Fashion photography sketchbook

FASHION PHOTOGRAPHY SKETCHBOOK KATE CASWELL H00206187 FASHION COMMUNICATION YEAR2

Roy Lichenstein

Roy Fox Lichtenstein (October 27, 1923 – September 29, 1997) was an American pop artist. His work defined the basic premise of pop art through parody.

Favoring the comic strip as his main inspiration, Lichtenstein produced hard-edged, precise compositions that documented while it parodied often in a tonguein-cheek manner. His work was heavily influenced by both popular advertising and the comic book style.

Nick Knight After researching,I found Nick Knight’s take on Lichenstien’s style for Garage Magazine really interesting. He chose similar style on editing to that of Lichenstein, with dot work and colour. The modern element coming not only in the use of digital Photoshop and also the use of messages and Emojis.

The main concept that I wanted to grasp in my inspired photo shoot is the modern relationship and how we interact. In 2015 more relationships are starting with dating apps and websites, picking up on any possible connection two people may have (no matter how meaningless). Throughout Lichtenstein’s work, the relationship between men and women has been shown, often with in a very tongue in cheek style. The idea of speech bubbles is something that I want to represent, whilst developing with modern technology.

I chose Kate as my model, as I feel she has a very defined style. I enjoy the fact this almost has a childish twist and she could almost be any age from 15+ (this being hinted with the 90’s babe).

I began by editing the brightness and background of my photograph, as I had not decided on the best lighting. I decided instead on a bright white background, which would also seem appropriate considering the pop art style. I then decided to keep with my concept that I would find some way of blocking out my models face, by doing this I create an every man character. I started by using a black shape, which is inspired by ‘Reflections on the scream’. Mainly, because I had first mistaken the baby’s mouth for being the baby’s face when viewing the exhibition. I then decided to experiment with the skills Photoshop allows and just deleting the pixels on the face. I then finally decided on pixelating the face, creating a modern style on the dot work of Lichtenstein’s work

I wanted to use tinder as the example of modern dating, as I know it is one of the most popular and widely used dating apps. I chose to research and look for actual messages send to women on the app, choosing some quite graphic messages. I wanted to do this shoot from the female point of view, as through research I have found that these messages can often be unsettling and upsetting for women. I wanted to see the dynamic between men and women, both how they are similar and have differed from the 1960’s.

I am overall happy with the results of this shoot, the concept I feel came across quite clearly. I also took inspiration from Nick Knight’s Lichtenstein photographs but with a slightly different aspect to it, I feel like by adding this reference to a modern artist I am also keeping it contempary, the fact of online/app dating is used, making the whole thing more up to date. I am happy with my model choice and her styling. Which I feel added a sense of innocence to the models appearance and a sinister twist to the image as a whole.

However I am not as happy about how my speech bubble style messages came out, despite the fact these were taken directly off the app and not retyped. They came out not as clear and also that the blurred image next to the speech didn’t come out at all. If I were to edit this in future, I would try reworking these layers and also trying to get better quality versions. I am also happy with my choice of tinder male, I picked this man because he doesn’t seem to have any defined features and could just be anyone on the street. Something that is the reality of Tinder, whether for a positive reason or like shown in my photographs, a not so positive result.

Many thanks to my model; Kate Mcginley

Our brief given for this weeks work is to use a selected fashion magazine to create two fashion styling photographs.

The magazine must be a full on profile picture, which will then be used to cover the selected models face.

One of these shoots is to be taken in a studio and the other utilizing daylight in a location shot. The key idea in this shoot being the styling and ideas behind the styling, the styling must fit the magazine styling. Looking then at what you don’t see, creating a narrative and extending what you can see.

My initial reaction to the brief is that I’m excited to let my creative juices run wild. Looking at the examples given, I really like the ones with a stronger narrative and that almost have an element of shock factor. I am glad to find out that there is no real stress on the magazine face being in proportion to the model. I feel like by doing this there allows more room for creativity and ambition.

