from the same photoshoot to achieve a cyclical narrative style. I think this will be very effective for the storytelling of the projects and the contrast as you will be able to look back at the first page and see how much the model and changed and been destroyed as it may be subtle between each page but hopefully the change the first page compared to the last will be drastic.

 

Observe Seek Challenge-

The theme of observe seek challenge I have linked it towards the idea of watching. whether that’s watching people or your surroundings. However I like the idea of almost being hyper aware.

I also like the idea of focusing on the male gaze. And how women are constantly being objectified whether that be in media or in life.

So I would like to combine both ideas and show the objectification of women and how it effects them on an emotional level.

I really like the idea of using clay and having this cracked effect as in my research I have seen lots of things like “the soul, mind, spirit, or invisible animating entity which occupies the physical body.” and  “a person might say that trauma has damaged a person’s psyche “so I thought slay would be a perfect way of trying to show someone’s emotion’s and how things can effect them and slowly start to break them.

I like the idea of showing the inside on the outside which is what South African artist Walter Oltmann choose to do. He was more inspired by the human body and he was famous for pieces like the Bleeder.

I think I would like to use makeup in order to try and show this I could potentially use some sort of clay to symbolise someone breaking but show it on the outside.

For my first photoshoot, I went to St Malo where I was able to take my street photography. Henri Carter Bresson was my inspiration for this photoshoot so I tried to imitate his style so I focused on getting natural photos of people.

Henri Cartier Bresson inspired

People

Architecture

Although I was focusing on Henri Carter Bresson I also did want to take some photos where I focus on the architecture in St Malo.

I really liked this image above I found this interesting wall down one of the lanes where it had been heavily graffitied but on the side of it was a drain which worked well in my favor. When looking down from this angle the drain acts like a divide almost as if it is two images stuck together.

For this photo tried to use the pillars within the architecture to frame the picture as it was a beautiful building however the greenery within the middle open part really brightened up the image. The building itself is quite monitored with just the natural beiges of the brick which was used however having all the plants in the middle I found it added a lot more dimension to te image and it also made it more unique as it’s not something done very often or not to this degree.

Anthropocene-

Anthropocene-

The idea of the current time period and how its very human-influenced

I focused on overpopulation and showing the busy streets of town .Although I do like how this photoshoot came out in the end I didn’t take much enjoyment out of it nor do I think its some of my stronger work.

Landscapes-

Landscapes-

The idea of taking photos of an area of land which is often seen as having an aesthetic appeal

I quite liked this photoshoot I found myself experimenting a lot more with this photoshoot than I do with most. I think I have got some good work within this topic but I don’t think its my best work.

Femininity vs Masculinity-

Lauren Withrow inspired-

I really enjoyed this photoshoot I found that taking photos of a model in more of a nature environment is something I enjoy because I can incorporate parts of the landscape within the photo. I think I could do a lot more with this idea and expand on it.

Robert Mapplethorpe inspired-

I really enjoyed this photoshoot I also think it was very successful. I enjoyed being in the studio with the model and trying out different techniques and doing slightly more abstract photos rather than normal portraits.

Portraits

Lighting-

Similarly I really enjoyed being in the studio and playing around with different lighting techniques. I think some of the photos came out really well whereas some other not as much but i still think it was a successful shoot.

For this project the first thing I had to figure out was what I liked and what I didn’t. I realized I didn’t want to have this story based on repetitive photos of boats so I decided I wanted to use some of my more abstract photos and focus of specific items within the harbour and use the close ups of those objects and materials.

These were the final images I had selected to become part of my zine.

I also tried to switch the colours so if the image on the left was quite bright orange and the image on the right was dark brown the image on the left would have a dark brown background. I really liked this for a while as it added lots of contrast between the images.

Finally I had decided on using the actually image itself to go behind. I felt like that worked perfectly because it obviously had the same shapes so it matched very well and yet because the opacity was a lot lower it was drawing your attention away and it wasn’t like it was trying to just expand the image. The only thing I had to decide on was weather I was going to have the images in black and white or with the colour. I decided on using the colour for behind the images as I felt that the black made the the originally photo look different and it was kind of taking away my attention from the main image to the page as a whole which is not what I originally wanted.

Henri Cartier Bresson was most known for his photo at Place de l’Europe Behind Gare Saint Lazare which is when his “decisive moments” project really grew popular . He would say that he would like to connect humanity through photos.

he would bring a camera everywhere with him in order to capture every/any millisecond in a moment. He described his camera as an extension of him as if he was hunting so he needs to be patient wait for that perfect shot.

