Fairy Tales
I chose to do fairy tales as it appealed most to me, it came across as a challenge as you had to design everything from costumes to locations to props. It generally excited me to be able to shoot in incredible places and recreate my childhood through a series of photographs.
Kirsty Mitchell
Kirsty Mitchell is a British photographer who creates incredible photographs based on the theme of fairy tales, all of her pictures are inspired by her late mother. She was a costume designer before hand so was already very creative, this really shines in her work through things like wigs and dresses. The outfits create the picture, they are all so rich looking you'd think they were took in different stunning places of the world but in reality, they were all taken in Surrey. Kirsty would wait up to a year for her special outfits to match the beautiful seasons. Most of her photos rely on the stunning fields full of different kinds of flowers that make the images just a little more magical. What makes Kirsty different is her stunning outfits, locations, colour schemes. and patience.
This is one of my favorites as it represents something mythical and a wonderland the most . The colors just bounce of each other and i think that's really important as it makes the photograph look as though its not real and that's the sort of effect fairytale based shoots need. Although the outfits make these photos up greatly, the effort is so easily seen. The leaf trail covering the area she has walked going out of focus gradually draws you to the scenery. Her face and hair being so fare really helps bring the attention to the color of her dress and the trees. Also because of the angle the photo is at, it makes the girl appear extremely small and miniature things are always cuter. The mustard yellow really bounces around the set, constantly bringing your attention to it.
Most of Kirstys photos burst with color so this really caught my attention, at first I thought it was mirror but as you look closer its easier to see. It sort of has an Alice and wonderland effect as its so classy and vintage. Again the setting and outfits all combine to make this photograph so great. I do think this is edited from the way the snowy branches template the ladies. The white is so bright and captivating that the dark color on the bush really helps to break the image up. The long gowns merge into the so called snow so you can tell they've had to edit it in some way. all of these photographs are so majestic, they look so incredibly rich and to produce something like that, I think you must have a clear vision.
Shelby Robinson
Shelby isnt an established artist as of yet, although she should be. Using sensational talent she uses the same model, in totally different themed photos and manages to not have one shot that looks similar to another. Through simple clothing and odd looking forests she creates spectacular photographs of all emotions. Having only being a member on flickr since 2009 her follower count is reaching over 6K and really her photos speak for them themselves. What I like most about Shelby Robinson is many of her photos are very dark, they stand out but there backgrounds are dull making you feel cold. This stood out to me because fairy tales are usually very bright and she's somehow creating this tone but with a different feeling.
This is one of my favorites for its simpleness. This photo makes me feel like were about to dive into a movie as its shot through some sort of green, its blurry edges that form this template of a girl in trouble. The darkness of the image really makes her stand out, because its so simple and her skin colour just looks so milky and distressed sort of princess like. You're instantly attracted to this photo because its so odd. I don't know why it makes me feel, but from everything from even the branch next to her head really makes this special. Its very different because of the angel its shot from, simple things make the biggest impact.
Everything in this picture stands out, her face being the key focus point really reflecting of the different tones of orange in the background. My favorite element is the candles burning because even though they have created a wind flowing affect with her angelic hair which must have been edited to look longer as you can see the colour change clearly. The candles are still roaring as though it symbolises strength. You can tell its been edited as her white gown fades into clouds but it works and everything is super strong in this image. I think the different shades of orange and brown really compliment this photo, the bright orange around her hair makes her as a character stand out, giving her some kind of glow.
Shoot ideas
Shoot 1
I asked for my sister to look strong and dominant in this shoot through clothing, expression and body language. I wanted to really explore with different angles to show dominance.
Location - Lake District. Morning. Winter
Costume -All Black, Bold
Place - Forest, Tree trunks
Camera- Power shot G19
Vision - Female wood chopper
Focus- Object
Exposure - Above average
Costume -All Black, Bold
Place - Forest, Tree trunks
Camera- Power shot G19
Vision - Female wood chopper
Focus- Object
Exposure - Above average
As the goal of the picture was to create a wood chopper that was a strong independent woman, as its always portrayed as a man in fairy tales, this is my favorite picture because of its ability to show that girls can also do it and look better doing so. The sun coming through the tree represents a new light and the way it bounces of her face makes the photo light up and even though its slightly over exposed it works and makes her look independent.
This is my worst photo because of how under exposed it is. Because it was in the wood shed there wasn't really any hope in getting this photo to be bright as all light was being blocked, the flash made it look artificial. Also because of the shed walls all of the nature around us was lost, I like the angle but the picture didn't work.
Shoot 3
In this shoot I would like my family to create optical illusions throughout the museum that are really creepy and weird.
Location- Keswick, Puzzle Place
Costume - Modern day, light colours
Place- Various places around the museum
Camera-Power Shot G19
Vision - Tim Burton inspired - A mad illusion
Focus- Centre
Exposure - Brighter than normal room lighting.