I want to try finding magazines that aren’t the most well known, for example ID or Dazed. I want to aim for the magazines to be fairly different in style, whether its mood or colour and therefore creating a completely different feel to the shoots. I feel like this will enhance my portfolio, as it will show my skills in creating different atmospheres (as well as the obvious location difference). It will also allow my to play with the skills it takes to create different shoots with alternative styles.

My first choice of magazine cover to use was Beauty Papers, a creative biannual about the culture of beauty. I chose this because I liked the fact the cover involved water, its very raw in style and the style of it is quite unusual for a fashion magazine.

In my shoot using this magazine, I want to extend the idea of water in an awkward and almost uncomfortable way. By doing this carrying on the liberal view of beauty that the magazine promotes. I want to extend the awkwardness of the image, the fact the models face is looking not at the camera but slightly to the side.

I also like the fact the colours are slightly off on the image, which I think is something that I may struggle to match but I could instead use it to my advantage. I can make it extend the atmosphere of the photography styling, to make the image awkward and a very intrusive feel to the photograph.

In contrast to my first choice of magazine, I then chose In Bloom, a Glasgow based fashion magazine. I chose this cover as its different in colour, instead of pastel colours its black at white. The other cover is quite plan and this one is more edgy and alternative.

The styling is quite punkie with the hair in a quiff style and I sense of rebellion is created with the cigarette. Making it a cover that you would not see on a lot of fashion magazines.

I think I’d like to play on this more, the negative connotations of smoking and play on confidence. I think that is the real difference between the two shoots; this one has confidence and a sense of sticking twos up to what is expected of a fashion magazine cover.

I also think it would be interesting to add another person in the shoot, that maybe the hand is someone else. I want to try incorporate this into my experimental work and try to push my work further

I decided on this shoot being my location shoot as it involves water, therefore it would only be logical to do the shoot on location. I wanted to make the shoot a very personal and almost intrusive photograph, that it will be an almost awkward shoot. I want it to step away from a traditional cover shoot and I want to extent the story behind the cover.

I decided on the shoot taking part in a bathroom, the model being nude. I feel like this is one of the most personal positions a person can be in, nothing to hide behind, being completely bare to the world.

The first photograph I have taken incorporate the shower curtain into the image and styling. Used to create an artistic styling on the photograph, I have tried to use this to experiment with the extent on which the nudity of the model is revealed. It is quite clear that the model is nude but she is not stood fully nude, instead it is more hinted. However to me the curtain takes away too much from the photo, it becomes the thing you look at and not the model. It becomes off in a none-artistic way and the balance of the photograph is lost.

I then decided to change the angle of the shot slightly to incorporate the showerhead, giving a clearer idea of what is happening in the shoot. I also wanted to change the curtain, which I felt threw the whole photograph off. I lowered and loosened the curtain, in one revealing more shoulder and in the other revealing one breast. As I again wanted to experiment with the amount off flesh shown in the photographs. My only problem with these photographs is the magazine almost feels like it could be photoshopped onto the image. The sizing is thrown off but this isn’t the problem I have with the photograph. I instead feel it’s the skin to magazine ration that is throwing the balance of the photograph.

I then decided to take a slightly different angle to the shower scene and instead show the model sat in the bath, with nothing covering her body. I wanted the model to be completely vulnerable to the camera, with a slight sense of awkward confidence. In the other photographs I wanted to make it almost like the photographer walking in on the model, with the shock and the model trying to cover herself. However in these photographs I want it to be almost like the camera isn’t there, or like the model is in control of the situation.

I really like the sense of empowerment in the photographs, that despite the fact she is nude, she looks completely comfortable with it. She isn’t trying to cover herself up, which begs the question that the awkwardness of the photographs comes from the views we have on female nudity and raw element of the photographs. These have come out as my two favourite photographs; they feel more real and raw.

