This week I was able to discuss my progress throughout the project so far and acknowledge the action points I need to put into place. I found presenting my ideas to all three tutors very helpful as they were able to give me group feedback and I was able to step back and view my work from a different perspective. After showing images from the 5 shoots I have conducted so far, I feel very happy and confident with what I have produced up to date. I feel my images are very strong and work coherently together as a series for my book, and I have a strong action plan in place for the next few weeks and feel my time management has been good. The areas that I could improve upon this week were to re-define the target market as I had changed my mind a couple of times throughout the project and was reminded that it is important to not loose focus as to who I am making the book for. Also to define the title as it was noted that maybe it was not strong enough. Overall I feel so far I have made good progress and I am on track with my work. This week I have conducted a further two shots, one using labels and the other using Icing sugar. Both shoots I feel are strong and I am really pleased with how they have turned out. The action points I have now set myself are to edit the two shots I have done this week, and to conduct the final two shots this coming week.
W/C 17th March
This week I had planned on shooting two looks, however one of my models let me down last minute so I was only able to shoot 1. I shot the look using plaster cast which created a really interesting pattern/ texture on the models face. Originally I had planned to cover the whole face creating a 'mask' like aesthetic, however during the application process the plaster started to peel off the skin very quickly as it dried so I was unable to cover the whole face. I had to work extremely quickly with the product and it was extremely hard to get it to mould to the curvatures of the face. Similar to the other shots I have done, the images I found to be the most successful were the close up shots as they showed great detail and abstract qualities. This week I have focused on editing all my images , placing them in sequence and playing around with layout as well as preparing for my progress presentation. I have also tested the use of icing on the face as I had the idea to use it for my wet product look. I feel this will be really effective as the different consistencies of icing will allow it to drip and stick to the face and also as it dries it will create a cracked texture. I will aim to shoot this look and the label look next week. I have decided on the title RE:CONSTRUCT for my book . I was drawn to the word reconstruct as it symbolises how I am trying to take a material and re-build or re-work it in an unusual way that challenges how everyday materials are constructed. Using the abbreviation Re: gives the title a twist so that it can read Reconstruct and Re:Construct. (regarding construction).
Development
The aim for this week again is to continue shooting and editing final images for the production of the book. I have decided to use online book publishers Blurb, after researching several options in London. I have received good feedback from professional photographers who have used the company and have recommended they provide a good service that is good quality but also within my budget. This week I have been experimenting with the layout a lot more, creating abstract layouts for my images. Last week I was only able to shoot 1 more image although I was hoping to shoot at least two. I used ring binder labels applied to the face, then covered the face in light foundation before removing the labels to create a circular abstract look on the face. Originally I wanted to apply them down the neck/shoulder area but I ran out of resources during the shoot. Despite this I am very happy with the outcome and believe this looks contrasts well with the other shoots I have done so far. I have also been thinking about a title for my book and so far I am drawn to words such as de-construct , re-construct , unexpected ,form, ordinary/extraordinary. I will continue to use these words as inspiration to create a title and paragraph for the beginning of the book.
Monday 3rd Tutorial
This week I recapped on the shoots I have conducted so far with Emma, Dejan and Heath. We started to discuss the composition of the images and how they become more effective when cropped or zoomed in, focusing on the detail of the material. I also started to discuss the layout of the book as I should be thinking about this at this stage in the project and starting to print out my shoots, experimenting with different layouts. We agreed it would be best to keep to 3 or 4 images per material and to include a range of close ups, in particular it was suggested that full double page spread would be effective for close up shots of the eye. With this in mind I have started to experiment with the layout of the shoots I have already done using online publishers Blurb book smart application in which you can create a book for online print. I have also collected a few names of printers that I will visit on the weekend, however a lot of the printing companies I found had a minimum amount of copies to print or were above my budget. I also went through the list of looks I plan to shoot in the next few weeks, including liquid and metallic looks and discussed the possible materials I could use including sweet wrappers, tin foil, shampoo and Swarfega. The aim for this week is to continue shooting looks for the final book, continue editing my images and start deciding on composition and layout for the book.
Shooting
This week I have completed two shoots that will feature in my final book. Firstly I did a final shoot of the cotton wool look as I wanted to cover the whole face of the model to create the look of a 'second skin'. This was very effective as it gave the model an almost eerie existence on camera and I was very happy with the outcome. I feel the choice of model was successful as I wanted someone with a soft and young exterior to mirror the softness of the cotton wool but also someone with bright eyes that would stand out through the material. The second shoot I did was using egg shells. This shoot was more time consuming and required a lot more preparation. I decided to cover half of the models face as I loved the contrast between the fragmented and the smooth/natural skin of the model. The idea of crushing the egg shells before application worked very well as it is not immediately obvious what the material is. I also did a few test shots using the hands and Clingfilm which I aim to develop in the next week.
I experimented with adding black watercolour into the cotton wool to create a new dynamic when letting it bleed into the material.
Images from the eggshell shoot
Monday 24th
This week I discussed my work with both visiting mentor Madame Perepetie and Emma. I showed test shoots I had done in the studio so far and discussed my choice of materials and the direction of my work. I discussed the idea of using white office labels I had played around with at home and showed them some test images. I noticed it created a very masculine almost beard like look when layering them on the face and when covering the whole face it mirrored that of a burka, which we discussed looks very ambiguous and more shocking/ effective interesting on a woman. Madame Perepetie discussed the idea of developing the use of labels and perhaps staining or cutting away the labels to create different looks or even create a series from this one material. The main aim for next week is to have conducted at least two final and compete looks and start editing them for use in the final book. Also to continue developing more materials - some that have been discussed in this weeks tutorial are balloons, cling film, liquid, metallic materials. Emma also discussed the importance of finding a printers and suggested that I have at least two or three printers in mind for when I visit London next weekend. I particularly found this tutorial helpful and motivating as we had the input and expertise of Madame Perepetie, who found my images so far very dynamic and interesting and had some good suggestions to develop my vision.
Testing with labels
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