Interview magazine

My Intention of Idea 2:

My second idea for this brief is to portray a new and upcoming singer, however for this idea I would like to photograph my model in a style that would represent her with a rock/punk look. I would like to do this because I felt that my previous set of images lacked a specific genre that my model was representing as an upcoming singer. As

well as this, I feel that I would be able to portray more of my model’s personality through this type of genre, by asking her to

pose with different facial expressions. Other aspects that I will have to carefully think about before taking my set of photos, are specific locations where I would like to take them and how I would like to

style my model in order to make the photographs look as professional as I can, and to be of the best possible quality.

Written Analysis – ‘Girl and Guitar’ I came across this photograph when brainstorming ideas for my second idea, and as soon as I saw this image, it inspired me to recreate photographs in a similar way. The photographer is unknown, however I really love the composition of the images and hope that my set of images will be of a similar high quality. I already had the idea of us a guitar as a prop before finding this photograph, however the way it has been styled in the image with the model’s clothing is an aspect I would like my images to be able to share too. I believe that the model’s expression in the photographs illustrates the emotions that she is feeling, which could be portrayed through her music. This is also what I would like to show through my images, but to emphasise the music genre of Rock. It is clear to see that the photographer of these images has taken them on location. However, this location contains a reasonably plain background and I think this benefits the photograph a lot because there are no distractions to take the main focus of the image away from the girl playing the guitar. This has inspired me to take my photographs in a similar location, but it is important that I ensure there isn’t anything in the background that could distract the focus of my images. I find the composition of the images very interesting. The fact that they are taken on different angles rather than completely straight on the model creates depth in the images as well as making them more aesthetically pleasing. Therefore, this inspires me to experiment with different camera angles when taking my second set of photographs.

Written Analysis – Continued

Another aspect of the photographs that I particularly like is the way that they have been edited. The colours in the images have been adjusted to create a slightly desaturated as well as sepia effect, but this is very subtle, and I feel this technique is extremely effective and makes the images look more prominent and aesthetically pleasing. Therefore, when I edit my images I would like to edit them in a similar way to this in order to make the more interesting. As well as this, I will have to ensure that I airbrush my model’s face in order to make her skin appear flawless. I feel this will be very important to do as the brief is to portray an upcoming singer in a magazine, any flaws or blemishes would be edited out, and this is apparent in the photographs of the ‘Girl and Guitar’. The photographer of these photographs would have been working with natural lighting as the photographs have been taking outside, on location. Therefore they would have had to adjust the ISO and shutter speed settings on their camera in order to make sure the lighting conditions were perfect for capturing the photograph. This is also an important aspect for me to consider when I take my photographs. This is because I will be taking my photographs outside, it is likely that the lighting will change due to weather conditions. Therefore, it may be necessary for me to use a tripod when taking my photos to ensure I do not get any camera shake. As a whole, it is important for me to consider all of these aspects of photography when taking my second set of photos, in order to ensure that my images are of the best possible quality, as well as making them as professional as possible.

Initial Photos For Idea 2

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Evaluation of Initial Photos

I am quite pleased with the outcome of my initial set of photographs for my second idea. My main intention was to portray my model with the theme of rock/punk. In order to do this, I styled my model in appropriate clothing that portrayed the theme of Rock. For example, my model was wearing a ‘Bullet For My Valentine’ top, who are a rock/punk band. In addition to this, I styled her in reasonably dark clothing in order to portray her dark personality, (an extreme contrast to my first idea). As well as this, I decided that my model should be wearing Dr Martin shoes, as this is a trend that many people would follow. Also, I wanted my model to be wearing dark, gothic make up in order to emphasise the theme of rock. Therefore, I asked her to wear dark eye make up and a dark lipstick, which contrasted well with my model’s skin tone and I feel this is portrayed the theme of rock well. In addition to this, I used an electric guitar as a prop for my model because I think it emphasises the theme of rock as well as the idea that my model is an upcoming musician. Also, by using the guitar as a prop, it prevents the set of images looking like they are just from a portrait shoot, instead it gives more of a fashion/music theme to the photographs. Another aspect of the photographs that I felt was very important in making my images successful is the location that I chose to shoot in. I decided to use quite plain/brick walls as they were quite subtle locations, but still added interest and depth to the photographs. Also, I asked my model to pose with serious facial expressions because I think this represents the theme of rock very well. However I also wanted my photographs to contain an element of fun, so for some shots I asked my model to pose by gritting her teeth etc (Image 8). This is a more interesting pose, but I think it still represents the theme of rock.

