Battleground beauty- Work record

Basic information:
Date: 15/03/16
Camera used: College camera with Macro lens.
Props or subject: Props.
Editing program: Photoshop CC 2014.
Camera settings: 1/125, F9, ISO 200

Definition of Macro lens: A lens suitable for taking photographs unusually close to the subject which enables extreme detail to be captured.

Plans for shoot:
In this shoot I will be photographing toy soldiers in a selection of poses with makeup to demonstrate the harshness of societies imposition of female beauty standards.

What I hope to achieve:
In this shoot I hope to achieve a series of unique high quality images which will draw the viewers eye in and therefore lead them to question and discuss their previous notions about female beauty standards.

I aim to focus the viewers eye on specific areas of my images by using a shallow depth of field which I will achieve through the use of an F stop of 9.  My hopes are that this will help the viewer to focus more on specific elements of the images.

I would also like for my images to be composed in a way which engages the viewer for example by incorporating pops of colour from makeup products in an otherwise green and white image as well as to use specifically coloured makeup to symbolise things such as blood or mud in the images.

I have heavily influenced by Slinkachu in this shoot so I hope that I will be able to replicate his style in an interesting way whilst allowing my shoot to retain its own unique appearance and message.

Outcome of shoot:
This was the first shoot in my component 2 portfolio which consisted of props opposed to subjects which lead to having to switch my camera (a nikon D5300) with a college camera and macro lens in order to gain the level of detail which I wished for in this shoot.

I had previously worried about the fact that to prevent staining the backdrop with makeup powder I was going to have to blend white A4 sheets to the backdrop which was a different shade of white however due to my lighting setup and positioning of figurines on the paper there were few lines visible and the lines that could be seen were easy for me to blend away using the spot healer tool.

I used basic editing to brighten the images as well as to adjust the images hue and saturation levels to give the image a more polished look.  I also increased the images contrast to make the vibrancy of the red tones bolder as well as to increase the textured appearance of the powder to give the image a more striking and eye catching appearance.  The fact that I had used a white backdrop allowed me to alter the colouration of the props without having the danger of overly saturating the images background which was an issue that I have previously experienced when using the pink backdrop.

Progression:
If I were to re-visit this shoot I would experiment with a wider variety of makeup colours and product as well exploring the possibility of creating a more complex engagement between the figurines in addition to the smaller individual or duo shots that are featured in this series.

Best image:

This is my favourite image as I believe that it is the image from this shoot that is the most eye-catching and in keeping with my concept.

The red eyeshadow in the images foreground creates the illusion of blood and adds a sense of brutality to the image.  Focus is drawn to the "blood splattered" figurine in the foreground due to the images shallow depth of field and the macro lens used allows for detail to be seen and adds texture to the photo giving it a more 3 dimensional appearance and heeling it to come alive to the viewer.

Denotation: This image is of a fight scene created by toy soldiers and makeup.

Connotation: The connotations of this image are that obtaining societies high standards of beauty can make many feel like they are fighting a war with themselves the fact that toy soldiers carry connotations of war and pain link to the common phrase that "Beauty is pain".

Context: The context for this image is that women are increasingly breaking away from societies expectations of makeup by either not wearing it or wearing more dramatic versions and making it their own opposed to something done to please society.

Worst image:

This is my least favourite image and the only image that was taken using the Nikon D5300 which was edited as I did not like the appearance of these images.

Firstly I believe that the image is overly bright which takes away from the grungy brutal concept of the shoot making it instead appear clean and pristine which is the opposite of what I had envisioned for this shoot.  Secondly the figurines are not captured in enough detail due to the fact that a macro lens was not used.  Finally the image has a deep depth of field which makes it appear quite flat when combined with the lack of detail on the figurines.

Denotation: This image depicts toys soldiers hiding behind a makeup palette.

Connotation: This image demonstrates the fact that makeup is not always done by women out of enjoyment but is sometimes done as a way to protect themselves from society.

Context: This idea of women hiding behind makeup palettes for protection is extremely relevant today as the makeup industry is currently bringing out more and more products in order to make women appear as the perfect visual of femininity.