His camera

His background

Henri grew up quite wealthy with his family in France which is where he was introduced to art.to begin with he had a big interest in painting however he later found that photography is what he was most passionate about. He found photography to be an extension of the eye.

He felt this was able to interreact the world with his camera which lead him to start travelling he went to Europe, Africa, China, Indonesia, India, Burma, Pakistan and many more… The experiences he got out of his travels influenced him to start his project “decisive moment”

image analysis

leading lines-

framing and negative space-

I find in this image it uses negative space really effectively it frames the subject really well drawing a lot of attention to it due to it being really calm and not having much going on. It helps balance out the image as the middle has lots going on and has lots of detail so the calming upper and lower sections helps it feel more organised and less chaotic. I also find the shadow and the clock really help balance out the image as they are both on leading lines but opposite sides of the photo making it look more even and aesthetic pleasing otherwise for example it might look too top heavy.

Colour and texture-

In his photos he has them in black and white this is because at the time technology had not advanced enough to have a camera ion colour. However I think the having it in black and white really works the viewer tends to see more detail within the actual I’m age this way as they are not being distracted by colours.

I think due to there being no colour in the image i think it helps with texture as it draws more attention to it and makes it stand out. you can see all the texture on the walls and the ground very clearly

Camera techniques-

In this image you can tell that he has used a small aperture as there lots of depth in in his image. This meant that everything in the image was in focus including the foreground and the background.

You can also tell he uses a fast shutter speed because for the time the image was taken its considered very sharp so he would have had to use that fast shutter speed to be able to capture the quick movement.

Lighting-

You can tell that this image is really relying on natural lighting and you can tell that it was most likely mid day when he took this photo based off the man shadow in the water. Some people can struggle with taking photos midday because of how bright the sun can be making it more difficult as it can cast some very harsh shadows however instead of fighting that Henri Carter Bresson leant into that and wanted to capture those shadows.

Symbolism-

Henri Carter Bresson focused on the deceive moment which he achieved very successfully he started the shift from very staged photos to these spontaneous candid images which shows the human experience a lot more as people are unaware they are trying to look a certain way or do a certain thing for the camera is people is their true and raw form.

Editing Process

Anthropocene

Landscapes

Topographics

Storm Damage

Overall opinion

I picked all of these photos the way I did because I wanted each “room” to have a certain look to them so I didn’t really want any coloured photos in the same room as a black and white one so if I were to want just one of two in colour and the rest black and white I would create a whole new “room” for it otherwise it wouldn’t look cohesive and would just look quite messy.

For the photos I picked only some of the very best I wanted to make sure it was only my strongest photos in order to make it look so successful. I feel like even though the image look quite small because of the way they are laid out you can still see lots of the detail within the images I believe having them in black and white helps that because they colours contrast so well making it appear more dramatic and making it stand out.

I think my favourites would be the topographic images as I feel the AI photos tell a story so clearly and successfully them being right next to each other so you can clearly see the similarities and the differences works so well.

For these final pieces all I will be doing is taking these individual images and splitting them up and sticking them onto a larger piece of card so that they tell a story and look cohesive together.

For the mounting I will be using a large black sheet of card and the a slightly smaller white sheet on top of the to create that small boarder around both the white and black card. Then I will be sticking the images onto that top layer of white card with even spacing in-between.

I have chosen to use these three photos for one of the final pieces based on Anthropocene. I picked these three as I felt they showed off the main idea of anthropecne as you can see how the natural beach has now had lots of additions like the buildings because of us. You can see the structure that’s already been built on the left and then the middle is a close up of a section of that structure then the last image on the right is of construction machine which suggests that there will be more built on top of the beach.

I would also like to have my final piece of landscapes to look like this although it doesn’t tell a story I feel as if by having both of them together it helps it look more cohesive and less random I also think having both the black and white backing card works well with the images as there are in black and white so its monochromatic and also having just white makes the image a lot brighter and the sky from the photo can kind of blend in but by having the black behind it creates this contrast which really helps.

This will be my last final piece which is for Anthropocene for this is similar to the landscape final piece as I don’t feel as if its trying to tell a story however having those two images which are quite different locations and yet they look so similar works. It shows how built up and overcrowded it actually is in jersey.