Initial ideas and research
I have chosen to select Broken society to base my creative photography around . I have chosen this as i would like to focus on the Bulling and the strive to be perfection s this relates to a blog that i run and would like to use this photography for this blog. To gather inspiration i have started a pinterest board that displays the ideas of a Broken Society. The board is : http://www.pinterest.com/sophiekipper/broken-society/.
What are the Themes running through your photoshoot?
I will be influencing my photos by the idea of perfection and changing yourself to become perfect. This will run alongside the theme of depression and loneliness which often forces you to change yourself. My first idea for a photo that carries these themes is with the use of make up and mirror to express the true image of these girls.
What colour schemes will you use?
I want to portrait the dark emotion and seriousness by using black white and greys with the occasional colour selection. This will show the darkness that bulling creates.
Have you any initial ideas?
At the begging I have had ideas to use silhouettes of people being bullied in hallways but these seemed to be done very often. Instead i want use one model to show her progress to find perfection and through the troubles she faces. My ideas at the moment consist of the use of make up with a 50/50 face half done half not. I also want to use mirror to show how people feel when looking in to them this will also go with portraits of crying faces and people hiding from themselves. This will show the emotions of someone being bullied.
Do you any ideas for poses?
At the moment i want to use intense images mostly just of the models face. Instead of posing i want to use raw emotion this does mean my model will have to possibly cry or be able to relate to the shoot.
What ideas do you have for your location so far?
I will not need many location shoots but i will be shooting using a bedroom and maybe soon school halls as i want to show a person progress though bulling including hallways where they are most likely to be bullied and at home in their room where they feel the struggle to become perfect.
Do you need any models?
I will need a model i am hoping that they could be of school age as this is the common time for a person to be bullied. If i can not get a model of this age i will still use a teenager.
To gain further knowledge of Photography and Photographers I have attended a gallery here i could see the multiple ways of displaying photos and how professional photographers display and sell there work. I attended the open exhibition of Photography run by The spring in Havant. This event allows all from students to professionals display their photography.
What are the Themes running through your photoshoot?
I will be influencing my photos by the idea of perfection and changing yourself to become perfect. This will run alongside the theme of depression and loneliness which often forces you to change yourself. My first idea for a photo that carries these themes is with the use of make up and mirror to express the true image of these girls.
What colour schemes will you use?
I want to portrait the dark emotion and seriousness by using black white and greys with the occasional colour selection. This will show the darkness that bulling creates.
Have you any initial ideas?
At the begging I have had ideas to use silhouettes of people being bullied in hallways but these seemed to be done very often. Instead i want use one model to show her progress to find perfection and through the troubles she faces. My ideas at the moment consist of the use of make up with a 50/50 face half done half not. I also want to use mirror to show how people feel when looking in to them this will also go with portraits of crying faces and people hiding from themselves. This will show the emotions of someone being bullied.
Do you any ideas for poses?
At the moment i want to use intense images mostly just of the models face. Instead of posing i want to use raw emotion this does mean my model will have to possibly cry or be able to relate to the shoot.
What ideas do you have for your location so far?
I will not need many location shoots but i will be shooting using a bedroom and maybe soon school halls as i want to show a person progress though bulling including hallways where they are most likely to be bullied and at home in their room where they feel the struggle to become perfect.
Do you need any models?
I will need a model i am hoping that they could be of school age as this is the common time for a person to be bullied. If i can not get a model of this age i will still use a teenager.
To gain further knowledge of Photography and Photographers I have attended a gallery here i could see the multiple ways of displaying photos and how professional photographers display and sell there work. I attended the open exhibition of Photography run by The spring in Havant. This event allows all from students to professionals display their photography.
Planning
Before I can do my photo shoot I have to thinks of all the things I may need to take thinks about the considerations of a photo shoot. To display this i have created a mind map of my thoughts here :
For my photoshoot i will use the model Eloise Brayant. To use the photos taken i will need a model release form. This form covers the shoot and allows the photographer to use the photos in a public place. Here is my model release form :
The photo shoot and editing
On the day of my photoshoot i took many photos of my model these can all be found at : http://www.pinterest.com/sophiekipper/my-photography-broken-society/
I have also created the basic contact sheet that can be seen bellow. To keep the copyright to my photos i have overlaid a watermark and footer with my copyright statement and name:
The theme that i chose to follow as broken society this was because i could portrait the emotions of those that have been bullied and have felt abandoned. To do this i took photos of a girl ( Eloise Brayant) going through a day of someone who has been bullied. I used this to allow the viewer to empathise with the person,
On my photo shoot i took many photos on the shoot from these i have chosen six to edit into the normal day here are the six i have chosen and why.
