Personal Shoot 6: Gothic Inspiration

Plans for the shoot:
I am going to be looking at incorporating Gothic fashion and makeup into my photo shoot today.  I am planning on having two parts to the shoot, one where the makeup look isn't so dark and one where it is very dark and Gothic.  I want to be bale to get a variety of photos that show a chic, modern vibe to the fashion inspiration I have chosen.

I am planning on using the white background today as everything I am going to be wearing is dark and, including the makeup, therefore this will ensure that the subject stands out and is strong in the photo.

Shoot Evaluation:
I think today's shoot went well, though I encountered more problem today with using myself as model (in terms of getting my poses and facial expression right).  Nevertheless, after some struggle I was able to get a mirror and used this to help me get me get these right.

Here are some of the photos from today:

These first two photos are from when I was I was getting trouble with my pose, but I happy with these.  Here you can also see a contrast between the darker and the more subtle makeup looks like I did.  I like the pose here of the subject and I think it complimented the makeup look and it worked with the dress and heels too - I think it  also added to that Gothic feel that I was going for.  The photo on the left with the darker makeup looks very moody and sultry, whereas the one on the left looks more sweet and innocent.  This is something that I have not thought about doing before and I am really happy with how the a simple change can make two very similar photos have very different vibes and feelings.

This final photo is my favourite from today as it really captured what I wanted in terms of it being dark and sultry.  I used Photoshop to create the effect that I have on the eyes. This has drawn more attention to them as they are the darkest thing in the photo, and although there is no literal eye contact with the camera they are very haunting and this has ensured that they have remained the focus in the shot.

I think the white background worked well in this photo, and the others too.  I wanted to make sure that all the darker elements in the photo stood out and this worked well.

This shoot has definitely made me think more about what I can do in terms of using the body to create different poses and how this has an effect on the overall photo.  I also want to start using different Photoshop effects along with the makeup looks that I create as this helps to enhance them and change the vibe and feel that the photo has.  I have only really conducted shoots so far where I focus on the face and this has shown me how makeup and beauty photography can be used in other ways.

Personal Shoot 5: Wild Child

Plans for the shoot:
In today's shoot I am going to be looking at photographing more a glamorous editorial look that might be seen magazines or even potentially advertising.  I am wanting to conduct a fun, flirty and feminine shoot by incorporating a leopard print eye look with a bright shiny lip.  I think this s something that I haven't looked at photographing yet as I am going to be working closer up to capture all the detail in the makeup.

I want my subject to look fun and flirty with a sensual side, therefore it is going to be important to make sure the connection with the model and the camera is strong.  As I am going to be working close up with my model I not too concerned about the background as I don't envision it being seen all that much - nevertheless, I want a clean sterile background that is not going to interfere with the photographing of the intricate makeup.

Shoot Evaluation:
I am relatively happy with how today's shoot went though I did encounter a few minor issues in the beginning, however these were all rectified quickly and easily and the shoot continued to run smoothly afterwards.  The first issue I found was with myself (I again used myself as a subject).  At no fault of my own my eyes kept watering in the cold weather and the makeup kept running, then the flash of the camera made it worse too.  This meant that I had to wait a while till my eyes had adjusted and re-do the makeup where necessary, which in turn wasted some of the time I had too shoot.  Ii then encountered a problem with the background that I  chose to use - brown.  Although I though it complimented the colours I had used in the makeup beautifully and really made it a striking shot, my hair got lost in the background as it was such a similar colour.  After some deliberation though I went with the grey background and used a polystyrene board to block out some of the light and create a shadow, making the background a really lovely shade of dark grey that worked well for my shoot.

This is probably my favourite photo from today.  I am happy with the expression and pose of the model as this is something that I highlighted as being important before the shoot.  The cropping is another major element for me liking this photo so much as well - I like how the subject only appears in half of the framing as this has helped to being all the attention to the eyes.  The eyes here have also connected really well with the camera which has helped to create that flirty vibe that I wanted.










This second photo, though similar to the first, is one I like as well and I think the slight change in the cropping has really changed the overall feel of the image.  You can see more of the arm here where the subject is holding her hair back and this has given more of a 'direction' in the photo and then again drawn attention to the eyes. 

 

This final photo is something different, again due to the cropping.  Initially I didn't like this photo as my models hair was messy and out of place at the back and this didn't look good in the photo, but I liked the facial expression and decided to crop the photo really tight and was happy with the result.

