Photography will play a large part of this Major Design project as alongside a video showreel- it will contribute to 40 credits of the 120 possible overall grade. Each week, students have so far, and will continue to take part in lessons on the use of digital cameras, studio lighting and how to perform outdoor photoshoots, in still imaging and short video clips; as well as the all-important aspect of photo editing- in the classroom using Mac computers and Adobe software. These skills will allow the students to utilise high quality images of their own make up work as well as the full creative use of said images as taking them directly-rather than using another photographer allows full rights to edit and use as needed as long as the model release form completed by any model taking part ensures images used have permission by ‘the star’ of the image (the model being featured) and that they allow them to be used by the make up artist/photographer for the specific reasons mentioned such as promotional material, for print and for posting on social media- whichever is required. This is not essential to being a make up artist-but it is certainly beneficial in terms of saving time and money on professional quality images to demonstrate a portfolio of skills- it also would allow said make up artist to provide professional quality photos to provide a client-and the know-how of creating appealing images that perhaps a client would be willing to pay for-or hire specifically for the ‘all-in-one’ package of a ‘makeover photo-shoot’.

    So far, classes have taught the ‘how-to’s’ of taking and editing images for a black and white finish-see images 1-2 (Price, 2021) this has included finding inspiration images of the types of effects (lighting, contrast etc) and have shown in basic terms how to replicate these using the in-studio set up and lighting-and how to adjust in post production using Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. As an introductory brief, this has been a way of easing into the huge variety of effects that can be achieved. It has been interesting to see how differently one person would edit a monochromatic image vs another. The same photo could be seen as most suited to a dark-tuned setting of Lightroom effects by a student, but the tutor; Scott-may envisage it being suitable to a reduced contrast, softer light effect. It must be mentioned that by no means is this hinted at being the wrong way to edit, but merely the commentary of how different perspectives influence the final product.

    Students have now begun to explore the next brief ‘Exploration of Form’, where the requirement is to research and find inspiration from other photographic work including make up looks, that draw in the student and create a spark for ideas; from which the composition of the models in the photo, the settings (lighting/backdrop etc) and the overall aesthetic works to please the eye... 

...in this case, the initial research this student has focused on has led to finding the website ‘A.G.Nauta Couture’ where a happy trail of interesting blog writings, photos, and fashion-based history has been recorded. In particular, it is reckoned that the first instance of inspiration for a shoot herein, will be related to 80’s and early 90’s club culture (A.G.Nauta, 2014). There is a vast pool of articles about a variety of fashion and club photography in this era that is closely linked with VERY creative make up looks-see image 3 (Beeche, 1986) and image 4 (Beeche, n.d.) the feature here is about Robyn Beeche, a photographer that collaborated with a lot of fashion and make up icons at the time; such as Leigh Bowery and Zandra Rhodes (A.G.Nauta, 2014). She famously took images of illusions created by make up artists-see image 5 (Beeche, n.d.) as this was before any form of image editing was available to public outside of movie-making editing for example. The quirky designs and the illusionary aspect is something the student here will be taking into account the most; in the Major Project Designs-the spider images will need to incorporate an illusion element to make the human figure(s) look like a spider in the angles the photos are taken, as well as using painted designs on the studio backdrop to enhance the image. In this latest form exploring brief for photography; Robyn’s work will also be the inspiration for the use of flat, 2D art on paper-combining with the human model’s features and make up-as seen in image 3 (Beeche, 1986). As the photography by Beeche is so varied- many pieces have provided inspiration for this brief, and the student plans on using a few featured in the research but will only use certain elements when coming up with the overall looks.

References

A.G.Nauta Couture (2014) The Blitz Club, Music & Fashion Revolution in the 80ties, 1st June [Blog]. Available at: https://agnautacouture.com/2014/06/01/the-blitz-club-music-fashion-revolution-in-the-80ties/ (Accessed Dec 6th, 2021)

A.G.Nauta Couture (2014) Robyn Beeche, Before Photoshop, 25th May [Blog]. Available at: https://agnautacouture.com/2014/05/25/robyn-beeche-before-photoshop/ (Accessed Dec 6th, 2021)

Beeche, R. (1986) [Image 3] Zandra Rhodes A [Online]. Available at: https://agnautacouture.com/2014/05/25/robyn-beeche-before-photoshop/ (Accessed Dec 6th, 2021)

Beeche, R. (n.d.) [Image 4] Zandra Rhodes B [Online]. Available at: https://agnautacouture.com/2014/05/25/robyn-beeche-before-photoshop/ (Accessed Dec 6th, 2021)

Beeche, R. (n.d.) [Image 5] Body Deformation [Online]. Available at: https://agnautacouture.com/2014/05/25/robyn-beeche-before-photoshop/ (Accessed Dec 6th, 2021)

Price, S. (2021) [Image 1] Spanish Rose [Digital Photograph]

Price, S. (2021) [Image 2] Grunge Portrait [Digital Photograph]