For this photoshoot, I visited the sandunes. I recreated some of the activities presented in Justine Kurland’s book ‘Girl Pictures,’ as well as creating images doing some activities that I used to do in my own youth. The plan was to sledge down the 100 foot sand hill, because that is what I used to do in my youth quite a lot, but now there are signs up saying it is not allowed, so we couldn’t do that. Instead, we decided to climb up it and run down it, not only so that the trip here was not wasted, but because this is something I also used to do while I was at the sandunes when I was younger.

Contact Sheet

The images that are highlighted green are the images I have decided to edit, because they are my best images, with the best composition and explore the theme of youth and identity the best.

Edits

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, texture and vibrancy, while decreasing the exposure, highlights, blacks and vibrancy. I did this, so that I could add more warm tones and vibrancy to the grass. I also wanted to add more texture to the grass to make it more of an interesting photo, by using the visual elements.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, texture, clarity, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, whites, blacks and highlights. I did this, so that the image has less of a white overcast on it, due to the lighting and time of day these images were taken. I also wanted to make the grass and sky more vibrant, to add more colour to the image.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights, whites and blacks. I did this, so that the image was more vibrant, and so that there was contrast between the dark tree branches and the bright white like sky.

I edited this image, by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the blacks, highlights and whites. I did this for a similar reason as the image above. I wanted to increase the vibrancy, so the grass around would be more bright. I also wanted to create a contrast between the darker coloured tree branches and the bright white like sky.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, texture, clarity, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image would be brighter and more exposed, because it was quite dark due to the shade from the tree. I also wanted to add contrast and texture to the photo.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, white, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was less exposed, because of the time of day the images were shot and the lighting there was a white cast on the image. I also wanted to make the image more vibrant, so the colours stood out more.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I also added a yellow tint to the image, so that the sand was more yellow, rather than more pale, so that the angel was more visible.

I editing this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, white, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the blacks and highlights. I also added a yellow tint to the image, for the same reason above.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, white and vibrancy, while decreasing the highlights, blacks and saturation. I also added a yellow tint. I edited this image in this way, so that the image was more exposed and was more warm.

I edited this by increasing the contrast, shadows and vibrancy, while decreasing the exposure, highlights, blacks, whites and saturation. I also added a yellow tint to this image. I did this, so that the image would be more warm and so the contrast between the shadows and highlights were more visible.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, texture, clarity, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I also added a yellow tint to this image. I did this, so that the image was more warm, so it almost looked like it was taken at sunset instead of midday. I also wanted to make the sand a darker yellow colour and add texture to it.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, white, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the blacks and highlights. I also added a yellow tint to this image. I did this so the image would be more exposed and so the sand would be brighter.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, blacks and highlights. I also added a yellow tint to the image. I did this, so that the sand would be darker, so the texture of the footprint were more prominent.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, white, texture, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the blacks and highlights. I also added a yellow tint to this image. I did this, so that the image would be more exposed and more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows and vibrancy, while decreasing the exposure, highlights, blacks, saturation and whites. I did this, so that the colours in the image are more vibrant and there’s less of a white cast on the left.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, white, shadows, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image is more vibrant.

I edited this image by increasing the contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy, texture and saturation, while decreasing the exposure, highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the image was slightly less exposed, so that the lighting was better.

I edited this image by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, texture, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing highlights, whites and blacks. I did this, so that the image was slightly more exposed, so it was a bit brighter.

I edited these images by increasing the exposure, contrast, shadows, whites, vibrancy and saturation, while decreasing the highlights and blacks. I did this, so that the images would be more vibrant.

INSPIRATION:

Whilst exploring different past A-Level Photography students work. I came across a particularly inspiring piece of work which has helped me gain my own ideas on what type of subject I would like to focus on for my Independent Study.

The work of Christianna Knight: Women of Yesterday has particularly inspired me to explore the topics of women, femininity gender stereotypes, identity and rights. I love how pristine and accurate her work is and how she has executed a distinct difference in each era and how every era shows a cultural change for women and how we have made out way to the present day, and how times have changed in women’s favour.

Her Overview:

During my personal study I enjoyed having freedom to explore my own ideas and take inspiration from artists and photographers that I am interested in. I was very inspired by Cindy Sherman’s work, I wanted to explore themes such as masquerade, costumes and stereotypes which are very present in Sherman’s studio portraits. When first collecting ideas as to what I should base my project on I decided I wanted to explore female stereotypes through costume and studio portraits. However, with so many stereotypes existing within my gender I decided to create a series of portraits depicting stereotypes from each decade of the 20th Century. As I was born in 1998, I was looking at these stereotypes with a retrospective. I also kept feminist theory in mind, relating my stereotypes to important movements in feminist history including the three main waves as well as smaller social victories for women. I felt that this project was very successful and that each decade was well planned and executed and that the nine image work well as a series.