I like the fact my model has unshaved armpits, I feel like this only adds to the social awkwardness. It comes down to the fact again that the model is in control; she has chosen to step away from social norms and embrace a different element on beauty. I think this does really represent our views on a different beauty and if not our public reaction but our private reaction is either shock or interest. This especially apparent in the social media led lives that we live, where we know what is culturally appropriate to say and we may suppress our inner feelings. The fact the model is showering herself off in the second image, to me represents her washing herself from these social pressures. That she is allowing herself to be awkward and more importantly be human and not what is expected from women.

Many thanks to my model; Catriona Curtis

I chose this photograph as my final photograph as I think it has the strongest narrative to it. I really like the fact there is a deeper meaning behind the photograph and I’m really happy with how the overall image turned out. I feel like if I was to change anything about the image than I would try pick a different location slightly, for example the colours of the tiles. However I feel that considering the time scale, I think that the match isn’t that bad, they don’t look completely uneasy. I also would have like to see how the water being on would have affected the image and whether it would have taken away from the whole thing by ruining the magazine. I feel like it is something that I should have experimented with but my model was not completely comfortable with that idea. I thought in the situation I would rather the model was comfortable, especially considering she is topless.

I decided to move away form my initial idea of using two people as I felt it might look slightly off as an image and I may have the same problem that I encountered in the last Fashion Face shoot.

I instead chose to experiment with the positioning of the model, keeping it quiet natural. I wanted the model to seem very confident and have an attitude, making her seems powerful and in control. I feel like that is something that is shown in the magazine cover and therefore it only seems fitting to carry that on.

For the styling I chose a biker style leather jacket, grey swing dress and black boots. The jacket was the closest I could find to matching the glimpses of jacket shown in the cover. I also feel that the leather jacket carries on this idea of confidence and rebellion, which I feel like the model shows. Also the model appears to have quite strong 1950s Greasers inspiration; the quaffed hair and cigarette in hand.

Leather jackets were also a big part of this subculture and I felt picking up on this was an interesting way of tying in the magazine inspiration and own styling. Whilst the swing stress added a feminine twist to the otherwise quite masculine styling, though it still fitted the image which I was taking inspiration from.

Many thanks to my model;- Louise Nuttall

I chose this image as my final photograph because I really like how the image works as a whole.

Some of the other images hadn’t been in focus on the viable hand and others hadn’t picked up any jack detail.

This one however, I feel picks up the right amount of detail and has a softer quality in term of colour. which I feel works really well, because the cover itself isn’t harsh in colour, its more grey than black, I therefore found that despite the colour difference it works.

I think if I was to improve my shoot then I would have somehow made the hand line up better, however due to the angle of the hand this was something we were struggling with. My model held the magazine from a strap at the back as this seemed to work the best. I would also like to have tried to use two people to see how it worked but overall I am happy with my shoot and end results.

This week’s brief involves fashion styling images using everyday products, objects that we see or use in our everyday lives. Changing the views of things we see in our day-to-day life, and creating a story whilst doing so. It could be including clothes and fashion items that already exist. The story in this shoot being key and trying to find products that fit and works with this. Therefore location is key as it sets the mood and makes the narrative believable.

My first reactions to the brief are that this is going to be a more challenging brief, because there is not only a narrative to think about but also how to incorporate the object(s). I feel like it will be a good opportunity for me to let loose on my narratives, as a futuristic example is given in the brief.

For my locations, I think I want to do at least one on location but I also feel like the studio would give a very clean-cut element to the shoot. I think this is something I will have to consider further as I come up with a clear narrative.

I think it is important that I don’t go over board on the editing of the mages but it will also allow for more flexibility than last weeks brief.

For my first everyday object shoot, I have decided on using tin foil. I chose this because its something we barely consider as an object in everyday life, it something we use and throw away. I like the fact it is metallic and will reflect back the light, it adds another texture to the image as the light catches parts of the foil. I want to try using this reflective quality to my advantage and creating a sense of contrast between this and dark makeup.

