Reflective Summary
When I first started this project I knew I was going to produce fashion based photographs. I wanted to explore not just fashion but also makeup which is why I started photographing makeup/beauty first. I felt that these images alone didn’t really work for me, I felt they didn’t have a narrative behind them but they were only the beginnings of my project so I learnt from this. It was then decided that I should focus on a story then incorporate the makeup within it. I was always keen on the circus idea and so I felt it would bring out the best in my images and this is where I started.
I am very happy with my final images but this hasn’t come from not having a few worrying moments. Make up artists letting me down last minute meaning I have had to cancel shoots and book someone else and then ordering my frames; they were not sent out on the day I had advised meaning they arrived 4 days later just in time for the hand in. However I believe everything else went to plan, some things changed along the way from my original proposal but this was only to better my images and the overall outcome.
One of these changes was advice I was given by my mentor Ludwig Haskins. From the beginning of my project I always wanted my images to be in colour. After I did my final shoot and we looked at the images together he suggested to put them in black and white and to see how they compare. He wasn’t keen on the colour processing that I had done and said that they looked flat. I took his advice and edited them to black and white. I was still not 100% sure if this was what I wanted. I asked advice from other colleagues as I could not get hold of any of my tutors that day, the majority preferred the colour. I had another look at them properly, however I was starting to grow more towards the black and white images. Ludwig did keep reassuring me that they looked better. The colours of the makeup did not matter as the form is still there. They are a lot punchier and having them printed so big will allow them to stand out anyway without having them in colour. I am glad I took his advice as he has helped me out over the past year and felt it would be stupid not to take it.
If there was one thing I could have improved on was my schedule. I should have arranged to do more shoots as this would have given me more experience and more images to add to my portfolio. As the last 2 shoots were coming on I could see that there was an improvement and if I had given myself more time I may have produced better images as the weeks went on. However I have made many other contacts, like makeup artists, models and my other mentor, Caroline Malloy. These are people I can get in touch with for help with shoots in the future, as they know about the project already and can see I can produce the work.
Overall I am content with how this project has come on, I can still continue with it and to do this I would focus on other types of dolls and create shoots with models and strong makeup. I may even improve on this one overtime to suit the other individual shoots.
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List of references
Akrans, C. (2011) Interview with Camilla Akrans. Interviewed by Swedish Institute [online], sweden, available from <http://www.si.se/English/Navigation/Current-projects/Swedish-Fashion-Goes-Berlin/Swedish-Fashion-Goes-Berlin/Interview-with-Camilla-Akrans/> [10 May]
Art and Commerce (n. d.) Ellen Von Unwerth [online] available from<http://www.artandcommerce.com/AAC/C.aspx?VP3=CMS3&VF=AACAC3_76_VForm&FRM=Frame:AACAC3_65&XXAPXX> [01 May 2012]
Emma Summerton (n. d.) Emma Summerton website [online] available from < http://emmasummerton.com/> [10 May 2012]
Frankel, S. (2008) ‘Frocks and fantasy: The photographs of Sarah Moon’. The Independent [online] 20 October. Available from <http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/frocks-and-fantasy-the-photographs-of-sarah-moon-966704.html> [10 May 2012]
Horwell, V. (2012) ‘Lillian Bassman Obituary’. The Guardian [online] 16 February. Available from <http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/feb/16/lillian-bassman> [18 February]
Hudson, M. (2012) ‘Alex Prager: Photography’s Heir to Hitchcock’. The Telegraph [online] 20 April. Available from <http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/art-features/9217494/Alex-Prager-Photographys-heir-to-Hitchcock.html> [15 May 2012]
Hunger TV (2012) Doll Face [online] available from <http://www.hungertv.com/beauty/feature/doll-face/> [20 May 2012]
Lund Lund (n. d.) Camilla Akrans [online] available from <http://www.lundlund.com/photographers/camilla-akrans> [10 May 2012]
Maxim Fashion Agents (n. d.) Emma Summerton [online] available from <http://www.maximfma.com/> [10 May 2012]
Michael Hoppen Gallery (20 April 2012) Alex Prager [online] available from<http://www.michaelhoppengallery.com/exhibition,current,3,0,0,0,156,0,0,0,alex_prager_compulsion.html> [15 May 2012]
Michael Hoppen Gallery (n. d.) Ellen Von Unwerth [online] available from <http://www.michaelhoppengallery.com/artist,show,1,153,0,0,0,0,0,0,ellen_von_unwerth.html> [5 May 2012]
