Final print company

After not having a lot of luck with printing companies I have finally found one that I really like and that can make exactly what I want. After exchanging a few emails with Patrick from Fineprint I have decided on a final book design. I plan to have a cover exactly like the image below with a maximum of 20 pages and some translucent pages in-between with text and possible images on. I feel so relieved that this part of my project is finally sorted.  

I decided to visit fineprint just to get a feel of the work they produce and I am so happy that I did, Patrick showed me how my book would of looked if I had gone with the material on the front cover. Having the fabric on the front cover meant I had to have the book staple bound which resulted in the book not being a hardback but almost like a magazine. This is defiantly not what I wanted I wanted a hardback book which resulted in me having to change my book completely I decided to change this to a matte back hardback cover that would have white text on the front. I also realised that I needed to change to layout of the book from portrait to landscape I was disappointed in this as I prefer the look of a portrait book than a landscape but most of my images were in landscape so I had to go with what would work best with my final imagery and I only had myself to blame as I should of made sure I photographers all my images in either landscape or portrait. 

Gas masks inspiration

The concept of the unconscious mind has proved a source of considerable frustration because it defies objective description and is extremly difficult to objectively test or measure. 

Inspiration for a shoot using gas masks comes from the element of not knowing who you could meet in a dream I want to create an image where two strangers connect and meet but there faces are obscured and unrecognisable meeting in another realm that is a true assurance in dream for many people. This idea has come from the idea from the connection on social media. Social media is like another realm you don't know who you are going to meet and come across especially on social media platforms such as Facebook and the popular app tinder. I want two models for the shoot both being female and I plan to decorate two gas masks in studs. I could keep the masks plain but I feel by decorating them it adds to the mystery of the look and creates a current looking image that relates to fashion. I plan to photograph this look on a location I feel it will add to the image rather than being in a studio creating a odd location in the middle of nowhere almost like a dream where you are lost in a darkened forest and on social media where you image is lost in a screen. 'Dreaming is a reminder that we have very powerful instincts, emotions and even inclinations of madness that then become suppressed when awake'

The gas masks 

shoot evaluation

Inspiration for this shoot is based on the state of mind immediately before falling asleep where the mind is falling into the unconscious state that contains all sorts of disturbing material that the conscious mind keeps out of awareness because they are to threatening to acknowledge fully. I wanted to create a beauty look something quite simple to show this effect in an uncomplicated way showing the selfs thoughts changing falling away opening up that space for the unconscious to take control. 

I planned to wet the hair and layer it over the face and create a dark lined brow that makes the featured of my models face look dark and confusing, keeping the rest of the make up very natural leaving all concentration on the hair and brows that are the two features that can be played and messed up in state of unawareness and sleep.  

The shoot went really well I am really pleased with the outcome of the final images, I do feel they have a very different feel to the rest of my imagery and am wondering how they will fit into my book.   My favourite image is the first one I love the angle of my models face you can really see the eyebrows even though the hair is covering the face. I hope I am able to fit the images into my book as they do indicate a stage of unconscious mind leading to a dream like state and have a dark feel about them incorporating my skill of make-up and hair design. 

Shoot evaluation

I have created the shoot below using materials and an accessory across the face. I actually created this image by pure experimentation. I used one of my necklaces and some material I had with me for a shoot and these images occurred. The photographer who has been helping me was around and we decided to set up some lighting with coloured gels in green and blue just to see what effect this added to the image. It added a nice hue to the photo and made it fascinating we experimented with various material across the camera lens and also over the models body. Considering these were done by coincidence some of the images came out really well with my favourite being the top image. I like they way half the image is masked by material. When I looked through the final images I decided I was not as keen on the green and blue colour I felt it made the images look to fantasy looking and decided that the ones that would go in my book would be in black and white. The images do not need any post production due to the effects of the material and the face not being that clear in the images, I am pretty happy with the results of these images from pure experimentation showing what various material can do when used over a lens and lighting. 

