Friday 28th November
For our photoshoot we decided we needed to practise both working together, getting to know how each other worked as well as deciding on the type of lighting we needed/ wanted to use. Because we didn’t have access to the studio we had to make do with my bedroom and a spot light or two. Overall it think the shoot went well and that we produced images that helped us to develop our thinking.
Sunday 26th November
After brain storming the other day, myself and Phoebe decided to simply our thoughts and start making some mood board to help us develop our project further.
Thought process simplified:
Moodboards for our overall concept, the type of photography we would like to use, and the styling that we think we accompany the images well.
Concept:
Photography:
Styling:
Monday 24th November
For our second brief we are being put into pairs; myself and Phoebe Collins will work on a project with content of our choice. One of us will take responsibility of being the photographer and the other, is the stylist. We both decided we wanted to create a thought provoking and a project with depth however we are not entirely sure what we want to research. Thus today started our to brain storm and put our initial ideas down on to paper.
Monday 17th November
Today we were introduced to Sorla Houston, Photography Editor and Producer from Dazed and Confused. She told us all about how things work in the magazine and in particular, her job.
Initially the editorial team look at everything from pop culture, to the politics to editorial images, current affairs.. Basically everything! From this information they all formulate ideas and the update the ‘list’. The list is a collaborative space where by all have access to it. Sorla has to keep an eye on this as it is only when it goes bold that she can start her job.
Her job involves a lot of organising, contacting people and arranging call sheets so make sure things so everything is in place for the shoot. She also has to liaison with the creative director to make sure they are happy with the chosen photographers. She also is in control of the budget and thus how much gets allocated to where, in addition to making sure everyone is paid on time.
We then had the pleasure of being able to see her sketchbooks from degree level and get some inspiration for our current and future projects. I really like the look of a grey background with a colour layered on top. I also really like the idea of looking into using different mediums and have been inspire to go home and experiment printing onto different types of paper and materials, for example, tissue paper, acetate and tin foil. I also want to experiment with cling film and the idea of tinting photos.
Friday 14th November
I absolutely loved processing our film images and experimenting with the length of time in which we exposed them for today.
Looking at the first outcome in a technical view, it was not a good quality of print (which you can see from the faded/ grey colour around the photos) however I actually thought it worked really well for some of the images. Because they were under exposed when I took then, it meant that exposing them to light for a smaller amount of time (10 seconds) results in a visible photograph. E.g.
For the second set I decided to extend the length of time the images were exposed to 20 seconds, allowing more light to come into contact with the images. This gave the photographs a better quality in that the images were sharper and more crisp.
Overall it was a really useful and enjoyable experience and I can’t wait to do it again!
Here are my favourite images from session:
Thursday 13th November
Today’s lecture was all based on Fashion; who creates it and who takes responsibility for it. Dr Marie McLouglin used the film Devil Wears Prada (the lumpy blue sweater in particular) to give an example how fashion, is an unavoidable, ever changing concept.
I found it really interesting to consider how when people (such as the character Andy in Devil Wears Prada) think they are going against society and what it considers its norms in terms of fashion, they are actually caught up in it, just as much as those who are trying to be. The tone of colour, the shape and the print of a garment has to come from somewhere and thus eventually it gets sent through the system ending up to the consumer.
We looked at Karl Lagerfeld’s quote “Fashion is a language that creates itself in clothes to interpret reality”. I really like this quote and feel it is such a lovely way tot think of fashion, because I agree, it really does have it’s own language.
Further more we looked at Nick Knight and his Show Studio platform, which I have to be honest and say I did not know about but will be definitely taking a good look at ASAP.
Finally we looked at the idea of the recent exhibition, ‘Women, Fashion, Power. Not a multiple choice .’
Within this exhibition influential people such as Camila Batmanghelidjh, Dame Sandra Rhodes and Samantha Cameron.
Samantha Cameron’s M&S dress report I found particularly interesting because we think she is trying to say she shops like everyday people- so to connect with the public, when in fact when she wanted this dress there weren’t any available at any store. Due to her status they found that they had a sample dress in a factory in a size 14 which they then made to measure her size 10 figure. Therefore demonstrating the power behind certain individuals and exposing the innocent minded pubic, such as myself although I am slowly learning to question everything around me.
Seminar Session:
Within our seminar we refined the knowledge covered within the lecture and also discussed how the system of producing fashion has changed over time. From once being in a state where by the designers opinion was extremely respected and the considered at the top of the chain, to the current industry in which people are brave enough to be individual and are deciding fashion for themselves. Thus the designers now take our opinions and voices more seriously and as a result has meant the system has been reversed and we are in fact at the top.
Overall I’ve had a really interesting and thought provoking afternoon and now can’t wait to watch Devils Wears Prada again- for a second I almost forgot what a good film it is!
