*Mid Review

Overall I think my project is going well however the images produced are fairly similar. In order to develop work and images I would like to experiment with other photoshop techniques (my editing style is fairly consistent at the moment so would like to push it) and would also like to try some vintage photoshop tutorials. 

I think Eleanor Hardwick, Elena Marshall, David Bailey and Peter Wormleighton are my main inspirations, I know I don't make this very clear in my shoots but they have been a major factor in developing my ideas. David Bailey is also a key figure in my extended writing along with the boutique biba. 


I feel a lot more confident using my DSLR manually now, and am happy to use it on pretty much any setting and still produce successful images, I think the next important thing on the shopping list is a good tripod as its hard to find completely steady surfaces while using a long shutter speed. I would also love a film SLR, I had a few problems with the first film shoot I took, every images came out black meaning it was all over exposed however the dividers between the frames were still black so I'm guessing it's a camera fault rather than changing the film (my holga doesn't rewind automatically, you have to use a lightproof bag). The second shoot I took was experimenting with double exposures with my vintage bike (the one I plan to use in my final shoot) but the same problem happened. Third time lucky, I borrowed a film SLR and the most bizarre thing happened. Someone had already used the film but put it back in the canister with the tongue still out so I took my shoot over the top, this created the double exposure idea I wanted to try however it would normally be impossible to try on a SLR. In my final shoots if I have time I would like to experiment more with double exposures and theres a technique where you put the canister in the washing machine before you develop it and the heat chemically changes the film, this seems a nice experimental technique to try. 


Fashion and portraiture is going to stay as my main theme and composition but Im going to be experimenting with more vintage techniques. I'm hoping to get a polaroid sx 70 for christmas which would be perfect for creating those lovely aged, dreamy style images however there are also lots of editing programmes and software which can be used. 


I'm really bad at annotating my work, but the majority of my images are edited on photoshop, iphoto or picnik.com however I have tried using gimp once or twice while my photoshop was down. On picnik I use the cross process tool, 1960s effect, added grain, sepia, black and white, colour curves etc. I have also started adding my name to my work, this was my dads idea as a cross between advertising, copy-write and watermarking my work. I use iphoto if I want to really briefly retouch an image for example just increase the contrast a little or reduce the saturation however photoshop is the opposite. We have photoshop elements at school whereas on my macbook I have photoshop css which I use if I want to extensively edit images. A lot of my images I layer on top of each other and convert the top layer to black and white, and then erase the background to leave the figure in greyscale or use colour curves or the filters. I also use dodge and burn quite a bit to emphasise areas of interest and also the clone tool sometime on models skin to created a more airbrushed effect (very controversial topic). 


I've mentioned illustration quite a bit and looked into a few artists however I haven't introduced this into my own work yet, for my final shoots I would definitely like to develop this idea, however I have started thinking along those lines for example erasing models faces to leave space for cartoons or illustrations. 

* A Clockwork Orange - 70s fashion.

I know this is not the nicest of films so I was surprised but how much it seemed to influence me, I think because it was set in the late seventies I was paying more attention to the fashion and style of the camera work. One of the main factors which seemed to jump out at me was the irony of the film (the violence vs the classical music such as Beethoven & William Tell), in my head I already had this kind of theme in my own work, the irony not the violence, so I thought it was relevent. For example the relationship between the 1960s and 70s with the 21st century always strikes me as ironic as the youth of today always seem to be trying to get away from their parents and 'old ideologies' whereas in fashion vintage has made such a huge come back and a lot of the latest trends have just been recycled from earlier periods. Alex also comes across as a victim of the modern age in the film which I think is relevant to the younger teenagers and adults of today. 

* SHOOT 17

Again this was just a quick basic one image shoot trying to experiment with layering (in reality though rather than Photoshop). Normally you don’t take photographs through windows because you tend to get a reflection however I wanted to take advantage of this usual problem. It had been raining so you can see the spots on the image which are from the glass (they look similar to light spots) and the tree have a sort of glow round it and has slightly lost focus because of the water and glass. I edited the image using picnik to create a more aged feel (composition, levels, cross process & 1960s style filters). Overall I do like the more textured feel and the colouring of the image however I think it could be improved with a different composition (completely rural rather than a suburban) and nice lighting for example bright sunlight through fog or mist. 

* Peter Wormleighton

A student also known by his online name Ramdaq. Something about his work I really like and am drawn too. The composition of the first image is very striking, theres a holga / lomo type feel which the slightly circular blurred edges. I would like to use similar colourings in some of my own shoots to create a more modern feel rather than continuously using a similar style of vintage editing. 

These next two images are my favourite of Wormleighton's, I really like how he has used the lighting to create a god like effect and a halo around the figure (may have been created using a hair light, or studio lights aiming behind the figure).

Nice simple composition with main focus on the colour and tones in the image. I though this image was very 70s so would like to experiment with similar pop art style photography and simple compositions. 

* SHOOT 16

This was just a very quick shoot to capture some composition ideas. If I had more time I would have played around with the aperture to get it perfect (slightly lower f stop) to create a different depth of field however I quite like the fact the foreground is in the areas of confusion as well as the background (especially the blurry pearls).

* SHOOT 15

This was initially going to be quite a quick shoot however I really liked the lighting so we tried to extend it (ended up being quite rushed so would like to experiment with similar lighting, maybe early morning as well)

EDITS

RAWS

* INDIA - CULTURAL FASHION INSPIRATIONS

These are images I took over the summer when I went away to India for a month. While I was there I was especially looking at the difference between Western and Oriental fashion, and trying to consider how much their culture has influenced ours (especially in the 60s & 70s). These are the images I thought were most relevant to my project, most are simple portraiture illustrating the different India clothing styles however there are also other shots which help to show developed techniques and lighting styles. 

Experimenting with a slower shutter speed (two images above)

Examples of silver jewellery which is similar to items we can buy in the UK.

Very 70s styles. 

Really like the use of natural pattern, would like to incorporate pretty landscapes in my fashion work.

Love the lighting, over exposed but creates a nice effect. 

Again very 70s.

Aswell as landscapes I would also like to vary the weather in my work so fog, frost, mist, lots of bright sunlight etc. 

Experimenting with aperture to create a shallow depth of field. 

Capturing facial expressions. 

Focused on lighting and perspective. 

Pattern.