I created a black backdrop so the black fabric would blend in and the skin appear more illuminated and becoming the focus. I had never done photography before so i used this as my chance to mess around. The main thing i had to learn was how the lighting affected the photos. At first i had my curtains open, using natural sunlight. It helped create shadows and warm lighting on the skin, however it was difficult to get the camera to focus when the light became too bright so i closed my curtains. Closing the curtains made the photos darker and colder. My skin looked more blue and it helped set the unsettling, sad tone of illness that these photos were showing. On the other hand i wanted to experiment with lighting a little, so i got my lamp and through the rest of the photos i moved the lamp around to light up different areas and create shadows.
Picking details from my original final piece idea, i tried to recreate them in the photos. Using the black fabric as a dress, i collected weeds, tied a rope around me, and used the red fabric to show the development of danger and suffering. When following through the photos, they show a story developing. The first photos show a person with low self esteem of feeling lost and vulnerable. They are already thin but unhappy, due to the negativity shown in the media. The photos where i am holding weeds show how they start to take in the media and society's beliefs, picking the weeds and keeping them. Their mind set changes as they water the weeds believing this is right and unable to see the health damage they are pursuing. Becoming wrapped in the rope, suffocating and watering themself as they have become the weed, following and spreading the views that they have taken in. The red fabric represents blood and tears as they suffer, possibly even dying from anorexia. Lastly the photos with the lights show how she has lost her identity, he happy life from before as she has became what society wants.
I printed the photos out again, this time with no black ink. This made the photos print out with electric blue and pink ink. This effect changed the tone dramatically from dark and sinister to summery due to the lighter colours. However, i see the photos as less human. The body looks unnatural and the world is unreal like an alien planet. I believe it shows how inhuman people are when they believe in one particular view that outcasts many humans because they don't fit. The viewer loses the ability to connect to the photos as it loses its humanity's touch. This also made me think about how i could edit my photos and try different styles to test the outcomes.
These photos turned out better than i anticipated and enjoyed creating them as i am very interested in the body, drawing the body as well as body art. To improve these photos i would want to change the staging so the camera could be higher and take in the floor properly. If i had a better set up i could of tried more ambitious positions instead of kneeling on the floor throughout. Furthermore, i would want to develop the lighting skills. Try different coloured lights, shapes and alternative lights instead of a spotlight, such as fairy lights. I find the lighting very important as it highlights the areas you want focus, creates shadows that help set the tone and create the overall mood and feeling of the photos. Photoshop is another option i could try but i don't like being too technical and prefer creating the actual piece in the actual photo so it's as real as possible.
As these photos turned out quite well and showed the story i wanted in my final piece, i decided i would develop and use them.
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