'Subconscious awakening' inspiration and shoot Evaluation

Freud regarded the mind to be like an iceberg, where the greatest part is hidden beneath the water or unconscious.

Inspiration on the use of materials towards some of my shoots has evolved from this shoot featured in Noi.se magazine. I absolutely love this whole shoot and came across it while looking on behance. The images have influenced one of the shoots for the last section of my book 'Subconscious awakening', with the material placed over the body and head with some shoots of it pulled tighter on the skin and some flowing more freely around the face and body. The use of colour stained onto the fabric adds a more mysterious element making you question why it is there.

I plan to use the material as the main illusion within my shoot getting the model to create different movements and poses underneath it with most of the images being close up shots. I practised elements of this shoot with similar fabric in a test shoot at the beginning testing out distortion and effects. The images will have similar attributes to these previously tested images as I intent to trial a slow shutter speed hoping it will pick up a good effect with the fabric and the model moving. The styling of this shoot is going to be very white I want everything to almost seem ghostly and plan to create this with different elements such as clothing, the backdrop and the use of light fabric and lighting.

Photo: Greg Adamski

Stylist&head pieces: Zuza Sowińska-Bania 

Makeup: Marianna Yurkiewicz/D'vision 

Model: Ola Podgórska/Moye Models

 https://www.behance.net/gallery/5695433/Flutter

previously tested image from practise shoot with fabric.

Below are two screen shoots of two of my favourite final images from the shoot. I am really happy with the outcome of these images, the effect of the material really captured what I wanted and really applies a dream like effect making you question wether she could be asleep or awake opening up the subconscious mind. I was really pleased with the styling aspect of the images, I layered jewellery which picked up with the movement of the model and the slow shutter speed and kept the clothing white. I applied a darker red lip and blue pigment to the eyes as I wanted her face to be in focus in the final imagery and I hoped this would pick up on camera under the fabric making it quite glamorous looking but eerie at the same time. Overall i feel the effect of the material and the slow shutter speed worked well and that the images will not need any post production which I am really happy about.

As well as creating this first image I went on to creating a second look as I wanted to use this model for two looks and had re arranged this shoot enough times that I wanted to get both shoots done in one. The second shoot I done incorporated the skull mask which I wanted to shoot against a dark background. We could not find a black background anywhere to put into are studio which ended with us shooting against a black backboard which did not look great in the background. Midway through the shoot the model decided to tell me that she then had to go this was really annoying as I had nowhere near finished the shoot but I could not make her stay. This shoot did not turn out at all how I wanted it to so I am defiantly going to have to re shoot this as I wanted a really good image with this mask and I not happy with the outcome of this one. 

Shoot inspiration and final evaluation

The idea for this shoot was focussed more on the styling I wanted to make the hands and features of the body really elongated and something that could seem unrealistic and like a weird dream but still with a beauty touch which could make the images seem even more odd to the viewer. I planned to do this with different photography angles accessories such as gloves and headpieces and most likely post production. Below is the mood board I used as inspiration for the images and also what I sent the photographer I feel this shoot could work out really well if we are able to get the camera angles right and if I can mange the styling well. I do with I has asked a stylist to help me with these images but at that same time I knew myself exactly how I wanted them to look.

Below are some of the edited images, The first two images have no effects added to them and as you can see I have used the gloves to elongate the hands with no editing needed. The bottom images have been edited by the photographer she really liked these images and wanted to edit some for her own portfolio. I personally do not love the editing she has done on them, I like the images slightly more un edited. I am still quite undecided of the final look of these images so I am going to carry on seeing what I could potentially create in post production and also see how they fit in to my final book layout. I am so happy with the styling and outcome of the images I feel all elements of the styling including the models tattoos which i did not know she had worked so well together. The headpiece I used was in fact Keiron LeVines that I borrowed from Sharon, I did experiment with the other two headpieces on this shoot that I have borrowed from him but felt this headpiece worked better overall with the styling. The overall outcome of the images worked well I don't think the idea came across as strongly as I anticipated with the elongation of body features which I am slightly unhappy with but I still think the images work well as an overall design element.

