The Next Step...

After analysing my images from the shoot, I have now got to start thinking about where to go next. I do want to re-do this shoot and I have got time to do this shoot again before the dedline so I am going to have to put all my efforts into making the shoot better than the one I have just completed. I am going to look for another model and hopefully arrange another shoot which will be more successful. I have had a tutorial with my tutor who saw these images from the last shoot and he agrees with me, that they are not as strong as they should be when representing animals. I think this has a lot to do with the fact the model wasn't the right model for the shoot and this is something I am working on sorting out. However he did say the clothing, lighting and the general photographic technical skills are very good which only motivates me even more to do this shoot again. Before doing this next shoot, my tutor has advised me to go and research into animal behaviour more and try to undertsand why the animals act in this way and what makes them stand out against all other animals. I will pursue this idea and hopefully it will give me more ideas for poses etc in my upcoming shoot.

Evaluation of Shoot...

When thinking of this shoot, I was initally really excited to get to grips with animal manerisms and how they behave. To express this through clothing is something that I am really interested in and wanted to push myself with. On the day fo the shoot and my model didn't turn up, it was a disaster! Luckily, fellow photographer and assistent on the day was able to stand in for me as she was the same szie in clothing which was very fortunate. In my opinion, the shoot didn't go as successful as I'd thought and I wasn't as happy with the final outcome as I wanted to be as I had planned and planned before the shoot. The lighting, choice of black background and styling of clothes was all exactly what I wanted, thereofre on some level, I am happy with the outcome of the images. At least I know next time if I was to do this shoot again with a different model then, I would be able to perfect the lighting etc as I had already done it before and could easily set up again. Becky my model on the day did really well though seeing as though she wasn't the original model, she adapted well to the type of shot and in some of the images, she managed to even get the poses that I was aiming for. Although I don't really want to use these images for this assignment, If I re-do the shoot with a different model on a different day and they don't turn out aswel as these images, then I will use these images for my final prints. I haven't edited any of these images as of yet only because I don't want to edit them untill I have created a new shoot to see if I will use them. I think if I did edit them, then they will look a lot more polished and professional then they do now.

Shoot Outfit 4...

This is my fourth and final animal representation, I did really like the snake images from the last shoot so I have decided to create more but with different poses and different clothing. I also tried a different lighting set up because I wanted to light my model from top to bottom instead of just her top as the main animal clothing was on her bottom. The leggins and the bra work really well together and I think they are very simplistic yet effective because they work with the poses my model is creating. I wanted her to stand tall and arch her back in different ways to show a snakes movement. I know that it didn't really work that well as it is very hard to represent a snake and my model's face expression isn't exactly what I was looking for. This is my fault though I suppose and should have directed her more. Overall I do like the clothing and the lighting but I dont think this choice of animal has worked very well in this shoot.

Shoot Outfit 3...

This is my third shoot that I wanted to create and again using different clothing that will represent a different animal. I decided to choose snakes for this one. I know the animal in general is a little hard to represent but I really liked the clothing and wanted to try and show through suggestive posing, that it was a snake that I was representing. In my opinion, I dont think these imagesd work aswell as the other shoot especially the first shoot with the bear clothing, only beacuse the animal isn't obvious through the pose etc. However, disregarding the concept I was aiming for, I really like the images and how they have turned out, the pose etc is very flalttering and different.

Shoot Outfit 2...

Again I have created an online diagram of my lighting set up, it is only an example and is not the actual shoot shoot exactly as I shot it.

This is my second shoot with the second outfit which represents a leopard and here are a few images that I feel represent a leopard the best. I wanted my model to come across as fierce yet beautiful in the images which in my opinion represents a leopard really well. I don't think these images work aswel as the last outfit choice only because I feel that my model gets repetative in the pose and doesn't show as much variety as the first outfit.

Shoot Outfit 1...

The first image shown here is a diagram of the shoot layout, where I was stood, the model and the lighting set-up. It is only an example fo the lighting but it doesn't show exactly the lighting I used. Here are a few images of the first shoot idea that I think are the best of what I took. I wanted my model to portray a bear for the animal choice in these images. I used a fur coat and a black bra so that the coat would stand out most. This also shows a dominering item of clothing which can also relate to the animal I am representing. In my opinion, I think the animal presence does come across in these images, some more than others but overall I think they work really well. The first, second and thrid images are my favourite as I think the bear resemblance is very clear.

Day of Shoot - Complications...

The day started like a complete disaster!!

Got to the studio at 8 in the morning and started to set up for my friend Martha's shoot as I was being an assistent for this, her shoot went just the way she planned andI was then ready to move on to mine. I had everything ready, such as the clothing in my models size, the lighting idea's I had already planned etc.... and my model didn't show up!!!! I was waiting for around an hour for her but she wasn't even answering her phone. I know we shouldnt use our friends in the shoots we plan but at least our friends are reliable.. Any how, I ended up asking my friend and assistent on the shoot becky to stand in, luckily she was the same size in clothes as my orginal model and has modelled before so I was happy for her to do it.

When planning my next shoot, I want to have a model I trust and that I know will show up or at the very least, I will have two models so that I have a back up if one of them doesnt show up.

The shoot with becky went very well and I was able to get want I wanted from her. This shoot will only be able to be classed as a test shoot for this assignment as I want to try again with another model preferably with dark skin as this is the vision I originally had. I did however manage to get the different lighting techniques I wanted to achieve and also the poses etc, I think I even managed to get across what I wanted by signifying through clothing. I will therefore use this as a test shoot and be able to set my shoot up again next time with ease and just simply use a different model that will suit the clothes more.

