I recently shot my first shoot for my project. I didn't have much time before the lecture, nor props to fulfil what I imaged the shoot ot look like, however I made do with what I had. This included a wedding dress, a camera, an instax camera, a tripod, a boyfriend to play assistant and a torch. With this, we set off into some nearby woods to shoot in during the night and came across a bridge.
Behind the bridge is just trees; the footpath goes through the woods and due to the time, there was nobody about and it had a very eerie feeling.
Due to not having all of the props or clothing that I wanted, I made sure that I would still get a good shoot, even if it didn't match my original intentions. I originally didn't want the wedding dress image to be dark in feeling, however it still worked because it represents how the good parts of my life (hopes - represented by the wedding dress) can get lost in the darker parts of my mind.
Enhanced by the use of the trees in the background which not only makes the image feel creepier, but also act as the darkness branching into my mind.
A few of my favourite images are shown below.
The images were shot by having a torch pointed at me, a camera (d3200) on a tripod while I had a wireless shutter release in my hand. shot at 4 sec. f/14 , 29 mm and an iso of 800, the images have a small amount of movement. Enough to make the image feel more alive, give it more character and due to the environment, make it creepy, but still enough to let the viewer see roughly what they're looking at.
The image wasn't shot centrally which annoyed me a lot when going back through, however I cropped down the image in post production and it looked fine.
My favourites from this are where my identity is more blurred, which means an audience can't connect with the character I pose as. While a lot of portraiture wants this connection, I feel that having it lost means that they feel the creepiness, darkness and mystery on a stronger level.
The poses I chose were fluid and in the moment. When I hit the shutter button I had no idea what I was going to do, which let to them being less rigid and more free. I felt this was important to let myself just feel the moment rather than trying to fabricate it, or it wouldn't serve the purpose I wanted it to; to give an insight to me and my head.
I also took some instax photos, seen below, as I wasn't sure of the format I want to present my images in. I also wanted to make sure I had something printed for the upcoming lecture, and this was an easy way to ensure that.
[INSERT IMAGES]
These images may still be used as a kind of collection of 'things' in my final presentation. I may continue to make these and see what comes of them.
The images have a lot more warmth to them due to the in camera flash, and they also don't have the level of movement that the other images do because of this.
My main focus, whoever was the DSLR images. I went ahead into post production in order to get the images the way I wanted them to look. For this, I first changed the colour balance and the contrast, to make sure that I am visible but also mysterious. In the end I added a gradient filter over everything to make the image feel more 'whole'. This was cool in tone and also gave the images a dated look, which adds to the mystery as it gives the images a haunting feeling.
This image was chosen because of the free movement and shape of the body that makes the wedding dress stand out.
After the toning, I liked how it looked old but I wasn't fully satisfied. I felt that it needed something more mythical, more fantasy to it. I then added some butterflies into the image because I felt it added a more ethereal look. The butterfly represents freedom, which the character to desperately wants.
apparently, 'Overwhelmingly, cultural myth and lore honor the butterfly as a symbol of transformation because of its impressive process of metamorphosis.'
This could then change the image from presenting the lightness stuck in the darkness but the light side of me transforming to or from the dark.
When applying the butterflies I made sure to include motion blur to make sure that they looked like they belonged there, because of the movement in my own body. I then lowered the saturation and made them match the tone of the image, before reapplying the gradient filter to make everything link in and feel natural.
I placed them where it would look like that i'm looking up to them, giving my gaze into the sky some meaning.
The pose with the butterflies also reminds me of Snow White and her birds from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
This could insinuate a relationship between the character and the butterflies.
Experimenting more, I went and added some sparkly type things in the image to also create this magical, mythical feeling.
However this ended up looking cheap, tacky and unbelievable.
The elegance seemed to disappear when I did this, so the idea was out. It also looked a bit like dandruff.
While I liked the image with the butterflies, I still felt it needed something more. I downloaded some fog brushes because I know that this is often a convention of fantasy images. Fog has connotations of the unseen, the unknown and mystery.
"Fog is dangerous. Fog hides things from us...usually the Truth." - a seeker's thoughts
It could also represent how my brain feels fogged often, which it does.