Michael Hoppen Gallery (n. d.) Sarah Moon [online] available from <http://www.michaelhoppengallery.com/artist,show,1,55,0,0,0,0,0,0,sarah_moon.html> [5 May 2012]
O’Hagen, S. (2012) ‘Stan Douglas: Midcentury Studio; Alex Prager: Complusion – Review.’ The Guardian [online] 22 April. Available from <http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2012/apr/22/stan-douglas-alex-prager-review> [15 May 2012]
Prager, A (2012) Alex prager website [online] available from <http://www.alexprager.com/>[15 May 2012]
Stately Wise Gallery (n. d.) Ellen Von Unwerth Revenge [online] available from <http://www.staleywise.com/collection/von_unwerth_revenge/von_unwerth_revenge.html> [01 May 2012]
Stately Wise Gallery (n. d.) The Collection Lillian Bassman [online] available from <http://www.staleywise.com/collection/bassman/bassman_exhibition.html> [5 May 2012]
Stately Wise Gallery (n. d.) The Collection Sarah Moon [online] available from <http://www.staleywise.com/collection/moon/moon.html> [5 May 2012]
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Deciding on layout of images
So now I have my final 6 it was time to decide which order to show them in. I had a play around and mixed them up numerous times. I didn’t want the two close ups to be in the same set of three so that was easy enough to divide them. It was then a case of just seeing what worked best. I also knew that the landscape image would have to go in the middle as it had the black strips and I felt the balance would not be right if it was at the top or the bottom.
After having sorted out where three of them were going it was a case of seeing where the other suited. Below is the final edit I have come up with and feel works best.
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Frame layout
As 5 of my final images were portrait I knew I was going to need portrait frames, however one of the images is landscape so I needed to think of a way to lay them out. My first idea was to have the landscape image in a landscape frame but it would have to be half the size (A2) so that it could be attached to the other frames in the current way.
This idea would work however I would like them all the same size and I also thought it might look a bit odd having one smaller image. So my other idea was to put the image on a portrait page and then add 2 black strips one on the top and one on the bottom, so that this would keep within the theme of the black and white theme and I could get the image printed the same size.The image still works and I can have it the same size as the others. I nearly took this image out of my final 6 because of the orientation but I was advice to think of a way of including it. I am glad I did this, it adds to the set and doesn’t make them too uniformed by having them all portrait and my frames can look how I wanted them to originally.
Layout of frames
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Postcards for final project
Since I had decided on my final 6 images I thought it would be a nice idea to get some postcard printed from moo.com so that I could have them on display at the degree show but to also send out to people that perhaps couldn’t attend the degree show that I wanted to show my work to. I kept them simple putting one image on each card and on the back just having the title of the project and my name. Along with this I have also made some business cards so these can go in with the postcard so people have a way of contacting me.
I have only ordered 60 cards for now for the opening night of the degree show and then if I need more to send out to people or they need adjusting then this can be done. I have only used the 6 final images and so then if people want to see more they can come to my blog or website.
Example of front
Example of back
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Tags: Moo, postcards
Titling my work is something which I tend to do once I have my images. It was suggested to create a title in my proposal and I did put my initial ideas down but these ideas have changed now I have my images and I am far happier with the title.
I wanted my original title to be related to beauty and erotica however I didn’t want to set this in stone as my ideas and concepts may have changed slightly, which they did. The images are not as erotic as I first thought I was going to do them. They are more subtle but have a dreamy essence to them, leading me to the title I have of “Circus Dream”. To help me with this decision my mentor ludwig Haskins and I came up with Circus Dream or Dream Diary, as the theme has been circus related all the way through I thought it only seemed right to have circus in the title.
Now I have a title I am going to get some postcards printed with the images on and title so that I can have them on display at the degree show for people to take away with them. I can also send these out to professionals with my card as a way of showing my degree show work in a smaller format.