This work has given me inspiration on exploring all different periods and eras and how fashion, rights and lifestyles have changed and adapted. The genre of women and their lifestyle changes is a topic that has been c

LENS CULTURE

My Own Work:

This photoshoot I created explored the effort and expectation of women FOR OTHERS, and how we must fit a specific narrative in order to be seen as feminine and attractive.  The portrayal of female pressure to look a certain way and act a certain way to ‘fit in’ with a specific category. This general beauty standard puts women under immense pressure to e.g. be of a slimmer build or wear a certain type of clothes. This may turn in to impacting the way women feel about their own body image and affect their self love and confidence. I feel subjects like this are easier to interpret and work on as it is a current issue each female experiences. This photoshoot inspired me to choose my personal study subject as I enjoyed exploring this topic and researching women’s rights and how they are stereotypically viewed in society and how it truly makes us feel as a collective.

This list is examples of female empowerment photographers who specialise in normalising femininity in human bodies. 

• Mar Armengol.
• Melody Melamed.
• Carlota Guerrero.
• Alba Yruela.
• Jade Beall.
• Kristina Varaksina.
• Alba Duque.
• Jade Beall.
• Kristina Varaksina.
• Alba Duque.
• Sofía Suars.
• Bruna Avellaneda.
• Rosie Alice Foster.

What I want to explore:

The topic I would like to explore is girlhood and femininity. I will be focusing particularly on older teenagers at the age of 17-19 and the struggles of moving from adolescence to adulthood and the hardships young women face. I like this topic as it is a current topic which is faced globally and I feel It is a topic which I will enjoy expressing my opinion on and It is an important topic which needs embracing by young people especially. I would like to initially explore how the media portrays women in positive and negative ways and how it creates derogatory and unrealistic stereotypes of women. Gender Identity and roles is a topic I wanted incorporate and the stereotypical themes and personality traits a woman is expected to have. I find this topic interesting as expectations and views on women are changing but not particularly quickly. By focusing on multiple branches of femininity and youth such as empowerment, stereotypes, different eras, I would like to cover different aspects of women, femininity gender stereotypes, identity and rights. The idealised view of women is the key part to my chosen topic and I feel I can expand on this by including both positive and negative viewpoints.

Why it matters to me:

I really like the idea of femininity and women in todays age as it is a subject that I, myself live through and endure. I can also use other young women enduring this in order to convey my message. I hope to express my theories on gender and identity and how women can be interpreted in different ways and do not need to fit a specific narrative. Analysing Cindy Sherman in particularly has aided this idea as she, herself has worked on how women can be interpreted in different ways and all the multiple narratives they can fit. Although, a difference I would like to express Is a positive light on women and how they can in, fact be strong and independent compared to an idealised view of being helpless and dependent on men. I would like toe incorporate this specific positive side to my project because although a stigma of negativity towards women is still continued in the modern day, positive changes are progressing for us as a collective.

How I wish to develop my project:

I would like to first develop my project by analysing artists such as Cindy Sherman and learning about her work in order to do another photoshoot inspired by her work. By posing similar to Cindy in a way that almost mocks the media and has a humorous, ‘over the top’ side to it and how a negative topic can be turned into something inspiring, beautiful but also entertaining with a humorous side to it. This photoshoot I would also then like to create a photoshoot based on the portrayal of women in the media as I believe as the digital age becomes increasingly popular and technology is consuming ore of our lives each day, people are being objectified and critiqued more than ever. After analysing different current day media products, I would like to create a my first photoshoot on this. This photoshoot will explore how although all of the women may look similar and may be seen for one purpose only, they also have their own lifestyles, values and emotions which is often ignored in modern day advertising.

Which form I wish to present my study as:

I would like to produce my work as a photobook, which contains different sections of female representation from the media, to idealised versions of women and then how women may feel due to this. I feel like this array of different representations will create a powerful message on how actions have consequences and how they impact lives.

Where and when I intend to begin my study:

I have decided to start my study by researching artists that relate to my work such as Cindy Sherman. I will then create a shoot inspired by her work as a response to her views and displaying how I agree and empathise with her work. I will create a photoshoot in the photography studio showing a basic photoshoot of how women must display fake emotions in photographs and pretend that their forced emotions are in-fact real, when they are not.