 

 

I have definitely learnt more and thinking about the cropping, framing and composition of my work from today's shoot and these are definitely things that I will be able to bring to future shoots with me.  I have also been more experimental by doing this and discovered that I like and can get different effects with photos by doing this.

Personal Shoot 4: Horrifically Beautiful

 

Plans for the shoot:

 

In todays shoot I am planning on looking at horror/gore or special effects makeup as I have not looked at this yet in any of my shoots.  I am wanting to show a contrast that I also haven't looked at within the photography/makeup industry - that is something that can be perceived as being stereotypically 'beautiful' and something that is perceived as being 'ugly' or not normal.  Therefore I am planning on using myself as a subject and doing half my face in 'pretty' glamorous makeup and the other half of my face all cut up revealing a skull face.

I think this is idea is original and will allow me to experiment and explore more within my chosen topic.  It also gives me a chance to gain not only more photos for my portfolio but more skills and practice with special effects makeup.  I am thoroughly looking forward to this shoot and cannot wait to see the results!

I'm again going to use a sterile background as I want my subject to remain the only focus in the photo (I have found many times previously that this is how I like to photograph).  The grey background is also mostly likely to be the one that I use.  This is because all the makeup I am using is going to be a strong back and white and therefore there will a subtle harmonious colour scheme kept through out which will help balance out the strong makeup look I am anticipating.  It will also make all red in the look (from the blood) stand out too and therefore I will have a focal colour as well.

Shoot evaluation:
I am really happy with the shoot today and how it went!  Not only am I proud of the look I created I also think that photos that I been able to capture are really interesting and something that are going to look great in my portfolio.  I have found that using myself as a subject the more comfortable I feel the better the photos turn out, and with this look I had so much fun with it I was able to take on the character I created well and ended up with a good shoot.  Here are some of the photos from today:

This is my favourite photo from today.  I think it is very dramatic and striking to look at, making it visually interesting and dynamic.  I love the expression and the intensity that the eyes have - because they are making contact with the camera  they are very haunting to look at and add to the dramatic, dark side of look.  This has also been accentuated with the angle at which the photo has been taken as the camera is looking down at the subject, therefore the eyes look bigger and more attention is drawn to them.  The framing of the photo is also something that I like about this shot as it is quite tight and this again has added more attention to the subject.

I really like how the contrast between the two looks turned out in this shot and how you can clearly see the difference in the glamorous side of the look and the creepy side.  All the colours in the photo are harmonious as anticipated but the red of the blood has added a nice contrast and highlighted where I want most of the attention in the photo to be.

This is another photo from today's shoot.  I like this one for as it has been taken at a slightly different angle and zoom level so you can see more of the shoulders and upper body.  I like this as the pose of the subject looks slightly twisted and her facial expression is almost dormant adding to the eerie feel of the photo. 

In this photo I chose to change the saturation level slightly too and I liked the effect that this gave as it darkened the image subtly and this added to the dark side of the image.

I definitely enjoyed working with special effects makeup today and creating a darker look - it was fun and has added a different element to my portfolio.  This is something that I want to experiment more with and see what other looks I can create and how they can be translated in a photograph.

Personal Shoot 2: Alien

Plans for the shoot:
After my last shoot went so well, I have been inspired to take my idea a bit further.  Still remaining with the surreal makeup looks, I want to explore further the 'alien' feel that I achieved and actually create an alien look.  I want this look to be colourful and bright, therefore I am planning on using VUA paints and florescent eyeshadows.  I am going to embellish the look with glitter and gems as I want to create different textures and elements for the light to catch hold of in the shot too.

As before, the grey background is likely to be the one I use as it always photographs really nicely, however as it is an alien look I am also going to see what the black background looks like as this would add to connotations of the sky and space.

Shoot Evaluation:
The shoot today definitely didn't go as well as I thought it would have done and I don't really feel I achieved at all what I wanted.  I encountered many problems at the beginning of the shoot, and though I was able to partly rectify them it affected the overall shoot and the images that I got.  The first problem was with the lightening - because I'd used UVA and florescent makeup I had to change all the lightening to get this show up and this then affected the rest of the look and the photo, so I have to revert it back to what it originally was loose the bright colours.  I also experimented with the black background too but this didn't work as well as I had hoped and the subject got lost in the background too due to her dark hair colour (so I went with grey instead).

