Image Making Sketchbook | Emma Louise Carney 2017 by Emma Louise Carney

Emma Louise Carney

As a photographer, I’m constantly researching new ways to develop my imagery and looking into new work and trends from photographers all over the world. At the moment my style is full of colour, mainly red, blue and green. it’s also a lot of movement and texture in womenswear clothing. Therefore the following frame is an example of the work I’m really into at the moment and have kept aside on pinterest for inspiration.

Another thing I’m into at the moment is narrative, having an image say a thousand words just by looking at it. Again with a similar colour palette and a lot of movement I’ve pinned images I’m really liking at the moment. I get updates of work from photographers such as Juergen Teller, Steven Klein, Steven Miesel, Mario Testino and Mert and Marcus. These photographers have been my inspiration since I began and I’m excited to start this project.

Balenciaga is a luxury European fashion house founded by Cristobal Balenciaga. He had a reputation as a couturier of uncompromising standards and was referred to as ‘‘the master of us all’’ by Christian Dior. His odd ultra modern, yet feminine shapes were trademarks of the house. Alexandar Wang is now creative director of the brand, this can clearly be seen from SS/14 with the sudden change of aesthetic and tone. Luxury brands often use dark tones and low saturation to create the feeling that the brand is expensive, making the viewer lust over the products.

Balenciaga often portray their models to appear strong, in control and dressed to kill - Something to think about during the process of this project.

AW/15 campaign - paying attention to print and the theme for the collection.

The brand has an iconic monochromatic look to their products. Yet their campaigns have a tint of colour, through lighting and post production.

Supermodel appearance - Kate Moss continuing to model for well luxury brands.

Steven Klein, my favourite photographer has shot every Balenciaga campaign.

SS/14 campaign - Consistent colour pallete used for all of their campaigns.

Styling and model choice are always structured looks, using angles to their advantage It’s futuristic twist is what attracts the consumer.

USP

ESP

Balenciaga’s history is based around the concept of being timeless. The brand are known for their heritage and the quality of their garments, making sure every finishing touch was perfect to every piece, something Cristobal and Maison Balenciaga where known for.

Balcenciaga use their reputation to attract the feminist movement Keeping women forefront of every season. Campaigns always feature women of power, different sexualities and ethnicities to demonstrate to tailor to every customer.

GENDER; FEMALE

Balenciaga customers are often fashion aware, self confident, wealthy, ‘IT’ concious and enthusiast and tend to be women between 16 and 60. Generally they are on top of trends and have a minimal and iconic style. ACORN: Affulent Professionals - Live in large apartments, sometimes renting or own their home - Well advanced in their careers - A good proportion are single and fewer have children - These people are likely to have investments in shares - Own an iPhone/iPad or similar device to update social media for business purposes, read blogs, listen to music and travel research - Internet enabled phones = High - New technology purchasers = High - Housing cost = Very high - Senior roles = Very high - Benefits = Very low - Proportion with high BMI = Low

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AGE; 27

EVENT MANAGEMENT

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£7K PER CLIENT

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BALENCIAGA Brand Tone

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Balenciaga don’t have a VSCOCAM account...Yet, their customers The brands tone of voice is formal, This is an example of the Balenciaga official do and continue to post content related to their products. They keeping imagery key to attracting their Instagram page, with over 2m followers and range from newly purchased items, seeing an exhibit, using their not following a single account shows just how viewer and giving credit and meaning on bags and accessories and photos of themselves in the garments. each post caption. The comments don’t much reputationan and brand image attracts This again represents how such a high end brand can impact an their consumer. They don’t stick to a consistent direct them at the page itself either, rather audience without having a presence. Additionally, this also creates than tagging their friends etc giving theme throughout their account, only uploadcompliments or seeking agreement that opportunity for the brand, being aware of current trends in the maring relevant images eg. Paris Fashion Week ket place Balenciaga could one day grow a whole new market level the product is something they would 2016 showcasing their SS17 collections and announcing that they where see now-buy now, purchase. This again shows how no direct and open their business to younger people who wouldn’t otherwise think to buy their products. contact is needed for such a brand. keeping up to date with the modern customer.

Use of GIF imagery - Not as creative as their other posts or photoshoots but gives information and catches the viewers eye to continue reading - Also includes information for a 360 experience and livestream.

Their Twitter and Facebook pages have similar posting to eachother - targeting the consumer with latest news for fashion week as well as posting campaigns each day.

Product promotion of new available to buy pieces with direct links to their website. ECommerce is trending at the moment for their see-now-buy-now options at Paris Fashion Week therefore it fits with their most recent posts in October 2016.

Featured in AnotherMag in Septembers issue - involving creative imagery, most of the brands campaigns are editorial style.

Why Balenciaga? Being an avid fan of Steven Kleins photograhy work, as well as Mario Testino and Tim Walker (all contributing photographers for the brand), it comes naturally to fall in love with a brand through their aesthetic. Personally for me, if it werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t for the brands image presence I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t look twice at it. For me pops of colour, dark lit and underexposed lighting, use of shadows and glossy looking materials appeal to me the most. After researching into the brand and the campaigns they create it is definitely something to consider further down the line during this project. Movement is key, making sure models are perfectly positioned to get the right shot - This type of photography reaches out to other aspiring and fellow photographers, the higher end cunsumer and anyone who is a fond of the fashion industry. Their editorial work in constrast to their campaigns tell a completely different story - They generate a different reaction depending on the publication to tailor to their consumer. Using fine art, mixed media and simple point and shoot with the likes of polaroids, 35mm and medium format film and external flash. They use this type of imagery to tell the story of the person wearing their clothes, rather than advertising them in an obvious way such as campaigns.