Having this research helps me to see what kind of message I would like to convey in my first photoshoot and helps me to explore the deeper meaning into my personal study and what genre of femininity and women’s rights I would like to explore. I chose to explore different advertisements and media products in the modern day which I can use to create a message in my first photoshoot. However, In my future work afterwards, I would also like to explore female empowerment in different always away from media products and advertisements and more in a ‘real-life’ everyday perspective.

Gender Identity and roles is a topic I wanted incorporate and the stereotypical themes and personality traits a woman is expected to have. For example, girls and women are generally expected to dress in typically feminine ways and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing. Men are generally expected to be strong, aggressive, and bold. Every social class and ethnic group have different expectations for women and girls and how they must act. Different domestic behaviours such as ‘staying at home’ whilst men control working and manual work is a stereotypical and unrealistic view on life which dates back to centuries ago. the personality traits were passive, gentle and caring, and often valued for how they looked and not what they did. This is unrealistic and creates an idea to women that they cannot show they emotions and are in fact not superior to males. Although times are changing, About 91 % of women with children spend at least an hour per day on housework, whereas only around 30 % of men with children do. This is an unfair and uncomprehensive balance where women are still expected to do work and be less independent with working and achieving their dreams as they are deemed to be completing a lifestyle that is chosen for them. Due to the fact men demonstrate masculinity by avoiding what has traditionally been seen as ‘women’s work’, a constant stigma of societal norms is expected from women as men choose to focus on external responsibilities.

Negatives Media Representation of Women:

Although, the media is changing and occasionally praising and embracing powerful women. Images such as these show how the media attempts to show women as a thing to promote. Objectification through images may reinforce to adolescent girls that their value is based on their appearance. Attempts to devalue women such as unrealistic beauty standards, like the perfect woman being being thin, youthful, and flawless, creates an unrealistic idea in both males and females of what you are supposed to look like. The idea of women being waiting to be saved or helpless and existing solely to support male characters undermines their individuality and power. The impact of this causes fatal results of increased rates of eating disorders, low self-esteem, and body dissatisfaction.

I took some examples from magazines and posters of women in today in my research to gain knowledge on how women are still objectified and displayed in a certain way through advertisements to entertain a male audience. The female body can be presented as a collection of separate parts, a non-thinking non-feeling object, as opposed to a whole person. The woman’s body is something to be possessed, controlled, and used for someone’s gratification. Women are sometimes reduced to individual pieces and seen as objects instead of people with personalities, futures and lives.

Positive Media Representation of Women:

However, as times change, women are now seen to be depicted by positive changes towards online objectification of women. Although it is a slow acting and gradual process, it is driven by social awareness, activism, policy changes, and cultural shifts.

• Positive movements such as:

• Advocacy for Representation

• Campaigns and Movements

• Platform Policies

• Education and Awareness

• Stronger Legal Protections

• Shifting Cultural Norms

• Empowerment Through Technology

The Gentlewoman.

The Gentlewoman is a perfect example of an present day female-empowering magazine. The Gentlewoman is a biannual magazine tailored towards middle class, professional women aged 30 and above. This magazine is used to promote women’s power and rights. This differs from other women’s magazines as it shifts from the traditional derogatory view of women in media products. This instead promotes women’s individuality and keeps things ‘real’, by challenging traditional beauty standards. This may include women with no makeup, older women and women and men wearing high fashion with confident and independent views from a range of age groups. The magazine is celebrating women of all talents, communities and ethnicities and giving them a space to promote products and personalities in a safe space which stands out from all other magazines in the modern day as women are celebrated for being themselves and still being seen as beautiful even though they are not being used to please the male audience and instead shown to be empowering each other. The Gentlewoman also chooses to focus on high-quality work such as in-depth interviews, thoughtful photography, and carefully crafted storytelling. This is a unique selling point which attracts a large amount of the world that do not want to embrace or promote media products which promote unrealistic views of women and would rather spend money and time on a product which celebrates instead of criticizes.

Relating to My Own Work.

I decided to make my images into a front page of a ‘trendy, modern day’ magazine cover in order to see what impression my photos would give in the context I am currently exploring. For example, my image on the left may represent a magazine which uses women as an object instead of embracing their identity. Whereas, my image on the right may represent an image from a magazine such as The Gentlewoman which promotes the real you, and doesn’t restrict women from showing how they feel.

