Overall, I have thoroughly enjoyed this project. I am very pleased with the outcome of final project, and I am proud of how both my final book and prints have turned out.

I believe that I have explored the theme of Observe, Seek & Challenge well by choosing my own interpretation through the idea of the Male Gaze as it includes the observation of females and seeking them in an objectifying and limiting manner. Furthermore, the male gaze challenges the progression of how women are being seen and depicted in current time when compared to the past.

In addition, I enjoyed the process of researching and finding artist references which matched with my idea of observe, seek and challenge. I thought it was interesting learning about the stories behind the photographers and their series of images as it helped me view their images in another light. Cindy Sherman was a huge inspiration to me as her ‘untitled film stills’ were mainly based on the male gaze and how women can be objectified by men, however it also shows the strength behind women’s eyes. Furthermore, Nancy Honey’s work which I took inspiration from explores the coming of age females which is an empowering moment of life for women as you learn to love your body as it changes.

Moreover, watching my mood boards come to life through the process of taking images has by far been the most enjoyable experience of the whole project. I overcame many challenges throughout this process by improvising with what ever I had at the time, however, took it all as a lesson to improve my work and to know what to do the next time. I also enjoyed the process of finding models and positioning them in order to get the best outcomes and exploring with both artificial and natural lighting to create different types of effects and shadowing. With each shoot I did, I aimed to re-create at least one or two of my artist reference’s images to point me in the right direction to then create my own interpretation of their work.

To edit my images I used Adobe Light Room to create the best version of each photo. At times this was a repetitive and time consuming process as I would have to sift through hundreds of images of each shoot to select which ones I wanted to edit and select for my final images. However, watching my images which were dull becoming more vibrant and defined was satisfying and fulfilling to do.

My favourite part of this whole project has been the mounting and framing up of my images. I enjoy this process as it was physical and practical and allowed me to have creativity to show my work and see how other people will view it. To present my images, I made window mounts which creates a black frame with a white border to allow images to stand out. Further more, I created two collages on foam board and spray mounted images onto it.

All together this project has been a very enjoyable experience. I have loved seeing all of my hard work come together in a format in which other people can enjoy. There has been some challenges, however, they were resolved and overcome and I am pleased with the outcome of my work.