Balenciaga Flowers Lines Futuristic Glossy Movement Framing Low Exposure Tine

Supermodel

Steven

Klein

Location

Blue

Quality

Outdoor

Typography Shadows

Darkness

Styling Editorial

Design

Soft

Nocturne

Leather

High

Lighting

Posture

Garment Key

Low

Perspective

Blonde

Accessories

Storytelling

Texture

Low-light

High

Set-Design

End Key

Aesthetic Indoor

Collaboration

Footwear High Saturation

Clothing Shine Clarity

Versace is a world famous Italian luxury fashion company and trade name founded by Gianni Versace in 1978. The brand produces upmarket Italian made ready to wear and leather accessories. Versace was often described as the rock and roll designer because they designed for many famous clients, the brand was also one of the few independent designers who was in control of every aspect of the brand from design to retailing. Versaces Set design is aesthetic key for Versace ranges from - from deserts blue undertones to ski slobes to and heavy use broken down of pops of warehouses. colour The background Drawing is just as attention important as keeping the straight to the attention on the garments clothes. Movement and freeze Glossy, high end feel to the Photographers such as Your eye is drawn to the frames are prominent to the images - Making the Steven Misel, Mario Testino clothing first - something to and Alessio Bioni have all consumer instantly think of brands aesthetic - The keep in mind for when Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m the brand as luxurious. women are often seen as contributed to the brand shooting my own work. in itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lifetime - generating powerful and strong. stunning imagery. Although I love the The use of red, brands blue, greens and campaigns - I think oranges are very that I could in trend in introduce mixed photography - All media or fine art sectors on model. generated content com have to bring a new consistently seen element to their a rise in these colaesthetic. our themes.

USP

ESP

Versace have their classic brand image - The logo representing Medusa - Someone whom Versace was obsessed with in the early days. Now the logo can be recognized the world over - The logo is said to mean that the designs are to stun people - much like the legend of Medusa.

Versace work with charities and supermodels every year. This year, it is Karlie Kloss with their #KodewithKlossy - a campaign run to donate $100 of every handbag purchase towards young womens education in technology - Getting rid of the stigma of men only in the industry.

GENDER; FEMALE

Versace customers are often upper middle class in-the-know fashion buyers. Mainly targeting women and men of ages between 21 and 40. Their style is a lover of patterns, bold colours and eccentric cuts. VERSUS Versace is aimed at a younger generation ages between 17 and 20 who are fashion concious.

ACORN: Affulent Professionals - Live in large apartments, sometimes renting or own their home - Well advanced in their careers - A good proportion are single and fewer have children - These people are likely to have investments in shares - Own an iPhone/iPad or similar device to update social media for business purposes, read blogs, listen to music and travel research - Internet enabled phones = High - New technology purchasers = High - Housing cost = Very high - Senior roles = Very high - Benefits = Very low - Proportion with high BMI = Low

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AGE; 31

BEAUTY THERAPIST

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ÂŁ2K PER CLIENT

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Versace’s main instagram account consists of global campaign imagery and behind the scenes videos. The brand also regularly post updates and any charity campaigns they are running: Right now being the Zayn news and Kodewithklossy campaign. The aesthetic is similar to their overall brand feel - Luxurious with the occasional pop of colour or throwback to their 80s campaigns. This is a photography trend that has been creeping up for the past few months, seeing classic brands re-create their old 80s imagery for a ‘‘cringe-but-still-love-it’’ type of feel. The use of video gives followers the opportunity to see behind the scenes footage, something to think about if I was to continue working towards Versace for the remainder of this project. There doesn’t seem to be much consistency towards their style of posting - With new team members this could change in the future. Maybe I could introduce it with my theme?

I’m definitely leaning more towards Versus Versace - There is a lot more consideration towards the style and consistency in the posting - As well as graphics and gif use, the red/blue/ black colour scheme and the pop of colours that seep through. This sort of content instantly attracts the younger consumer - It makes the brand seem fun, in-the-know towards the very quick pased social media world and continues the brands classic aesthetic whilst doing so. If I was to choose this brand it would definitely be Versus rather than main Versace.

VSCOCam is a bloggers paradise - Something the newer consumers for the brand would consider using. Most images found are of consumer behaviour such as social appearances, purchases and outfit showings - All mobile shot and hardly any editing done to the images - Creating the young and carefree attitudet that the Versus brand strive to achieve. With gallery viewings, store POS and fashion week all playing major roles with VSCO it’s definitely something to think about when developing my ideas. I think if I was to use this platform to showcase my work I would need to have this sort of thought process going on throughout. Unintentionally, the brand also have a consistent colour scheme and theme without doing it on purpose - By have rich oak tones with a white contrast and the odd pop of colour shows how the promotional imagery makes an impact.

I can see a complete contrast in the way Versace portray their brand on social media in comparison to the brands I’ve researched so far. With their 3.17m following the brand don’t stop at anything to get their message across from hashtag use for each element such as #VersaceEditorials #FW16 and #Dilone #BruceWeber #VersaceLIVE - generating a hype and easy click view of anything the viewer could of missed. The consistency is way better than Instagram - Seeing regular postings and a lot more interaction than Insta. The brand use stills, graphics over fashion film, live stream footage, announcments using typography mixed with still imagery and a nocturnal colour scheme. The brands tone of voice is that of an Italian provocutive in-theknow fashion expert - Using adjectives that feel sexy and luxurious to read - Instantly making the consumer feel like they need this product to feel a certain way. I’m starting to see a pattern emerging from the brands I have chosen - All of them have something in common whether it’s to do with colour, editorial style imagery or social media and print communication. After developing more research and choosing my final 3 brands I can then keep the themes consistent.

Moving image is growing even quicker with easy access to film making such as smartphones/tablets, smaller DSLRs and 4K streaming. With fragrances being in the lead with top trending fashion films - Womenswear comes in to a close second in recent years generating more engagement through the consumer see real time and posed content online through social media.