I think the outcome is successful. It looks mysterious due to the colours, the fog, the character and the butterflies, and you don't know the context which adds to the mystery. The contrast in positive and negative connotations give the image a very mixed feeling, as if all of the elements doesn't quite belong, yet visually they tie in well with each other.
The simplicity gives the image a more realistic look, despite knowing it's not natural. However all of these things can be found in our everyday lives and there is a small chance of it happening. It's not so completely out of this world, but enough to raise questions and feel ethereal.
The overall image gives me the idea of a disney princess in a more dark environment than we usually see them in.
I like how the branches reach in to the frame to allow themselves to be visible but also represent darkness creeping into the mind.
For the next image, I used very similar editing techniques. I coped over the same gradient filter to give them the same mood, and also used fog and butterflies.
I certainly prefer the image with the butterflies. The image seems to have a missing head and the butterflies take its place. It represents how the mind is always moving, on the go. It could represent the mind as being free but their compact formation may also argue against this. It reminds me of the phrase 'away with the fairies'; my mind isn't quite there, there's no clear focus as parts of it are darting around everywhere.
The pose of the character is interesting because it almost feels like a robot shutting down. It shows the character giving up, a lack of energy, just being done with the world. The mind is shutting itself down. I feel like this actually really represents my mind well. I do often give up, I do often feel the effect of life too much which causes me to feel like i'm shutting down and can't do anything for a couple of days. But the butterflies are still there, going mad. They lessen towards the slumped over version of myself, the version in which I am shut down, because I simply don't have the capacity to feel it anymore. But they still hover above me, never really gone. My body and mind can feel empty but I know the hecticness of my mind hasn't really just disappeared. They're waiting. Waiting to repeat the cycle. That's why you see both the stood up version and the version in which I cannot think anymore, to show that circle. This narrative is cyclical.
The butterflies in this sense also show that transformation, of which neither states are desirable.
I also made two instax images as an experiment, which came out creepy and eerie just as I had aimed for the main shoot;
I'm not sure if these will be used for my final presentation as of yet, however it's certainly something I want to continue for future shoots, and even perhaps use these instax images as a more documentary way of shooting.
Overall, i'm really happy with this shoot and am excited to work on more like this and experience living my own mind through imagery.
Behind the bridge is just trees; the footpath goes through the woods and due to the time, there was nobody about and it had a very eerie feeling.
Due to not having all of the props or clothing that I wanted, I made sure that I would still get a good shoot, even if it didn't match my original intentions. I originally didn't want the wedding dress image to be dark in feeling, however it still worked because it represents how the good parts of my life (hopes - represented by the wedding dress) can get lost in the darker parts of my mind.
Enhanced by the use of the trees in the background which not only makes the image feel creepier, but also act as the darkness branching into my mind.
A few of my favourite images are shown below.
The images were shot by having a torch pointed at me, a camera (d3200) on a tripod while I had a wireless shutter release in my hand. shot at 4 sec. f/14 , 29 mm and an iso of 800, the images have a small amount of movement. Enough to make the image feel more alive, give it more character and due to the environment, make it creepy, but still enough to let the viewer see roughly what they're looking at.
The image wasn't shot centrally which annoyed me a lot when going back through, however I cropped down the image in post production and it looked fine.
My favourites from this are where my identity is more blurred, which means an audience can't connect with the character I pose as. While a lot of portraiture wants this connection, I feel that having it lost means that they feel the creepiness, darkness and mystery on a stronger level.
The poses I chose were fluid and in the moment. When I hit the shutter button I had no idea what I was going to do, which let to them being less rigid and more free. I felt this was important to let myself just feel the moment rather than trying to fabricate it, or it wouldn't serve the purpose I wanted it to; to give an insight to me and my head.
I also took some instax photos, seen below, as I wasn't sure of the format I want to present my images in. I also wanted to make sure I had something printed for the upcoming lecture, and this was an easy way to ensure that.
[INSERT IMAGES]
These images may still be used as a kind of collection of 'things' in my final presentation. I may continue to make these and see what comes of them.
The images have a lot more warmth to them due to the in camera flash, and they also don't have the level of movement that the other images do because of this.