My model is seen to be youthful and beautiful. She must have smooth, glowing skin, often enhanced by makeup and digital retouching. Her pose must emphasize femininity, such as arched backs or tilted heads, whilst directly looking at the viewer, in order to engage with them and entice them. Her makeup must enhance her main features like eyes, lips, and cheekbones, often with a polished and clean look. The woman must fit an idealised version of females with long healthy hair and European beauty ideals. Her facial expression is on the left serious and straightforward. Whereas on the right, her emotion is happy and radiating positivity. In my personal opinion, the article on the right is more appealing and visually interesting because the model is enjoying herself and portraying positivity which reels in a viewer. However, in the modern day, women are still made to look miserable and down in images to degrade their value and exclude their personality or substance from the image as something to just promote the product they may be wearing or holding.

Photoshoot Pose Ideas.

I like the idea of mostly headshots and half- shots in order to regain my knowledge on expressing emotion through my photographs. I feel that headshots Is a good first photoshoot into my personal study in order to regain my knowledge on expressing emotions through my photographs and showing the ‘stereotypical woman’ in this day. Below are some ideas for headshots and types of poses and themes I would like to add into my photoshoot and attempt to replicate.

This mood board represents some of the types of poses I would like to incorporate in my first photoshoot and final work. I wanted to include photos that are coloured and black and white with mainly demonstrating basic feminine poses that are used in the media in order to express an idealised view of women and femininity.

PHOTOSHOOT 1:

I was changing camera settings and experimented with different settings which would be effective for this photoshoot, this resulted in many low quality images at the beginning of my photoshoot. I chose to have 3 different models that I will be using in my future photoshoots in my personal study in order to give them and myself an idea of what kind of message I would like to portray. I edited these photographs in Adobe Lightroom and focused on increasing the texture and highlights. The highlights helped to add more dimension to the face and darken the background slightly, which also darkened up her face but enhanced her features. I also increased the texture to make the photo appear of a higher quality so that more detail is able to be seen in the close up images. I also then smoothened out their faces to show the photo is professional and small imperfections were removed.

My Best Photographs:

These photos I believe show what the media want women to look like in a range of photographs. Although these three women are all different and look different their ‘purpose‘ and ‘portrayal‘ is the same. They are smiling, happy and show beauty. Although inside they may not feel happy or like they are having a good time, the three girls are smiling and laughing as if that is the only emotion they are allowed to have the capacity to feel. There is a blank background and no specific product or object in the photo, to show that the spotlight is on them and that they are the main piece of the photo. I enjoyed photographing this as this refreshed my memory on portrait photography and showed my models that they are allowed to be themselves whilst being photographed. In future, I would like to work with more models, different costume and different background. My favourite thing about this photoshoot, is the lighting, I like how their faces are slightly shadowed and come across as mysterious. I also like how all the models are different and display different personalities within as little as one photo of each of them.

Model 1:

This model is shown to be serious and straightforward, she is looking over her shoulder and she is looking at different angles and not at the camera. This indicates shyness or discomfort and does not want to draw attention to herself. This slightly opposes usual stereotypes as she is signalling that she isn’t fully engaged or interested in what’s going on. However, it is also pleasing female stereotypes as people do not make eye contact if a person is feeling vulnerable, anxious, or upset, they might look away from the camera to avoid revealing their feelings. My model is wearing a red top which juxtaposes with her expressions as red is bold and striking, evoking a sense of power and confidence. In the context of femininity, It can represent a woman’s strength, assertiveness, and authority. In all three photos, he subjects face is concealed by a shadow. This can significantly affect how the viewer interprets the subject’s mood, intentions, or personality. This creates an element of mystery to the photographs as it suggests that something is being hidden or obscured. Having half of my models face darkened by shadows creates contextual meaning as the contrast between light and shadow on someone’s face can symbolize the clash between contrasting psychological states, such as good and evil, joy and sadness, or conscious and unconscious aspects of the self.

Model 2:

My second model is displaying female happiness and confidence. If someone is trying to appear more cheerful or friendly in a photo, they might laugh to create the illusion of being happy and engaged. This could be a performative or staged action rather than a genuine emotional response. It may signal that they’re aware of the camera but don’t feel genuinely connected to the experience being captured. She is radiating positivity and is wearing a light pink tone to show her femininity as In many cultures, pink is viewed as a “soft” colour, representing qualities like nurturing, gentleness, and warmth which are traits historically and culturally linked to femininity. women are often expected to display their emotions openly, including happiness. This can create a cultural expectation that women are more likely to express joy, warmth, and care, all of which can be seen as “feminine” traits. She has long blonde straight hair which shows her identity and femininity with her jewellery and wearing fake eyelashes to enhances gender norms. The beauty industry, through advertising and media, often presents makeup as an essential aspect of a woman’s self-expression. It reinforces the idea that makeup is a tool for women to feel confident and attractive, further joining its association with femininity. In these images the girl is laughing she is seen to be smiling and hang a good time whereas in reality the laughter is forced and fake, but this backstory would never have been questioned or thought about, due to the ease to create a snapshot of happiness, even if the person is in fact unhappy.