I have also created the basic contact sheet that can be seen bellow. To keep the copyright to my photos i have overlaid a watermark and footer with my copyright statement and name:
The theme that i chose to follow as broken society this was because i could portrait the emotions of those that have been bullied and have felt abandoned. To do this i took photos of a girl ( Eloise Brayant) going through a day of someone who has been bullied. I used this to allow the viewer to empathise with the person,
On my photo shoot i took many photos on the shoot from these i have chosen six to edit into the normal day here are the six i have chosen and why.
I have chosen this for my first photo as the contrast coming from the light gives the effect that the darker side is taking over this can be seen as the depression and bulling taking control over a young teenager. The stern look on her face allows you to look deeply into her eyes as they are the guide to the soul. To edit this photo i will darken the contrast possibly turning it black and white and overlay some text.
This is my second photo the line that will be edited over this from the song Miss invisible By Marie Digby will " She sits under the bleachers". This picture shows the hiding part of being bullied. Trying to escape from the world. I think this photo makes you think about what the person is going through.
I have chosen this photo To display the line " Just another day eating alone". This photo has an another high contrast from the dark as she hides in alleyway trying to escape the world of eating around others. The dark and light in this photo shows the fighting with the darkness when bulling takes over this should not be happening unless we are in a broken society.
This photo shows the need to be perfect with half of the face with make up and the other not this shows the raw emotion of someone battling to become perfect in a broken society where make up represents beauty.
This photo again is used to display people struggling with the need to be perfect and how they spend all there time focusing on how to look perfect to edit this I may darken the image.
The last photo I have chosen has been used to portrait just the raw emotion that bulling can overall cause the girl crying in a public setting. It just tell an emotional tale.
These photos will be edited to create a graphic narrative using the text from a famous song called Miss invisible by Marie Digby that focuses on bulling this I think is a side effect of a broken society.
My final photos
My evaluation
Photography has the potential to tell a story provoking a wide spread of emotion. This creative photography assignment allows you to run with a theme, in this instance broken society, it lets you tell a story whilst broadcasting emotions through imagery. This interview will fully explain how the finished photos were inspired and created.
Q.You have chosen the topic broken society why do you think this is?
When given the array of topics broken society stood out as the following topics referred to happier and less inclusive ideas. Broken society allowed me me to look into everything that has broken the world such as bulling, hatred and ignorance. These ideas were so unlike the others allowed me to use my personal experiences to broadcast thoughts and emotions of someone who that’s been connected to this theme.
Q.What is your angle on broken society and how have you displayed this theme?
A broken society is a society that has been ruined by the people within it. This society is ruined because of activities such as bulling and hatred i wanted to display this in my photos. I used my personal experiences with bulling to portrait the emotions of someone that has been bullied instead of just photographing someone bulling. These feelings also include loneliness, anxiety and insecurity. I have shown this in my photos by using one model and telling the just her story whilst using the lyrics to miss invisible by Marie Digby to narrate it. These lyrics tell the tale of an invisible teen that has been a victim of a broken society. I have also used subliminal messages within my photography as throughout I have used shadows to frame my model this can be seen in my first and third photos. These shadows are used to represent the darkness that is taking over not only the image but also it also represents the darkness of bulling and depression taking over the pure whiteness of the innocent victims soul. This stark contrast shows how unfair reality and a broken society can be.
Q.Do you think you have shown a strong link with the theme broken society ?
I think I have a strongly connected my photos to the theme of broken society. I have used a range of shots that firstly portrait the raw emotion of someone that has been bullied and have also subliminal messages through lighting, the number of models and the colour choices. If i was to further build on my theme of broken society I would add shots of the person bulling and show how they feel hopefully showing how society is making them bully due to other side effects of a broken society like peer pressure and idealization. This will show how faults start because of others.
