My Shoots

On the 12th of November I went on my first shoot. I was a little bit nervous as to how my model would react when I revealed the poses I wanted her to do but was confident enough that I would be able to pull off a  successful shoot. My model, being the Lolita fashion guru she is, told me many things about the fashion and let me look through her Lolita magazines to gather research and ideas.

Whilst waiting for my model to get ready she told me how much the Disney princesses influenced her fashion so I looked at their poses and expressions and made a way to include this into my shoot. 

Blogger won't allow me to upload any more images because my blogs are already too full but I'll describe the starting points to my images. I wanted to begin my shoot with a 'before' image, I had my model stand in a certain way with her PJ's on and without make up or anything 'lolita' like because I wanted to capture what a raw version of her to compare it with the later version where her hair and make up and lolita style was in place. It was raining for my first shoot so I had to change my originally outdoor planned shoot to mostly indoor which wasn't too much of a problem as my model seemed to be more co-operative indoors and away from the busy public streets. All together I went on 3 shoots, gathering something slightly different to the last each time because I learnt what locations and poses would be best and always set out to use these to my advantage the next time I was there. 

Research - Dina Goldsteil

Dina Goldsteil takes a 'magical' approach to most of her work. She mixes real life and make believe together and creates images which test the imagination and thoughts of the viewer.

These images are from the series 'Fallen Princesses' I like how all of the subjects are characters that we would recognize from being younger yet put into everyday situations. The contrast between the 'perfect life' and 'reality' sends a strong and clear message through the images. I like the idea of introducing 'story book' like themes into the real world.

The images above are form the series 'In The Doll House'. Goldsteil quoted:

‘In the doll house’ examines the less than perfect life of B and K. B is a super doll, the most successful doll in the world. Her partner K is grappling with his sexuality and finds himself in a loveless marriage. He struggles with his position in the household and faces his lack of authenticity. 

This series of work tells a story as well as gives us something familiar to relate to. I like how the 'Barbie's' hands are straight out creating a more believably doll like pose.

Research - Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz is an American photographer who worked for Rolling Stone magazine in 1970. Richard Avedon was a major influence in Leibovitz's life, his images played an important and powerful roll into the moulding of her style.

Her work tells a story, in this case it's Alice In Wonderland. I love how this is all one story yet she has 'Alice'  wear a different costume each time, it still flows throughout though because of the mutual usage of blue within each outfit. I will use different costumes of the same colour in my shoot so my model looks different each time but still similar enough for the shoot to flow well, make sense and look as though it was taken in one day. Once again I notice the text on the image, to me it adds to the story book feel. 

An Interesting Idea

Whilst researching fashion photographers and Lolita fashion I came across a similar pose within two images. The top image was taken by the German-Australian fashion photographer Helmut Newton and the bottom image is what I found on a blog about Lolitas. .

This pose to me seems to suggest pride and freedom. I like how the two models are happy and look as though they're ready to take on anything. Lolita fashion is very striking and stands out from the normal everyday fashion we see on the streets so people who follow this fashion would need a good mind set to overcome the negative comments and reactions that come with 'being different' and 'standing out from the crowd' and I think this pose suggests they've taken on this mind set. 

Feedback Session - Tim Walker

In my feedback session it was suggested that I looked at 'Tim Walker Somerset House' I did this which then lead me to other sources which I found very useful in aiding me with ideas and inspiration. 

Tim Walker worked in London for vogue in 1994 before he became the full time assistant to Richard Avedon in New York City. His work is unique in a way that he plays with reality, fairly tale and make believe. His work has relations to real life but with a child like, magical quality. 

Each of his images tell a story as well as portray a fashion style image. I like how we aren't forced into looking directly towards the model and what she's wearing, we're allowed to explore the image and use our imagination and creativity to tell the rest of the story. 

As well as creating magical still images, Walker has made some short films. I found one of his videos to be quite influential in relation to my idea. Below are some screen shots of the video and the link to take you there to watch it in full. 

http://vimeo.com/41072348

Everything about this moving image had doll like qualities. The music was 'child's toy' like, the camera was flickering and jumpy to suggest an amateurish/childish way of filming and the lighting was very playful, it wasn't dark and deep at most points, it was clear, fresh and bright. There was no explanation along with this so as viewers we have to make up our own story and reasons behind it, this gives us a chance to interact with the film and keeps us occupied and entertained. The story that my head decided to make up was the young woman is 'trapped' and doesn't like her way of life, she's scared (metaphorically shown by her fear of the large lurking doll), she wants to escape. At the start of the video she's outside and seems very happy, the film also ends with her being outside and looking as though she's relieved that she's got out of the 'doll house'. I like the fashion element running throughout, it gives the video some sophistication and elegance. I like the costume changes as they suggest it's filmed over a period of time as well as giving us something new to look at each time. 

Feedback Session - James Cunningham

I attended my firs feedback session with my proposal, research and ideas. I was given a photographers name to research, James Cunningham.

Whilst looking through his work I came across a model advert he'd put out in order to gather more subjects for his work. This advert describes what his work is about:

25yo from Melbourne specialising in domestic male-form photography. Seeking male models of all ages, of all shapes and sizes, who are looking to add their own catalogue of images.

I call my style 'domestic male-form photography'. Combining a range of modeling techniques (simple fashion editorial, underwear and physique work, and nudes) in an attempt to tell a story. Each of my models are brave individuals who allow their private world to be made public, as most of my shoots take place in the surroundings of a model's own home. It requires them to be completely un-posed and at ease for the duration for the shoot. Almost like the photographer isn't even there, very simple; very masculine.

Exploring strength and virility, and playing with the themes of a both privacy and confidence, many of my images have a voyueristic quality. The viewer is taken into a world that is rarely seen, while the model is at his most vulnerable... alone.

My shoots are TFP; in exchange for a model's time I provide HiRes digital copies of the entire shoot.

Please peruse and feel free to comment.

I like the story being told even though it's just of a guy getting up and having a shower. I think the story is something we can all relate to and follow which immediately gives us a connection to the series. When I'm following my model around I will let her take me to where she would go if I wasn't there, I wont let my camera influence her into going somewhere different to normal in order to capture more 'interesting' images. My model will take me where she wants to go so she's at ease and feels comfortable with her surroundings at all times.