Why Versace? I continuously look at Versace campaigns and fall in love with every single one of them! With the main brand clothing lines being sleek and luxurious I also really like the Versus line, aiming towards a younger audience. As of newly released creative director, One Direction’s Zayn Malik taking the crown to attract a younger audience and influencing the masses I can only image what the brand could do next. I really love the use of blue, red and black in the Versace campaigns - A colour palette the brand continously use throughout, this is definitely something to think about when I’m selecting my final brands. With the rebranding of Versus I could generate a new idea that the brand could potentially use for a future campaign. I love the attitude and care free feel that the campaigns give off - They are all editorial style, symbolising a story for each line. The FW15 campaign featured on the left is an example of this with cut out and graphic layouts - attracting younger consumers as well as the older, it’s not overpowering or obvious that they are trying to be on trend with their imagery - I think with a push and new creative director that they have the potential to take the crown next to competitiors such as Balmain, Diesel and Calvin Klein. Young

Carefree

Digital

Trademark

Editorial

Influencers

Sleek

Smartphone

Unique Dark

Graphics Classic

Deep

Womenswear

Blue

Pattern Influencial

Bold Storytelling

Red

Black

Typography

Layout

New-Generation

Charity

Pop-of-colour Supermodel

Eccentric Future-thinking

Edgy

Harmony Quality Artsy Generation-Z

Balmain Paris is a French fashion house founded by Pierre Balmain. After his passing, Oscar De La Renta was crowned creative Director from 1993 to 2002 named the most influencial designer in the world - He brought a famous face to the brand. Oliver Rousteing is now running the brand, gaining the IT women and men in the world right now such as the Hadids, Kardashians and Angels. Having such a high end brand with extremely well known models makes the brand instantly diserable Creating a feeling of want, lust and lure to the brands products.

The aesthetic took a turn in 2012 when the Kardashians fame came to an all time high - Their trendsetting ways helped build the brands reputation in the modern millennial market. This H&M campaign went viral over night and sold out instantly upon release.

Both of these campaigns from 2015 both had fashion film for social media, TV and online web advertisement. These also went viral overnight. Steven Misel and Bruce Weber are contributing photographers for the brand - With their signature styled work and lighting.

The cinematic/editorial look to the campaigns have become a massive trend in high end brands - The look hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t shifted since 2009.

I really like the pop of colour, use of blue undertones and how the quality of the garment looks fragile - Yet it makes the consumer want to buy the products.

As the world knows - Kim K is THE trendsetter of the moment - if sheâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wearing so will the masses within 24 hours. A brilliant trickle down method. Having a campaign for a high street store in a train makes the younger market understand the enviroment a lot more.

USP

ESP

Balmain strive from fame - From having A list and supermodel ambassadors to famous faces directing the brand since the very beginning. Their collections represent the touch, rock-chick nonchalance - creating the overall aesethic for the brand to be consistent.

Creative director of the brand Oliver Rousteing released an article with Harpers Bazaar in 2015 explaining his passed of being an orphan and an erotic club dancer Raising awareness to consumers and aspiring designers that it can happen to anyone.

GENDER; FEMALE

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£1K INFLUENCING

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- ONLINESHOPPING - NEWS & CELEB - GOSSIP

Balmains customer is a high-profile achiever, efficient in social media know how and on constant watch in celebrity news. High social status and with the H&M collaboration not just to the upper middle class - also young women and men.

AGE; 23

FASHION BLOGGER

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BALMAIN Brand Tone

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With such a huge following - the Balmain instagram is in constant update with new content from live streams, magazine features and celebrity endorsement as well as fashion week and celebrity music video outtakes wearing the clothing. There is a real sense of belonging with the way Balmain present themselves on social media - There is no tone of voice - Almost like you need to be in a part of their group to be in their â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;squadâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Images range from full colour, experimental film and black and white. Each post has some form of consistency to match the 3 that will be in line with eachother - Not a stack post but definitely posted with purpose. Fashion film, Boomerang and Stop motion are definitely having to be considered for my experimental work to get the most out of the brand and to keep in tune of what they already do. Balmain hardly post campaign imagery - Keeping that exclusive to advertising rather than promoting themselves through the media.

Heavily influenced with creative video - For fashion week a pop up studio to demonstrate all of the garments that where presented on the catwalk.

As expected, the vscocam feed is full of fashion bloggers worldwide, repostings of the Kardashian/Jenners wearing the clothing, POS exhibition and in store promotion and postings of the items on. The shots are all smartphone based - With a variety of filters applied to make the image seem in trend with what you would ideally see on these sorts of sites, much like Instagram and Pinterest. Some posts also involve travelling with a small feature of the brand. When experimenting applying filters and going on location would be ideal to get a better understanding of the Balmain customer market.

The brands Facebook page run similar posting to Twitter and Instagram - Only they use video (sponsored and not) to their advantage Using Facebook LIVE for fashion events, interviews, collection previews and campaign fashion film. Images are similar to Instagram and Twitter with featured editorials and covers. Facebook involves a lot more celebrity spotting in their clothing - So viewers can mention their friends in the comments - creating a viral effect. Interviews involved give a tone of voice to the creative director - Keeping his name in the now at all times to keep their brands reputation at the top - Video interviews are hardly staged and made to be aesethically pleasing.

A dramatic change from the brands Instagram feed. Twitter seems to have a tone of voice (mainly Olivers) creating a personality for the creative director - making the viewer seem more involved with the brand much like they do with the celebrity endoresment. The use of imagery and moving image are mainly current events, articles and new product launches. The brand use the hashtag #BalmainARMY - including all celebrities involved with the brand, giving the consumer a sense of want and place within their purchases.

Celebrity dressing as discussed before is very prominent - From papparazzi watch, blogger style imagery and posed shots that celebrites have used on their own accounts to promote the brand. Something to think about when creating my own imagery.

Why Balmain? With such a high profile and trend setting reputation, why not? The brand continuously bring out the best in modern fashion - Making classic cuts look edgy-must haves. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been a fan of the Balmain campaigns and social media presence since Oliver became creative director, as the first campaign he ran I immediately fell in love with. I think with my own personal style of photography and connections to gain a large amount of models I think I could achieve a similar outcome - After experimentation I will look further into this but for now I think this is my favourite brand so far. Social media presence is a huge thing for me too therefore I think Balmain will be a welcome challenge for me during this project. The brand will continuously strive as long as Rustang is involved - With his personality shining through his and the brands soclal media and his A-List connections I think that future plans and predictions are endless, making this brand the perfect case study to explore what else I could offer the brand. Using similar colours and set ups and understanding what message I am putting out there with an editorial style could open myself up to new experimentation opportunities. Editorial A-List Rock-chic Location Luxury interview Viral

Glossy

Dark

Edgy

Classic

Influencer

KimK

Colour

Military

Strong

Message

Street-style Diversity Blogging Awareness

Red

Celebrity-styling Fame

Driven Beauty Achievable

Gels Creative Reputation Contouring Fashion-Week

Alexander Wang is a designer and the former creative director of Balenciaga. He launched his first womenswear collection in 2007, his first flagship soon opened after in New York 2011. He also did a collection for H&M in 2014. His lines are now stocked globally in more than 700 stores being well known for his urban, minimal and youth provoking designs. A definite contrast to other brands I’ve looked at - with Wangs new SS16 angle towards a much younger audience, flash being used.

Using young models makes the brand seem in-the-know with their audience - the garments appear ‘‘cool’’ and ‘‘on trend without trying too hard’’. Colours are still quite similar Just a lot softer - Although this isn’t my usual style of work it is something to test and try out.

This shoot is more my style - Using neon, gels and pops of colour against blue. This creates a party girl vibe - the colours excite the viewer - I want to achieve this outcome.

The clothing is still quite The campaign captures youth prominent - although it does behaviour - a tangible experience for the viewer - This quite look like it was shot on a sparked some controversy of phone - There isn’t much focus on the clothing. being too graphic for a high end brand - I think it works quite well.

The brand contrasts season by season - therefore there is never a consistent pattern Which could give me more creative control for the project. Steven Klein as mentioned before is a solid favourite - With inspiration coming from all angles this shoot is the perfect example of how I want my work to look in the future.

USP

ESP

Luxurious modern street style tailored for the fashion concious girl with a carefree attitude. Wang says ‘‘Anyone can get dressed up, its what you do on your off days that really set you apart in my eyes, those are the types of fashion I like to create’’ at NYFW16.

With new ideas constantly flowing for the brand Wang uses the young aesthetic to his advantage by using controversial models and shoots to sell his clothes, creating a spark in social media etc to get people talking and people more aware of the brand.

Prodominantly Alexander Wang’s target market is mainly young women but more recently the age gap has been closed and he is now attracting a more youthful age group of Gen Z. Ages 16 - 27, fashion concious and care-free. With new campaigns losing their glossy edge - more consumers are buying into chilled-out-vibes brands much like Supreme and Hood by Air.

GENDER; FEMALE

AGE; 23

FASHION BLOGGER

£1K INFLUENCING

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The following isn’t as big as other competitors but their aesthetic is a lot more portfolio based rather than having ecommerce shots or celebrity endorsed images involved, proving that the brands reputation sells the clothes for their quality, brand tone and use of marketing. Something to remember when it comes to creating my own imagery for this project. Video keeps cropping up throughout my brand research, therefore I must use video to stay in tact with whats on trend in social media at the moment. Alexander Wangs account isn’t as exciting as others - Simply as its directed at a certain target audience per collection - Rather than it being continuously for the same customer - A good thing to keep in mind as we all know, not everyone has the same taste in clothing.

The brands VSCOCam brand awareness is predominantly a mixture of the everyday lifestly of the consumer such as purchasing the clothes, going to Wang’s shows or going on adventures. The colours used always seem to revolve around the simplistic monochromatic look - Something I don’t want to achieve as it’s not my strongest when creating imagery.

The brands instagram uses a lot of video and GIF footage Including BHS, music videos where the clothing has been featured and fashion film. For stills the posts are consistent in the way they are laid out - Keeping the rock-chic theme for 6 posts with ready-to-wear items. The aesthetic is this continued carefree attitude towards the way the images have been shot with dark colours for the AW16 designs.

The brand have also shot some imagery on polaroids/instax cameras - A different approach to your standard digital image.

On the page it also has use of graphics and geometric shapes inspired by the iconic CEO and chairman of the brand Alexander Wang himself, promoting his life before he made it big through Vogues fund, this also gives him a sense of personality. If I was to create an editorial style image board I would base it around the luxury everyday consumer - much like the target consumer.

Much like other fashion brands, influencial magazines such as Harpers Bazaar, Vogue, ELLE, DAZED etc all feature articles of new collections by the brand which the account holder can they retweet to create a double awareness effect - Gain for gain in terms of likes, followers etc allowing them to collect data from both insights.

The brands Twitter pages have exactly the same postings as their instagram - The only difference is that Wang posts videos of BHS and fashion film inspried by VCR and boast their use of snapchat Again, attracting the younger consumer to interact with the brand.

The brand also promote their Snapchat when there are events, catwalk shows etc to see insider show footage and to hear interviews from Wang himself, stylists, MUAs etc - Keeping younger people engaged.

Much like most other fashion brands around fashion week season, the majority of posts are in relation to specific themes in the type of garment they are promotion with a link to purchase - As well as influencial and ecommerce shot to attract viewers who want to see what it looks like on.