The box in the making

I have been to see and get an update on the making of my box. When I first saw it I was shocked at how big it actually was for some reason I imagined it a lot smaller. This was not a massive issue as it did have to have a book in but I thought it was slightly to chunky. On the spot I decided I was not completely happy with it and that I needed to same something now before any more of it had been made and so it could be changed. I decide that the actual sizing of the box was fine it was the depth of it, it was so chunky and with my book only having around 10 shoots in making it not a thick book it would be completely lost in the box which I did not want. Thankfully it was fine to be changed it was a slight hassle but I did want to make sure it was perfect and I was happy with it. I will carry on showing the progress of the box and will return next week to see what changes have been made and wether I am happy with it but I am pretty sure with the width of it being smaller it will look a lot better and more like a book on the outside.

Collecting the Headdresses

After emailing keiron LeVine at the beginning of my project he was more than happy for me to borrow some of his headpieces. He suggested a few that he felt would work well with the theme of my project and I really liked both headpieces. We arranged a date that I could collect them of him and he agreed I could keep them for as long as I possibly needed which was so helpful. I am really excited to design and experiment with looks with both these headpieces and plan to start preparing shoots as soon as possible so I can use these incredible headpieces. I am so glad that keiron replied because I have not had much more luck in sourcing other accessories for the shoots with nobody else responding to my emails. 

'The scent'

In my original proposal I discussed having a scent to go along with my final product this was to really create a whole unique package that the viewer could really consume there selfs in and explore. As I researched I found it more and more difficult to come up with a conclusion on how to do this. I researched many options such as scratch and sniff scented paper and also making me own perfume, all iof these options seemed so time consuming and I was worried it would not work and also take up a lot of my project time when I could be focussing on making my shoots stronger and more accomplished.  

In having a tutorial with Sharon we both discussed this element of my project and decided it was a good idea but that it would be a lot of added work and time and that in fact my project did not need this element at this present time. This has resulted in me scrapping this idea I am disappointed because it would of made my project unique and challenged me further but for the amount of time I have available it is not worth the risk of jeopardising the rest of my project. I intend to discuss this in my evaluation at the end and include that it could be an element added in a future project that has more time. 

The Vaults

Southampton Medieval vaults 

On planning my location shoots a friend recommended a location for me when looking through my ideas, this location was the Southampton medieval vaults. I had never seen or herd of these vaults in Southampton and as soon as she showed me them I knew they would be absolutely perfect for one of my shoot ideas with such great character and a eery element. As soon as I had, had a look at the images of the various vaults I knew I wanted to hire one for a shoot. The next day I emailed about hiring the vault in advance as I knew they must be a popular venue for hiring and with tours also going on I wanted to make sure I could defiantly get one and have time to organise the shoot.

After sending an email out I waited a few days for a response at this point I had already picked tow of the vaults I liked the look of best the first being the undercroft with the fireplace and details sticking out to me straight away. After exchanging a few emails I arranged a day to go visit the vault of my choice. The lady had explained to me that after I had visited the vault and they had checked dates I that I could go ahead with confirming and booking dates. I am really looking forward to going and looking around the location and feel really positive about creating a great look for this shoot.

http://www.sotonight.net/southampton-local-info-history/southampton-medieval-vaults/

Hello,

I wanted to enquire about hiring out one of the vaults in Southampton? I am a student at southampton Solent University, in my final year, and wanted to possibly do a photo shoot in one of the vaults for my project. It would be great if you could let me know some details about the vaults, and whether it is possible to do any shoots in any of them, along with how much it would cost? and also what dates you have available in March? 

My contact number is 07947356146.

Thank you

 Lily Mills 

Response...

Good afternoon Lily,

Many thanks for your enquiry. I am sure that we can accommodate your request to use one of the city vaults. Please find attached our enquiry form which will provide you with some more information and if you would kindly complete and return it to us, it will help us ascertain whether we are able to meet your requirements.