This is one shot from the shoot today - I am not really happy with any of the shots from today but this is one of the better ones.  I have had to really edit the photo so that the colours stand out and become visible and I don't like this  - it looks over-edited in my opinion.  I like the effect that I have put on my eyes.  I changed the colour of them and made the highlights more accentuated and this has added a more alien vibe.  I like the emotion on the subjects face - it looks soft yet mysterious and this is the kind of thing that I wanted to go for.

This is another photo from the shoot today.  This is one that I edited differently to see how I could bring the colours out more.  I quite like the way the accentuated purple tone has brought out some more of the colours on the makeup as this is one of the initial problems that I found in the shoot.  I dislike the expression on the subjects face here - I think it looks bored and though there is eye contact with the camera, the subject isn't really connecting with the camera.  I use myself as a subject and I think because throughout the duration of this shoot I encountered many problems I became disheartened and this then showed through on my face.

I have definitely learned a lot in this shoot, mostly that if the shoot isn't going to plan not to get disheartened too much and let it affect the rest of the shoot, as this clearly affects the final photos.

Technique Page - Animation

Technique Page – Animation

What is it?: Movement created through a series of photos being displayed in a continuous loop of frames.
How do you do it?
Animation is very similar another technique that is fairly easy to create.  It sees you as the photographer using a series of photos to create movement (a little bit like sequencing).  This is how you do it:

1.     Firstly, you need to know what you are going to shoot.  Format your camera and the go out to shoot your subject.

2.     Once you have conducted your shoot download the photos in Photoshop.

3.     Open the first image that is going to appear in the animation and change the levels and curves and any other adjustments that you would like to make.

4.     You can now start making the animation by going to Window in Photoshop and selecting “Animation/Timeline”. 

5.     Make all the changes to the other images that going to be in the animation the same as what you did in the first so that the animation runs smoothly, then place the images in new frames/layers on the timeline.

6.     You can now make any adjustments to the animation that you desire such as the length of time it runs, make it run on repeat or ‘tween’ it to make it run smoother.

7.     Ensure you save this file as a GIF.

Technique Page - Depth of Field

Technique Page – Depth of Field

What is it: depth of field is how much of a photo is in focus based on distance.
How do you do it?
Depth of field has two different kinds – minimum and maximum.  Minimum is when only the foreground to the photo is in focus, and maximum is where everything in the photo is sharp and in focus.  This is how you can achieve these effects (there are three ways for each):

Minimum depth of field

• Get close to the subject
• Make the aperture bigger (a small number)
• Use a larger zoom

Maximum depth of field

• Get far away from the subject
• Make the aperture smaller (a big number)
• Use a smaller zoom

Technique Page - Sequencing

Technique Page – Sequencing

What is it?: Sequencing is a succession, something the follows another thing.
How do you do it?
Sequencing is a fairly easy technique to do and can be very effective as it uses multiple images in the final piece.  This is how you can do it:

1.     You firstly need to decide what you are going to shoot.  An example of something that I did in class was shooting some of class mates standing in a line and they took it in turns to turn around.

2.     Now you have decided this (ensuring your camera is properly formatted) you can shoot your subjects/object.  You want to keep the camera in the same position and distance away from what you are shooting and only change what the subject/object is doing to get the best possible effect.   You can of course experiment with this by changing your position as the photographer, the angle or zoom of the camera etc. it entirely depends on the effect you are trying to achieve and what suits best for what you are shooting.  You want to do this a few times until you have your desired amount of shots.

3.     Once you have your photos, download like normal into Photoshop.

4.     Continue by opening a new blank transparent A4 document in Photoshop.

5.     Open all the images you want to include in your sequence and adjust the levels, curves etc. as well as resizing the photos to make sure they all fit on the A4 document (make sure they all remain the same size).

6.     You now need to divide the blank document up equally depending on how many images you want to place in it.

7.     It’s now time to place the images on the black document starting with the first and ending with the last.  It is up to you where you place them on the document and how you arrange them depending on whether the page is portrait or landscape and depending on how many photos you have.

8.     Position all the images where you want them too be, adjust as you go (use the gird on the transparent document as guide on positioning them the same width apart).

Once you have done this flatten the image and you are ready to print.