This post is relevant to my sketchbook, page 59.

After reading On Stuff and Nonsense by Pajaczkowska and seeing photographer Esther Keate and stylist Taff Williamson’s images for Atlas Magazine (shown below), I decided that I wanted visuals to go alongside my mental health resources which explore the concept of concealing and revealing to create anonymity and show how mental health issues can affect anyone. 

 

Below I have included a mood board I created moving forward from this research;

I created the colour palette to the left of the mood board to highlight how I want to mostly use neutral colours such as skin tones, black/white, and yellow/orange tones. I have also explored the use of using materials to hide and add narrative which has been really useful for planning the photo shoot.

I then completed the shoot and got a variety of experimental photography which I have included a selection of below;

Above are the (unedited) images I completed using a duvet as a source of concealing/revealing to convey a sense of anonymity to highlight how mental health can affect anyone- however I still feel as though this is not conveyed strongly enough and so I am unsure as to whether I will take these forward.

Above are my favourite images from the shoot as I was able to experiment with capturing motion by using a high ISO and fast shutter speed to capture a sense of fluidity and movement. I feel that out of all the images from this shoot, these are the images that convey anonymity the strongest and work best for my theme of mental health.

Below I have included the edited versions of the first two images above to highlight the abstract and experimental aesthetic I want to capture;

 

I created these in editing by removing the background objects such as the beam and wall art, as well as editing the focus and blur to effect the layers. Finally, I changed the saturation and overall lighting to increase the orange/yellow tones which I set out in my original mood board.

I am really happy with these final few images, especially after editing and I feel that they demonstrate how far my skills with photography and editing have come.