Regarding the cost for hiring the vaults, our student rate is £65 per day, per vault and if you would like to hire a vault this month, then please do return the attached form as soon as possible so that we can confirm the availability for you.

Kind regards

Victoria Donkin

The Undercroft 

Social Media

As my final project is going to be printed as a book I need to also let my work be seen in another aspect for a wider audience. creating a social media page is something I feel is essential so my images are also recognised by the creative industry on a online platform it allows my images to be seen by a wider audience interacting with professionals and creative individuals. I have decided to create a instagram page to view my work, instagram is one of the most popular social media sites and is all about images and connecting to a wide audience allowing me to also hashtag my images so others can easily view my work.

Photographer and Model issues

I have had many issues with the organisation of both models and photographers, I have been frantically exchanging emails between photographers and models trying to agree dates that everyone could do. I have found  this to be one of the most challenging parts of the project organising a team, the anticipation of waiting for a reply and the back and forward exchange of messages trying to organise a final date is quite time consuming.
I had planned a shoot with one photographer that was meant to be helping out on a a few of my shoots and a few days after exchanging mood boards and 3 days before the shoot she decided to pull out of helping me as she was to busy with her own work. This resulted in me panicking as she was one of the main photographers that was supposed to be helping me, this caused me to have to re think and message others that had offered to help and see if I could find someone who was available as I did not want to delay any more of shoots if possible of fear of falling really far behind. I luckily had lots of interest in my project before from photographers so did have lots of options, It was just worrying because I knew a lot of the photographers would be busy now with either there own projects or helping others out.
As well as having issues with photographers I have had a few models that have pulled out last minute causing me to have to re schedule the shoots for a later date. One model I had to reschedule the shoot 3 times I was considering giving up on re scheduling with her but it worked out in the end and the images came out great.

I hope to not have many more disruptions with shoots and re scheduling. I believe I have now found two photographers that are willing to help me for the remainder of my project who I have also helped in return this has allowed me to feel confident in the further production of the project. I feel confident in the planning of models I have coming up also so I hope nothing else goes wrong.

Tutorial

Within my tutorial yesterday we discussed the progression of my project, I explained to Sharon that I was really struggling with creating a 'scent' for my project. I had researched various options for the scent including scratch and sniff on pages as well as just scented paper and also making my own perfume to have in a bottle placed into my box. None of these options were easy for me to create without taking a lot of time out of my project and also risking that it might not work altogether. I discussed my concerns about this with Sharon explaining that a lot of the printed paper and scratch and sniff had to be done online and that the best company were also in America, making it even more risky. The make your own perfume could be done but this would require a lot more money and more time to create which I was both running out of. As a concluding result we decided it would be best to forget about the scent, Sharon explained to me that the scent did not need to be done, that originally it was a really good idea that made my project a whole package but that it did not make the project any better or need it and in fact could risk the project not working needing a lot more time to work on to get correct if done. This made me feel a lot more relaxed discussing this and finally deciding to not have it it meant I could concentrate more on my book and also the box.

Moving on from the discussion of my scent we started to discuss accessories, I showed Sharon the recent find I had which was the skull mask and she loved it, I still now am so happy that I got it. We discussed the fact that keiron had got back to me about borrowing some pieces for shoots and she offered that I could borrow one of her head pieces that her husband had brought her off of Kieron which was great as it added another accessory I could towards a shoot. I explained that nobody else I had emailed had replied to me, she told me to just keep persevering and emailing people to get a response but I was feeling quite negative about this. While I had been planning all my shoots I had also started to research locations for shoots as I knew I wanted to do a few location shoots for the project as these could look so effective with my theme. I had found a location that I thought would be brilliant for a shoot the medieval vaults in Southampton I had herd of these from a friend and showed Sharon the location I intended to hire out she agreed it was a perfect location for a shoot.

After having these discussion with Sharon I came out feeling a lot happier knowing I did not have the scent to think about anymore as it was causing me a lot of worry. I felt confident in moving forward with my project and getting the shoots planned and done and also booking the vault location making me really excited for the rest of my planning and shooting.

