Girls toys- Work record

Basic information:
Date: 12/04/16
Camera used: Nikon D5300
Props or subject: Props
Editing program: Photoshop CC 2014
Camera settings: 1/125, F9, ISO 200

Plans for shoot:
In this shoot I will be photographing stereotypically female items which are coloured blue to demonstrate a rejection of gender roles.

What I hope to achieve:
In this shoot I hope to revisit the concept from "Pink and blue" shoot however today I will be focusing on the female aspect of this shoot by using traditionally female items in shades of blue.

I will be working with the white background due to the fact that this shoot is linked to the previous shoot boys toys and so follows a similar concept however uses pink male objects opposed to blue female objects to convey the same meaning towards masculinity that this shoot will convey towards femininity.  Due to the parallels between the shoots I have had to move away from the blue background although I personally appreciated the effect which could by gained from the soft blue.

I will be working with dynamic composition as this is something which I aimed to achieve in my work diary based on "Pink and Blue".  I will also be implementing a deep depth of field in order to keep the entire image in focus.

I have also drawn inspiration from Phebe Schmidt whom often uses a combination of colour and composition in order to create an eye catching series as well as to convey implicit meaning to the viewers.

Outcome of shoot:
This shoot was successful due to the fact that the contrast between the white backdrop and various shades of blue created an interesting composition when combined with the variety of items used and the positioning of the objects which created a series of eye catching images.

In this shoot I again altered hue and saturation to create strong colouration in the images to create a strong element of contrast between the objects and background I altered the images contrast, brightness and light levels.

Progression:
If I were to repeat this shoot I would consider finding more blatantly female objects for example blue dolls or a blue teddy bear as this would make the concept that I was attempting to convey more obvious to the viewer.

Favourite image:

 This is my favourite image as I believe that the iconography of nail varnish is associated massively with women and is seen as a very feminine object as a result of this I feel that the use of masculine blue contrasts effectively with the femininity of the image.

I feel that the various shades of blue in the above image also help to create an eye-catching composition as does the layout of the objects in the scene.

Denotation: This is an image of a collection of nail care objects.

Connotation: The objects above would be viewed by many as feminine due to the medias representation of manicures and beauty care to be a predominantly female pass time therefore the contrast of the masculine blue helps to question whether this hobby is solely for women and therefore contrasts with cultural gender norms.

Context: In current culture we are seeing men become far more comfortable in their femininity and many are adopting the use of nail varnish this image attempts to open up discussion on this abandonment of the gender norms in the hope of creating more change against other traditionally gendered activities.

Least favourite image:

This image should be one of my favourites due to the fact that as it contains sanitary towels it is perhaps the most blatant symbol of femininity present on this blog.

The composition and colouration of this image however mean that it is my least favourite from this shoot as the white pads blend in to the background and in editing the white background has turned a sickly green or grey tone.

Denotation: This is an image of blue sanitary towels.

Connotation: This image demonstrates the fact that generalised ideas of femininity can be more masculine whilst masculine ideas can be more feminine as the masculine blue contrasts with the femininity of the pads and cream.

Context: The context for this image is the fact that sanitary towels are not used by all women and are often used by men this is particularly important due to the fact that societies gender norms may harm people whom do not conform to the gender binary through body dysphoria or bullying and a gender norm is not always something as easily altered as whom plays video games or cooks.