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In this part of the shoot I was focusing on getting connecting shots that would help move the narrative forward, I got James to act out as if he was rushing to college, so we worked with some walking shots. This was also the section where I wanted to focus on getting the advertorial shot of the laptop bag. I chose this bag as I wanted something that was modern and luxurious, to go with the modern gentleman look that I was striving for. It is real patent leather and I borrowed it from Grace and Ted in Bath. I also chose it as it perfectly complemented the rich black velvet blazer and the blue tweed of the waistcoat. Texture and quality were absolutely imperative in the styling of this shoot.

Image 1 – I really love the composition of this photo with the pillar being such a strong feature, it works really well in building a cultural narrative in the photo. The plant growing up the wall is also really beautiful. It of course does not capture the bag and for this reason did not end up being one of my finals. However I do think it works well in pushing the narrative forward as although it is as intended a very constructed image, works well in getting across the cultural element, the fact that he is clearly in a rush to go somewhere and is either off to a business meeting or to class. I do also like the blurred element as it again feels like a snapshot of Tchad’s life.

Image 2 and 4 -Both the same image but the door knocker has been cropped out in the second one, this was to see if it was at all removing focus from the bag in any way. I decided that although the door knocker helps in adding cultural narrative to the setting, I prefer the cropped version as it allows more focus on the bag its self, this was necessary as I was trying to get the advertorial shot.

Image 3 – The shape of the body came out slightly strange in this one so it was one of my less favoured ones. The right shoe is playing quite a focal point, but is still not quite in focus enough to work as an advertorial for the shoes. and certainly not enough for the bag.

Image 5 – By far my favourite from this collection, in terms of composition and capturing the outfit. I also think that the choreography worked well. It is a shame that James’s face is quite blurred in this but, despite this being an advertorial for the bag I do think that this affected the image in a negative way. I do still think that it is a strong connecting image despite this.

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This was the section of the shoot where I wanted to depict Tchad having self doubt, to contrast how the way that he began to dress helped him with issues of low self esteem. For the styling of this I decided to work with taking the blazer away as a way of peeling away layers of armour. I had thought about having him dressing how had done before before but I really wanted to getting this message across without losing the polished aesthetic of the styling and of the shoot, I felt that this would impact on the focus of culture. On reflection I wish that I had experimented with achieving this whilst maintaining a polished aesthetic but with a wider variation of outfits. This is definitely one thing that I would do if I could have reshot.

image 1 & 2 – In these two images I played with shooting through the gates, as a metaphor of feeling trapped. Trapped within a cycle of self doubt. I then directed James to be looking into the distance considering himself and then to be looking down as if he was lost in thought.

Image 3 – I wanted to capture James sat on the steps, looking tired and once again lost in self doubt.

Image 4 & 5 – These are two versions of the same shot, I have included both as the framing and depth of field came out slightly different in one of them. Again using the gates to play with the idea of feeling trapped, I directed James again to be looking down. I also directed Tchad to shoot James from above to compared to from below or at eye height as I had done in the section where we were looking at confidence, as I wanted to emphasis the idea of feeling small in this section of the shoot. These are definitely techniques that I will be trying again as I believe they work.

Image 5 – This was inspired by the Peter Lindbergh shot of Uma Therman looking into the window. (“Peter Lindbergh and Uma Therman, Downtown LA for Vogue Italia 2011”) However we did not quite make this work, but it did turn out to be one of my favourite photos from the shoot as it is more experimental, more about suggestion, I only wish that you could see that he is actually holding a camera. This is because I gave James an old film camera and asked him to just start taking photos. I then asked Tchad to start taking photos of the reflection of him to work with the idea of memory again working with autobiographical memory and nostalgia, almost a faded snapshot of him, the camera was a vital part of the image as Tchad is himself a photographer and could always be seen wondering around college taking photos of everything, I thought this could have been a very beautiful photograph, I will try again to capture a similar shot with hopefully more success in the future.

Credits for the shoot

photography – Tchad Oak Findlay

Modelled by – James Berridge from Rhed Modelling management

Styled, directed and location management by Lydia Jane Clark

For Tchad’s narrative I wanted the shoot location to be more about his cultural upbringing, as part of forming the narrative of how he sees/saw himself. Given that he grew up in an upper middle-class area, with an upper middle-class family, surrounded by stunning countryside and stately homes, I wanted to shoot outside a very grand looking house, preferably one that was old university. Very luckily I did just this, and managed to get the ok to go shoot for an hour and a half at Corsham Court, a stunning 500 year old house, designed by Capability Brown. Which is also now part of Bath university. Which contextually fits perfectly with the period in Tchad’s life that I am looking at.

Whilst I got confirmation for Corsham Court I also tried a few other places that I thought could work, such Longleat house, as Tchad used to work here during the period of his life that I am focusing on, whilst I like the idea of this in terms of it fitting the cultural element of it, I still always felt that my shoot location for Tchad’s narrative was imperitive in getting the idea across, and in order to push the narrative of his time in college, I needed the location to be an old university, for the grandness but also for the context.

I also tried to shoot at Lacock Abbey, as I thought to shoot down by the cloisters could work well as a few notable old universities such as Oxford and Cambridge have cloisters around the uni grounds. I also thought that I could get some quite abstract images here and play around with the Tchad looking at himself in a very critical way.

For Freya’s shoot location I knew that I wanted to shoot her in Bath, for a similar reason culturally but also to speak of the context of the narrative. For this I wanted an affluent looking city to speak of a young business woman doing very well, staying very focused in her career. I was imagining something similar to Mayfair in London. Also this being said, this is also where Freya grew up, speaking of her narrative culturally. As well as this as Bath is known for being a perfectly balance of stunning countryside and a roman city, it is very common for people to work some of the time in London but reside in Bath. This helped make my decision as I wanted my location for Freya’s shoot to speak of her being someone who is doing very well for themselves.

