A productive week of improving photography

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17/03/25
Shoot 2: 
Stared off the week with a collaborative shoot with my classmates Kiesha and Charlotte. After coming back from my trip to India, I had a set idea of a few shoots wanted to carry out this week which would focus on texture, touch and colour. Doing my first studio shoot on the 23rd of January allowed me to reflect on the results from the shoot. During the previous shoot, I struggled with using the camera and lighting in a professional way which meant certain parts of the shoot did not go to plan. A lot of  the textured photography was very unclear and the studio lighting was not used correctly for the purpose of my shoot. However, his time around I was able to creatively direct both my model for the shoot and be more confident as a photographer. Photography was something I was always struggled with and not been confident in therefore, I was happy I was able to conduct to shoot while achieving the results I had planned for.
The aim for this shoot was on hands and bring cultural diversity into my photography through a variation of models. Having a visual board worked exceptionally well during this shoot as it allowed me and the models to fall back on it when we were stuck or needed new ideas for model poses, photography angles, lighting and textured shots.
   
My vision board for the photoshoot: 3ABFF23A-3891-4E7D-BADE-351821C72C6F
Tuesday 18th of March 2025: one to one tutorial and sketchbook focus 
Had a productive tutorial with Elouise with lots of researching and academic references to start looking at before next week. I was struggling with academic reference points for my sketchbook as my concept is for a specific niche. Part from that, I also got in touch with a local skincare business in Brighton for a potential interview as an article to add to my final major project. Started writing down notes and content planning for my shoot next week to keep myself organised and worked on my sketchbook for the rest of the lecture.
     
Thursday 20th March: Sustainability talk with Bianca Foley
I found this talk very helpful and relevant for my fmp as I am hoping to continue with the line of skincare after graduation. It was interesting to get an insight into the world of sustainability from someone who has been working in the fashion industry for years. I also learnt the importance of having different avenues of monetisation in order to keep yourself financially secure after graduation and working in a place you enjoy.
     
Friday 21st March 2025: Product photography in the studio 
          
Saturday 22nd March 2025: front cover, aesthetic, font research 
Making to-do lists has worked very well for me to keep myself productive this week. going forward I would like to breakdown the bigger tasks into smaller one and set myself smaller goals which build up to my final piece. After a successful week of photoshoots I would like to work on my editing skills and enhance the images I have already taken into professional ones. I would also like to come up with an aesthetic for my book, what colour scheme would I like to go for? And putting together academic references which I could potentially use for inspiration in terms of layout and photography.

 

A trip to India

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I started off the trip revisiting a home I grew up in for the first 5 years of my life before moving to the UK. Going down a memory lane of where I grew up and my surroundings was really refreshing and also very new to me. I spent a lot of time with my grandparents and seeing what they got up to in their daily schedule. Once having a look at my surroundings and the place I was working with I began to start planning a few shoots I wanted to carry out with my grand mother. Going into the project, a lot of my work was focused on my personal aesthetic which is classy, simple and minimalistic however, I decided to go out of my comfort zone while being on this trip and capture a range of photography. Indian culture is all about festivities, bold colours, embroiders, loud patterns and embellishments. Therefore, I quickly realised that a minimal aesthetic would not be suitable for my final major project and the concept of history I am looking to explore.
A few images of the store I visited in India.

A lot of the masks I make at home were sold in a product formate which was something I was unaware of.

I decided to take a trip to India for two weeks as part of my Indian skincare research for my fmp project. Living in the UK and being raised in the western world has massively transformed my identity from a cultural point of view. Therefore, I decided to travel India for two weeks embracing different cultures, traditions, food and fashion. My focus for this trip was purely on photography for my fmp, capturing individuals in their day to day lives and the landscape to add more depth to my research. I planned on visiting different cities to differentiate the cultures and their way of living. During my travels, I came across an organisation which was based around the world of Ayurveda which particularly grabbed my interest. A someone who is not knowledge about Ayurveda, I visited a store called ‘Patanjali’ to find out more about Ayurveda and the different ranges of products they had to offer. I came across a range of products made from organic clay and produce found in India. The whole concept of the brand is about organic and sustainable products which is used to cure hair, health and skin concerns which you may be dealing with. The trip to the store was very successful as it took me down a new skincare avenue which I was unaware of. Therefore, I decided to get in touch with a doctor who specialised in Ayurveda to learn more about the benefits of using it and more cultural ingredients and organise a potential interview to expand my research which I was exploring India.
Independent fashion and accessories exhibition:
               
               
I visited a fashion and accessories exhibition which was held in Surat, India to browse through what was available in terms of fashion. I took images of outfits and accessories which stood out to me and grabbed my attention. I found a common theme of embroidery through out all the different stalls I looked through, each item was crafted with attention to detail. Loose fit, wide leg trousers were the most trendy as well as hand crafted bags. I found several different stalls selling a variation of oxidised silver jewellery. Looking through the exhibition, it was really interesting to see how Indian fashion has evolved over time and designer catering specific designs for the younger audience by introducing new styles to fit the social media trends. It almost encourages young people to be more confident wearing traditional wear and incorporate it in their daily wear.

