Personal Shoot 1: Smoke and Diamonds

Plans for the shoot:
In today's class I am planning on shooting a surreal look.  It is the first shoot I am conducting for my personal project and I think it's something that is really going to get me started and launched into my project.  After finding various creative diamonds and gems at home I want to create a 'smokey diamond' look.  The look is going to be quite dark and unique, with a eeriness about it that links to dreamlike alien characters. 

I really wanted to capture the different textures that are going to be present in the look such as the sparkling gems and the matte face and how this contrasts against each other.  I plan to use the grey background for this shoot as I think it was provide a nice clean finish and not distract from anything going on with the subject.  Experimenting with different angels and poses is something else I want to explore here - as it's a surreal look I think this provides the perfect opportunity for me to get creative and really bring the character I create to life.  I also want to experiment with some 'smoke effects' in Photoshop to really build up the dark and shadowy feel I am going for.

Shoot Evaluation:
I am really happy with how the shoot went today and I think I got some really interesting shots.  The look I create in terms of the makeup went well and photographed beautifully.   I used myself as a subject as I found this the easiest option, and despite some initial problems in the beginning with me trying to compose myself and 'get into character' to capture the shot I wanted the shoot ran smoothly and without error.  I love the feel of the pictures that I got, and I have learned a lot about how the angle and pose in a shoot can change the overall entire feel of image - this is definitely something I am going to bring with to future shoots.

This first photo from the shoot is one that I particularly liked.  The pose has really added something to the shot with the way the head is tilted and the hand is positioned - the eyes look huge here too which has helped me create that surreal 'alien' feel for the picture.  The contrasts in the shot have really enhanced the overall image, for example, the pale skin against the dark lipstick, or the sparkle of the gems against the matte face.  Although it is something I didn't really plan for nor thought about for the shoot was the hair.  Though the hair here is just in a messy up-do, it has again created contrast against the symmetrical diamonds/gems and the 'perfect' makeup.  Though in some shots I don't think it works as well, here I really like it.  The sterile grey background worked really well here too as it compliment the colours already present in the shot but didn't over-shadow them nor distract from the subject.

 

 This second photo is one where I added the smokey effect.   I love how this has completely changed the photo and made it so much darker and added that eeriness about it that I was after.  To get this, all I used were some Photoshop brushes that I downloaded that help create the smoke, then changed the size and shape of them, and layered them up till I got the desired effect. I also changed the saturation of this photo as it's almost in black and white and this has really brought more emotion out in the shot - I also think it has made the eyes more haunting with the way they are connecting with the camera and enhanced the expression of the subject.

 

 

 

 

 

Personal Shoot 3: Sixties Inspired

Plans for the shoot:
In today's shoot I am planning to do something that is sixties inspired.  I have chosen to do something sixties inspired as during this time period fashion was making a big statement and this included makeup.  When you think of the sixties you think about the matte skin, the pale lips and the bold eyelashes that everyone was wearing and this is the look that I want to recreate for the shoot.  Photography from this time is also very inspirational as it captures these looks beautifully.

I want to really capture the shot as it were the sixties, therefore I have considered different ways of doing this.  I think experimenting with some black and white shots could be fun and also help me to channel the final pieces that I am after.  I plan on using the grey background as I love the way this looks and as the makeup look I am doing is mostly consisting of black and white I think it will compliment this and allow me to continue with the harmonious colour scheme.

Shoot Evaluation:
Overall I am really happy with how this shoot turned out.  I think the shots that I have ended up with are reminiscent of the sixties yet still have a modern, up-to-date feel about them too.