My main focus, whoever was the DSLR images. I went ahead into post production in order to get the images the way I wanted them to look. For this, I first changed the colour balance and the contrast, to make sure that I am visible but also mysterious. In the end I added a gradient filter over everything to make the image feel more 'whole'. This was cool in tone and also gave the images a dated look, which adds to the mystery as it gives the images a haunting feeling.
This image was chosen because of the free movement and shape of the body that makes the wedding dress stand out.
After the toning, I liked how it looked old but I wasn't fully satisfied. I felt that it needed something more mythical, more fantasy to it. I then added some butterflies into the image because I felt it added a more ethereal look. The butterfly represents freedom, which the character to desperately wants.
apparently, 'Overwhelmingly, cultural myth and lore honor the butterfly as a symbol of transformation because of its impressive process of metamorphosis.'
This could then change the image from presenting the lightness stuck in the darkness but the light side of me transforming to or from the dark.
When applying the butterflies I made sure to include motion blur to make sure that they looked like they belonged there, because of the movement in my own body. I then lowered the saturation and made them match the tone of the image, before reapplying the gradient filter to make everything link in and feel natural.
I placed them where it would look like that i'm looking up to them, giving my gaze into the sky some meaning.
The pose with the butterflies also reminds me of Snow White and her birds from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.
This could insinuate a relationship between the character and the butterflies.
Experimenting more, I went and added some sparkly type things in the image to also create this magical, mythical feeling.
However this ended up looking cheap, tacky and unbelievable.
The elegance seemed to disappear when I did this, so the idea was out. It also looked a bit like dandruff.
While I liked the image with the butterflies, I still felt it needed something more. I downloaded some fog brushes because I know that this is often a convention of fantasy images. Fog has connotations of the unseen, the unknown and mystery.
"Fog is dangerous. Fog hides things from us...usually the Truth." - a seeker's thoughts
It could also represent how my brain feels fogged often, which it does.
I think the outcome is successful. It looks mysterious due to the colours, the fog, the character and the butterflies, and you don't know the context which adds to the mystery. The contrast in positive and negative connotations give the image a very mixed feeling, as if all of the elements doesn't quite belong, yet visually they tie in well with each other.
The simplicity gives the image a more realistic look, despite knowing it's not natural. However all of these things can be found in our everyday lives and there is a small chance of it happening. It's not so completely out of this world, but enough to raise questions and feel ethereal.
The overall image gives me the idea of a disney princess in a more dark environment than we usually see them in.
I like how the branches reach in to the frame to allow themselves to be visible but also represent darkness creeping into the mind.
For the next image, I used very similar editing techniques. I coped over the same gradient filter to give them the same mood, and also used fog and butterflies.
I certainly prefer the image with the butterflies. The image seems to have a missing head and the butterflies take its place. It represents how the mind is always moving, on the go. It could represent the mind as being free but their compact formation may also argue against this. It reminds me of the phrase 'away with the fairies'; my mind isn't quite there, there's no clear focus as parts of it are darting around everywhere.
The pose of the character is interesting because it almost feels like a robot shutting down. It shows the character giving up, a lack of energy, just being done with the world. The mind is shutting itself down. I feel like this actually really represents my mind well. I do often give up, I do often feel the effect of life too much which causes me to feel like i'm shutting down and can't do anything for a couple of days. But the butterflies are still there, going mad. They lessen towards the slumped over version of myself, the version in which I am shut down, because I simply don't have the capacity to feel it anymore. But they still hover above me, never really gone. My body and mind can feel empty but I know the hecticness of my mind hasn't really just disappeared. They're waiting. Waiting to repeat the cycle. That's why you see both the stood up version and the version in which I cannot think anymore, to show that circle. This narrative is cyclical.
The butterflies in this sense also show that transformation, of which neither states are desirable.
I also made two instax images as an experiment, which came out creepy and eerie just as I had aimed for the main shoot;
I'm not sure if these will be used for my final presentation as of yet, however it's certainly something I want to continue for future shoots, and even perhaps use these instax images as a more documentary way of shooting.
Overall, i'm really happy with this shoot and am excited to work on more like this and experience living my own mind through imagery.
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