Eating Disorders

Friday 1st March 2013

Plans for the shoot...

In today's shoot I will be looking at the issue of eating disorders and trigger point of people not wanting to eat anymore down to poor self image and appearance.  For this shoot I am going to be using a model who looks normal and healthy, so I can capture the moment in an individuals mind on when they think they should stop eating and why.

I am planning on making red cupcakes for this shoot! I am then going to write on my models chest 'F*CK FOOD', as if saying I don't want or need it anymore.  I have chosen to use a cruse word here as I think the control side of eating disorders that make one want to carry on with not eating is very angry and has a lot of pain.  I then want my model to be holding the cupcake and to smash it up in his hands while black icing pour out of it - I want this to signify the need and want to get rid of the food and stop eating, with the black icing representing the poison that people with eating disorders see food as.

I am going to use either the brown or grey background for this shoot.

What I hope to achieve...

I am hoping to get a good set of photos from this shoot that can really capture the ugly side of eating disorders.  I am not necessarily thinking of photographing my models face so I really want the emotion to some out in the cupcake being smashed up and the words.

What I actually achieved...

This was actually a really fun shoot to do - smashing up cupcakes and making a mess! Though I experienced a lot of development during this shoot as I what I had originally planned to do didn't work out.

Only shooting my models torso and hands with the cupcake didn't work out as well as I had planned and I felt that during the shoot it was become difficult to get across the issue as eventually the cupcake wasn't recognisable and it didn't really start to make sense.  At this point I decided to try and use to tape up my models mouth and smash a cupcake over it to make it look at if he can't eat anymore - this worked much better, though I did also get some of the original photos to work too.  Here are some of the best ones:

Here is one of the original ideas of how I thought my work would end up looking.  I think this works as you can still tell that it is a cupcake and therefore there is no confusion as to what is going on in the photo or the message that is being highlighted.

Here is one of the photos that I developed my shoot into.  Because the cupcakes at this point were so smashed up, this helped it to ensure that it still made sense.

I really like this shot in particular.  It is different to what I had expected the rest of the shoots to look, but I like it and I think it works well.  I like the way the cupcake it up front toward the camera and then in the background you can just make out the writing - I also like here only the mouth has been photographed out of the face yet this is enough to be able to get the point and the emotion across.

I put the background out of focus here and made the cupcake the focus.  I think this works as you can still make out the writing, even with the blur  over the top, and the cupcake is in focus at the front.  I think this allows both elements of the photo to compliment each other more as the cupcake looked so small against the strong writing, here it sort of balances it out more.

Here is a selective colour shot.











What I am going to do next...

This shoot has inspired me to look at the other side of eating disorders - over eating.  I want to photograph this shoot in  a similar way to this only rather than showing the trigger pint of the issue, I want to shows the point at which it has become too much and the food has taken over the persons life.

Thank you so much to my model Paul - amazing as always! :)

Review of Practical Work

So far in photography I have conducted three shoots, all of which I have enjoyed and gotten a fairly good outcome with.  I have encountered a few problems with my work with regards to getting people to help my with the modelling side of things, but as frustrating as it is I have learnt a lot more about photography as a industry of work and the problems that you can and will encounter.

Aside from this, improvisation is something that I have learnt a lot about and working spontaneously to still get a good shoot done.

For my exam I chose to look at the topic of issues, so far, I have looked bulling, self-image/ how society plays a part in making people feel they need to wear makeup/ style their hair etc. and domestic abuse.

I have enjoyed all my shoots and think that I have gotten some good photos from them, but I cannot wait to get started on some of my planned shoots and see what I can do when I have everything how I want it to be.  I really want to make my work quite controversial, not so much as to shock people or to cause a stir with what people think of my work, but portray an accurate reality of the horror that people experience with their issues.  For example, I have planned to do drug, rape and health issues.

Domestic Abuse in Marriage...

Friday 22nd February 2013

Plans for the shoot...

For today's shoot I am going to be looking at the issue of domestic abuse in marriage.  I am going to use the significance of the wedding rings to highlight the connection my two models have in marriage, but then use makeup to 'beat up' my female model's face and this will accentuate the issue of domestic abuse.  I think this is an important issue to tackle as it is something that can be common these days but is unspoken.
I am thinking about using only one flash to create shadows and darkness too.  I am also look at shooting some shots in black and white, too, as I think black and white shots always hold more emotion.

What I hope to achieve...

From today's shoot I am hoping to get a set of photos that really display and show the emotional pain and hurt that some people experience in marriage.  I really want the rings to stand out and the bruises/cuts too... almost making my models secondary to the shot as I want all the main focus on these.

What I actually achieved...

I am relatively happy with today's shoot - I love the pose and expressions of my models and the way they marriage has been accentuate with the the rings, but as an error on my own part I don't think I chose my background well.  The white has ended up making it look overly posed and I don't think that it compliments my shoot well.

To make the images look better I desaturated them and darkened out the background a little, I am much happier with the two images below and love everything about them, though I think a darker background would have worked better.

I really like the expression here, and the way you can see the male model almost looming in the background.  The cuts here really stand out and the wedding rings are subtle but till play a dominate role in the photo which is what I was going for.  I did a gaussian blur in the backgound to get this effect and I think it has work well - I also really like the de-stauration I put on the image as this made the background darker too.

This photo has alot more focus on the issue itself, namely with the cuts and the rings.  I love the emotion in my models face and the pose.  I think the lightening is good, though I think I would have liked more shadow on the left side of the face.  I think the positioning of the hands has really played a key role in photo as it has really brought forward the marriage element.