This is one of the shots that  I like from today that I made black and white.  I think that it has helped accentuate the sixties feel that I was going for and in turn help to make the shoot more of a success.  I love the expression and the pose of the subject and I think gives connotations of the sixties.  I used the liquify effect on the eyelashes; even though I used false eyelashes for this look by using this effect it really made them stand out more.  I am happy with this effect as I think it has made it  extremely dramatic and this has given a more contemporary feel.  I did find the liquify effect hard to use at first, but once I got used to it I really valued it and I want to find reason to it again  - there are many different ways to use this tool in Photoshop and I would like to experiment with them.  This photo has a classy, sophisticated feel about it, as well as also having a fun and flirty vibe too, which is something that is very similar to photography you see in the sixties.  

These are two more photos from my shoot today - I LOVE THEM!  I was experimenting with different tools in Photoshop and by chance developed my work into this.  I adore the feel and the effect that these photos have.  The one on the left is almost haunting as there is no eye contact with the camera and I think the subject looks lifeless.  This has given a totally different slant to the sixties feel I was going for, but I like the variation that this has added - I also feel this have provided a contemporary and unique mood to the final piece.  By photographing the subject like this too it has also allow me to show a different side to the makeup.  

The photo on the right is my favourite that I got out of the entire shoot.  I love the drama and the intensity that is present in the picture.  To get this effect on the photo, as with the other photo, I was experimenting with different effects and tools in Photoshop.  This effect was achieved by playing around with the exposure levels, the saturation and the lightness etc.  I love the way the the subject is connecting with camera and how intense the eyes look.  The pose is something that has also added to the sixties feel - I think the white nails here is also very influential of this time period too, as well as being something I have yet to photograph is makeup yet.  

In both photos something that I like is the cropping and the angle at which they are taken.  I like the cropping as you cannot see anything but the subject herself - this gives a totally different effect to when you can see the background in a photo.  In terms of the angle I positioned the camera so it was slightly at a high angle.  This made the eyes look bigger and in turn has helped me to capture that innocent yet flirty feel that is present in the the photo.

Image Bank - Fine Art

Fine art photography can be looked at from many different angels - typically beautiful things e.g. landscapes, beauty shots etc. or alternatively controversial things such as 'weird beauty' or something that's not necessarily thought to be normal or right.  Some of the photos that I have found like the second one are 'pretty' and also kind of surreal with the cloud as the tree.  The forth photo looks at the beauty of the body from a different perspective, here it's looking a flexibility and the human body in  a different form.

Two of my favourite photos that I have found are by the same photographer, Oleg Dou - these are the third and sixth photos.  I love the simplicity of the shots in terms of colour and cleanliness.  I think it's really effect the way that the fine art technique has been used here to capture shots that aren't necessarily pretty, but instead capture a different kind of beauty.  I love how haunting the eyes are in both of the picture an how they connect with the camera.  It's interesting the way the photographer has manipulated the sixth photo to accentuate the tongue and make it look distorted.

Another of the photos that I really liked it the fifth example of fine art that I found.  I love the way there is a contrast in the woman's bod which can be considered a beauty and then the ugly pigs mask that she is holding up to her face.  I think the effect has worked even better with the photo being photographed in black and white.  There is not eye contact made with the camera here as the subject is holding the mask to her face, but the haunting effect that this has s undeniable and the audience are still drawn in to a focus point on the mask.

Best Work So Far...

Best work so far from Kate-Anna Smith

So far in my personal project where my topic is looking at makeup I have completed five shoots.  I am relatively happy with my work and the standard of it and I think that my shoots have all been well thought out and planned.
I like some of the effects that I have explored within some of my shoots as I think they have added to and enhanced my work.  I have experimented with different angles at which to photograph different looks and this is something that I have enjoyed as I like the way that it can change the entire feel of an image.
Something I ma not happy about my work is that I feel some of the photos I have are too similar and I would like to widen my portfolio and gain more variety within my work - I use myself as a subject and therefore this is something I can look at changing, perhaps by using models or working on different facial expression etc.

In order to move further with my project I am going to look at exploring more contemporary and edgy looks to photograph as these are the shoots that I enjoy the most and that are my strongest.  I also think that during these shoots in particular I am starting to develop my own unique and individual style.