Why Alexander Wang? The brand gives a new definition to creative thinking and innovative ideas, ensuring the brand are constantly tailoring to changes in the market. The most recent being on trend with how youth are considered to be the future of fashion - which are then translated in their campaign imagery. I could create a lot of new content for the brand as their aesthetic is always changing with whats going on in the world around us. I could do this without having to change my own personal style of image making as their campaigns are shot in a way that I could implicate, creating consistency rather than bringing a whole new look to the brand. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m really passionate about having imagery meaning something as well as promoting the clothes in a certain way - Therefore I think this brand is the perfect opportunity to challenge myself yet still keep in tact with what the brands tone and message are. Keeping with their roots of off-duty chic, the brand is influencial with what could possibly be a stepping stone for other brands and the high street market could impliment. Creating a trickle down effect. With this effect the brand will continuously strive with sports luxe and casual wear becoming the new haute couture.

Young Contrast Luxury Future Confidence Old-school Film

Youth Controversy Sports-luxe New-market Girl-next-door Glitch Polaroid

off-duty Aesthetic Casual Texture VCR Barcode Natural

chic Challenge Cyan Semiotics Digital-wave Monochrome Carefree

T ‘Overall photo engagement on Insta is 1% to 2%, photos using the A colour story, vsco, or afterlight apps typically have an engagement rate of between 2% and 3%. There are likely to be a number of factors for this, including the quality of image and the use of filter, which create a more engaging post’ - Thomas Rankin of Dash Hudson

Nasty Gal’s instagram aesthetic is something I can aspire to - With their use of gels, surreal settings and location contrasts. With the use of DSLR, medium format film and mobile phone imagery. Their instagram is quite dark yet has pops of colour and neon settings - Something I really like the look of and can take away from the brands social media presence. With a boasting following of 2.2mil it’s easy to see why the brands account has such a huge fan base.

Love.Watts is a fine art photography and mixed media instagram account that features artists around the world for their surreal use of creative imagery. There is a constant theme of art that sparks a question, shocking material or in relation to youth. Just like the brands I have researched - They also base their works around youth and fine art using colour to attract the viewer.

Editorial features account art8amby is a fashion photography channel that pleases the viewers each day with new editorial magazine releases - Basing it off a theme each day. An example is the above photoshoot named ‘‘The Warriors’’ for Models.com - a leading website for photographers, models and makeup artists etc in the industry. The use of colour, location and tints of blue and red are something I can then take away and apply to my own imagery.

Coca Cola Argentina use their instagram also use their account to their advantage - Using an editorial and youth based story line to attract a younger audience - Each caption also having a storyline to match the image - Always having the product in sight.

Tom Ford - As the brand is so well known - it’s not surprising that the images are high end and glossy, with the use of red and grey tones and mixture of full body and portraits are something I’d like to strive to complete. Red seems to be a trending colour theme on instagram.

Alexander Wang - As a brand I’ve researched the theme of youth is trending - With SS16 trend forecasts of youth it’s not surprising. Multimedia throughout, low contrast and saturation and care-free styled images. I’d like to take away the use of younger models and similar settings to develop my own style of imagery.

Balmain - As a brand I’ve researched I’ve noticed they also use a lot of red and have full body and empowering women in their feed - They use a mixture of experimental and moving image - With mixed media and focusing the images on the clothing without things being too distracting.

Polaroid of the day - This account is dedicated to featuring polaroid images - FIne art themed images are often placed in Instagram accounts for a brand eg. ASOS, Missguided, Plastik etc. As this generates a certain customer and a form of engagement I’d like to experiment with this type of image making.

Steven Klein Studio: As a favourite of mine, location is key with his photography as well as his iconic blue tints and pops of colour. As through my research - This is really inspiring and is something I want to recreate in my experimental imagery to see what works for what brand.

WMag: W Magazine use their account fo feature images that are in each monthly spread. The account features supermodels, location imagery from mobile phones, editorial outtakes and have a colour scheme that I’d like to create for my own images.

Editing Software:

PRIIME: Priime is a free editing app for iPhone and Mac that is able to analyse photos and make suggestions for filters. It features a collection of pre-made filters and hosts a marketplace where users can purchase additional filters. Filters featured in the app were developed in collaboration with a global community of photographers such as Red Gaskell and Adrienne Pitts. Priime allows users to copy and paste their editing technique from a single photo to a collection of photos, enabling them to have a consistent aesthetic across their imagery.

VSCO Cam: VSCO Cam’s main function is to edit images but the app’s layout was recently updated, bringing more attention to social functions such as the user’s profile, the timeline feature, the ability to view notifications, and the introduction of its gesture-based interface. Hashtags such as #vsco or #vscocam represent images that have been edited with the app before being uploaded to Instagram. VSCO has 30 million active users across its portfolio of platforms, with a reported growth of 802%. SNAPSEED: Created by Nik Software, Snapseed was acquired by Google in 2012. This filter app enables you to edit photos using its HDR filters, and share across other platforms. The cost for this app was previously $4.99, but it’s currently being offered for free. This democratises the professional-level editing process, essentially allowing users who download the free service to create imagery on par with work by professional photographers.

AFTERLIGHT: Offers 74 adjustable filters, 78 textures and 128 frames available to iOS devices, and 59 filters, 66 textures and 128 frames to Android devices. Costing just $.099, this app, with its user-friendly interface that permits images to appear instantaneously elevated, is well worth investing in. BLACK: BLACK is an app that acts as a black and white film emulator. This free, simplistic editing tool permits users to swipe left or right to access different variations of pre-created filters that were inspired by and developed to resemble traditional black and white films. While the app itself doesn’t cost anything, there are additional editing tools available through an inapp purchase function. WHITAGRAM: Allows users to access traditional editing mechanisms such as brightness adjustment, as well as play with the background border by adding one of the many colour options to their photo. Users also have the option to add stickers to a photo, though only a select handful are offered free of charge. Users can also create memes by adding text to their image.