Studio test shoot

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First test shoot after developing new ideas for a new concept, testing: texture, model poses, lighting.
The shoot took place at the university studio, Brighton I was a model being photographed wearing several different homemade face masks to capture the use of Indian skincare and its importance in my life.
            
I collaborated with Rose and Charlotte on a test shoot as I am not too confident when it comes to photography therefore, doing this test shoot with other class mates was extremely helpful. It allowed me to understand my own style of work better and taught me a lot about how to correctly use the camera in a professional setting.

Natural lighting, white background, Cannon camera and a tripod

When it came to lighting, we tested out a few different settings and natural lighting was one that worked most for me and the form of content I was shooting. As my concept is all about skin, I decided to use natural lighting throughout the whole shoot to capture the textures of real skin, keeping the shoot fairly authentic as well as showing the before and after results of using my skincare recipes. I used a Cannon camera with a tripod angled at shoulder length to capture the perfect close up shoots of the skin and face. The aperture was set to 2.8 and was later changed a few times to fit different face masks we were shooting to achieve the perfect results. The shutter speed was at 1/250 to capture fast movements and to freeze the texture of the face masks.  Apart from that, I also decided to use a photography umberella to soften the lighting we were using and some of the images were over exposes with lighting, making it unclear. Using the shooting umbrella helped enhance my skins appearance and it clearly showcased the facemarks texture in the best possible way.

Pinterest mood board for model poses and capturing skin and facemark texture.

Model poses, prior to the shoot I came up with a mood board purely for model poses to allow the photoshoot running smoothly.  Going forward I would like to produce a specific moodpboard for each shoot and each facemark. I found having one moodpboard was a little overwhelming at times, as a model for this shoot I found myself not knowing which poses to do. Therefore, the process took a lot longer than expected. Moreover, finding a model for this shoot was quite hard as most people are not confident showing their real skin on camera or comfortable applying homemade facemarks on their own skin. Therefore, I decided to model myself for the test shoot and it worked well for me as the images almost tell a personal story of my journey of skincare and what led me to the world of skincare.  Modelling for the shoot and being the creative director allowed me to display my origin of being an Indian female and celebrate the beauty of brown skin which is often mis represented in the fashion industry.

Reflection and improvements for the next shoot.

Reflecting on the test shoot, I have gained valuable experience which I would like to take forward for the next shoot. I enjoyed the creative process of setting up the lighting, camera, modelling and creatively directing the shoot overall. Being a quick thinker is very important when things do not go to plan, I often have to reorganise my plan as things did not go accordingly.  Similarly, for the future shoots I would like to be more experimental in terms of exploring styling. Bringing elements such as makeup and clothing/ props on face, how would it look to style skin?

It’s the New Year !!

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First month of 2025!
A bit of a challenging month for me 🙁
          
The month was extremely difficult for me as I was going through a very difficult time in my life and found myself in a very bad place for a long time. Therefore, this week I decided to have a wholesome week and spend it with my sister and her boyfriend who came to visit me from home. Watching movies, walk in the lanes and the beach,  gym, reading, cosy cafes, card games, everything we got up to. I loved every moment I spent with the family and actively trying to change my mindset and daily habits I had gotten into while being extremely upset. As a result, I was unable to focus on university work final major project.
Going further, while developing my ideas for the fmp I realised that I was not enjoying the work I was producing. I could not develop my ideas further and most importantly was not having fun while creating. I was extremely confused and felt completely lost at some point in December. Therefore, I decided to come up with a mind map of everything I enjoy doing. Doing the mind map allowed me to understand what I enjoy working on creatively, what am I truly passionate about and would like continue after graduation. Likewise, going into the final major project I reflected on all my previous work and statement of intent to demonstrate how I came come to my current decision and what led me to it.  This is when I had the a-HAA’ moment and was able to narrow down my options for a new idea: skin, styling, Indian culture and heritage.
Researching cook books…
 
           
I headed to Waterstones to take a look at few different cook books in store. I had made a list of factors I was particularly interested looking at which includes: layout, style of writing, colour palette, visuals and the recipes and methods. Each author was specific to their needs and shared a different frame of work in terms of design and writing. While one was very minimal and simplistic the other was bright and bold. Visiting the store and looking at different books motivated me to be a bit more experimental with the colour palette and making the recipes more detailed.

Week 2

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I found Tuesday tutorials very helpful in understanding what exactly I should be doing. The group tutorials allowed me to understand where and what I should be researching within my free time to help with my project. The information provided by the lectures was also very useful in terms of researching and what should be included in our sketchbooks.

 

Sustainable lecture fashion future, emerging movements

What do you and how you know when you are out of balance? 

  • Overthinking 
  • Sleepless nights 
  • Uneven eating habits 
  • Not having a routine or a schedule  

How can you set 3 intentions that create balance and healthy habits during the final year? 

