Applying The Right Colours for the work



(From Left to Right) Stephanie Seymour, Cindy Crawford, Christy Turlington, Tatjana Patitz and Naomi Campbell in 1989.

 In the 1980's, they believed they were 'ahead of their time' with their photograpic technology. The photos had a natural grain specular to them. When they weren't mirrored with a sepia or black & white effect, they were mirrored with a green-blue effect. As much as we would like to try, photographers nowadays can never get the right 1980's effect on our work today. All we can do is try. And try is exactly what I am going to do.






Linda Evangelista (1989) a very washed-out green tint.



Christie Brinkley (1983) this photo has a blue tint to it.

POST PHOTOGRAPHY FROM THE 80'S
(LINDA EVANGELISTA & THE SUPERMODELS)
TALK ABOUT THE PHOTO/ THE COLOURING/ LIGHTING/ CONTRAST

After analysing the photo colouring of some of the 1980's photography, I wanted to make sure I understood it completely so I went on to Photoshop to do a little experiment. I tookthe photos from the D&G Anthology Perfume campaign and edited the photos. These are the originals:

Noah Mills

Claudia Schiffer



Tyson Ballou




Naomi Campbell



To make sure that I get the right colouring, I used the layer adjustments tool to get an accurate edit.

These are screen grabs of the process of layer adjustments on Adobe Photoshop. It will prompt a question box asking you what you want to name the new layer and to adjust its opacity, colour and mode. I done all the editing on the photo of Claudia Schiffer (the first one) and then I copied and pasted it on to all the other campaign photos. This not only saves time, but also ensures that all the photos have exactly the same toning and colour adjustments.

Final Photoshoot

On February 2nd, 2011 I rented out Wick Studios for the day and held my final piece photoshoot based on the 1980s project. I had 7 sets to execute on the day so it was hectic from start to finish. I had 2 assistants, a hairdresser and a make-up artist that worked with me on set. I took over 100 photos, here is all the photos I took on the day.

I was really happy with what I got and I chose my favourites to take forward and use for my final product.

In this shot, the male model really dominates the scene. Not only by holding on to her waist, but also by dominating most of the frame. The female model counter-acts this with a confident pose and smiles to the camera.

This model holds a strong pose and is shot from above. Females are commonly shot from above in photos and videos to represent superiority over women. This is also known as the male gaze.  I subverted the male gaze by giving the model strong dark make-up and high shoulder pads which, in the 80's, represented power and this model exudes just that.

The whole concept was to show strong gender personification whilst advertising the clothes and each model took up a different role. In each scene, femininity & masculinity was underlying in the poses and I found the shoot to really draw the curtains on my project.

Final Major Piece: The 1980s Maan Adverts - My Photography

This first version of the film was the short edit version. It was supposed to embody the more sophisticated side of the campaign.



This second version is the commercial side of the campaign. It's more fun and free and made up of freeze-frames. It also features the biggest song of the year (1987) Faith-George Michael.

Test Shots - My Photography

A 'test shot' is a preliminary shoot you do beforehand so that  you can practice with lighting, posing, composition and wardrobe etc. I done some test shots a week before the final shoot with one of the models to see how they photograph.

I also got the chance to see how clear the photos would come out and I was happy with their finish. But I wasn't too sure about the lighting aspect. The lighting of the photos were very white-washed and there was too many shadows.
On the actual day of the shoot, I will make sure to play around with the lighting and use the device to test the lighting.

Choosing The Models

For the models, I am going for strong, hard hitting looks. So chiselled male faces and strong looks. For the women, I want to portray different model looks of the decade: young and fresh, mature and commercial.

Costume & Wardrobe

As my advert/ campaign is based in the 1980's, I want the models to wear real clothes from the time. So I was able to pull clothes from various places so I could have over 40 pieces of wardrobe for the models to choose from.

It is important that the clothes puled for the shoot are authentically old because of the difference in manufacturing from then to now. Back then, they used more raw materials and different fabrics than we do now. Physically and visually, it will look different. Also, the lining of clothing is not the same as it used to be back then, so the clothes will not fit the same.

I will be getting the clothes from my Mothers old wardrobe. Also the women's clothes from the shoot is all my mothers old clothes from the 1980's. She used to work in the fashion industry so she was very in-style back then, which is perfect for this shoot.

Location Spotting & Choosing the studio

Choosing the right location for your photo shoot is very important. Whether it is indoors or outdoors, you have to make sure you have the right space and scenery for you, the photographer, to achieve your desired outcome.

For my project, I required a studio set with a backdrop and I also required an industrial scene. I never thought that finding a studio would be hard as there is more than enough in London. As it turns out, I struggled to find a suitable studio to use, based on the size of the set and the availability.

After two weeks of searching for a studio and finding nothing, I stumbled across a studio in East London. This studio had a 1200sq ft set as well as a rooftop, wardrobe, and other facilities. I was offered the space from 12PM-6PM on Wednesday 2nd February for £110. As the studio came with an outdoor space as well as indoors, I decided to accept it. You can view the studio here.

My Final Piece Idea

After all the development work, I have an idea of what my final piece idea is.

For my final piece, I want to make a fashion campaign (including an advert, posters and a fake advert in a magazine). I have chosen to do this because over the time, my view on 1980's fashion has developed and changed so much that I almost have to make this just to show myself how much I have learnt.

I am going to put all my skills to the test. I plan on using editing programs Adobe Photoshop and iMovie/ Windows Movie Maker to make the posters and the advert. I have chosen not to include any of the illustration based art in this final piece of work because I feel that although it represents 1980's fashion and 1980's illustration, I feel that it would not correlate with my project as I would want it to.

When people watch/ view the campaign, I want them to feel that it is actually from the 1980's. I want them to mistake it for 1980's adverts and not see it as a modern remake. This is because of the specific look I want to give the work. The editing, the recording, poses, props and styling is all authentic. Therefore, it should appear authentic.

Why Have I Chosen To Work On The 80's?

The 1980's was a decade of relaxed formal style for men and liberation for women. Compared to the 1970's, there was a significant and more-or-less drastic change in style. Everything from the hair, to the clothes, to the shoes were big, bold and colourful.

Read more after the jump.

Experimenting with Scanning - My Drawing & Graphic Work

So, I got to a point in my project where I wanted to move on to experiment with a platform other than just using Adobe Photoshop to create a final outcome. I wanted to move on to use other materials and other processes that will take my work to another level and develop my idea further. So I decided that the first experiment I would do is to draw an image and scan it in to the computer to manipulate it. further.





Grace Jones - Nightclubbing (1981) album cover.

 
Pictures and more after the jump.

How Has Cecil Beaton's Work Influenced Masculine & Feminine Messages in Photography Today?

Cecil Beaton, a pioneer in social photography. One of the most respectable and notable photographers-to-the-celebrities that the industry has seen. Beaton conveyed an obvious glamorous image in his work. He was very good at expressing his ideal image of a woman. With all the Hollywood A-listers on his side, Cecil Beaton was destined to make an impact, let alone a change, on how the world views the social photographers view on the world that is 'celebrity'.


More after the jump.

Artist Analysis: Cecil Beaton

This is one of the pieces of photography from Cecil Beaton's work. As he was a celebrity 'social' photographer I don't know if he gave titles to his photography. If I had to give a title to this photo, I would call it 'This is My Man Face'  because the photo looks staged like he was told to stand there and look stern. So why not choose a name so blatant and ironic such as 'This is My Man Face' when in reality it looks like he is actually trying to look manly in the photo.

Read more after the jump.