Model 3:

This model is representing multiple genres of women. Froom strong and confident, to more shy and timid. However, overall she is radiating confidence and self-assurance. These traits would be included in a modern day advertisement as the model is keeping yup with the latest fashion and beauty trends such as cropped top, silver hooped earrings, slicked back style, long dark ponytail hair and low waisted jeans. These fashion choices portray what is IN right now and what would attract the modern day viewer and appeal to them, in order to keep them up with the latest fashion trends. Her posing such as hands on her hips and looking over her shoulder shows empowerment and Independence as she shows she is focused and capable, independent, with her career, ambitions, and leadership qualities. However, in comparison to this, there are also images of her her smiling or a straight face with her head on her shoulder, this body language shows she is more an object to look at, rather than a woman of power and authority. These photos demonstrate different female emotions such as power, happiness, embarrassment, shyness or nothing at all.

My Top 5 Images:

These 5 photograph stand out from the rest of the photoshoot and so I decided to put them in black and white because black and white photos are often more dramatic than coloured images. I think that the dark tones and deep contrasts often instil an almost moody, or mysterious impression onto the image which also makes the viewer look straight at the subject in order to figure out the genre and meaning of the image. I like these photos particularly as they include all different female emotions amongst all three women and how although they are all being photographed and smiling, they are all an individual and have a different identity instead of being grouped together as just the ‘stereotypical girl’ they have the capacity and voice to express their feelings, opinions and viewpoints.

For Example:

Social Norms: Smiling is often considered a standard expression for photographs. It conveys happiness and friendliness, making the image more appealing. Positive Emotions: A smile reflects positive feelings and can enhance the mood of the photo. It signals joy, excitement, or enjoyment of the moment being captured. ¹ This statement explains how in modern day social norms, everybody is supposed to always be happy and having a good time, whereas in reality, emotions even in this day, are seen to be concealed and replaced with a façade of happiness and contentment. However, in comparison, media products that are serious and have a ‘dead expression’ also may cause a women to feel like they must be emotionless and be an object only to look at, and not express her happiness or laugher as their laughing or happy face, may be an insecurity to them. 64 per cent of people are too self-conscious to properly smile when taking pictures, claiming their teeth impact their confidence in front of the camera and over half (57 per cent) think that the condition of their smile has impacted their personal relationships or dating life.²

Comparisons:

I decided to also recreate some photographs selected from modelling shoots to show the way anybody can recreate or fake emotions and feelings to fit a specific narrative or idea that somebody else wants them to. Whereas, in reality, whilst being photographed, these women should be able to express how they truly feel and not have to pose for them camera in order to fit the expected narrative of their gender. Having inspiration for this shoot was very helpful for ideas on how to begin and what message I wanted to convey. In conclusion, I think this photoshoot was successful as a first shoot on women and femininity for me. To improve, I would focus more on the wardrobe and the clothes my models are wearing, however, I also wanted top wear their everyday clothes and portray how everyday clothes can still be objectified and questioned in negative ways, even through it is your own independent choice on what you wear. Criticism on what you wear is a constant stigma in society. For example, In a survey conducted by the theamag,com exposed how when women are asked if they believe that they being sexualized because of what they wear is an existing issue, 97.7% of them responded “yes.” I would also have chosen a multitude of young girls to photograph in order to show the different personalities and ethnicities and differences in young women and how no matter how different they are, they all share a common thing of feeling objectified and feeling a sense of low self esteem and low confidence as a result of derogatory views put upon them by men and the media.

1. why do people smile in photos – Google Search ↩︎
2. how many people dont want to smile in photos – Google Search ↩︎

STAGES

Filtering

Firstly, I began by rating all my images from 0-5 and either flagging or rejecting them. The main factors I took into account was lighting, posing, surroundings/props, and the gaze my subject executed. Some images had unwanted kitchenware or other things that were potentially taking the attention away from the main factor of the image, therefore I went through and cropped them to my preference before editing.