I want the overall story behind the shoot to be that she is a futuristic warrior. Although the foil may look cheesy used in this way, it also reminds me of a childhood costume and in that sense it’s seen as a fantasy, a distance dream. I would like to develop on this narrative idea further to have a stronger story.

Whilst my first chosen object enhances the face, I have decided that my second object should do the opposite. I want to use an object with is going to change and almost disfigure the face and I think the object that will do this best is wire. It may not be the most everyday object but for me its something which is included in our lives, even fashion, that maybe doesn’t stand out or isn’t obvious.

I think again I want to use a futurist aspect but whilst the foil acts as some sort of idealist, child like dream; I want this to be almost hellish and a completely different future. I want these to photos to work together, whilst also being wildly different.

I have chosen to take the future of women idea further; I want to use this photograph to represent I future where women are strong and powerful. They’re a warrior and seen for their strength and confidence. I have styled my model to show this, she looks powerful and in control of herself. I chose for her to be topless, as in this idealist future this is not a concern, it is not a sexualised image and the breast are not the key part of the image, I wanted to make sure this wasn’t the case through the positioning of the model within the frame. I experimented with this through these photographs, to make sure I could capture this in the best way for the model to be represented the way I want her to be. She is not ashamed of her body but it is also not defining her as a model or as a woman.

I wanted to then play with editing the photographs; this is because a lot of the foil ended up looking uneven. I wanted to make the image layout even and make the photographs aesthetically pleasing. I did so by taking sections of foil out and filling in elements of the foil head section. I removed sections of the neck as I found the refection of the foil threw the shadow and the depth of the whole photograph. By doing this, it makes the model appear very flat and two-dimensional which is not my intended aesthetic.

I want to use the light and reflection to my advantage and I feel like the editing is the most successful way to do this.

I feel like the image bellow is the most successful, the face and head looks the most balanced in this. It also draws attention to the necklaces that I have styled to the model to give an almost regal look. I want this to add to the idea that women are successful; there are jewellery and not a single mention of a man having paid for them. Representing the drastic move from the patriarchal past and even present society we live in.

I wasn’t happy with the colours that my shoot came out with; I found them to be too brash and orange looking. I decided to add a filter over the photo to help neutralise the tone of the image. I am really happy with the results and feel like it gives a more professional look and make it look less like an immature had taken it on a phone, I still want it to look like a fashion photograph.

This shoot worked out a lot better than I had expected it to, I had been slightly worried about this shoot and struggled for a bit to come up with a concept. The only real difficulty I came up again, was the tone. I didn’t feel like the warm lighting did the shoot any favours and as I was on location, there was very little I could do about this. I then came down to the editing process to correct this. I feel like considering the location, I managed to work well with the photographs and editing process. If I was to do the shoot again, I would use wither natural light or the studio environment. This is because I feel like despite being very different lighting choices, they would create cleaner white light rather than an orange lighting.

I chose a close up of the face, this way to accentuate the effect the wire had on the face. To manipulate the cheeks and almost look like a glasses.

The only editing I used was to brush over the face with the heal tool, helping even it off slightly. However I wanted to keep the freckles and pigments of the models skin.

After that I made the image black and white, by doing this creating a real sense of drama.

I didn’t want to over edit the photograph, as I liked the fact its quite natural looking. Quite often my styling for the photographs can be quite out there and in a sense I wanted to tone back and just show I can take a good photograph.

I am torn with how I feel about the outcome of this shoot, as it didn’t come out as I expect and how I had planned. Initially I wanted the whole thing to be a bit darker in theme and for it to be this hellish image, which almost makes the viewer feel a bit uncomfortable. Instead the image has come out quite soft and gentle, it almost looks peaceful. The only thing I feel maybe dragging it back is the vision of the face and the expression of the eye, it looks almost upset and uncomfortable.