Evaluation of Initial Photos Continued

I experimented with a range of different camera angles when taking my photographs, in order to portray my model in different ways. I took some long shots of her to show all of her outfit and the guitar, in order to illustrate the idea that it is a fashion photo shoot, and to clearly show the clothes she is wearing to the viewer. In contrast, I took some close up images of my model, in order to emphasise her facial expressions and her prominent makeup. For Image 2, I was inspired by a photograph I found on the internet to take the image on that particular angle. I felt that the soul of my model’s shoe being in focus but not the model (although aspects of her can still be easily identified) was very different and unique. I felt it was necessary to take a range of photographs from different angles, in order to make my set of images unique and to give me choice when selecting the photos that I wanted to use. The final aspect of photography that I had to make sure was correct in order to make my photographs successful, was the lighting. Because I was shooting on location, I had plenty of natural lighting as I took the images during the day. On the other hand, the weather occasionally became overcast, so to overcome this I had to take great care in making sure the ISO, aperture and shutter speed were adjusted correctly to make sure my photographs were not under or over exposed. Overall, I am very happy with the results of my initial photographs for my second idea. I feel like I have successfully achieved what I wanted to, of portraying my model as a new and upcoming singer/musician in the genre of rock/punk.

Developmental Photos For Idea 2

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Evaluation of Developmental Photographs for Idea 2

For my second idea, I wanted to ensure I developed my set of photographs in an engaging and distinctive way, and I believe that I have successfully achieved this. Firstly, I decided to develop Image 1, by printing the photograph out and painting over it using florescent yellow paint in horizontal lines. I chose to do this because yellow is typically represented as being a colour used to suggest danger, or a warning. Therefore, I wanted to create the impression of my model having a daring/intimidating personality, which would emphasise the genre of music that she is representing (rock). I believe that yellow was an appropriate colour to use to illustrate this, as it is a very prominent – like my model. Another development that I decided to use when developing my photographs was the technique of adding text/words to an image. I chose to do this for Image 2 because I felt it presented the idea of not caring what people think of you, and not letting negativity people say against you, upset you. I used the lyrics from a song by British Rock Band, You Me At Six – ‘Reckless’ as I thought they portrayed this idea very well. In addition to this, I thought it was important to use lyrics from a genre of music that I was portraying my model to represent. When developing the image, I lightly painted over my model and the rest of the photograph that is out of focus in order to emphasise the main focus of the soul of the shoe and the lyrics. I also used copydex when developing some of my photographs (Images 3, 4 and 5). I chose to use this technique of having the images transferred onto fabric whilst distressing them because I think it makes them look very interesting and more appealing. I wanted the texture that the copydex creates onto the image to suggest the idea that no one is perfect, and this can be seen by the missing/worn parts of the image, that could be connotated as my model’s flaws. As well as this, I wanted to portray the idea that the texture from the copydex is an illustration of the genre of music my model is interested in (Rock) or the emotions she is feeling (possibly heartbreak).

Evaluation of Developmental Photographs for Idea 2 - Continued

My final, and favourite, development of my photographs can be seen on Images 6, 7, and 8. I decided to burn these three images in particular because I felt that they portrayed the idea of not caring. Therefore, I think by burning the photographs it illustrates the concept of danger, as fire can be deadly. I then wanted to portray to my viewers that my model is courageous and is not fazed by the fire. In particular I think Image 8 shows this very well because the fact that my model is gritting her teeth, suggests the idea that she enjoys ‘living life on the edge’ and is a ‘dare-devil’. In addition to this, it again reinforces the theme of ‘Rock Chick’ that I wanted to portray through my set of photographs. However, photographing the images burning was quite difficult, as I had to ensure the ISO, aperture and shutter speed settings were adjusted on my camera for a good quality photograph to be taken. As well as this I had to focus the image whilst trying not to set myself alight! Therefore, the developmental photographs did not come out as perfectly as I would have liked them to be, but I am happy with the result of them. Overall, I am very pleased with the outcome of the developmental images for my second idea, as I believe I have met the intentions I had, of portraying my model as an upcoming Rock artist. I also think that by developing the photographs in the ways that I have, it has enhanced the quality and interest of my images.