To start with this process, I carefully selected around 20-25 images I was sure I wanted to include in my photobook. To do this, I used the flagging system in Lightroom so it was clear which ones I would be using. I then transferred these images from my ‘Photobook’ folder to my ‘FINAL’ folder. To create my photobook I am using Adobe Lightroom Classic.
Front and back cover:
From these 26 final images, I chose which image I would like to use as my front and back cover. I picked an image which stood out to me as there is an array of vibrant colours and it can be stretched over the entire book cover.
Initial cover:
From this, I sorted my images into three sections. One as the beginning of my book under the title ‘Age of Innocence’. Second is the middle part of my book, which is completely black and white, under the title ‘The Insecurities’. Finally, the ending of my book which is under the title ‘The Present’. These sections represent the different narratives I am trying to present, which could be seen as a reflection of a teenage girls’ life. Viewers are able to create their own versions of the narrative, although I am aiming to create the main messages.
First draft of the three section’s front covers:
These are my initial ideas for the first photo in each section.
Throughout the photobook, I am hoping to present feelings connected to colours and tones of my images. For example, the entire ‘Age of Innocence’ section is beautifully colourful and bright, reflecting nature and happiness within the girls. This section metaphorically represents ‘time before social media’ for girls and how everyone was so carefree in society. The middle section, ‘The Insecurities’, is entirely black and white, to show how depressing and low girls feel when they gain insecurities, which could be from scrolling through social media and seeing numerous photos of other women who they may feel threatened by. Finally, the last section ‘The Present’ is an attempt to show the lives of girls that have gone a little bit off the rails with their friends, due to the effects of social media and it’s impact on how girls react to it.
In the last section, I used a range of colours and tones to convey different moods of the photograph. For example, the black and white photos are representing a drunk, lonely girl, who is seen invested on her phone. The coloured images represent sensuality and an intimate feminine connection. Lastly, the bluey toned images convey freedom and rebellion, as we see the subjects hanging out of a moving car at night time.
Final front cover:
Final edits:
Initial:
Final:
Initially, I had both of these images their original way. I started experimenting and thought about flipping one of these images horizontally to make it inverted. I definitely preferred the inverted image as it made the whole photo look more central.
Initial layout:
Final Layout:
I decided to remove the subheadings for the start of each photoshoot as I felt it was more powerful without them and can leave viewers questioning on the narrative behind the images.
Firstly, to start with my selection process of images, I moved all of my green rated images and some of my favourite yellow rated images into one folder on Lightroom named ‘Best Images’. From this, I then carefully selected my few favourite images from this folder and moved them into a different folder named ‘Photobook’. This allowed me to significantly reduce the amount of final images I had to chose from. The folder ‘Photobook’ also includes the edited images I could use.
Here is my selection rage of my favourite images, in which I am going to pick a final few to use in my photobook.
What went well?
I think that these three photoshoots were hugely successful as I achieved to create a narrative within my photos, similarly to Justine Kurland. I hope that viewers are able to create their own narratives for these photos, depending on how they want to view them.
Finally, I am going to create another folder named ‘FINAL’, in which I will transfer a few of my favourite images that I will be using in my photobook.
To do this, I will use the flagging system on Lightroom Classic to make it clear which photos I need to transfer to my ‘FINAL’ folder.
Question: How is feminism and identity manipulated through the evolution of social media?
Literary sources: Go to this blog post here: Theory: Literary Sources and copy relevant key texts relating to the subject of your essay and list in alphabetical order in your bibliography. In addition, find your own key texts in relation to artists selected for in-depth analysis in your essay and list these too. These texts could be interviews with the artist, or reviews/ critique’s written by others. See useful online sites/ sources here .
Research and identify 3-5 literary sources from a variety of media such as books, journal/magazines, internet, Youtube/video that relates to your personal study and artists references .
Begin to read essay, texts and interviews with your chosen artists as well as commentary from critics, historians and others.
It’s important that you show evidence of reading and draw upon different pints of view – not only your own.
Take notes when you’re reading…key words, concepts, passages, page number to be used for in-text referencing etc.
Essay Plan Make a plan that lists what you are going to write about in each paragraph – essay structure
Essay question: How is feminism and identity manipulated through the evolution of social media?:
Introduction (250-500 words):What is your area study? Which artists will you be analysing and why? How will you be responding to their work and essay question?
Pg 1 (500 words):Historical/ theoretical context within art, photography and visual culture relevant to your area of study. Make links to art movements/ isms and some of the methods employed by critics and historian.
Feminism waves
Pg 2 (500 words): Analyse first artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.
Justine Kurland: how she has constructed her images in Girlhood:
staging images using models/ runaways based on on her own girlhood experiences
consider her own female gaze
staging her staging of images taking inspiration from history painting, eg. Manet’s Le Déjeuner sur l’herbe
female gaze on the female body
Pg 3 (500 words): Analyse second artist/photographer in relation to your essay question. Present and evaluate your own images and responses.
