Overall, i feel the work i have produced and how i have responded to the themes is successful and thorough. By firstly being able to give myself a proper understanding regarding the theme: Observe, Seek and Challenge i was able to allow myself to be creative and almost quite flexible with the theme. As id say the theme could be interpreted in almost anyway which usually i would find quite challenging however in this case i gave myself plenty of time to plan and prepare for the exam. By doing careful research surrounding female stereotypes and The Male Gaze i was able to pick out two artist references: Nancy Honey and Cindy Sherman. Unlike past projects i decided to try my best to recreate Sherman’s images as i could get technical with it and creative. Sherman’s aim when taking her photographs was that it was performative – linking to Judith Butlers theory of gender performativity. This meant over exaggerated makeup, props, ect.. i found this interesting so my response to her was trying to identically recreate some of her most famous images which after assessing my final outcomes (in my photobook) id say have successfully done. My overall response to Cindy Sherman’s work is displayed in the photobook rather than being mounted up as i think it looks more interesting being able to take time to open the book and not only see my images but re visit Sherman’s ones herself, and to see how it can influence other photographers such as myself to carry on her work. if the images were on their own without any context i don’t think they would have as much meaning to them. My response to Nancy Honeys work was quite vague however thoroughly done, i took careful time and really analysed her work technically, visually, contextually and conceptually. Although points were challenging such as gathering loads of images i found it rewarding and gave me more ambition seeing my pictures come together naturally. To create my own response specifically around the theme Observe, Seek and Challenge i decided to delve into what i used to enjoy, ballet, and linked it with femininity… as my other images had been of people i chose to do more of a object shoot and focused on the ballet shoes. This fits with the theme as i have observed carefully and seeked a specific area. I really enjoyed doing this photoshoot with the ballet shoes as i could get very creative with it, the ribbons, the worn out soles of the shoe (which made the images quite interesting – represents how it was in the past due to the shoes being small and clearly used however not presently used).

I managed to get most my pictures completed early on as I’ve learnt from past projects that leaving it too late or without a proper plan resulted in poor responses to the project. I was able to give myself time and gain more knowledge about what my intentions for this final project was. This made the process enjoyable id say as i gave myself a chance to be creative. I also focused on the technical, visual, contextual and conceptual factors a lot more for this project compared to past ones where I’ve found myself going off course. By focusing on those factors i was able to understand my artist reference (Cindy Sherman) work way more and recreate her work to a good standard.

If i could change anything it would be that i could’ve captured more photographs surrounding dance/ ballet (rather than just the shoes) as it would’ve made my intentions with the project more clear, however, this would have been difficult due to finding models who can dance and can demonstrate the specific conventions that i would’ve needed to create successful images regarding this style. Although, with the time given i think i have demonstrated thorough understanding on the theme and both artists Nancy honey and Cindy Sherman, I’ve also shown my ability to gather various different images and have presented my outcomes differently and suitably. This is the strongest piece of work i have done out of my photography course and i had a passion and ambition when completing it.

Overall i created five final outcomes – alongside my photobook which i am yet to order… i am happy with the way i have presented my images as i feel i have done it in the most appropriate and suitable way for these particular images.

I decided to mount these images up on phone board as i like the contrast of black and white. Considering the background of the pictures had came out particularly black i feel the images stand out and are more visible with the foam board.

I decided to mount these images up on phone board as i like the contrast of black and white. Considering the background of the pictures had came out particularly black i feel the images stand out and are more visible with the foam board.

I chose foam board for these images as it looks simplistic and the sky blends in well with the white compared to if i had it on black i feel as though it would be quite harsh.

To recreate Nancy honeys style i wanted a well kept, neat tidy layout when it came to mounting these images. Rather than them just being quickly stuck onto foam board. Black suits the colour theme for these images anyway and frames them well.

I stuck this image on foam board first before then sticking it onto black card. I wanted it to stand out a bit more and create levels as the image itself has a lot of texture and depth. The tree and branches almost swallows up the entire image and can look too busy/overwhelming. That’s why i think having the picture stand out on the foam board with a small black border perfectly mutes and tidies the framing of the image making the image appear kept together and even factors of simplicity.

STYLE:

I originally was going to create a magazine rather than a book as I’m using very few images. However, decided to do a book to make it look more neat and put together.

CONCEPT:

My aim was to recreate Cindy Sherman’s famous pictures surrounding the male gaze and experiment with ‘gender performativity’ by using props, makeup etc.. After having done that photoshoot, i was very pleased with the outcome and how similar some of my images looked compared with Cindy Sherman’s. My book consists of a compare and contrast with Sherman’s work, as i place my recreation of her images next to her original ones. Its meant to be brief and almost to demonstrate how photography can be analysed, reused and manages to still get its message across, in this case, The Male Gaze.

