Date: 19/04/16
Camera used: Nikon D5300
Props or subject: Subject
Editing software: Photoshop CC 2014
Camera settings: 1/125, F/11, ISO 200
Experiment type: Physical
Plans for shoot:
In this shoot I will be photographing subjects with a portrait orientation and editing them in Photoshop CC 2014. After editing the images I will print them and present them to the subject with pink and blue paint and ask the subject if they can express their gender identity by painting their faces using the pink (feminine) and blue (masculine) paint options.
Aims for this shoot:
My aim for this shoot is to focus on the way in which people view their gender identity and the freedom which they have to express this.
In this shoot I will be using a high F stop and a shallow depth of field as I only need the foreground of the image to be in focus as the subject will be in the images foreground opposed to background.
This shoot has been inspired by the portraiture style of Thomas Ruff who generally photographs his subjects from the chest up against a background of a solid colour. This simple statement style creates a bold eye-catching image which was something that I wished to replicate in my series. This shoot was also inspired by the work of Liora K. namely her activist work consisting of black and white images where the subjects have written a statement about their personal need for feminism and genre quality on their body. These images appeal to me because of the way in which the subject has taken control over the image and been allowed to demonstrate their raw emotion an opinion on the subject of gender equality. Both of the aforementioned artists also appeal to me because of the fact that their work incorporates both male and female subjects.
This shoot is linked to my series of sign writing images from shoot 2 "I AM BUT I AM NOT" and shoot 5 "I need feminism because" from by preparatory shoots. This is due to the fact that in the previous shoots I desired to allow the subjects to provide their own personal input to the image through the expression of their opinion on a set subject matter through the medium of sign writing. Both of these shoots were shot using landscape orientation to allow for the sign to be clearly visible however for my next shoot I will be shooting using portraiture style in order for the subjects face to take up a larger area of the image and to therefore allow for the subject to paint on a larger canvas.
Outcome of this shoot:
This shoot went well and I received several strong painted images back from the subjects, many of which express common iconography associated with their gender. For example one of the male subjects gave himself a beard something commonly associated with masculinity and one of the female subjects gave herself makeup which is commonly associated with femininity.
A particularly interesting thing to draw from this series is the fact that each subject chose to use both the pink and the blue paint on their image. This highlights to the viewer of the series that the modern generation are far more comfortable in their gender expression than their predecessors may have been in the past. This freedom to express gender in a number of different ways may be derived from the fact that our society is becoming more diverse and accepting than ever before.
When editing these images I cropped each image in order to give them a similar composition and to the create a uniform style. I then increased the images contrast and decreased the brightness and increased the images lightness whilst decreasing the saturation to create an even tone throughout the series. After editing I printed each image and gave it the images subject along with pink and blue paint and a paint brush. For more information on the editing process and painting process visit the Shoot 1 Process post.
Favourite image:
This is my favourite image from this shoot due to the fact that the subject has employed a balanced use of pink and blue paint which shows that he is comfortable with both the masculine and feminine aspects of himself.
I like the way that the image is framed as the subjects head is in he direct centre of the image and I am also happy with the fact that the subjects entire face is correctly focused with no areas such as the eyes out of focus.
Denotation: The denotation of this image is that there is a man with pink and blue facial hair painted on him.
Connotation: The connotations of this image are the subjects personal representation of the balance of masculinity and femininity inside of them. I found this image particularly striking due to the fact that the beard is seen culturally as one of the most powerful images of masculinity so the fact that the beard is painted in both pink and blue creates a powerful display of balance between aspects of masculinity and femininity.
Context: The context for this image is the way in which it is now far more socially acceptable for a man to be seen as feminine than it has been in the past.
Least favourite image:
I dislike the image due to the fact that the style of the painting does not fit entirely with the rest of the series as the majority of the subjects chose to add or alter items on their faces for example beards and glasses using the pink and blue paint. Whilst there is nothing explicitly wrong with this image I feel that it does fit entirely well into the series and for this reason it is my least favourite.
Denotation: An image of a girl with pink and blue dots on her face and a pink and blue heart.
Connotation: This image holds connotations of the subjects personal expression of gender identity. The use of both blue and pink shows that the subject feels a connection with both the masculine and feminine gender whilst the fact that blue is used slightly more than pink may suggest that the subject is breaking away from societies ideology that women have act in a feminine and "lady like" manner.
Context: The context for this image is to focus on the way in which modern society is attempting to break away from the gender binary which has been dictated as the social and cultural norm throughout human history with those whom attempted to break away from it may have been prosecuted in the past.
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