I feel the like maybe the weakness in this shoot is my choice of model, that she has too kind looking face. I think if I was to reshoot then I would use another model, as I really don’t feel like she’s working for the look I was going for. I had chosen her as she has quite a full face.

I also feel like the wire doesn’t work as well, that this might be better if there was more of it. I could have used thinner wire, which would have been more flexible and easy to work with.

This weeks brief is based film, more importantly the classic fashion films shown in the Heriot-Watt film festival. A selection of films were played from a number of decades, all with a fashion element to them. The films were; The Thomas Crown Affair, The Man Who Fell To Earth, Blade Runner and Restless. The brief was to style two images, inspired by one film each.

I think that through this shoot it will make a clear relationship between film and fashion, how they influence each other. Each film also has quite different styling to it and it is interesting to see how I will be selective in my creative process.

After watching all the films I have decided my shoots will be inspired by The Man Who Fell To Earth and The Thomas Crown Affair.

My first shoot will be inspired by The Thomas Crown Affair and more importantly Faye Dunaway’s character: Vicki Anderson. I chose this film as I feel it is beautifully styled and such an iconic 1960’s look, the film even now being seen as a cult hit. I really like the photographic nature to the film.

Vicki Anderson is styled as a sophisticated looking woman with a seductive side, which puts her in control of all situations. I want this element to show through in the shoot I do, almost a sense of mystery and fascination of the model

I chose this photo, as I liked the dramatic light and the way it illuminates the face and hand area. The first thing I edited was to take out some of the lit areas within the black sections and also to remove the eye on the dark side. By doing this, giving a clean, dark section and creating a higher contrast between the dark and light.

I then adjusted the levels, firstly brightness, turning it up to 37 and by doing so making the lighter sections lighter. I then simply adjusted the Gamma Correction slightly to create an almost glow to the light areas.

All my editing on this shoot has been very simply, mostly for the fact that I liked the photograph I and to start with and didn’t think it needed much editing. Just a bit of cleaning up the shadows and adjusting the bright areas.

I am pleased with how this shoot came out. I really enjoyed using such dramatic lighting and I feel like this has had an effect of making the shot really dramatic. It’s created a sense of mystery, as a lot of the model cant be seen and the eye contact gives it a seductive feel.

I feel like my model was perfect for this shoot, that she’s really captured the character of Faye’s character. That she seems to have control of the situation and almost like she has control of the camera, she has chosen for you to take a photograph of her. I feel like there is very little I would change in the whole shoot and I feel like it has been an overall success.

For my second film inspired shoot, I chose to base it on The Man Who Fell To Earth. Especially, David Bowie’s character, humanoid alien called Thomas Jerome Newton. I chose this film as unlike the first, it’s a bit more out there and the styling is 1970’s vision of the alien form.

I want my shoot to be inspired by Newton’s facial look and also take small sections of the elements of the film.

Despite the film being very out there, I want to twist it to be more refined. One reason for this is that I want to develop the skills to manipulate and twist inspiration to create a completely different feel.

I chose this as my photo as I really like the hand position and the eye contact, which the model is making with the camera.

I was quite happy with the original shot (above) and for this reason I didn’t want to over edit it, as this isn’t my go to technique. I also don’t feel like over editing is that fitting to the shoot itself and this is something important to consider when editing.

I instead chose to make simple adjustments to the levels of the photograph, in the hope of making small adjustments, which will help the photograph excel.

The first adjustments I made were to the vibrance and exposure. For the vibrance tool, I turned vibrance down a bit and the saturation up. Whilst for the exposure, I just turned the Gamma correction up again. I then adjust the brightness and contrast up a bit. By doing this creating highlights on the face and more contrast between the lightest and darkest sections.

For my adjustments to level, I just like to have a play and not really set any predictions. I tend to find that I can plan the adjustment changes I want and then I quite often find something better.