Q. What initial research method did you use and how did this help you ?
Once I decided my theme I started the research into other photographers that may have carried out photo-shoots on similar ideas to show this research i created a board on pinterest which can be found at : http://www.pinterest.com/sophiekipper/broken-society/ .
On this board I not only pinned images taken about this specific project but also anti-bulling campaign posters these helped me see how others saw the themes of bulling and broken society. These images allowed me to not only broadcast my views and emotions about the topic but also I could show how others feel about the subject. Some of these thoughts are shown in my photography the most specific being in photo number 5 ,many said the worst thing about being bullied is the insecurities you face, In this photo you can see my model trying to change herself in the mirror and the hate on her face that tells the story of how the need for perfection is taking over.
Q.What were the first consideration for your photo-shoot ?
The first thing I thought about when planning my photo-shoot was the location although I had many ideas about the photos I wanted I needed the perfect backdrop. This to me was a school plus a home life as I wanted to tell a story of a teens daily life saying that this is happening everyday. After I had the perfect location I planned to use a model and this had to be someone that could act and portrait different emotion this was easily done by my model Eloise Brayant who not only had acting ability but also had a personal connection to the photo shoot so could project her true emotions. To use my model I would have had to create a model release form this gives the models permission to use the photos in any way stated on the form. An another form that may have been needed is a risk assessment for my photo-shoot this not needed as all of images were taken of everyday life so there were no extra risks.
The last two considerations are equipment and time. To complete my photo-shoot I took into consideration the equipment I would need to create lighting and to take high quality shoots. In the end I used no lighting to create realistic looking photos. So the only equipment I needed was to book for my time frame was the DSLR. The time for my shoot was limited so I planned it to be a one shoot day booking the model and camera. There photo-shoot was fast paced and had to be planned perfectly.
Q. How did you organize your photo-shoot?
Planning my photo-shoot was the most difficult task as I wanted to keep my shoot to one day this meant it had to be fast paced and well organized allowing it to flow smoothly. When planning I kept a note sheet of with a daily Rota for the shoot day starting from meeting with my model when she was free and then taking the college photos first after we moved on to taking the home shots completing the shoot. I had to to book equipment to such as the camera so it would be available on the day. I also had to arrange other small details such as travel and small props also clothing to gather these on the day I had to make sure all were available.
Q. Who did you use as a model and why did you ?
My model was Eloise Brayant a 17 year old who has faced bulling herself. I decided I was going to use one model to show the isolation and loneliness that a broken society causes. Eloise not only had personal experience with the subject but also knew how to act and portrait the raw emotion displayed in my photos. Most of the photos are mostly of Eloises face so not many poses were needed. The limited poses through the shoot were improvised and included the model finding flaws that could be emphasized. My model also stood with low confidence this was represented by collapsing her inwards. I did get my model also to sidn a model release font confirming I could use all the photos she felt comfortable with.
Q. What locations did you chose to shot your photos in and why?
I used two main location numbers the first one being south downs college. Here I took 4 of my main shots. The rest were taken within a bedroom. I chose to use these two locations because I wanted to tell the story of a going through her day to day life. Neither of these locations needed a release form as both were open to use. The photos framed by the college use hiding placed within the college one being under the case but I also used many hallways and alleyways showing the want to hide and the loneliness of bulling. The location of the house had a very different purpose instead showing the loneliness of bulling and portraying the emotions you take home when your bullied. The home images show the anxiety bulling causes and also the want to be perfect fo this I used mirrors and close ups.
Q. Was there any small planned details in your photo's? e.g. clothes, props, make up.
I did plan many small details the main being clothing and make up choices. For the models clothing I wanted to show to show how uncomfortable this person would feel in there skin to do this I used dark oversized clothing showing what a typical teenager would wear. I tried to use minimal make up but I did do a selection of photos where the "perfection" taking over I tried to show this by only half making up the models face showing the natural beauty compared to that false reality that is only being hidden because of others and the need to be perfect caused by this broken society.