Monday 10th November
Setting up your camera for a shoot:
Using the light meter:
Lighting:
I feel this session went really well and i really enjoyed learning new skills. As i am a novice when it comes to photography i am really interested in gaining experience and the knowledge needed to create a really strong shoot. I really liked to use the extremes of either a lot of light or hardly any at all. The crisp white background really appeals to me in the same way as a black back drop creating a small but really detailed picture does too. Overall a really insightful and fun day.
Its strange how exciting the sense of control you get makes you feel when being the photographer of a shoot, although due to my inexperience my comfort levels are definitely not as high as I hope they will be in the near future.
White back drop, lots of flash
Black back drop, spot light
Tuesday 11th November
To introduce us to the world of photoshop we had the pleasure of attending a workshop run by Stephen Myers. During the session he taught us the basics of photoshop and how to use the different layers though creating a moodboard.
Creating a moodboard isn’t actually that difficult, once you know what you are doing that is. There are a set of basic rules you need to follow and repeat and once you have mastered those I found it was actually quite simple.
1.Make sure you unlock the layer so you can edit it freely.
2.Select the part of the image you want to use. To do this you can use the magnetic tool to draw around your object or use the magic wand tool and then using the window use the ‘select similar’ tool.
3. Then delete the surrounding area by selecting the inverse.
4.After this you need to create a new layer and drag the image into it (making sure you name the layer so to make it easier for yourself later on if you need to rearrange anything later on).
5.Repeat all the steps above.
I found this exercise really helpful and it has increased my confidence with photoshop dramatically.
The final copy sent off to Stephen Myers demonstrating that I have labeled each layer and considered the placement of objects
Thursday 6th of November
Todays lecture, lead by Matt Smith consisted of the introduction to this idea of craft in opposition, followed by case studies of craft in industry and then finally how artists explore craft and mass production. I found this lecture particularly interesting because it made you think about/ question what craft really is. Can something machine made be considered craft? Is craft fine art? Can you give one definitive answer to the definition of what is craft?
To cut a long story short, the answer to whether there is one definitive answer is no, there isn’t. The definition (in Matt Smith’s opinion) is summed up best by David McFadden who states that;
“No single definition of the word [craft] satisfies the range of activities- mental and manual- that craft comprises..Craft is a flexible term, shifting in its common usage from verb that describes conscious action to, modify or transform a material to a noun that describes a class of objects.”
(David McFadden, Curator of the American Craft Museum, M. Anna Fariello, and Paula Owen (eds) Objects and Meaning, New Perspectives on Art and Craft, The Scarecrow Press, 2005, p24)
Matt then went on to refer to William Morris who proposed that we should be asking, who made it? He covered the romantic nationalism and also looked at the Names Quilt; a response to the aids crisis.
Furthermore a case study that we looked at that really grabbed my attention was one on Linnet Hanan and how she contributes to Quivenchy through her knitting and croquets, so much, yet gets no recognition. This really got me thinking about this idea of being given credit for your work and the possible rules that could be in place, and maybe should be in place to make sure that those individuals that contribute to a piece of work (whether it be a clothing design, 3D model design or drawing etc) get recognised for that work.
Finally we looked at some artists that explore craft and mass production. Individuals such as Edmund de wall, Geoffrey Mann and Grayson Perry were a few, among the list.
Overall I feel this lecture was extremely beneficial even if only to remind me that it is important to question and look further into what it is you initially see.
Monday 3rd November
Today we were briefed with our new project on photography and styling; although slightly daunting it sounds very exciting! I think that looking into photography will be really useful for me as I would consider myself a novice in that particular area at the moment! In addition to this i’m really looking forward to the hands on side of styling, i’ve always loved putting outfits together and can’t wait to experiment; especially as i will have the chance to collaborate with others, which will give me some really good experience.
After this we then had our second brief consisting of a trend project which will run along side our photography and styling brief. We had the pleasure of meeting Ruth Greany who works for WGSN, thus has industry experience, who presented the brief in a lecture format whilst engaging us through question and short activity to start of with. For the activity she asked us to consider, in groups, what it is we thought trends were, where they come from and then give examples of some current trends. This is what we came up with:
What are trends:
-Something followed in fashion
-Styles that change from season to season
-World styles influenced by catwalk and fashion weeks
Where do they come from:
-Current trend-Films
-Blogs
-Catwalk
-Designers
-Economics
-News
Current trends:
-Vintage
-Capes
-60’s
-Sport Luxe
-Distressed denim
-Long sleeves
Following this she then ran through how the company WGSN works and gave us some background information to her job role and how it is trend forecasting is conducted. I found this really insightful and am looking forward to getting ‘stuck in’, as they say!