Conclusion (250-500 words): Draw parallels, explore differences/ similarities between artists/photographers and that of your own work that you have produced
Bibliography:List all relevant sources used
Literary sources:
Kotz, L. (1998) ‘”Aesthetics” of Intimacy’ in Bright, D. (1998) The Passionate Camera: Photography and bodies of desire. London: Routledge
van Zoomen, L. (2019). ‘Feminist Theory’ in Dixon, M. Media Theory for A-Level Students. London: Routledge.
So far, I think this has been my favourite photoshoot overall because it was fun and creative, and it shows a clear connection between the female subjects. In this photoshoot, I focused on the reality of party life, creating a mood of intimacy between the girls. I also tried to include a theme of depression through the impact of social media and how it affects girls when they’re with friends/ going out.
Edited photos: Coloured images
I have chosen my few favourite images out of the whole photoshoot, and edited them to portray the narrative I was aiming for. I wish for these images to convey sensuality and intimacy between the girls as we see they are closely positioned together.
Black and white images:
For these images, I wanted to present a depressing, lonely feeling as the subject appears to be drunk and dejected. I wanted to present the subject as drunk so it reflects the rebellious side of teenagers, yet the impact it has on emotions. I really like the contrast between the light and dark shadows because it creates an exaggerated texture, which evokes the emotions within it.
Blue toned images:
As you can see, I have edited various photos which represent different stories and feelings. I decided to edit these photos in three different ways: Black and white, coloured and blue toned. This is because the tone of the photograph depicts the mood of the scenario. For example, the coloured photos show the subjects drinking as a group, representing a close feminine relationship. Whereas, the black and white images represent a depressing mood and could suggest that the subject is drunk and feels like this. Finally, the blue toned images represents the subjects having fun and shows the freedom they have.
For this photoshoot, I decided to go to the photography studio and take some staged photos of my subject modelling how girls secretly feel behind their social media.
Evaluation:
For this photoshoot, I went to the studio to take some photos using a mirror as a prop. Here, the subject is reflecting ideas around beauty standards. For example, looking at her body in a negative way and using makeup as a coverup to build self confidence.
Through the use of social media, girls have grown up feeling insecure due to the presentation of fake beauty standards of other girls. On the other hand, social media can also ease many of the insecurities girls feel about their identity and relationships. Through the constant sounds of notifications and text messages, it makes it clear that they are wanted, needed and liked which gives them this feel of happiness from social media. Everything online is easy access, including both the negatives and positives.
For the self-conscious or insecure girl, technology can become a crippling addiction, not just for connection but the elusive promise of being liked by everyone. This leads to the change in personalities, growing up faster than usual, using makeup as a way to present them in a different way, and the internet can sometimes even lead to girls gaining eating disorders due to many other girls posting their bodies and editing them to make them look different to how they are originally.
For younger girls, who are more naïve than older girls, they are more likely to grow up with these values around how to present themselves in a ‘prettier’ way, or how to become more popular.
For this photoshoot, my initial idea was to go to the woods and experiment with different poses to produce a variety of images with contrasting backstories. I then felt like I could relate this photoshoot to how girl’s lives were before social media and the internet through the vibrant colourful clothing, and smiling faces.
This photoshoot was inspired by Justine Kurland and how her photoshoots follow the lives of runaway teenage girls, choosing to rebel and use their freedom to their advantage. Kurland’s photographs are typically natural editing and lighting, therefore I have chosen to continue this style of editing within this photoshoot.
Edited images:
I really liked this photoshoot, because I felt it worked really well in the woods as it shows how nature can contrast with social media. I also tried to portray a clear understanding of the difference of girls when they’re on social media, compared to when they’re not. Here we can see that the subjects are wearing bright colours, and seem more natural than they would online. This also shows a clear sense of community between the girls.
Evaluation:
For these photographs, I wanted to convey an idea around life before social media, and show the contrast between my photoshoots and the development of teenage girls as social media grows and becomes an addiction.
In the 1950s, smoking was seen as the epitome of cool and glamour throughout industrialised nations. Cigarettes were originally sold as expensive handmade luxury goods for the urban elite. I wanted to present this idea myself through the subjects smoking, as it shows a clear idea that this photoshoot is supposedly meant to be of time before social media. As social media has grown, smoking has become socially unacceptable and there is now recognition of tobacco use as an addiction and cause of cancer, along with concerns about the ill-effects.
Through the use of social media, this information is easy access and has been spread around the world, therefore the rates of smoking is decreasing.
