'Language' Mood Board

During this session we were told to create a mood board based on a random word. We got this word my closing our eyes and opening a dictionary. My word was 'Language' so i went through different magazines looking for images that I thought could represent this.

This is the mood board that I came up with first. I mainly used images that has text on the (some in different languages and some with unusual poses to reflect the idea of body language.

This was my final idea for the mood board. i removed some of the images as I preferred the ones using darker colours.

Final Shoots

For my final shoots, I decided to use Nicole and Taylor from my class as my models. I decided that I wanted a black backround for both of my shoots as I wanted the black and white one to be dark and felt that Taylor's hair stood out more with a black backround for my colour images:

I used silver reflectors and used black polyboards for both the shoots to help with contouring and shadows. Overall, I took about 200 photos for both shoots and had a lot that I liked but didn't get to use.

Practice Shoots

For these shoots we decided to practice on each other and try out different lighting techniques.

We tried out different poses using the different reflectors and trying out the polyboards as well. 

Ethics of Post Production

Retouching photographs has actually been happening since the 1860s. The terms 'airbrushing' comes from when people would actually use a brush to edit photographs. An example of some early retouching can be seen in George Hurrel's 1931 photograph of Joan Crawford:

Every image that we see is retouched even if this is just adjusting brightness and contrast. 

Some images that we see are extremely edited. An example of this is this image of Madonna before and after PhotoShop:

There have also been beauty advertisements that have bee banned due to over editing. An example of this is this Dior campaign, which was banned to to editing on the eyelashes and as said to lie about what the product being sold could actually do:

This campaign, by make-up brand Make-Up Forever, claims to have no retouching. Although there may not be a lot of editing, it's still very unlikely that the contrast and brightness hasn't been adjusted.

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/70/d7/a5/70d7a50ae471e7a295a71bc046e7520f.jpg

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/bRPMM6TfdIs/maxresdefault.jpg

http://cached.imagescaler.hbpl.co.uk/resize/scaleWidth/815/offlinehbpl.hbpl.co.uk/news/OMC/8E37C928-0F83-D4A5-8CD0C9EB4197909E.jpg

http://www.spiffykerms.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/MAKE-UP-FOR-EVER_Canada-Contest-Win_HD-Complexion-Starter-Kit-Ad_Zink-Canada.jpg

Facetune

During this session, we took a photo of someone in our group and then had to edit it on the app FaceTune.

This is the original photo that we took of Nicole.

This is the image after editing. To get the image like this we first of all cropped the image so it was more centred around the face. e then used the 'Patch' tool to removes the freckles. We then used the 'Tone' tool to remove any dark circles under the eyes and remove any redness on the face. After this we used the 'Smooth' tool on the forehead, nose and under the eyes and added some detail to the eyelashes. We then reshaped the nose. lips, eyebrows, jawline and cheeks and added highlight on the cheekbones. Lastly we added the 'Sunset' filter to make the skin glow more and another filter to darken the edges around the image.

I personally prefer how she looks in the original image as I think that the edited one looks quite fake and doesn't really look like a real person. This was a good lesson to learn in terms of how I wouldn't want my photos to turn out after editing.

Lighting

What gives mood to a photograph?

• The Model
• The Lighting
• the Colour Palette

High Key Lighting: very bright, vivid, a lot of contrast.
High key lighting is better for bad skin, some examples of high key lighting:

Low Key Lighting: more natural, darker.
Some examples of low key lighting:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/31/9a/1f/319a1fcc4c979289293f9596ae076322.jpg

http://cdni.condenast.co.uk/1280x1920/k_n/lana-del-rey-vogue-march12-p305-mario-testino_b.jpg

https://i-d-images.vice.com/images/articles/meta/2015/06/23/untitled-article-1435099729.jpg?crop=1xw:0.844574780058651xh;0xw,0.09970674486803519xh&resize=1200:*&output-format=image/jpeg&output-quality=75

https://fashionslop.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/lara-stone-i-d-magazine-fall-2011-5.jpg

Recreating Beauty Images

During this session we recreated some beauty poses.We decided to recreate this one:

We recreated it using sheets of white paper in a well lit room. This was quite different from the original due to the fact that the original had quite a lot of shadow in it.

Advice for Photoshoots

We were also given some points for when we were doing our shoots:

• To never work in a dark room for a beauty shoot.
• To keep everyone cool.
• To make sure the model stays hydrated.
• To try to make everyone on the shoot feel relaxed.
• To look after the models.
• To complete the make-up and hair look on model and let them relax while you set up the shoot (only call them in once you need them);
• To make sure to direct the model, especially if they are inexperienced or nervous.
• To make sure the model knows before you start an idea of what you want them to do.
• To try to keep the model moving all the time as the studio can get cold.
• Play music in the backround.
• To avoid silence during the shoot and communicate with the model.
•  Be honest with the model but don't be rude.
• Don't whisper so the model can't hear you or turn your back on the model.
• Don't let it show if you're having a bad day as it might bring everyone else down. including the model. 
• Fine tune the shot make sure you're happy with it and don't rely on post-production to fix mistakes.
• Encourage the model.
• Choose poses and an attitude for the shoot that suit the model.
• Always be ready to take a shot - some of the best photos can be taken when the model is completely relaxed.

6 Poses

For this session we had to research six different poses that we found inspiring and then bring them into class. One had to be from a fashion editorial, one from a beauty editorial, one from a beauty advertisement, one illustration/cartoon, one unposed image and one from a painting.

For my fashion editorial image I chose an editorial named ‘Nevermore’. The image shows two models (Ashley Espinal and Emily Hunt) in heavy gothic make up and outfits posing in the forest. The make-up artist for the shoot was the model Emily Hunt who posed for the shoot. The photographer was Olivia Witzke.

For my beauty editorial image I chose an image from Rankin’s book ‘Myths, Monsters and Legends’. He created these images along with artist Damien Hirst. The image shows model Dani Smith as Medusa as she is completely painted black and has snakes for hair.

For my beauty advertisement image I chose a ‘NARS’ advert for a mascara.

For my illustration/cartoon image I chose an image of the character Maleficent from the 1959 Disney film ‘Sleeping Beauty’. The image shows Maleficent and her raven Diablo.  

For my unposed image I chose a still from the 2011 series ‘American Horror Story: Murder House’ of one of the main characters, Tate Langdon. He is responsible for the death of a number of characters I the series ad is shown with skeleton-style make up. The character is portrayed by actor Evan Peters and the key make-up artists for the series were Eryn Krueger Mekash, Kim Ayers, Silvia Knight and D. Garen Tolkin. This image is taken from a flashback of the character on the day that he carried out a school shooting.

For my painting I chose the 1893 painting ‘The Scream’ by Edvard Munch. He actually created four versions of it between 1893 and 1910. The full name of these was ‘Der Schrei der Natur’ meaning ‘The Scream of Nature’. Munch painted his inspiration for the image on one of the pastel versions:

“I was walking along the road with two friends – the sun was setting – suddenly the sky turned blood red – I paused, feeling exhausted, and leaned on the fence – there was blood and tongues of fire above the blue-black fjord and the city – my friends walked on, and I stood there trembling with anxiety – and I sensed an infinite scream passing through nature.” (Munch, 1894)

Auxiliary Magazine, 2013. Nevermore (viewed 20/10/2015) Available from: http://auxiliarymagazine.com/fashion/2013/11/fashion-editorial-nevermore/

Hunger TV, 2011. MYTHS, MONSTERS & LEGENDS: RANKIN & DAMIEN HIRST (Viewed 20/10/2015) Available from; http://www.hungertv.com/art-culture/feature/myths-rankin-and-damien-hirst/

(Viewed 20/10/2015) Available from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scream

http://auxiliarymagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Auxiliary_Nevermore1.jpg?6d940c

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/8a/e5/24/8ae52450e3f030f9fd3a9753027e6c04.jpg

http://beautystat.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/NARS-Audacious-Mascara-Kohliner-main-2-660x330.png

http://static2.hypable.com/wp-content/gallery/maleficent-sleeping-beauty-changes/maleficent-sleeping-beauty-differences-changes-maleficent.jpg

http://img05.deviantart.net/5d07/i/2012/004/1/9/tate_langdon_by_xchiarax-d4latww.jpg

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/The_Scream.jpg

What to look for in Castings

We were given some advice for doing model castings. First of all we were told that we should always do a casting even if it is just over Skype or FaceTime but it its not possible then to possibly ask the model for an untouched picture (a picture with no editing).

We were also told to look for the following things in a portfolio:

• A wide variety of poses.
• Skin
• Features

And to also keep in mind the genre of the shoot. For example, for a beauty shoot to look for good bone structure.