Mount Edgecumbe Shoot

I decided to pair up my images as I feel like they work better as a pair. Overall, I was really pleased with how my photos turned out as I think that they were really successful. The black background that they are presented on helps to bring out the contrast within the photos. My model was Livvy Dunn, a photography student at Plymouth University who I worked really well with. My inspiration came from the period of the house which was the 1500's, Tudor/Elizabethan period. I would've like to have used a 70-200mm lens to get a shallow depth of field, creating a beautiful close up portrait.

This images were shot with natural lighting coming from the left hand side of the frame. The light was coming through a window which creates flattering and interesting highlights. The image on the right is my favourite image from the shoot as I think it works well in creating a feminine and delicate portrayal of my model. Complimentary colours work well within this image as well, the dark green really helps to bring out the golden colours in Livvy's hair which creates a golden glow on her skin, hiding any blemishes or bad complexion she may have had that day. Her hands leading up to her face creates this soft and feminine feeling in the photo, as they are positioned close to her lips. To get the contrast within her hair, I edited the photo in RAW photoshop by increasing the clarity, making her hair appear sharper than the rest of her. I also airbrushed the skin on a small amount just to get the contrast between her hair and skin - I think this works really successfully. Although the image on the left isn't as strong as the image on the right, I still really like it due to the positioning of my model. She has been positioned perfectly central, this combined with the frame in the background being behind her head and the black bow in the middle of the frame helps to keep the shot looking tidy. Both images were shot on a 70mm lens which gives it the closeness and intimate relationship with the model. Both images were shot on F/6.3 at 1/100 of a second, as I wasn't using a tripod I had to shoot using a fast shutter speed to avoid camera shake. Originally, I wanted to keep all of my images black and white however, I felt this images worked best in colour due to the contrast in colour.

In these images, I had to learn how to keep both my model and the outside of the window perfectly exposed. I did this by a combination of factors; the aperture I shot on, the position and distance of the lights and the power of the lights. In this lighting diagram I have demonstrated how I positioned the lights to get this image. Both lights were on a low input as I didn't want to lose detail in the background. My main constant light was coming from the left leaving the fill light to the right. Within these photos I wanted to create moody lighting, creating contrast and strong shadows. By keeping the lights on a low input I created this. I also used a tripod with these images to get a straight frame. My idea for the costume came from a stylist who was hugely inspired by the Tudor/Elizabethan period fabrics and textures who then recreated her own take on lingerie, which she called, "architectural lingerie," due to the, "intricate panels that are an architectural marvel." I really think this combined with the ruff, part of the costume, and the panelled windows really gives the images a post this 1500's feel.

This was shot using one flash light with a softbox strip to light up the whole of Livvy. I only edited the images on photoshop using a grey layer on colour mode to get this black and white image. However, using Photoshop RAW I ever so slightly tweaked the exposure on my model's face. When taking these images I was informed by a tutor that it was similar the body of work called, "The 4 Dreams of Miss X," which were a set of images of Kate Moss. After looking at this image below, I discovered that the feeling and mood that my images created was very similar to this work. The staircase is used to lead our focal point towards to model which is represented in both, my images and the one of Kate Moss. Originally, I wanted an image of Livvy from far away, elongating her body and creating an illusion of her being even smaller against the grand staircase. However, due to a large portrait at the top of the stairs behind the model, I feel that it took the attention ad simplicity away from the photo. Within these images I wanted to create a delicate, dainty feel as well as a erotic and sexy mood. I think I was successful in doing this due to the positions I directed my model to do. Nonetheless, the lingerie does the work for the sexy side of this image combined with the black and white helps to maintain a soft and less provocative feel in the images. I also think that the design of the lingerie against the design of the carpet works well as a contrast and helps to compliment one another. 

I decided to put these two images together as in both photos my model isn't wearing the ruff which helps to link the images together. I decided to get my model to have curly hair so that it linked once again to this Elizabethan/Tudor feel as from research I found that the Elizabethan period was hot for tight curls/ringlets. If I was to reshoot the image on the right I would make sure that I included the ends of her fingertips rather than them being cut out of the frame - I think it would have contributed to making the image look elegant and soft. I think it's good to present a close up portrait with a portrait further away to add contrast and show a variety of camera angles. I chose for the right image to be on the right hand side as her body is facing inwards, I feel it creates a better focal point and keeps the images linking. 

Contact Sheets

 I really liked the posture my model was doing in the images 0391 and 0392, however I was unsuccessful with the framing of the image. My model also wasn't central which made the photo look messy and unprofessional. The close up portraits from 0399 - 0407 were the most successful images from the shoot as I think that natural lighting really emphasizes the golden glow in Livvy's hair. A tripod was used for the majority of these images so that I could get the composition right, however the portraits were shot hand held.

 The images from 0410 - 0422 I found extremely hard to shoot as the gold in the room added a really warm feel to these images. I tried changing my white balance however it didn't make much difference. As the room was so brightly lit up anyway, I only used one flash light which was positioned above the model on her left hand side. I wanted to try different types of camera angles yet the limited space in the room did not allow me to experiment with the shots that I wanted to try. I really like the images 0440 to 0448 as I think the composition is slightly more extreme than the rest of my photos.