I did always intend to get walking shots of Freya as if she was in a rush for another business meeting, busy and focused. However I also liked the idea of having her inside a hotel getting ready for the day ahead, or a bar/restaurant maybe having a meeting with a client.

I achieved this as No 15 in Bath allowed me to shoot there for an hour. The Bar is really beautiful and worked well for my concept.

The restaurant down stairs had great natural lighting which allowed me to keep the tone real although it was meant to be a very constructed image.

I also rang up a self catering boutique hotel business in Bath, Marcus allowed me to shoot in his ”Mr Darcy” property for more than long enough. This location was excellent for capturing my jewellery shot as it had an art deco mirror in the bathroom which was really great for narrative. I wanted to explore using the mirror to assess the self and critique the self as we were still shooting the black suit but I was focusing on the necklace which was a symbol of the part that religion has played in Freya’s life, carrying this in the form of accessory once again reiterates that clothing and accessories can carry strong meanings and feelings for the wearer. Symbols of where they have been and where they are going.

I did find experimenting with Angelica the model, gazing at the clothing in the wardrobe and coming down the stairs useful. But in terms of working to push the narrative forward, something was missing. At this point in this shoot we shooting the black suit, so I wanted to capture Angelica looking nervous, a little fragile, using the suit as armour. I experimented with this by shooting Angelica coming down the stairs in the heels, this was making her walk very nervously and cautiously. In terms of visual reference I found Nick Knight and Issabella Blow photo helpful for this

The figure is blurred and also looks as though she is trying to disappear. I wanted to somehow try this concept. To clarify this was the part of the shoot where I was looking at how Freya dresses when she is feeling less confident and more nervous.

(Fury, Knight, & Blow 2013)

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References for images below:

1 (“Alexander-McQueen-nick-knight-another-magazine-ss-2015-14”2015)

2 (fury, knight, & blow “tribute to a supreme fashion fantasist: The unique life and times of” 2013)

3 (Helmut Newton, and Yves Saint Laurent for French Vogue. Rue Aubriot, Paris. 1975)

ME: I would say that your mindset is more of someone who has had great achievements and someone who is probably older than their 20s?

F: Definitely, the best way I can describe how I feel about myself, is to take a person, take a job where traditionally you would be in your thirties, late thirties, and then give it the title, youngest woman to… And that is how I see myself. 

Because a lot of the times, I am disappointed because if there isn’t another goal to get to, I am disappointed with myself. And part of that constant goal, what to achieve, how do I get there, what do I do, it drives me and not having it, it just makes me feel like i’m not really myself.

ME: You’ve put that into me as well, its something that if there is anything that I have picked up off you, its that. its the need for a goal, again and again and again, the next step, the next step, this is the next hoop were going to smash and its relentless. and its exhausting

F: it is, it is, but its also really worth it because like occasionally I take a step back and I’m like ok, so you know my friend is on £17000, and I am on 24K, people who are more trained than I am, the apprentice at Sheema was on half of my pay. half. and he’s been at Sheema for two years. He is on 12K I am on 24. Same hours, its ridiculous like i know that I have done well for myself. but there is also that missing thing, the name on that cv… that is missing and I know it is and I know that I have to push for it because it is much a part of who I am and it is part of how I dress. and i catch myself at work, they’ll be like oh um your top is nice where is it from?’’ oh its from BOSS, ‘’Oh I love COSS’’ No its from BOSS. 

ME: Hugo!

F: Laughs Hugo! Boss this ones £300!

Due to the interview being an hour long I fell short of time to type the whole transcript up, so I decided to type up one of the highlights of the interview.

These are two sections in particular of the interview that I was really inspired by, firstly when Freya talks about wanting to one day be a category of ”Youngest woman to…”. This was a statement that as a person who knows Freya, knows this to be absolutely authentic, as much as it could sound cliche to someone who does not know this person, it comes from a very real place in Freya, she loves to have the answers to everything, she likes to be highly driven, to work very hard and if she gets recognition for it, this makes her very happy. This part of the interview also got me thinking along the lines of painting Freya as some sort of figure to look up to, however I end up doing this, I would definitely like to experiment with it.

After the interview I started doing some visual research, and came across an interview with Nick Knight which I found very inspiring, as he says at the very beginning of the film ‘’There is subjective opinion, subjective desire, and that is what all good photographers and good image makers will bring to you, they will show you a world that you can’t see, if you want to see a world that is out there, then go look for yourself’’ Ref: (“Nick Knight” 2018)

This quote from him got me thinking that I may want to experiment with a more abstract way of approaching my concept, I then saw his collaboration with Alexander McQueen and Swarovski. I was immediately wowed by this and thought about how I could experiment with constructing Freya as a symbol, possibly a statue, an angel like figure possibly.

Some critical analysis that I would give myself at this point would be that I should try to take a more abstract experimental route, it can still be grounded with the same findings or similar findings but is sometime more interesting to take a solid concept and just make a bit more aesthetically unusual. Not to say that I don’t love the style that I have been practicing, because I do, but I also feel that I should learn more about how to take this approach with my styling and direction.

Ref: (“alexander-mcqueen-nick-knight-another-magazine-ss-2015-14” 2015)

‘’If we think of art as a form of personal expression, We all get up and whatever we have chosen to put on, is not by chance. We all express certain feelings about how we should look, there has never been a society since human beings have been able to express themselves that has not used fashion or self decoration in some way to put across ideas of power, sexual availability, sexual  availability, what it is, that has always been key, everyone makes choice about how they present themselves.’’

This snippet again from the same interview also agrees with my over all sentiment for the project.