A COLOUR STORY: released in January this year, offers more than 100 filters which enhance the colours of an image, along with 40 effects that work to tweak the lighting, angle and more, and over 20 tools for minor final touches. A Color Story also allows users to make custom filters and save them for future editing purposes. Created by lifestyle blog, A Beautiful Mess, the app received a total of 377,000 downloads in its first three weeks.

- Pantone colour predictions for 2017 are inspired by the RGB print based scale. As in all of my past photography work i am too really inspired by these colours - I find that these are the types of contrasts that I find myself editing through photo manipulation or what my favourite photographers create imagery like. - The great reset - Trending in the world for the next 5 years in the industry. It’s named after how the industry is going to reset itself in terms of photography, ourselves, businesses, technology, design, enviorments, nature and personal value. WGSN’s Vision trend, Nocturne, is an introspective, night-focused direction that takes inspiration from the more mysterious aspects of our existence, such as the wonders of astronomy, and the hidden worlds of deep dream states. I really like teh use of dark colours with pops of colours in this trend - i find that my research already ties in with this trend quite a lot simply as to what my eyes are drawn to, my personal style of photography and what I like the look of. I think I will be taking quite a lot these colours into my own work.

Following the nocturne trend from WGSN - I’ve found that this colour palette including metalics are the types of colours I’d normally reach for - Having a dark background and pops of colours and metallic looking clothing - Much like the works of Steven Klein, Steven Misesel, Mert and Marcus, Mario Testino and Tim Walker. I think this is the main thing I can carry on when it comes to experimenting in my own work.

By researching into colour I started to develop a love for neons, blacks and primary colours. This seemed to have generated into an overall colour theme. Based around the nocturnal generation and seeing beauty in the darkness. I think by using powerful imagery and seeing what photography trends and themes could come from past artists and practitioners that I can generate enough research to develop my own theme throughout. What draws me to the nocturnal theme the most is that my preferred photographic style is often using darker backgrounds and pops of colours - Therefore if itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s what works for me through image making then I would rather play with my strengths and createe a body of work that will show off my abilities than create something that wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t stimulate me creatively and visually appeal to me.

Portraiture is a huge part of photography since the 1800s, depriving from paintings. Experiemtnal portraiture is something Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve experimented with as a photographer for years, it gives a new meaning to a standard image of someones facial features. The following trend that surfaced on social media and in print publications is plants and flowers proving a frame around a face, mainly aimed towards women. I like the use of the trend in colour photography rather than black and white, something to try myself through experimentation.

Looked into mixed media and the use of pops of colour within imagery. Most high street brands use mixed media in their campaign imagery as well as their social imagery.

Embroidery theme using sewing skills onto a printed image - Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve used this technique before and brands in high end fashion use this approach to their visual preference.

Water based imagery is quite striking - although this is an aesthetic that is visually pleasing, it is something that is really hard to achieve and couldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t work with any of the brands Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve researched

Graphic post production in black and white - again something that isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t neccessarily aimed at the brands researched but can work in other areas

Double exposure - post production placed onto another image, creates another story and layer to a brand - could be useful in full body work for the brand I choose to work with

Use of lines - Definitely something I could fit into the brands Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve researched, using full body shots and the corerct styling for the brand

Fitting in with an experimental base, reflections are a good way to epxress more texture in womens clothing as well as more details without using moving image

Intense underwater - the colour palette works and the images are stirking enough for the brands chosen - definitely something to think about working towards in regards to a theme

Using neon lines whether hand drawn or emulated in photoshop or illustrator after - I think this works in a more youth setting, something I would be really interested in shooting

Red filters are a massive trend in the world of fashion photography - this is my visual preference too which makes shooting the images something Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m passionate about

Distortion in the fine art imagery is known to be used quite a lot - in fashion photography there is a gap that brands havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t used, definitely a direction I would be interested in going down

Movement and cloning - I do this regurlary in my work, therefore I think this could work with all of the brands researched with the right styling and lighting.

Long exposures, neon lights and drawing with light are huge parts of the image making world - the brands that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve researched have already done this but not in an experimental way

Red, green, blue colour palettes are often used with gel lighting, glitch art and neonscapes - something that can be emulated into any brands visual presence

Balmain With the image research I have conducted I think that Balmain with the use of the colour palette will work best with the type of image making style I have as well as the trends Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve looked into. The colour palette and iconic Steven Klein style visual aesthetic is something Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m always passionate about creating.

Drawing with light The chosen theme is in relation to drawing with light - using long exposure to create a image style that is experimental yet clean and sleek. I think this will work well with the way Balmain portray themselves on Instagram and other social networks.

Going forward Now that I have a clear idea of what Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to produce I would like to start test shooting different light techniques, filters and other things like this. I think starting it as early as possible will be a way of determing whether this theme will work as well as I would like.

Balmain While the mediums i have looked at focus on traditional printing photography Alexander Wang is known for using these styles for a different style. They also use digital and video, which is what I would ideally really like to involve in my work.

Going forward Just like Balmain I would like to start testing different photographic mediums such as 35mm and polaroid/instax instant film. This will give me a clear idea of where to go next and what else I can do to improve. I would also like to first test digitial manipulation through already existing images until I have my own

Initally first started test shooting on myself, taking inspiration from the image themes Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve researched. This one being graphic manipulation and neon colours. All of these images where edited and taken by me, allowing me to then plan a test shoot in the test shoot having the knowledge of what works and what doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. I think that these images work, they might just be too experimental for the type of work the brands use.

