This week we had the WIP (work in progress) show to reflect on where we currently are with our work. I wanted to explore the idea of editing previous images into mock-up front/back covers for idem to help visualise various aesthetics I could use and the various tones they would set for the overall magazine.

I created a mock-up cover using an image from my Home Setting Photoshoot featuring my friend Tom playing with a chain necklace. I really like this image due to its playful nature, exploring a more natural form of identity where the layers that we put up to create who we are in others’ eyes, are less apparent. I began by removing the background and adding in a new colour that I felt fit the aesthetic,  as well as placing a white outline around the cutout image of Tom. I had explored using an outline with some of my previous images and I liked how they turned out and wanted to explore the idea of using this style for a cover. I then placed a logo and barcode on the image, but I did not include a border due to already having used an outline. Overall I feel that I prefer using a border to distinguish the image from its background, as opposed to an outline of an individual image or person.

I then used an image from my Devil’s Dyke Photoshoot which comments more on the relationship between identity and the natural world, I explored this through how many people have eco-anxiety due to the climate crisis.  I picked one of my favourite images from the shoot and cropped it to be rectangular vertically as opposed to horizontally. I again added a background with a base colour to help distinguish the image and make it more cohesive. Finally, I added a barcode and my logo, however, I am undecided with this image as to whether I want my logo to be black or white. I am keen to write an article on how the climate crisis is impacting mental health and the identities of people who feel impacted.

I then used an image from my Studio Photoshoot, removing the background and selecting a new colour that complimented the image, as well as adding my logo for idem and a barcode.  I also added an outline to create a box which I feel helped provide more structure to the design to make it stand out more and become more cohesive as a cover. I like this image and the way that it explores a personal sense of identity through how we critique and compare ourselves to others through the use of the two models.

Finally, I used an image from my photoshoot inspired by the editorial ‘Tissue: A Portfolio of Scars”,  by Sean Ellis which explores how scars are a part of your journey and identity, stating “it is not art, it is something that happens to you.” I began by cropping an image from the shoot so that it was vertically rectangular as opposed to horizontally. I then added my logo and a barcode to make it more cohesive as a cover, as well as an outline to make the image stand out further. This is my favourite cover mock-up due to the juxtaposition between the models’ chain and scar, as well as how it so directly comments on the relationship between identity and physical appearance. For my FMP I want to complete an interview with this model to deepen my understanding of how the accident that caused his scar affected him, as well as write an article on how our physical appearance affects our identity; potentially along the lines of the body and the self.

Overall it has been incredibly useful to go back through my photoshoots from AGP675 to not only reflect, but to look forward towards my Final Major Project and the ways I want to visually create idem, as well as the topics I want to explore through both visual and written work.