What I am going to do next...

This shoot has really inspired to look at relationship issues from lots of different angles.  I am thinking about doing some shoots that aren't so obvious with what they are showing, and letting the person looking at the photo to link it to multipe problems in a relationship or even relate it back to themselves and a self expereience.

Thie kind of thing I am thinking of doing is to photograph a bride and groom wearing gas masks, as if suggesting that the marriage is dead, or struggling.  I also am egar to keep the violent element in this work and would like to photograph a couple look almost intimate, but really leaning in to hurt one another with a knife and gun.  These are shoots I will plan out and see what I can do with.

Society's Impression

Friday 15th February 2013

Plans for the shoot...

So today, for varous reasons I am having to improvise a shoot and go into it totallu unplanned and be spontaneous! So today I have chosen to look at the issue of girls, and some boys too, feeling they need to wea makeup to be accepted in society. I though this would be a good shoot for me to do seeing as I wear so much makeup etc.

I am planning on doing the shoot so that I photograph myself multipe times in different positions holding various hair and beauty products to myself, then putting them all together in the end so to create and effect of my having multipe arms and holding all these products.  To do this I am going to use Photoshop and individually cut out my arms and place and merge them onto one photo.

What I hope to achieve...

I am hoping to get a photo that is well Photoshopped so it actually looks like I have more than two arms.  I want the work to look professional as the merging of the photos here is the most important part of the shoot.

What I actually achieved...

Here is the finished piece from today's shoot - I am actually really happy with how it has turned out, especially considering nothing was planned!

I encountered a couple of little problems with the final piecing together of this photo as when I took the starting photo I left one of my actual arms down by my side so I had to get rid of this to make the photo look better.  To do this I made a duplicate layer and then shifted the layers over each other till the arm was hidden; I then neatened it up using the eraser tool on Photoshop.

What I am going to do next...

As much as I enjoyed today's shoot I really want to be able to get some of my planned shoots done as soon as a convenient opportunity presents itself for my models to come in and help me.  I have enjoyed the Photoshopping elements of this work though and I might look to do something like this again in the future.

Target Post (Friday 15th February 2013)

My target for today is to conduct a shoot looking at poor self image.  I will be doing this through makeup and looking at it from the angle of someone feeling they need to wear makeup.  I am going to use myself as the model today.

After I have taken a good head-on shot of myself, I am then going to start to take photos in which I am holding various makeup and beauty products.  I am then going to put these photos together so it looks like I have multiple arms that are holding all the products around my face.

I am doing this shoot today in relation to my personal target of wanting to improve my Photoshop skills.  I still feel I have much to learn about the programme and think this would be a good shoot to use to help me with this.

I got the inspiration for this shoot from Emily, a student who previously did photography at Harlow.

Target Post (Tuesday 12th February 2013)

During today's lesson I would like to focus on the shoot that I conducted last class and edit and enhance more of the photos, looking at some more effects I could learn and add to my work using Photoshop.

I would also like to complete my image bank and definition today and also look at the planning the last few details of my shoot I am planning to do on Friday.

Bullying

Friday 8th February 2013

Plans for the shoot...

For today's shoot I am going to be looking at the issue of bulling.  IK am planning to do my model up in makeup to make them look beaten up and have facial injuries, and then tape over their mouth using duct tape or a similar tape.  I am doing this as bullying something that is not spoken about and people often keep quite about it.  I ma also planning on just using one flash so to create lots of shadow on my subjects face during the shoot.

What I hope to achieve...

I am hoping to achieve a series of shots that really being out hurt emotions.  With half of my models face covered, I really want the emotion to be able to be brought out in the eyes.  With me focusing on shots from the shoulders up I really want there to be lots of eye contact and connection with the camera.   I think this will help me to get across the point and the issue that I am trying to highlight.

What I actually achieved...

I was happy with the result of today's shoot.  In some parts I improvised and worked with my model to get a different feel with some of the photos and look at the issue of bulling from a different angle.  Here are some of my favourite photographs from the shoot...

I really like this photo for the emotion that my model is bringing across - he literally looks like he has just been beaten up and has now given up.  I also love the positioning of the subject and I think the background colour I used (brown) worked really well with the shoot.

This was one of the shots where I took a different angel with the issue of bullying.  This one is saying "I've had enough of this" and therefore the subject is seen pulling off the tape of his face in a rebel against being quite about the issue.  I love how the lighting in falling on the features of the model and how this is really accentuating the emotion in his face.

The close of shot of the eyes was taken so to see the hurt that bullying comes along with.  I used the burn tool on Photoshop slightly on this photo to enhance the bruised eye.  I like how the eyes are really connecting with the camera and therefore the person looking at the photo can really connect with the subject.

Finally, I have this photo.  This photo really focuses on the subject and capturing their ordeal with the issue.  I like the expression, and the way his eyes are connecting with the camera, again.  I love the positioning and the way everything in the shoot is really sterile and this allows total focus on the face of my model.  I de-saturated this photo and added some effects the eyes to enhance them and too add to the beaten up effect.

What I am going to do next...

From today's shoot I have realised I really want to be able to connect with the people I work with and really get raw emotion in the photos I take.  I also really like the use of only one flash as I think this has given a nice shadowed effect that has added to my work.  I would like to use this in future shoots.  I think while looking at bullying there are many other ways I could photograph this and get across my point and that is something I will look at exploring over the next few weeks.

Thank you so much to my amazing model, Paul! xxx