* Experimenting

These were some of the edits from my final shoot, the filter I used on photoshop gave a neon glow which I like but I'm trying to decide how to make best use of it. The below edits have given me my actual final piece idea, I'm going to go with the theme of faceless fashion. 

* Final Shoot Raws

I was so disappointed with how this shoot turned out, it seemed like a disaster from the beginning. I forgot my studio lights, we were running late and my camera also started being very temperamental. These are the raws and by each I've made a point on commenting on how I would improve or change it if the equipment was functioning correctly. My main focus will be on the post production of the images however if there is time I will try retaking the shoot. I may also try combining digital manipulation with darkroom techniques to create a more layered aged effect. 

I was playing around with the aperture and shutter speed to get the exposure how I wanted it when Rose walked past creating the blur however I do like how the image came out and the use of movement. 

I really like the composition of these images however because the room was fairly dark and I didn't have my tripod there isn't the sharpness and focus there that I would want. 

I do prefer these images with this exposure though, so if I redid the shoot would make sure I had all the right equipment. 

As I mentioned above my camera was having a temperamental day and as we were in a rush I shot some images in automatic to get the idea of the composition, as above. If I wanted to use this image I would edit the photograph in two different layers (foreground and background) to create more light without just boosting the brightness. 

This was using a longer shutter speed again, so definitely needed a tripod. Camera shake starts at a shutter speed of 125. 

In this shoot I was really interested in shape, which is why I like the above and below set of images. The corset photographs from the back are probably the most successful from the shoot and I like the proportions of the hour glass to the posters on the wall. 

The image below is my favourite of the corset images. 

I love shape of the figure in the image above however her neck is slightly too arched so if I retook the shoot I would make sure Rose' head wasn't too far back.

Again even though this image was a complete accident there is something I like about it. 

Like these compositions but by this point my camera wouldn't function in manual hardly at all. 

Like the idea of these two pearl images in a series. 

Really like the shapes again. 

The banister should be the focal point with the figure in the shadows of confusion not the other way round so if tried the shoot again would alter that. 

* Final Shoot Plan

These were just images I found saved on my computer which I thought were all relevant to the inspiration and ideas I had for my initial final shoot (that has changed now though). The first was from the Dazed and Confused website but I really like the idea of using a number of images in some form of a series and I think this will be one of the certainties for my final images. 

This image seems totally irrelevant but after steering slightly away from the illustration idea I thought this was really relevant to the faceless fashion type idea, or replacing faces and heads with other objects. I like the atmosphere of these images, slightly creepy and surreal. 

This image also caught my eye because of the idea of alternate faces, however the main aspect I took from this image was the idea of a busy background. 

The two images below summed up the ideas in my head, I wanted to incorporate vintage style fashion but try something I hadn't really looked at yet so lingerie seemed like an appropriate idea. I also love the editing in the second image, so may try and incorporate the idea of the body and mind being separate which could coincide with the faceless fashion idea. 

* LIGHTING SHOOT

I wish so much I had a couple of models available on the frosty / snowy days because of the amazing lighting, I took a really quick shoot to show the kind of lighting I would like to use in my final shoot which is fairly similar to shoot 15. I found Peter Wormleighton's style a huge inspiration for this style of photography ( see here and here).

RAWS

* Composition - Biba.

This is a belated post relating back to composition see here however I thought it was relevant as the fashion is very similar to what I plan to use in my final shoots (leopard print is very sixties / seventies) and I have been looking into these images for my extended writing essay. 

Initially in this image you think the focal point would be the fur coat because of the impact such an eye catching piece should create however personally I think the focal point is Daisy Lowe's face, her skin is pale and flawless which contrasts with the highly patterned coat and because her eyes are looking down you get the impression she is hiding something and you kind of want to know what. The image is balanced because the proportion of model to background is fairly equal, many of the photographers I have researched follow the rule of thirds however this image is full frontal and square on. You get the impression the photographer wants you to empathise with the model, or look deeper into the image so you can at least think about what Lowe is thinking and feeling so this will maybe encourage you to like her and the clothes more. 

I think the use of colour definitely enhances the focal point, the colour in the coat emphasise's the pale skin which your eyes are immediately drawn too (well mine anyway). The image is almost minimalist with its use of colour for example there are a few variations in the tones in the coat but other than that there is very little use of unnecessary colour. The use of the pale background and skin with minimal high impact makeup portrays a fairly classy atmosphere and also makes the point that the clothes are the most important aspect of the image. 

The photograph is most likely to be shot in a studio with artificial lighting and a two maybe three light set up. It's most likely to be a two light set up with a key and fill minus a background light (usually used to create a bright white backdrop like family and make over shoots). The key light is likely to be coming from the top left of the image and the fill from the bottom / middle right.

There are no techniques which immediately jump out at you, the shutter speed is likely to be fairly quick so the image is too over exposed and is very sharp however the photographer could use a tripod to combat this. The ISO could be about 200 / 400 depending how strongly the artificial lighting is set and the f - stop is probably about 30 ? because theres quite a wide depth of field and very few areas of confusion. 

* Mixed Media & Illustration Update

Nylon is a women's fashion and art magazine and the majority of their articles, shoots, images include some form of mixed media, collage or illustration style so I thought this was a good form of research to summarise all the previous forms I have looked at. I can see my final piece turning up something like the image on the left, or at least the process leading up to it. I'm really bad at having lots of ideas and not bringing them all together sufficiently so I thought a series linked by a specific style or a photo montage or mixed media collage would be a way of summing up my multiple ideas and bringing the vintage ideas and sixties and seventies mixed with modern fashions together. 

I would also like to experiment with some photoshop tutorials so within the next couple of days I would like to turn this photograph into a vintage propaganda style image either like this, this or this. 

This was a really really quick image and scribble to show the types of ideas I would like to experiment with in my final piece. The main inspiration was from Nikki Farquharson but also trying to sum up all the previous research I have done. (here, here or here) 


These are also just a summary of any similar images of my own which I have already started experimenting with various ideas. Here is an example of a skill I would almost definitely like to try in my final series of shoots. One of my film shoots was experimenting with double exposures with a vintage bike so I would like to use this technique for a new set of images and maybe layer up a variety of others to create a mixed media collage. These two sets of images one (first two images in post) and two (the leopard print and mitten edits) are various experiments and simple ideas I have tried so far, I would definitely like to continue the idea of song lyrics layered over the top of images or having an alternative face for example taking the erased faces a step further and putting animated heads, illustration or cut out animal or other faces. The second link (here) also has a paragraph about Rob Ryan at the bottom which is another mixed media idea I would like to use.