Q. Was there any difficulties while planning and carrying out your photo-shoot?
I had minimal issues when planning or carryout our my photo-shoot. The only thing that has changed from my original idea was my model and location. Initially I was going to use a younger model to tell the story of a 15 year old instead but my initial model of this age did not feel confident enough to do the shoot. If I had this younger model I would have also used a secondary school to tell the story of someone this age. Although the first plan fell through I had at that point made a back up plan allowing me to use my current model and a college. I think what helped me mostly to get over this failed plan was that it happened early in the process of sorting the shoot.
Q. What equipment did you use ?
The only equipment I used was a DSLR camera as I have chosen not to use any false lighting or a tripod as I wanted people to feel like your peering into someone’s day to day life. I didn’t want them to feel false or staged. This provided me with realistic looking photos.
Q. Did you edit your photos, if so how?
I did edit my photos using Adobe Photo shop but I only made small changes to keep the photos realistic as I have stated before. The main changes I have made were applying a black and white filter also I overlaid text. I firstly applied the black and white filter I added this to give the photos more depth. This improved most of my photos allowing you to see emotions within the photos this is what the text narrates. I overlaid this white text to tell the story of this broke girl who has been a victim of the broken society. The text I chose is from the song miss invisible by Marie Digby. I made the font white to gove the feeling that it is narrated by a higher spirit as the connotations of white are angels and innocence. I wanted this white to be representative of the hope coming through the darkness of the society. The font also had connected connotations. All of these changes made you believe the story of this innocent girl.
Q.Do you think you photography fits the given brief? why do you think you so?
I think my photography does fit the given brief of creative photography based around the topic broken society. My photos tell the story of a girl who is broken because of the broken society around her. My main idea is based around the fact that bulling is a side effect of broken society and I also touch upon other effects such as perfection, depression and loneliness. Overall my photography tells the story of a victim of the society around her portraying how it is broken.
Q. What reactions have you gotten from your photographs and was this the reaction you wanted?
Most people react by emotional empathizing with the theme as the matter is touching and portraits a very real situation. This was the reaction I wanted as the photos are supposed to broadcast thoughts that are provoking the audiences emotions. This overall telling them about the harsh reality of bulling and the broken society around us.
Q. What exhibitions could your work be displayed at ?
My work could be displayed in varied exhibitions of photography all around the UK specifically in my area the gallery at The spring often have many themed exhibitions but they also have regular exhibitions of amateur work this helps people who are just starting like me. I could also build an online portfolio or website to exhibit my work here I can see what type of people my work appeals to I can also grow contacts this way. The last thing I could do is set up my own exhibition this is typically done when you are better known.
Q. What skills have you learnt while processing this task?
Throughout planning and organizing this photo shoot I have learnt many skills including how to take emotional photographs and many Photoshop techniques. Whilst taking my photos I took into consideration the many photo angles and lighting techniques needed to create professional looking shots. Editing these photos was less difficult as I did the least changes I could to keep the documentary look. The only new technique I used when editing was changing the colours from RGB ( red,green,blue) to CMYK ( cyan, magenta, yellow, black) this changes the photos on the screen to appear like they have been printed in ink. As screen colours use the RGB colour scheme because they use light to create the colours this is unlike CMYK which can only create ink colours which are typically darker.
Q. What skills would you like to further develop?
If I was to further develop any of the skills I have learnt I would mostly improve my photo editing skills. This is my weak point as I have slowly built up my knowledge on editing software such as Adobe Photoshop. If I was to learn more about the programming I think I could produce more effective photography.
Q.Is there anything you would like to change about your photographs, if so why?
I am content with my photos as they fit the brief and forfill their purpose. If I were to change anything about my final photos I would spend more time editing them although I have made changes to my photos they could have been further improved by changing the levels and maybe using a selective blur effect. I also could have changed the overlaid text as in some of the images the text was not clear enough to read although I would change this I do not know how.
Q. What would you do differently next time?
Overall I think i have competed a successful photo-shoot with creative photos that fit the given brief and topic. There is not much that I would do differently the only differences that I may have made would be the amount of shots and maybe the number of models and the location. I wanted the story to be about a younger teen in her life this would have also changed the location to a secondary school and may have featured more models. I have also thought if this assignment allowed further photography I would have done an accompanying 6 shots that told the story from the perspective of the bully and the forces behind them which is making them bully showing the broken society in an another angle.
Finished layout with images :
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