LAYOUT:

On the official pages i have placed my work and Cindy Sherman’s on the left, and then a similar photo on the right which is mine. On the left page is the more identical one to Sherman’s work whilst the images on the right pages are just more form the same shoot.

Back and front cover:

This ‘blurb’ on the back of front page gives the reader an in sight on Cindy Sherman overall and her main objectives when creating these images. I also added my own image on the top as a headline to create a neat welcoming feel into the book. The flowers give it a feminine feel to it.

Official page 2,3:

Page 4,5:

Page 6,7:

Page 8,9:

Page 10,11:

CONTACT SHEET:

SELECTING BEST IMAGES:

Rated my images using the stars; 5 being the best.

How does this photoshoot fit into the theme: Observe, Seek and Challenge?

Alongside my visual response to Cindy Sherman’s work I created some other images. I wanted to explore something that relates to me and femininity, however I wanted to fit the theme observe, seek and challenge. The way I did this was I decided to explore my childhood and specifically ballet which I used to do. I wanted to ‘seek’ and focus on simply ballet pointe shoes (to start off with), this then allowed me to be ‘challenged’ as I had to experiment with different ways to photograph the shoes, I wanted to try make something that started off looking simple to then making them look interesting. The main way I achieved this was by playing around with the ribbons attached to the shoes, I also took advantage of the fact I had two pairs meaning I could create composition by adding and taking away shoes and lastly making sure I used different locations to show me observing my surroundings.

Improvements to be made and developed into this photoshoot:

To expand and diversify this photoshoot i am going to continue creating images surrounding this topic of dance/ballet. As so far i have only photographed the shoes as an object on their own, i aim to make images where it involves peoples silhouettes. For example, acting out/ standing in a position which links to ballet, this could mean simply extending, bending legs. When photographing this i will make sure the subject (person) is dark to highlight the silhouette and specifically focus on the outline of the legs – you can find pictures like this in the girl on girl book. Not only will this relate to my ballet theme for femininity/ nostalgia it will also fit perfectly in with Observe, seek and challenge as I’m taking a small subject (ballet) and seeking deeper ways to present this in photographic forms so not just the shoes but the actions/movements which come with ballet. I will take this images in several different settings including random fields, cliff paths and mainly unique locations which would make the image look slightly unusual with the silhouette in the middle.

BALLET SHOES – OBJECT SHOOT 1/2 OUT OF PHOTOSHOOT THREE

CONTACT SHEET:

Around 60 images, 4 different location settings/backgrounds.

First location images:

Selecting and rating best images out of these 8 ^ :

RED = BAD

YELLOW = OKAY

GREEN = GOOD

Second location images:

Selecting and rating best images out of these 17 ^ :

Third location images:

Selecting and rating best images out of these 9^:

Fourth location images:

Selecting and rating best images out of these 22^:

Other experimenting:

Don’t need to colour code these as I like them all.

BEST IMAGES FROM PHOTOSHOOT THREE

NANCY HONEY:

MY IMAGES:

This is challenging as you need three different subjects and locations to pull together one image which have got to still have a common theme throughout all three images. For example i used the theme green, mirrors and the top. I also tried to include a sense of femininity by adding the ballet shoes. The sunlight gleaming onto the girl whilst she’s wearing the top – links with the sunlight also reflecting onto the top (on its own). I like how the wind is blowing the ribbons on the ballet shoes as it is pointing as the same direction as the sun coming through the shutters. I strategically placed the shoes on a mirror table next to the grass this correlates with the theme green and juxtaposes with the mirror in the other picture. When editing these images i used lightroom and put a green tint on each image to saturate it slightly and bring out the green colours.

Although this can be quite time consuming and has to be carefully planned out, I still aim to develop more images in this style (three to make one) as its different to what I’ve experimented with before and it fits with the theme observe, seek and challenge.

These specific five images that i picked out from Sherman’s work are the ones i have re created as shown above. Overall i would say i have successfully attempted to play with Cindy Sherman’s style after going by a specific plan and focusing on the mis en scene and clothing. The only major difference would be that Sherman’s images have a more vintage black and white tint on them.

CONTACT SHEET:

SELECTING MY BEST IMAGES:

I carefully went through and edited any images i liked into black and white (to match Cindy Sherman’s theme) and rated them with stars.

For this first photoshoot I will be creating a set of images in response to Cindy Sherman, I will attempt to re create them as much as I can.

HOW?

I will use specific props and clothing items such as suitcases, handbags and long flowy dresses to match the aesthetic that the woman in Cindy’s pictures create.

WHEN?

As these pictures will be in black and white it doesn’t limit me as to what time of day i should take the pictures however a few will be taken outside therefore i will be taking those specific images in daylight. I do plan on taking all the pictures in the day anyway.

WHO?

Using my friend which i will provide with outlifts, probs and makeup.

I WILL RE CREATE THIS IMAGES: