Final images

A summary:

I have selected these images to form my final series as each shoot had slightly varied original concepts for this reason I find it interesting that the subjects in shoot 1 whom were exploring gender through physical experimentation choose without prompting to alter aspects of their faces with the paint which would be traditionally associated with the subjects gender for example makeup and beards but chose to use a combination of paint colours in order to represent that they should not be gendered beauty characteristics.

I feel that that the portrait series "Personal experimentation" combines well with the series from the second shoot entitled "War paint" due to the fact that images in the series  "War Paint" focus on the brutality of modern beauty standards.  The fact that both genders felt the need to affirm that the feature most associated with their gender was not specific to that nature intrigued me as it shows that everyone feels the pressure of societies beauty and gender standards.

Personal Experimentation: 

War Paint:

Final evaluation

Photographic influence:

I have been heavily influenced by a number of different photographers with different style backgrounds throughout the course of my project.  At first I struggled to find feminist photographers whom interested me as simple google image searches provided dull and interesting images focusing largely around the female form; this was not what I hoped to achieve in my exam.  

One of the artists whom entirely altered my views on the possibilities for exploration within the topic of personal opinions was Phebe Schmidt's work regarding feminism and gender equality.  Schmidt’s work showed me that I did not have to conform to the style of feminist photography which I had previously discovered and instead focused on areas that I had been hoping to explore at the start of the unit.  Phebe Schmidt’s work incorporates striking use of colour in order to create bold statement images that stand out as a result of her distinctive style.  Schmidt also uses a range of inanimate and live subjects to create an intriguing style and diverse portfolio.  This fluidity and diversity was something that greatly intrigued me.

Another artist whom heavily inspired my work was Hannah Altman. Altman worked to push the boundaries of feminist photography by creating bold statement pieces that pushed the boundaries of what was socially acceptable in the aim of creating discussion amongst her peers.  Something remarkable about Altman's style was the way in which she routinely incorporated physical experimentation throughout her work.  An example of this is her series featuring finger print bruises which is entitled "What you left" and is a hard hitting series focused on domestic abuse.

It should be noted that whilst the majority of the artists whom inspired me were feminist or activist photographers this was not the only group whom provided inspiration to me I was also stylistically influenced by a number of other photographers such as Thomas Ruff and Slinkachu.  Ruff's portraiture style inspired by final piece and was brilliant in it's simplicity due to the fact that the employment of a relatively close shot combined with a single coloured backdrop allowed for the entire focus of the image to be my subject.  Another less well known artist was Slinkachu who's style helped to cement the idea that I could carry out my vision for shoot 3 of my preparatory shoots entitled "Battleground Beauty" as well as my final shoot "War Paint" which revisited many of the issues discussed in "Battleground Beauty".  Slinkachu's work with miniature figures was highly inspirational for me as it showed me that what I was aiming to achieve was a plausible concept that with exploration could create a striking series.

In conclusion I drew my inspiration from a wide range of artists each of whom was from different platforms and were at different levels of social recognition however each artist that I have discussed above and the many more featured on my unit 2 blog have played their own very special roles in the completion of my final visions for this topic. My portfolio would not have such a variety of work and an intriguing concept without the inspiration that I found from these artists.  

Influence of preparatory shoots:

Whilst my photographic research has obviously been crucial in the completion of my final  exam piece I feel that my preparatory shoots also played a very important part in the creation of the concepts of my final pieces.

Firstly, it is clear that the most influential shoot which I undertook was shoot 3 or "Battleground Beauty" as it is also referred to on my blog.  I felt that this shoot had a truly intriguing concept and the feedback that I received after undertaking it was overwhelmingly positive from anyone whom saw it.  This positive feedback showed me that I had created a truly unique and engaging series however I felt that there were ways in which I could improve my series which was why I decided to revisit it as my second shoot in my final exam.  One of the elements of the shoot which I wished to improve on was the composition of the images as I wished to experiment with including more objects to each image to create a more dynamic and engaging composition.  The introduction of the new elements to each image as well as the varied set up of objects created a series of varied images with the same core components and concept which was to depict the way in societies brutal beauty standards make many women feel as though they are fighting a war with themselves in order to succeed in the world.

Furthermore, other shoots which influenced my final series in perhaps more subtle ways were shoots 2 and 4 "I AM BUT I AM NOT" and "I need feminism because".  These two shoots inspired my first shoot entitled "Personal expression" as they experimented with the way in which I could provide my subject with a voice in my images and that way that I originally decide to carry that out was through the use of signs.  In my final shoot however I desired to do something a little different and switched my portraiture style form landscape to provide room for the sign to portrait to create a larger space for the subjects head.  The larger space for the subjects head was necessary as I created a series of physical experiments which focused on the way in which the subjects expressed their own gender and their views on gender expression.

To conclude a number of my shoots developed into my final exam pieces and I feel that all of the shoots even the ones which I have not discussed here create an intriguing view on the subject of personal opinions.

Technical progression

I feel that there has been a clear sense of progression since I undertook the project in February to when I have finished my project in May.  

Before beginning this project I had a poor understanding of the studio set up due to the fact that the vast majority of the shoots which I completed prior to this took place outside opposed to in the studio meaning that I was not practiced in the ways in which the lights worked.  I had to learn these things though as I began to realise whilst planning my shoots that I would be spending the majority of my time in the studio using the equipment.  Only two elements of my shoots took part outside of the college studio as I shot shoot 8 "Paint me pretty" at home and had to shoot the flowers to insert into the images for shoot 6 "Flower beards" outside.  This meant that with the constant use of the studio I became more acquainted with the equipment although getting to the stage I am at now had a few difficulties which may be seen in some of my earlier shoots for example I feel that shoot 1 "We are all the same" may be overly dark and that shoot 4 "I need feminism because" may have produced slightly over exposed and overly bright images.  I did what I could do to correct these issues in photoshop.

Furthermore, I have experienced a great deal of growth in the realms of photoshop due to the fact that I created a range of computer experiments throughout the component.  The most challenging and time consuming series to create was shoot 6 "Flower boy" which involved removing areas of the subjects beard and inserting an image of flowers.  This was time consuming due to the fact that I had to experiment with the way in which I removed the beard and how to create a clean and smooth line (I opted to zoom in and use a small eraser tool for precision after creating a guide line on the image).  Another challenging piece to create was my GIF as I had to learn the correct way to make a GIF.

To conclude my technical knowledge of the subject has vastly improved due to my repeated use of the studio equipment and my experimentation in photoshop.

Aesthetic progression:

My work has undergone a large amount of aesthetic progression as the component progressed as I became more detail orientated with each series that I created.

I believe that the main reason for my aesthetic progression was that I was somewhat unhappy with the quality of some of my shoots for example shoot 1 where I discovered that some of the images which I had taken did not necessarily look aesthetically pleasing when joined together which meant that I only had three images for my straight images.  My desire to create large sets of versatile images meant that I had to pay more attention to the specific details of my images and they consequently underwent a clear aesthetic progression.

Another reason for my aesthetic progression would be the way in which my artists which I had researched had distinct styles featuring colour schemes which was something that I aimed to mimic in my work.  The bold colour schemes that I adopted in my work gave it a unique aesthetic appearance and it's own intriguing style.

In conclusion I have found that the through a number of reasons my work has progressed aesthetically over the course of component 2.

Success of response to exam paper

I feel that I tackled the question posed by the exam paper successfully as I displayed my personal opinions regarding feminism throughout each of the shoots which I created.

Firstly, I feel that my work is sting in the fact that it is unique, bold and eye catching which are all aims that I set my self over the course of the component.  I felt the need to achieve these elements in my work due to the fact that in order for people to discuss emotions or views associated with an image they must first see the image and in order for this to occur the image must be bold and easily recognisable.  

However, I feel that some areas were weaker than others for example if I were to repeat my component I may consider planning my shoots more effectively in order to be able to spend more time on each individual shoot and redo elements that I may not be entirely happy with for example I may have improved my first shoot "I AM BUT I AM NOT" as I was not entirely happy with it and may have used more subjects to create a wider range of images.  I feel that this was the shoot which I planned the least and that it would have benefitted from more planning.  

I feel that I took everything which I had learnt over the course of my personal opinions project into consideration and this is why the two series which I have produced are of a  high quality and are relevant to the paper.

Shoot 2- Work record

Basic information:
Date: 21/04/16
Camera used: College macro camera
Props or subject: Subject
Editing software: Photoshop CC 2014
Camera settings: 1/200, F11, ISO 200

Shoot plan:
In this shoot I will be using a macro lens and table top shoot set up in order to capture a variety of different scenes composed from toy soldiers and makeup products in the studio against a white backdrop with a table top set up.

Aims for this shoot:
My aims for this shoot are to focus on the way in which many women feel the need to conform to societies standards of beauty in order to succeed and be successful in society.

I will be using a high F stop of F11 in order to create depth to my images and make them more interesting to the viewer.  I will also be using a white backdrop in order to make the props stand out and a macro lens to provide enhanced detail and otherwise unattainable close up shots.

I have been heavily influenced by the work of Slinkachu as he photographs miniature figurines in his own distinctive style which make his images striking and intriguing. The use of human sized props creates and intriguing and dynamic element to his images which engages the viewer fully.  I have attempted to create a more socially charged interpretation of Slinkachu's work by incorporating military figurines opposed to civilian figurines.

I have also been influenced by Phebe Schmidt and her use of iconography in her images in order to create a bold series which make the viewer question they beliefs on the subject matter at hand.  Schmidt's work is extremely striking due to it's somewhat controversial subject matter for example a shirtless woman carrying two glasses of milk on a tray which cover her breasts.  Images like this stick with the viewer and make the think about the issue which the images was focusing on after they have stopped looking at the image.

This series is of course focused on shoot 3 from my preparatory shots "Battleground beauty".  I chose to revisit this shoot concept as it was one of my favourite shoots and I wished to explore the ideas which I had laid out in my work records progression section such as experimenting with more dynamic composition.  I feel that if I focus on composition particularly in this shoot that I will gain a high calibre and striking series.

Outcome of this shoot:
This shoot was successful as I was to create a string series of images due to my reference to the progression notes from my previous attempt at a shoot of this style and set up.  I feel that these images are of a higher quality then those which I created for "Battleground beauty" and for this reason I fee that this shoot has been a success.

When editing these images I first cropped the images so that the subject matter was in the images centre and then proceeded to increase the images brightness and contrast and to increase the images saturation as well as decreasing the images lightness before altering the images curves.  For more information on the images editing process visit the blog post Shoot 2 process.


Favourite image:

I like this image because of the way that the images composition engages the viewer through the use dynamic composition and the fact that each element on the image has a different tone, height or shape which creates an interesting image.

The use of the macro lens has enabled me to create a very detailed image with interesting textures this is particularly noticeable on the plastic of the toy soldiers and the shattered eye-shadow palettes.

Denotation: This image is of toy soldiers fighting in a landscape made from makeup supplies.

Connotation: This image represents the way that some women may feel that they are fighting a war against societies rigid beauty standards and the way that they are pressured into looking and acting a certain way in order to be deemed "beautiful".

Context: This image is culturally relevant now due to the fact that people are beginning to move away from the rigid ways in which society tells them to express themselves and are becoming more free in their personal expression whether that be through makeup or otherwise.

Least favourite image:

I dislike this image due to the war in which the soldier in the images background is focused opposed to the soldier in the images foreground, this was a result of the use of a high F stop of F11 and whilst I desired to add depth to the image this is not what I hoped to achieve.

I also dislike the positioning of the soldiers as the lack of props in the shot make the image appear somewhat empty.  I feel that the use of sleeker mascara brush may have helped the image as the toy soldiers face is blocked out and I feel like the removal of the soldiers face removes some of the personality from the image.

Denotation: This image depicts two toy soldiers carrying a mascara brush.

Connotation: This image depicts the way that some people struggle under the weight and social pressure of societies pre-defined beauty standards and may struggle to break free from societies constraints.

Context: The social context for this image is that even though people are beginning to take more authority over their appearance through gender expression many still feel trapped by societies harsh beauty standards and to some it can seem like a war.

Shoot 2- Process

Editing:

Step 1: Import your desired image.

Step 2: Crop your image so that the subject is at the images centre.

Step 3: Increase your images brightness and contrast until you are happy with it's appearance and it look vibrant and not muted.

Step 4: Increase the images saturation to again combat any muting of the images colours and then decrease the lightness until you are happy with the images appearance.

Step 5: Finally alter the images curves in order to alter specific areas of coloration and give the image a more vivid and three dimensional effect.

Shoot 2- Straight images

Shoot 2- Contact sheet

Shoot 2- Concept

Basic plan

Concept
My concept for this shoot is to build off of shoot 3 from component 2 Battleground beauty and to explore the ideas of the brutality of societies expectations of female beauty and how it may sometimes seem like a war whilst also discussing the ways in which many women choose to manipulate societies beauty standards to their own advantage and employ their beauty as a weapon through the perversion of the male gaze.

Location, equipment etc.
-Studio shoot
-White table top backdrop
-Table
-Toy soldiers
-Makeup
-Tripod
-Macro Camera
-Soft boxes x2