I am happy with this photograph, I feel like the subtly of the inspiration came through just as I wanted to. I really like how the makeup has linked back to the film, and I feel like by this link being through makeup it is most fashion then just copying a film. As this is something that I want to avoid, I didn’t want it to come across tacky or like a costume. As well as make the facial makeup inspired by Bowie’s character, I also wanted the nail colour to be inspired by the hospital style chair.

The only change I would have made to this shoot is possibly try some other lights, simply for the reason that it is quite similar to the lighting in the last shoot. However this was how I planned the shoot to be and I feel like it really fits the inspiration.

Before deciding on a magazine and how I was going to approach the styling of the shot and work the magazine more around that. I had a look at Issue 0 of Beauty Papers, which I used earlier on in the course. I like the water texture and the rawness of model and the emotion shown on her face.

I also took inspiration from the back page of In Bloom issue 3; again it draws on the idea of texture. I like that the chewing gum gives a bit more body to the movement from the mouth and again the eye contact with the camera almost makes it an uncomfortable photograph.

I have decided that I want to go with this idea of liquid being spat out and I would like to do this as a shoot for The Hunger Magazine. Using the graphics of the issue presented from issue 2, I aim to draw from the ide of liquid that is presented.

I chose this photo because the custard part had the effect I was hoping for and created the perfect shape that will fill down to the bottom of the page. I started first by making the image black and white as I felt this would work best with the graphics of the magazine. It also removes the yellow of the custard, which then takes away it being a prop and makes it part of the image. It makes the liquid a mystery and it is less clear what it is, meaning it could be milk or even stretched chewing gum like the In Bloom back page.

It was then simple as removing the background of the original cover image and layering it on top of my photograph.

Unfortunately when adjusting it to printing size, I have to reduce a lot of the custard length.

This I feel has been my most successful shoot and the one I feel most proud of. The overall mood of the photograph has been just as I wanted it, with a very full on approach, with the straight on eye contact. The image came out very raw looking and the custard is almost unrecognisable when in black and white.

The editing of the graphics worked well, I am especially happy with the detail of editing in the magazine title.

Whilst the bottom bit fits in very well, but cuts off sections of the photographs which could have been saved.

The quality of the bottom section is also slightly off in a way, however I wanted to stick to the graphics used in this issue cover.

I feel like my work for this course has been overall successful, that I have developed a number of skills and given myself a few things to work on.

I feel like my work has demonstrated my wide variety in styling and technique.

It has helped my knowledge grow in the photographs created.

I have started to develop a sense of photography style and it will allow me to develop this further in the future.

Out of the shoots, my favourites are the ones which are more awkward and where something doesn’t quite feel comfortable. I feel like by doing this they are making some kind of impact and that they make you feel something.

I don’t really enjoy the overly edited photographs (such as week one) and this isn’t a style that I think I will particularly follow up in the future. However I am aware that it’s a style that fitted the brief best.

I feel like something I have learnt through the course is to be selective, that if you aren’t selective then the photographs wont work out as well as expected. The first thing to be selective about is the location, the way it makes the photograph feel. That includes the fact that if it’s on location then it should be embraced. The next thing, which sits hand in hand with choice of location, is choice of lighting; this can be affected quite often by the location of shoots. Such as the first part of week three, in this location the only light that can be used is continuous lighting. The final thing that has to be treated selectively is the choice of model and how the model will make the photographs look. An example of this is the second part of week three, where the mood is made to be the complete opposite of what I was going for.

I would really like to move further with the idea of film and arts inspired photographs, I like the idea of linking different visual art forms. This allows it to move forwards in different ways and be inspired by this, including taking modern twist on it. I also want to move forwards by photographing for a purpose and a client style environment; this has been made clear by my interest in the final weeks project.

I want to use all these skills and thoughts to move forwards into other projects.