The Language of Advertising
Alice Wilson
Practice Shoot
For this shoot I wanted to practice for my final shoot however in less detail. I still experimented with makeup and hair, facial expressions, different angles and poses but in less depth than I will go in to for my final shoot.
I had a hard time getting used to using beauty dishes in previous shoots so for this shoot I decided to experiment further with using one as I think the lighting and flawless effect would look good as a magazine cover. I really do like the effect of the beauty dish and it works best when doing a close up portrait, however when moving further away it created a harsh shadow which I did not like. I still do believe that the soft box will work better for the style of shoot and mood I am aiming for.
The atmosphere of this shoot was very uplifting and the model has come across as cheeky with the different poses. I wanted my model to experiment with facial expressions, winking being a main element of this. As I am using this model for my final shoot I think I have decided for her not to wink but to have something covering her left eye. I will try props, hair and items of clothing for this.
I think that the hair worked well with the style of shoot but hopefully my model will have braids for my final shoot, which will complement the entire chic and atmosphere of this.
I had decided to use Nayana as a model as I think she has a street and urban styled look. I wanted to practice a simple look on her before doing my final idea makeup and styling to see whether it worked well. Although i did use different lighting for this shoot it enabled me to choose which was my preferred lighting and what I would use for a final shoot. I have definitely decided on using a soft box as it works much better with my theme.
I like the composition of the image to the left, the model is poised and I like how she is slightly angled to the left. I have taken my main inspiration for this shoot from photographer Terry Richardson. I wanted to gain a cheeky feel however sexy and creative. Perhaps some of the lighter areas on the arms could have been darkened a bit, despite that I think it brings in a slight energy and is still sufficient for a fashion shoot. The grey of the background in these images contrasts with however compliments the tones in the models skin, and works in conjunction with the colour of her cropped tee-shirt.
The improvements I could point out would be the lighter areas of the image, mostly on the left side of the body; I would prefer this to be darker to portray softer tones throughout the image. I would also use a reflector next time round to bring in more light on the right hand side where the shadowing is harsh. I would have composed the image to the right differently as well, I think there is too much negative space going on above her head and after doing magazine research I have soon realised photographers like to fill the whole frame.
Despite all of that I am pleased with this shoot as it has helped me alot with visionary pre-shoot ideas.
To the right is a very basic practice for a magazine cover that I have done with one of my favourite images. As I was not too familiar with photoshop before this project it has been a slight stuggle getting used to how it works, however I believe that considering the time scale that was given, I have been able to work hard on my photoshop skills to create something that was to a high standard.
When designing a magazine cover I had to download different fonts which appear a lot in i-D. I had to make various different layers for each bit of text and make sure they were the correct size for the magazine cover. I feel that this was one of my favourite parts of the editing process.
As you can see to the right I had my model experiment with winking and I do think this image works well however as I am going for a bolder look I want my composition to be more serious and portray power and purpose.
Overall I am happy with this shoot as it gave me the chance to plan before I moved on to my final idea. I have decided to go towards a music issue for i-D for a final shoot and will have Nayna pose in perfectly styled clothes, using a soft box and hopefully different props. I plan to make this in to a final image of a detailed magazine cover and a double page spread of the cover, an article on an up and coming music star.