I then took my camera into the streets - further developing the theme of drawing with light and movement using long exposures in the middle of the night. Proving evidence of a nocturnal theme with silent streets and dark with neon imagery. I think this worked quite well, which Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve then created a GIF (included in the USB provided) - using the mixed media approach that I often strive to complete.

In relation to my chosen theme for Alexander wang I tested on already existing images that I find fit the theme and made them my own by mainpulating them using the clone tool and liquify. I think doing this has helped me better understand what Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to continue to test futher along the project. I would like to shoot on instax myself and see how well they come out and using post production techniques to manipulate them.

After the inital testing of manipulating images I have then planned a shoot with model and dancer at UCLan Hayley Cheetham, the test took place in the media factory with a red, blue and black background to get a feel for different coloured backgrounds - I really like the use of the colours and the way the manipulation looks - I will continue to develop these ideas until I feel they are a right fit for the brand.

For Balmain I planned a test shoot in the studio shortly after my first one, this one was focused a lot more on the colour development of using gels and soft lighting. I then took these into account that I could maybe use mixed media, using cut outs, glitter and physical fairy lights. These where printed off, scanned and edited slightly in photoshop to brighten them and bring the colours out.

Another test shoot was planned with Reece Orton and Lois McKenzie to further develop the drawing with light feel. We used a variety of long exposures and lighting in the studio using a white background and no surrounding lights. I feel that this worked best because of the different softness and colours brought out of the lights. I then took these into photoshop and created a frame by frame GIF that can be used on all platforms with GIPHY - trialed and tested with my own personal social media accounts.

While creating the drawing with light images in my test shoot I also used a commercial style of imagery to develop my images further and see what this aesthetic worked like for me. Personally I think this is too plain for my liking and my own photographic style therefore I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t think I will be using these images in my final outcomes, but after placing them into photoshop and developing them with the cloning tool it has gotten me to think about what I want to edit my final outcomes like.

While I was working with Reece on creating images for his project, I realised the potential for lightly lit imagery with a light trail - this is definitely the sort of work that Alexander Wang would use on their instagram from looking at their past instagram presence. I then opened images from the past test shoots I ran and from getting inspiration of my â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;drawing themeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; which was previously in this document I edited them with added distortion to see what type of look it would create. I think this works really well for a fine art piece - but a bit too experimental for the brand itself.

Continuing from the test shoot with Hayley I then further developed my ideas for Balmain, these where shot with long exposure and red lights to create shapes and forms. Similar to the test shoot with Reece the week before, I continued with the very low lighting on the face to show the features of the model and then used glow stcks in front of the camera with a 1.6fstop and f/5.6 to get shallow depth of field. I then opened the images into photoshop to bring out the colours and contrast. This is definitely the visual outcome Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to achieve for the final outcome.

In the same shoot as before, we experimented with full body shots, as the brand is so high end and the focus is on the clothes I think that it was a needed stepping stone to see how the drawing with light worked with a full body shot. Personally I think this is my preferred style for the final outcome, meaning that the development has definitely served a purpose on how I want them to look. I then opened these images in photoshop to see what they would look like when the light has been expanded and using the colour palette I would like to use.

Here is a selection of gifs that Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve created throughout the development part of this project, this has enabled me to further understand the basics of image making on social media as they are so heavily used. The platform that these are used on are mainly snapchat, instagram, facebook and twitter. Twitter and Facebook can only run through the GIF uploader GIPHY - A platform which allows you to archive, upload and share your GIFs.

With being comfortable with the development of this project so far I am confident in saying that I can now move on to planning my final photoshoots and sourcing stylists, models etc. Next to do is creating a moodboard to send to possible creatives to collaborate with.

From developing my images I then started to plan my final shoot. These where the mood boards I created quickly to send out to makeup artists, stylists, photographer assistants, hair stylists, cinematographers, set designers and to publically post for my social pages. As art director and photographer of the project itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my responsibility to make sure all team members are constantly updated on locations and times etc. The visuals I used where to cover as many grounds as possible for both shoots, such as makeup, hair, lighting, location, poses etc. This was printed A2 and put up on the day of the shoot to constantly reference to.

In the end I managed to get 2 great teams together: BALMAIN: Art Direction/photography: Myself Photographers assistant: Georgina Atkinson Makeup artist and hair: Charlotte Cardwell Stylist: Emma Hill Models: Janette Cheng and Beatrice Ehondor Cinematographers: Bryony Violet Jones & Dominic Hodge Video editing: Adam Hewitt ALEXANDER WANG: Art Direction: Mason Stade & myself Photography: Myself Makeup artist: Zara Joey Wright & Chloe Louise Gorton Hair and assist: Andrew Joseph Manion & Rachel Monoghan Stylist: Frostnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Thaw styling Models: Sophie Gower, Fay Dewan & Hollie George Cinematography: Padraig Mac Anraoi

Both shoots went smoothly, I live streamed the entire shoot through facebook live which collectively gathered 2500 views in 24hrs. I then posted the fashion film 3 weeks later after recieiving the footage which recieved 5000 collectively within 24hrs.

This is a small selection of images highlighted from the shoot - as I shot in RAW it was a very long process to transfer into Photoshop to create a proper one therefore this is the outcome. I was really happy with the way they turned out, I briefed the team upon arrival and led the shoot smoothly. We started with makeup and hair then eventually onto the styling. Then me and the cinematographers went on to playing around testing with lighting, these werent save as memory card space was limited. These files where then backed up and ready for post production in preparation for the final board.

Firstly I opened the images in Bridge to go through the best shots, above is an example of the editing efforts. I then opened the RAW file into Photoshop and adjusted the tint, clarity, contrast/brightness etc. As you can see in the above images, there was quite a lot of distractions in my images. Eg. The white cloth in the background of the venue (MACS Preston), the lighting in the background not being as strong as Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d of liked and the floorboards removing any litter etc. I did this so the communication of the image was clear and so it looked as expensive and high end as much as I could manage.