Mid way panic

It is the midway point of the project and I feel like I am slightly behind, There have been some major issues with organisation along with cancellations and also book company complications. I feel my project has also headed down a slightly different route with the images consisting of a not as dark element of dream as originally intended. I am also worried that I have no book and stucture layout I am just planning and shooting ideas with no clue as to what chapter they will fit into. I am hoping this will come together at the end of all the shooting and I can sit down and really work out a structured layout of my book and image flow.

The project so far

1) What has been successful so far, what have you been pleased with?

The project so far has been successful in terms of pushing my ideas and creativity, exploring ideas that I may not have before such as, the use of different objects within my shoots and also the looks that I am creating to fit to my theme and my overall final idea. The shoots I have done so far have all been successful with the use of models and photographers, and help with lighting techniques, all of these elements together have allowed me to create stronger images that are of a better quality than before.  I am pleased that so far I feel the final images I have produced are linking to my theme of dark surrealism and the in-between stage of dream and reality , I do think that they are taking a slightly different route on the dark term with my images not all meant to be all ecstatically pleasing before, and now I personally think none of them are that unpleasing they all have a slightly unnerving feel but are not as disturbing as originally planned. I have managed to source a few accessories such as headresses and masks to fit my theme and work within my ideas, this was a major worry I had originally . The box I am creating to store my book in to  is coming along nicely and will be finished by the end of march ready for me to finish the final designing of it.

2) Are you on track with your original production schedule, if not why and what do you need to adjust?

My original production schedule has changed many times this is due to the amount of images I was planning to create. Originally I wanted to do about 20 final Images but once talking to madame peripetie and Sharon I realised this was unrealistic and to many images altogether. This has caused my production schedule to change massively I am planning on doing about 10-12 final images now but I am slightly behind on the production still, this has been due to many cancellations from both models and photographers last minute meaning I have had to reschedule timings or find new models/photographers altogether making it very stressful, even pre planning shoots has gone wrong as people still pull out last minute. adjustments have been made to re organise shoots that were cancelled and get back on track by fitting in more shoots in a week instead of spread it out, I am now working of more of a weekly plan as this makes it easier to know whats now going on each week due to so many changes.

3) How have you resolved major issues?

Major issues have formed within the planning and production of the project. Photographers and models dropping out has been one of the biggest issues with me having to re juggle everything around and resolve solutions. So far no major issues with shoots have occurred like needing to re shoot. The scent I wanted to create for the project has been something that I have been struggling to find a solution on how it could work this needs to be discussed further within a tutorial as its looking very unlikely to be a part of the project causing a lot of stress.

4) What requires further improvement?

The time managment of my project requires further improvement along with editing the images and also getting the book designed on indesign with the help of a graphic designer by easter which is looking more and more like an unlikely deadline. The organisation of planning before a shoot need so be done sooner also making sure I have all the accessories and styling elements needed. 

5) You may also want to suggest ideas for further development of your project.

Final shoot evaluation 'Orphic'

Below are some screen shoots of my final images, some of the images look very dark when I viewed them on my laptop so they will need to be lightened up in post production. I am pleased that you can see the details of the design elements I had worked on to create the overall look. The gold pigment on the hands did not show up as much as I thought it would on camera and the coloured contour did not go as well as I hoped it would and I found this quite hard to blend onto my modes skin so it looked more natural and shaded. I trialed a few different looks within the one shoot such as shooting at first onto a black backdrop with no added effects and just the hands and the contour on the face and body. I then trailed the images with different lighting adding coloured gels over the lights to create a coloured glowing effect on the model the gels used were blue and purple. The gels did create a nice illusion on camera but it took a while for the photographer to capture the images having to mess around a lot with the camera settings. When the coloured gels were added we decided to play around with the long exposure again and see what effect we could create with the lighting and design. This did not go as well as we thought it would it completely took focus of the look and make-up created. 

Behind the scenes images