  • Working out or playing tennis to break up the week 
  • Cups of tea 
  • Walk in the nature 
  • Painting 

What do you think is currently missing in fashion? 

  • Different traditions being combined together. All different cultures, religions and cultures are all very separate.Talking about fashion, it should be an inclusive industry rather than different brands of ‘fashion’ or ‘culture’. Ghana where all the waste goes! We don’t know what happens with it. Ghana does not need all the waste being sent to the country, this leads to the country being hit with extreme climate change. 
  • Educational and constructive experience for those who are trying to get into the industry 
  • Fashion industry is not accessible for those who come from a higher class 
  • Equality in sizing, looks, models. Fashion is very closed and gatekeeping their ideas and concepts.
  • Lack of voices 
  • Fashion industry is not inclusive 
We were introduced to ‘our common market’ ‘fashion act now’ which was very useful to look at at. Discovering sources which I had not heard of or seen before.

Connecting your project with the activity

  • Re:generative process and communities of fashion is what I would like to connect my project to. 

Both aspects which I have not considered when it comes to ideas with my project. Thinking about communities and the amount of waste a group os people waste is a research project I could perhaps I could get into? Alternatively I could also consider grouping different communities to help collect plastic waste from public areas?  

 

Week 1 of university

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Walking into my first lecture I was nervous and anxious from the ‘third year’ pressure and doing well. However, after settling in and getting to speak to everyone I felt a lot better. Speaking to students who came from placement was very useful as I got to learn about their experiences and what kind of  work they did within the fashion industry.

Researching into IKIGAI and coming up with my own map was an interesting research to get into before starting the course. It took me out of my comfort zone and made me think how things I love can be connected/ what I can be paid for etc. My hobby of making my own skincare masks is also an aspect I could perhaps explore when it comes to my project. Taking these ideas and my IKIGAI graph into perspective, I came up with a moodboard which would help organise my visual ideas onto paper. I started thinking about where I have been working for the past year, what I have learnt and how I could relate that into my project? Which then lead me to think about plastic and sustainability.

Looking at the archives in the afternoon was also a useful lecture to consider different concepts. Looking at work from different artists allowed me to see the depth they go into when it comes to research and creativity. Looking at their physical work: denims, magazines, posters etc was interesting: how artists develop and implement their ideas into their work.

Visiting exhibitions

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Being human exhibition
Jason and the adventure 254
The Kola nut

Reflection/ summary of thoughts:

I visited the Wellcome gallery in London which showcased three different exhibitions. I found this trip extremely useful as I found the immersive experience highly knowledgeable.

Starting with the storytelling at the ‘Jason and adventure’ display was absolutely beautiful and the structures displayed were very engaging. I learnt what a Diorama is and how it can be utilised in a visual format. Jason explained in his video ‘layers of cards were used in the diorama to create depth’. The embossed effect of the cardboard and lighting made the storytelling a lot more interesting. Before entering the display, theres a tv which displays Jason talking about the exhibition himself. How it was created, how long it took, the installation process and how Jason’s diagnosis effected him. I loved the ideas of this concept as it made it extremely person for the consumer and felt like we relived his whole life together.

Moving forwards, the ‘kola nut’ exhibitions was not related to the ideas I want to potentially explore. However, visiting the display allowed me to open expand my ideas and think outside the box when it comes to reusing ‘waste’. I particularly found the movie with headphones in the display very useful as it allowed me to understand the story of a ‘kola nut’ and it is captured. The videos displayed on the tv were raw footage from Africa: the locals speaking in their own language and illustrating the kola nut. I learnt that the extracting of the kola nut is not only an extremely long process but also leaves a large amount of waste behind which ends up being burnt, harming the environment or ends up in land field. 

Overall, all the exhibitions allowed me to see how different structures were hung to make it visually interesting for the consumers. As well as: how your ideas and experiences can be constructed into a display which is not only visually pleasing but also educating. Furthermore, I learnt going to exhibitions and visually seeing displays made me a lot more creative and enthusiastic than only reading articles, books etc. All the exhibitions were powerful explosion of creation and knowledge. 

2024 summer

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I really enjoyed my item this summer travelling, working at a university job and keeping my self active. I went on a Europe tour with my grandparents which is really enjoyed and had so much fun! My grandparents do not live with us unfortunately but they had come to visit us from India for 5 months. Being really close with them I am going to be very sad when they leave as I love spending time with them and always learn a lot from them. I loved going to Switzerland, it is absolutely unreal and would definitely want to go back when I get a chance to do so. Apart from that, the rest of my time I was living in my university accommodation just working full time and trying to save money to pay my bills haha. The end of my summer was extremely stressful and made me feel really out of place going into my first lesson at uni from a situation I was dealing with my accommodation. I also started reading, a hobby I have never been ain’t and always disliked reading books. I want to spend less time on my phone before bed and try to spend at least an hour reading helping me unwind and de-stress.