Graded Unit | Evaluation
Introduction
The aim of the personal project was to create images we wanted to make, with meaning within a genre of photography of our choice. Having followed the body positivity movement on social media and the internet, I became interested in the idea of creating a series of images that would portray a woman’s body inclusive of all shapes, sizes, and conditions. I personally have experienced body confidence issues relating to skin conditions and weight which made the project more personal and meaningful to me. Having more creative freedom seemed daunting to begin with as I felt overwhelmed at the fact there were no guidelines or specifications or themes to follow, the idea was to be all my own. Now having completed the project, I feel happy with my images and grateful to have had an opportunity to create a series of images that are worth something to me.
My goal for this project was to produce a body positive photography series that focused on real women and their bodies. I wanted to create a series of images that were diverse and inclusive and portrayed what a real body looks like; with body fat, stretch marks, cellulite, scars, skin conditions. Creating a positive photo series that sends a strong image was and still is one of my main goals. As mentioned in my plan, too many women feel pressured to look a certain way because of today’s society and the current “beauty standards.” Celebrating human bodies and recognising what a normal body is, is incredibly important.
Planning + Development
To begin with, I researched body positive photography, portraits of women, photographs of scars, to try and find photographers whose work was like my vision. I found several photographers and projects that fit my idea and looked further into Elisabeth Van Aalderen, Sophie Mayanne, and Sophie Harris-Taylor. After completing my research and writing my approach essay, I felt much more inspired and prepared to produce a successful photo series. I used examples of the work I came across in my research to convey a clear idea of my vision to the models I was working with. This was highly effective when trying to guide and instruct women who had never modelled before on the poses that I was asking of them.
Throughout the initial stages of the project, I focused on finding a diverse range of models to ensure I was able to capture a variety of unique bodies. I aimed to have around 15-20 different women modelling for me to ensure I had more than enough in case of cancellation and to maximise the number of images I had to work with. In doing so, I ended up working with fifteen different women and ended up with seventeen possible final images. To ensure that I was fully prepared for the shoots, I created in depth plans including shot lists, lighting plans, and lighting diagrams. This helped massively during photoshoots due to the 1-hour limit with each model. I was able to work more efficiently and managed to get all the shots I had thought about and planned out beforehand.
Action Plan Changes
My initial plan was to test shoot over the Spring Break before shooting for the project. After consideration, I decided that it would be more efficient for me to use the time to produce in depth shoot plans instead of doing test shoots on location or at home without the required equipment that I had access to in the studio.
Throughout the progression of my project, the main problem I encountered was strike action on days I had arranged photoshoots with models. I contacted the models who were shooting on strike days, to reschedule. Not everybody was able to reschedule, so I rearranged dates and times and reached out to more people who were previously interested. In doing so, I was able to fill my scheduled shoot times with new participants.
When shooting, I found that using my standard kit lens at a longer focal length was more efficient than using a 70-300mm telephoto lens. I had originally planned to use the telephoto lens to avoid distortion at shorter focal lengths but found the kit lens at longer focal lengths (35-55mm) produced no distortion. Also, after experimentation in the studio, I found a silver reflector to be too bright and produce too many harsh highlights. As a result, I used large white foam boards as reflectors to bounce in less light to produce softer lighting on the right and to soften shadows slightly.
Positive Aspects of the Project
Personally, the most positive aspect of the project was the theme of body positivity. The theme being something that has been the cause of debates for years and a real problem today (especially on social media) made me feel that it was even more important to be successful in this project. People are easily led and influenced by mediums such as television, social media, the internet, magazines and more to think that the only acceptable way to look is size zero and flawless skin. The aim of the body positivity movement is to normalise natural bodies and promote self-love.
Other than the theme, I think that the images work very well together as a series and effectively convey the message of body positivity and accepting and celebrating all bodies. Each image focuses on a different body, and my abstract approach works well to bring focus to various aspects such as scars, skin conditions, cellulite, stretch marks or body fat. The soft neutral colours work well with the theme of natural bodies and help to keep each image consistent with the theme.
Another positive aspect of the project that I thoroughly enjoyed was working with all the different women who volunteered to model. Seeing how many women were interested in my project and how many of them were willing to model was a bit of a shock to me but this further motivated me to produce these images for my project. Speaking to the different models about their insecurities, confidence and other body problems helped me to fully understand the importance of body positivity and the problems that every woman faces and experiences throughout their life.
Knowledge + Skills Gained
Throughout this project I have gained more skills and knowledge mostly within the post-production stages. An aspect of photoshop that was entirely new to me was the match colour function. Using this technique, I was able to keep the background colours more consistent to achieve a more cohesive look and feel to the images to help link them as a series.
One skill I developed during the production of this project was my people skills. From the very beginning of my project, I was contacting models, speaking to people on a near daily basis and organising and scheduling various photoshoots. Following this, I met and worked with fifteen women who I’d never met before. Another important skill I was able to develop was portraiture. Having limited experience with portraiture photography I was able to improve my skills in the genre including lighting set up, posing/angles and engaging with the subject. With each photoshoot, I felt more confident in my skills and more comfortable shooting and collaborating with each model.
Conclusion
I feel that after successfully completing this project I have managed to grow and develop both my photography skills and my confidence within photography. I have enjoyed each step of producing this series of images and am satisfied with the images I have submitted. This is my first major photography project I have completed and am proud of how it turned out. I feel that the theme, the execution of the plan and the final images all went incredibly well and that I have produced a strong piece of work. In addition, I feel that I have surpassed my own plans and expectations for this project and have been able to produce a project which does in fact convey a strong message about body positivity. I feel that I have successfully produced the project that I had envisioned as well as meeting the brief of the graded unit personal project.
Even though I am happy with my images and happy to submit the series for my graded unit, I know that there is always room for improvement. Regarding the post-production process, I think my optimisation could have been better if I had used and practiced the match colour function on photoshop before in other work before using it for the first time through this project. If I had taken the time to practice using the function, I would have been able to use my time more effectively and efficiently during the post-processing stage. Also, the lighting set up for each shoot wasn’t the same, this was corrected in photoshop but some of the post-production work could have been avoided with more consistent lighting and less shadows in my shots. If I had the chance to complete this project again, I would ensure I had more experience in the required photoshop techniques and was able to keep more consistent lighting across the photoshoots.