I used the MACS Preston venue as I knew the lighting would be dark enough to get the effect I wanted, the venue would be big enough to have a very varied amount of images throughout without being too much of the same and with the drawing with light element it would need to have space to move the lights around etc. After all of my editing efforts I then went on to plan the final images I would like to use - This was difficult as there was around 1000 images in total. Eventually I grouped them together in my file explorer and continued to develop for InDesign.

After futher development I then opened all of the images in Photoshop and used layers to my advantage. From the images provided from drawing with light and experimentation I used the multiply and overlay layers to place the image on top of the final images - which then made the light trails look like they where part of the RAW image. I also tweaked the curves and saturation to ensure the image quality and visibility was clear.

After realising that the other images where all very similar in style I started to experiment with colour overlays mixed with the light trails. This made the images stand out a lot more and provided me with much more to work with for the final poster. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m really pleased with the way these have turned out and think it compliments my theme really well. After having around 20+ images to work with I then moved on to creating my poster and the order of the images.

S After a lot of editing time and development throughout this project I was happy enough to start the layout. I first started out with a white grid layout, ensuring all imagery was ready to be put in some form of order, this I was insure of at the time. Therefore I started the research part and the development to get those out the way. In the same font as this sketchbook I used the spread out Proxima Nova styled posts at first. After a while I couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. Therefore I changed the background to black and was really happy with the outcome. This format also represents the nocturnal theme I was getting at as well as the drawing with layout theme. I also decided to not use a mock up of an instagram profile and create one myself and make them white. This way, it wasn’t such a distraction to the eye as I think it would make your eye go to there first which isn’t what I wanted to communicate. - Easy to communicate layout - Eye reading left down, left down, left down - Small amount of text to highlght a certain element but not an overload to lose the images or the viewers interest - Images speak for themselves - Development is clear from start to finish - Clear rationale throughout

In forms of layout, I tried stacked posts to see how that would work in terms of branding and I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really like it. This is because I have so much imagery to use that it felt a bit of a waste to not use them. I also created the instagram profile to have the bio to have the rationale, I thought this worked will in terms of space. With a link to my .com website to view the fashion film. I then created a video in the style of what Balmain do on their own instagram, with an efficient use of space and mixed platform approach.

From left to right: I decided to keep the rows in a colour order from left to right, the images are purposely put in an order that is easy on the eye and can be seen almost like a stack post. GREEN TINT, these images are then in the same order and colour co-ordination. RED TINT, the same order again. From top to bottom per row: This layout is then in similar image order, much like the way an image theme was created in my research. The images being similar in overlay, tone and contrast.

After looking at the images in bridge just like I did with the Balmain shoot I then opened the RAW file in photoshop to adjust contrast, colour etc. The images weren’t edited as much as the others as the theme was distortion and not as colourful as the other. The styling was a success and completely on brand, apart from the blue dress - Really didn’t like that, I tried distorting it to make it appear less cheap/tacky but it didn’t therefore I think I’m going to lose it.

After editing the images I kept with the blue tint theme with a purple/red undertone - This was all in preparation for me to distort them later for the poster construction, I really liked the way they all turned out expect for the second to last one, I think it looks too photoshopped and the colour tones are different therefore I will be leaving that one out.

Now the editing is completed I then opened all of the images in photoshop and added a new duplicate later and clicked liquify and playing around - This took several hours to decide but the outcome was as good as Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d of hoped. I think it captures the nocturnal and youth generation theme and communicates the idea of a party/carefree attitude. As said before, I wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be using the first image on this row as it doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t match the rest of the look.

This second half of the shoot is the other part of the narrative - After the darker images appeared I then opened up the second part where we used coloured gels and a lot of fun! I then opened the images like said before and used liquify. Slight difference in these edits was that I took inspiration from my research and development and matched the drawing over images digitally trend to replicate the idea of being drunk and having a good time. This will be explained in the construction of the poster - all of this row of images willl be used.

Much like before, I will be using the same template I have made for the Balmain poster. This is because I would like to keep it consistent throughout and not have 2 completely different sets of layout, as the image style is so similar to the other I think this worked qutie well. I made sure the rationale was layed out and worded the same for easy communication and the images where of a good quality. - Left to bottom reading for easy viewing - Top to bottom development for a clear start to finish - Easy to communicate and not too many words to overthrow the images, as they should speak for themselves and not be over the top - Instagram layout the same as the other, created my own to be sure it looked of a good standard and wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t just a white block from a mockup - Clear narrative on instagram page to tell the narrative effectively

The rationale for the posts for this project are true to the narrative - easily communicated and clear to the message I’m trying to get across I used an Alexander Wang logo to represent the use of the branding message then distorted it to give the effect of being drunk and things getting slightly blurred. The font is the Wang font and the video is to give the page a bit of an interactive feel with clips of the fashion film.

The idea behind the narrative is having a true to Alexander Wang logo glitch effect that is distorted with a swearword to capture the viewers attention, playing the fashion film. The story will then move on to youths being in a club/outside and having fun and slowly getting more ‘‘drunk’’ - the story will then evolve into an adventure to an afterparty something Alexander Wang campaign uses in every campaign. The distortions and blur will then gradually get worse - with a change in lighting to express the story. The story then ends with a girl using the line method lying in a bed on a ‘‘comedown’’. Then again with the Wang logo, with a slightly less blurred background to express the need to do it again - much like youths do.

BALMAIN FASHION FILM Cinematography & Editing: Bryony Violet Jones, Dominic Hodge & Adam Hewitt Art Direction: Myself

ALEXANDER WANG FASHION FILM Cinematographer: Padraig Mac Anraoi Art Direction: Myself & Mason Stade