Francesca Miller-Hard is a popular, but not famous, photographer who focuses her work around people and fashion. She was born in New Zealand, but bases her work in Melbourne, Australia. Francesca mainly bases her work around girlhood and the reality around beauty standards of women, which is the main reason I wanted to use her work as inspiration for mine. She created a project called ‘A Love Letter To Girls’, which is a collection of images that explore vivid images around girls and their lives. Francesca said that her work is an exploration of her personal experiences and the connection of feminine energy, which is what I would like my photography to focus on.
In Francesca’s collection of work, she has a name for every photograph:
One thing that really stood out to me was when Francesca said “I was inspired by my own teenage experiences to create a visual appreciation for the connections I made with girls that moulded me into the woman I am today“. I would like to photograph me and my friends, and our daily experiences together as girls. Although most of my photographs will be staged, I also want to capture candid interactions and genuine moments between friends.
On top of that, I also want to reflect my photographs onto my own childhood, so there is a personal aspect within my work. This will help to create a nostalgic vibe to my photography.
Angles/lighting:
In most of her images, we find that there is dim lighting, with a yellowish tone to convey a sensual feeling around the images. Most of the angles are seen as an overhead shot or birds eye view, which creates this idea that the images are more personal, almost as if they aren’t staged.
2. Justine Kurland
Examples of her work:
Justine Kurland is an American fine-art photographer who lives in New York City and is best known for photographing subjects in American wilderness landscapes. She has travelled across the United States to create these staged photos, but spent many months traveling through New Zealand as well. Kurland has become famous for her tableaux photography around landscapes dealing with young children, men, and women, often mixing the purity of youth with its unbridled wildness. Her works of feral and unsupervised children running around in a suburban wasteland reveals a clear connection to the theme of her photography.
Kurland’s narrative work is heavily influenced by nineteenth-century English picturesque landscapes and the utopian ideal as well as genre paintings, the photographs of Julia Margaret Cameron and Mathew Brady, and illustrations from fairy tales.
I am going to focus on Kurland’s staged tableaux photography that explores the social landscape of girlhood. Kurland is clearly very in touch with nature and the primal impulses of humanity, which I would also like to reinforce through my photoshoot.
Image analysis:
This image particularly stood out to me as I feel like it was the most creative and interesting one to look into. In this image, there is a group of teenage girls portrayed as rebellious and free as they are alone in the woods. They could be seen as slightly masculine due to the fact that the girls are seen as fearless and they make their own food by hunting animals to eat. This image conveys an idealised and utopian sense of the American wilderness through the subjects appearing to be the very image of self-reliance and individualism. All of Kurland’s photographs are staged in natural settings, such as the wilderness, yet Kurland attempts to make her photographs look realistic. We also see that there is rarely any eye-conact between the subjects and the camera, which reinforces this idea that Kurland attempts to produce photographs that look natural and spontaneous.
I would like to produce photographs that represent the lives of girls nowadays, and how social media and the internet has impacted our lives. I feel like as we have grown up, girls have decided to rather ‘fit in’ than ‘stand out’. To a certain extent, this means changing their personalities. Some examples may be the change from a colourful childhood, to colourless teenage years.
Here, I found a collection of archives from when I was younger. Clearly, there was a lot of vibrant colours, which conveys this idea around happiness, and liveliness. I would like to use these sort of images as a comparison to my life now.
Here are a few examples of the type of photography I will be taking, but also challenging. As you can see, most of the images are colourful and lively, but I would like to challenge this idea by looking into the reality of teenage girls, and not just the fun side of it.
To notice or perceive something and register it as being significant.
Synonyms:
Notice, see, discover, detect, examine
Seek
What is the definition of seek?
To attempt to find something.
Synonyms:
Explore, follow, investigate, pursue
Challenge
What is the definition of challenge?
A call to prove or justify something, or participating in a competitive situation or fight to decide who is superior in terms of ability or strength.
Synonyms:
Stand against, opposition, dispute, provocation
Mindmap:
For this mind map, I read an old exam essay for inspiration, and took words and terms from that essay that I thought linked when thinking about the words ‘observe, seek, challenge’. I used these to help think about ideas that I could use for my new personal study. I decided to chose to do girlhood for my personal study as I have loads of ideas I could use to expand people’s knowledge of every day lives of girls nowadays.
My mood board of ideas:
My ideas:
For this topic, I am aiming to produce photos which represent ideas around girlhood, feminism and gender roles. I will include photos from my own childhood, and how I have grown up as a girl. I want to include aspects of stereotypical themes around females, this may include wearing pink, using make-up, perfume, having long hair, having long nails, dressed in dresses, skirts, and heels, being sensitive, and engaging in activities that are traditionally associated with femininity, such as talking about relationships. But I would also like to challenge these ideas and produce photos around unfeminine stereotypical aspects; for example, showing dominance, having short hair, wearing plain coloured clothes and not involving themselves in any beauty activities like makeup.
