Androgynous Photography & Film - My Photography

Following up from Mario Torres' work, I decided to do my own response. So I got another friend to help me do some androgynous photography.

I found that whilst doing androgynous photography it was easy to drift over to gender-bending photography (which is more extreme with its messages and values).


Video, pictures and more after the jump.

The first thing I done on the set was experiment with lighting. Mario Torres' work s always in black and white so I used this as inspiration. I played around with the ISO and the flash to make sure I got the right lighting from the camera. Also, I played around with the lighting n the room itself. I used the bright lights from the window and I had two lamps facing the set of the shoot to give me a back light whilst still having low-key lighting.

I wanted to have feminine objects, or things you would associate with a woman, on the table. So I had a jewellery stand, bracelets, a diary, family photographs and some other things. It is always important to pay attention to mise-en-scene on set because if you are trying to execute a certain idea or message, it is not only through the model them self that this can be portrayed. In some cases, the mise-en-scene is used as a juxtaposition to the subject. And that is the case here. With the desk covered in things that are considered quite girly, the model in the shot will be wearing a man's suit with her hair combed back.

So I got the model to sit down and she asked me what expression she should give. And I simply said "think like a man". And being that she is an actress, I thought that it will be easy for her to embody a man's poise and attitude. So I asked her to sit down and I took a few warm-up shots.

Once the model warmed up to the shoot more, I started taking head shots so I could really get the look I was going for (also I thought that playing music from the 1980's in the room would help. So I made a play list of pop classics from the 80's and had it play throughout).

Once I was satisfied with the photos at the desk, we moved on to another scene. The model advised me to use a window at the other side of the room because it had really old curtains. So I though, why not, so I took a few photos by the window. Again, experimenting with the lighting.

I wanted to take a few shots outside the house also. Because her road is Victorian with cobblestones instead of tar on the road and I though the scenery was very reminiscent of a 1980's/1970's fashion photography scenery in respected magazines like Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and Elle. With the shots outside she picked up a heart shaped cushion to keep the juxtaposition apparent. Towards the end of this set, she let her hair down because she believed that the hair up was not working.

With the outdoor shots, I experimented with the subject positioning and the rule of thirds. I thought about where you should see the model in the shot; where she would be standing. Also, how she would be holding the pouf. With the next shots, I got the model to sit down on the floor by the lamp post. I wanted to take a few more intimate photos but with her keeping a stern hard face. I wanted to use more close-up shots for the shoots by the lamp post.

What I like about the shots by the lamp post is that they break away from the rest of the photos. She appears quite feminine, a little more vulnerable when her hair is down.

After the shoot, I filmed this short piece. I wanted it to be seen as a 'synopsis' of the whole concept of the photo shoot. In the film, you see the actress/model snuggle her heart-shaped cushion and proceed to throw it away and walks off-screen with her head held high. This is all a metaphor for one of life's hardest relationship-related things; surviving a break-up.


When I analyse this film, I think that the audio works well because although you can only hear a muffled sound of traffic, it still portrays an intimate effect. Another thing I noticed is the effectiveness of the varying focus. It was done on Microsoft Movie Maker and I purposely done it because I wanted it to connote instability. This is because of the stereotyped traits I had given to the woman over the course of the film.

The film shows a very feminine message to me and reminds me of something personal. Something about it seems like a memory. Maybe the girl is sharing the love and affection she feels with the viewer. So whilst the photos are the narrative, the film is the intro.