After doing this, I filtered my images and ignored the ones I rejected so I knew the most efficient way to edit the ones I preferred.

Editing

I knew before editing, my objective was to put them all in black and white due to being inspired by Sherman. Not only because of my inspiration, I also think it creates a vintage aesthetic which is my aim as I am aiming to aim in the time period of the 1950’s as this was when the traditional housewife stereotype began as well as educational rights. Therefore, using black and white and heavy grain age should signify this time period. As well as this, I hope to decrease the texture level to make the subject more or less of the stereotypical ‘ perfection’ as this is what women were expected to be.

Experimenting in B&W

Within this image, there was a camera in the frame which I felt ruined the image. Therefore, I used an AI tool to get rid of that item to benefit my image.

Overall-

Overall, within my editing I chose to experiment and variate my images through colour and black and white. However, my main objective ultimately is to create a theme of a vintage aesthetic, specifically targeting the 1950’s stereotype and first wave feminism. Because of this, I mostly decreased the exposure and increased the contrast but mostly experimented with each image to what fitted each image best. This is because there are different settings and lighting which definitely impacts an image. Although, mostly I preferred my images in black and white as I personally think they look better, especially with the images of my subject on the bed as the clothing and the bed sheets I feel clash. Moreover, I did not put every image in black and white however similarly I put every image with a heavy grain as I felt as if it successfully fitted the theme of my images. If needed, I edited objects out as well as putting props in when I originally took this photoshoot. I used certain props to emphasize the ‘traditional stereotype’ such as hair rollers, apron, black high heels, a lot of jewellery, a heavy amount of makeup and pearls. One of the reasons pearls have become such an iconic symbol of style and elegance is their association with some of Hollywood’s most famous actresses. From Audrey Hepburn to Grace Kelly, pearls have been a staple accessory for many of the most famous leading ladies in film history. These images are definitely suppose to look staged and thought out, which I believe the props did successfully.

Statement of Intent

For my project, I would like to explore personal identity and the visual elements of abstraction and imperfection within a photograph which is taken spontaneously; as a response to things around me, a collection of portraits, landscapes, and objects as a way of documentary and observational ‘snapshot aesthetic’ photography. I would like to present my images taken of my friends, myself, my family, and various locations and objects with a photobook. In this book, I could possibly present these photos alongside accompanying text or a notebook page, and manipulation or change of my photographs, either by applying paint, ripping/tearing/burning them, cutting a subject or something out, or re-joining the same or a different photograph with thread. Another way I could possibly change the photographs is merging or overlaying these photos digitally to create a blurry effect in certain areas.

To develop my project, I have looked closely at the photographs and books of Nan Goldin, Ed van der Elsken, Cindy Sherman, Francesca Woodman, and Josh Kern, to inspire the way I take and present my own photos. Goldin’s intention especially behind taking her photographs resonates with how I feel about capturing photographs for this project, where for a part of it, not entirely planning who I will photograph and where – instead the people I am with at a certain time and observe where I see a photograph opportunity, or not, and making it appear somewhat randomised, focusing on the disjunctions and juxtapositions of the individual photographs.

These types of candid, documentary photographs can only be genuinely captured through carrying a camera around with me in order to capture unexpected moments, in a variety of different locations, both inside and outside. Because of this, some photographs will be captured on my small digital camera, for times I don’t have my digital film camera. Although, I will have some photographs which are staged, I would like them to still have an almost spontaneous appearance, and these ‘photoshoots’ of a subject in an environment may not initially be planned beforehand. This take of impetuosity on these photographs links back to the ‘abstract’ part of my mind map – for example, a use of abstraction of portraits with parts of the body blurred, obstruction between the subject and the camera, imperfections in the photo, camera movement/slower shutter speed, or flash photography.

I may also sequence frames from videos taken on my small digital camera and present them as a small component of my book, an idea I have is through a film strip layout. By aligning the photographs in this way, I’ll be displaying both the clear and blurry frames side by side as a juxtaposition, along with presenting an object (e.g. film strip, receipts, or any ‘rubbish’ I have collected from when I am out taking these photos) through possibly photocopying them or editing them in digitally to the layout. The layout of my other photographs will be presented differently from image to image, as some might be a double page spread, or one photo on its own, two beside each other, or in a grid sequence showing ‘unused’ photographs (crossed out with pen, depicted as a physical contact sheet), etc. This decision to include multi-media and text into the project I believe will make it more personal to me, as I can directly express more through how my images are presented.

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.