Concept of Shoot...

This was really hard to put my finger on when planning this shoot. I had an idea of using animal clothing but at first I wa sunsure of what the point was of showing animal clothing. We had a lot of lectures on concepts and it got me thinking about what the real reason was that I wanted to shoot clothing and what I was trying to portray.

I decided to use the different animal clothing to show animals personalities through the models. By using the manerisms and body language, no only shape but the way the animals act, I wanted my model to pose like the animals. Not so that it is really cliche and cheesy but by only hinting at the animals through the pose as a sort of signifyer through meaning. The animals I have chosen to portray are very dominating animals so I want my model to come across as very dominating, through eye contact and contract with the camera. Hopefully this will come across in my images that I produce in the shoot.

Location Vs Studio...

In a recent meeting my my personal tutor, he got me thinking about locations for my shoots. I do like the idea of shooting this concept out on location but I wouldn't know where to start when thinking of the locations because it would really have to fit the clothing and ideas of the shoot in order for it to work. However in the studio, I can focus my attention more on the lighting and making sure the clothes are lit well enough as well as giving a modd of a dominating animal. I feel that if I was to do this shoot out on location, I would be worried to much about getting the correct location and not putting my effort into what I believe is mroe important and that is the clothing and representing the manerisms of animals.

For this shoot, I have decided to use the studio, purely on the basis of that I think the clothes will be the main element in the images and there will be no distractions in the background of the images. I will see how this shoot goes first before I start to think about maybe moving the shoot out on location. It may be good to see this variation from studio to location and see which works best for the concept.

Clothes Chosen...

Here are the clothes that I had purchased for the shoot. Some of the clothes is borrowed from friends etc that I knew wouldn't mind me borrowing. I have layed the clothes out on the white floor in the studio so I can show the clothes before being worn by my model.

Shoes For all Shoes

Black Heels - Schuh £60 - Already Mine

Outfit 1 - Snake

Snake Skin Blouse - £38 Topshop
Black Bra - £25 Ann Summers
Cream Jodphurs - Borrowed

Outfit 2 - Bear

Black Bra - £25 Ann Summers
Fur Coat - £90 River Island/Borrowed



Outfit 3 - Snake 2

Black Bra - £25 Ann Summers
Snake Leggins - £20 Topshop
Brown Belt - £3 Primark

Outfit 4 - Leopard

Leopard Print Top - £30 Topshop/Already Mine
Cream Shorts - £28 Miss Selfridge

Sourcing Clothes...

When thinking about sourcing the clothes I wanted I really had to think about the style I was going for. The animal Prints I really wanted were Tiger, Snake and some sort of Fur that would represent a Bear some way. I went into Preston town centre and used ideas from another photographer Martha Birks and also my Friend Clare Ryan from the Fashion and Brand Promotion course. I used clare to help me come up with ideas and put items together to get the right style I was going for.

I tried shops such as Topshop, River Island for the main Items, alongside Primark and charity shops for the little things that I wouldnt be able to get in larger marketing shops.

I knew I would be spending a lot for the styling of this shoot therefore I decided to pay for all of the items and take them back at a later date to get my money back.

Styling...

I will be doing the styling for this shoot, I am not very good at styling to begin with therefore I wanted to use a stylist from the Fashion promotion with styling degree. However, I wasn't able to get a stylist at such short notice, I had already booked the studio for my shoot and thereofre had to get womebody who was willing to work in a short time and this wasnt possible. If I am to do this shoot again, which I think I will because I really like the idea and concpet for this shoot and would probably want to develop it, I will try to use a stylist to push my ideas further.

As I said before, I'm not exactly amazing at styling but I do have a passion for fashion and on some level know what is already out there in terms of collections by designers, so I think I will be ok for the styling on this shoot. Wish me luck!!!

Chosen Model...

Here is my chosen model that I have recently found.

Name - Chinyere Stapleton

Age - 20

Dress Size - 8

Occupation - Student, Ba (Hons) Business, UCLan

This is just a simple picture of my model to show what she looks like, her size and features and hair. She also has very very very long dreads on her head that she ties up and covers up on a dily basis. I think for my shoot and depending on the clothes I will try a few images with her hair covered and a few with the dreads down. They may suit the images better with her hair down. I am happy with the model I have chosen for the shoot, she is exactly what I was looking for and is very comfortable in front of the camera. Lets hope the images will show this.

Model Type...

I have been thinking about this for a very long time now and I didnt really know were to start looking for a model and what I wanted my model to look like. After looking around and scouting for models, I knew that I wanted a model who was dark skinned only because I think that the clothes and overall style of the shoot would look a lot more effective. I also wanted somebody who was tall, slim and who was comfortable in front of the camera as they would have to be able to take direction quite easily.

I will continue to look for a model for my shoot.

Lighting and Technical Aspects...

The lighting aspects of this shoot is very important in order to show the clothes in the best way, and in order to gain the best out of my model and clothes, I will be relying heavily on my technical skills. I am not amazing at the technical aspects of photography but I do believe I am getting better at understanding what looks good and how to achieve what I want. There are different lighting techniques I want to use for the different styles of clothing but all of the images will be taken on a black background so that my model can stand out from the background. When setting up in the studio on the day, I will be able to work out what lighting works best for the clothing before my model arrives and I will document this when showing the images on here later on. I will however be using a Canon 5D Mark 2 for these images in order to get the best quality images.