Sugar Skull!

Tuesday 20th November 2012

Plans for the shoot...

Ok, second shoot for today!
I am planning on doing myself up in sugar skull makeup for a self-portrait shot.  I am planning the theme of the shoot around "love is dead" or "dead valentines" or something like that.

I want the shoot to be very elegant and classy like, but then I want there to be the gory element of having my neck slashed open.  I also want to use red roses through-out the shoot in different ways on the look I will create and for extra things in the shoot.

What I hope to achieve...

Once I have done the shoot, I hope to achieve some photos that show both the contrasting elements of my shoot that see a elegant and a gory side.

I want the shoot to really highlight the sugar skull makeup well and for this to be the focal point with the slashed neck, and for everything else in the shot to be subtle.

What I actually achieved...

Today's shoot was so fun! I really enjoyed creating the character that I did and shoot it in the studio.  I liked the angle that I took with the shoot and I think the photos I have ended up with are pretty good.

I did need some help in parts with adding some elements to my shoot such as getting a friend to throw petals over me, but other than this I found the shoot relitively easy and, as mentioned, so much fun!

Here are some shots from the shoot that I like...

Here is one of the shots I really like.  I like this shot as I think it has alot of emtion in it - the way the character is looking up at the rose is denoting love or passion, yet there is still death and danger here with the way the neck has been slashed open.  I also really like how background compliment this pose and the charatcer in this particualr picture.

This is another photo I really happy with - again, I like the emtion is holds.  This is also one of the photos that I cropped down and I prefer the effect this has given.  I like how this photo really focuses on the face as everything is pointing to it using the colour and even the rose being put toward the face.  This accentuates the character being the focal point and I think makes the perswon looking at the photo see more emtion on the characters face.

 I really like the idea of this photo with the petals falling over the character.  However, out of the the shots I tried to get of this, I still couldn't quite get it how I wanted it.  It proved to be very difficult to get the timing of throwing the petals right and I had to have a friend standing on a ladded to the side of me while we tried endless times to get the shot.

I think this shot is OK, but I am not happy with how the character looks (I think she looks awkward and you can tell that she is concentrating) and I would have liked the petals to be more scattered over the chaarcter as they fell.

 I really liked this shots simply because I thought it was different.  I like the pose and the slightly different emtion I think this photo holds.  I think it makes the character look stonger and more incontrol - almost a little intimidating.

I also, again, really, like the grey background here.  I think it compliments the red nicely and makes in stand out more.

 This is one of the close up shots that I got.  I really love this one as you can see the character really well e.g. the makeup  and the cut.  I also like this as it is different - it reminds me of a glamour shot that should be all perfect and pretty, yet it is anything but that!  I think this is good think as it adds more contrasting elements.

Finally, here is a full body shot that I got.  I am really happy with this photo.  I like the elegence this photo has and the pose of the character.  The only thing I don't like about (I say this with most of my body shots) is the shadows!  There isn't many in the photo, but I would have liked them not to be there.  I also don't like the way you cannot see the cut very well from the angle and distance and I think this makes the photo loose some of its purpose and what it is saying.














What I am going to do next...

I had fun witth this shoot and creating the charater, it is probably the most fun I have had in the studio yet!

From this shoot though, I think I want to do something in which I create a charatcer and have something being thrown over them (like the petals) as this was a shot I really wanted to get perfect, but now I know it takes practice! 

I also like the idea of doing 'ugly' or gory glamour shots like what I though of about with the fifth photo I talked about.  I like the contrast this would have and again, it would be something different I could have fun with.