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Final Edit
So now I have done my final shoot I was ready to edit my images to get my final 6. I wasn’t sure whether I was going to combine the two last shoots or just have 6 images from the final shoot. To help me with this decision my mentor Ludwig Haskins looked through the images I had selected initially as my first edit. We then chose 6 together and I then put in the cross process effect I had previously used. Below are the final 6 images…
Ludwig then suggested that I change the images to monochrome as he thought that the tones would suit it better. I took his advice and altered them to colour just to see what they would look like. At first I was a bit against this idea as I wanted my images to be colour from the start of my project. However I didn’t want to not take his advice and so I changed them to monochrome.
After changing my images I was still unsure about having them in black and white, it was the day before I had to get them printed and unfortunately none of my tutors were in university on this day. I asked for other peoples advice and they all preferred the colour. However when I spoke to Ludwig about the situation he explained to me that the colour processing looked very dull and the black and white ones were alive and much stronger. The more I looked at the monochrome ones the more I could understand what he meant. I was also worried about the colour of the makeup and it not showing through but he assured me that you don’t have to have the images in colour for the makeup to stand out. Black and white images are still used in magazines to show makeup and so I felt a lot more at ease with this idea. After coming to a decision I am going to have my finals printed in monochrome. I trust Ludwig’s advice and he has helped me over the past year with my work and so I didn’t want to let him down.
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Yesterday I came across this article on the Hunger TV website, the makeup by Caroline Saulnier is similar to the theme I have been doing for my project but the approach is very different. The images are very striking but I believe it is the makeup that really stands out and makes them complete. The way that the background is incorporated with the makeup colours gives a really pleasant feel to the image, even with the dolls head looking as though they have been ripped off. They are almost humorous yet they feel as though they have a dark side to them.
Since starting my project I have been thinking about how I can carry it on and thought that I could perhaps continue with creating and photographing different varieties of dolls but using models and makeup. The photographs I have come across here have given me some motivation to believe I can continue with my project but to think beyond photographing a model with the makeup. It may need a lot more post production to create something like this but the final images will be different and really stand out.
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Tags: Caroline Saulnier, Doll Face, Hunger Tv, makeup
Measuring space for frames…
As I knew I wanted to hang my images rather than have them on the wall as my original plan was, the best space for this was the windows in the gallery. However I needed to measure the space exactly and as I wanted A1 images this would have to be a big enough space to allow for three A1 prints. I also needed to measure for the steel rope that would be used to hang the frames from.
Once this was done I could then go ahead and order my frames, I was luckily enough to get two of the windows and have three portrait images in each at A1 size, six images in total. The image in each frame will be back to back so that they can be seen outside and inside the gallery. This is going to cost slightly more than my original plan as I now need to get more images printed but it will be worth while as it enables me to display more images and get a good view from people passing.
This is how the frames will look when displayed….
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Final Shoot
So my final shoot has taken place and all went as planned. The makeup was applied a lot stronger than last time and the lips and eyes were focussed on more. The rope that I bought worked really well and I am glad that I took the advice given to me and thought about what props I was going to use beforehand. As well as the rope I also used the organ as before so that I could get some shots again but with the different makeup. I used the same lighting, one portable light with a white umbrella attached.
After the last shoot I knew I wanted the makeup to stand out more, so I was more specific with the Makeup artist. I wanted the lips to be very dark and more like a “Jokers” lips and the eyes to me more of the circus doll. This is because I didn’t want to completely copy a circus doll makeup look but to combine it with something else and put a twist on it. I also bought some material so that it could be placed in the models hair, this included black lace and red ribbon.
The outfit was the same as before, I wanted this because I didn’t know if I was going to combine some of the images from the last shoot with this one. Plus I was happy with the outfit, it worked well and I didn’t think it needed altering. Once the makeup was completed we started shooting with the rope which I had tied around a wooden plank which was attached to the ceiling. This was strong enough for the model to then sit on or hang from which was what I was hoping for. I also used the wooden ladders from the last shoot, these worked well as the texture from the wood blended nicely with the texture of the rope and the tutu the model was wearing.
I knew in my head what shots I needed to redo and what new ones I was going to do. Once I had done these I did some final shots again just to make sure I had a good variety of images as this was my last chance to do a shoot. I was then happy that I had enough images to work with and edit and so the afternoon of shooting felt complete.
Here is some of the images just slightly edited…
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