Costume - Modern day, light colours
Place- Various places around the museum
Camera-Power Shot G19
Vision - Tim Burton inspired - A mad illusion
Focus- Centre
Exposure - Brighter than normal room lighting.
I will use photo shop to brighten this image as everything else is okay, there is a clear difference in height and they are in role. I also want to add different lines of color to make it a little lighter. It would have most likely helped to have the flash on while taking this image so the floor would have lightened.
There is no comparison in this photograph to show the actual illusion, so he just looks normal. Its under exposed and dull. Because there isnt a second person in the room the picture is the most pointless out of them and cant even be used to edit. Its out of focus also.
Shoot 3
In this shoot I asked my dad to be really wacky and funny. The pictures are so bright to express brightness as the mad hatter is so strong and colourful.
Location - Garden
Outfit - Brown Velvet suit, Top hat, bow & orange wig.
Background- as green as possible
Props - Tea set
Focus - On the tea set or top hat, edge away from the face to keep main character elements
Exposure - Slightly over as weather is forecasted as rain.
Vision - A slightly odd angled picture that's witty, fun and captures the essence of the MADhatter.
Outfit - Brown Velvet suit, Top hat, bow & orange wig.
Background- as green as possible
Props - Tea set
Focus - On the tea set or top hat, edge away from the face to keep main character elements
Exposure - Slightly over as weather is forecasted as rain.
Vision - A slightly odd angled picture that's witty, fun and captures the essence of the MADhatter.
I have been experimenting with photo shop as there were so many different kinds of shot at various angles. I just want to find the correct background for my final shoot piece. Photo shop is highly need for brightening up colours and making things look more fairy tale like.
Best Photo
I love this image as it really shows the character and its most famous trait, also the angle is very different. On photoshop I would like to unfocused it abit as every little flaw is lit up, so if I could blur it and add to the colour this image would be my favourite. The focus point was on the 10/9 as it shows identity. The goal wasn't to blur everything else out because the plants and his outfit matters a lot. The exposure was normal and I didn't use the flash as there was already enough light outside and I didn't want the picture to look extremely gritty as the mad hatter is grizzly and not perfect.
Worst Photo
This image just doesn't work at all. I tried to explore by doing a worms eye view but all elements of the character was lost as they weren't visible. also the sky kills the magic, because its so dull nothing was shining on him to add to the picture. Nothings in focus, his features are blurry. It generally is my worst photo as it doesn't tell the story or give any sense of identity. Maybe having the exposure low and the flash on would of helped to brighten it up and give it the fantasy feel it needs, which it majorly lacks. Also if the edges would have been sharp you could have took a mythical sky of google and put it in instead of the dull background. But as it doesn't it would be to hard to cut around.
Playing around with colour on the app colour pop.
I like the effect it has and how the colour stands out but I also feel as though its loosing its magical flare a little. I prefer using the app to photoshop because it has a smaller brush which is useful for hair because its so fine, its a lot easier to get the tiny strands. I generally love the colour but I think it would work better with my Brave shoot as that's aloud to be quite dark in the style of Shelby Robinson, this is a little more stronger as the mad hatters witty and black and white takes down the atmosphere.
Shoot 4
I knew this was going to be a challenge as babies don't want to stay still, I just wanted her to drink out of the cup and keep the saucer as flat as possible so that it will be easy to photoshop.
Location - Home
Background - Darker blue/green wall
Outfit - Small Blonde Wig, Little Blue dress
Props - tea cup set (Saucer0
Focus - Centre
Exposure- neutral (depending on the lighting in the room0
Camera - IPhone 6S
Vision - Normal little girl holding a saucer drinking some tea, shrink the little girl down to be stood on the saucer too ect.
Background - Darker blue/green wall
Outfit - Small Blonde Wig, Little Blue dress
Props - tea cup set (Saucer0
Focus - Centre
Exposure- neutral (depending on the lighting in the room0
Camera - IPhone 6S
Vision - Normal little girl holding a saucer drinking some tea, shrink the little girl down to be stood on the saucer too ect.
Best Photo
Although again it isn't the clearest picture, I can justify that as its supposed to be wacky and odd. This is better than my worst photo as there's no feet in the shot and her cup is facing up which means her face doesn't have to be shown. The hair is in large strands so there isn't any fine pieces to cut around on photoshop making it harder to edit. The lighting is neutral and that's easy to work with as we can now turn the photo any shot we want to.
Worst Photo
This is my worst photograph because the lines aren't sharp enough to cut around and its blurry. There isn't a focus point and the chocolate in her cups on display. It doesn't tick any boxes that I need to edit this, its basically a mess. Her face and the cup is down so the wig doesn't look as wild as it needs to be. The colours aren't a problem as we can add more in anyway and we can also crop her feet out. It was really hard to get a good focus point and any different lighting on a phone.
Editing
It was quite hard to cut around her as she's a baby and doesn't like to stay still and also because her toes aren't fully shaped. I like the way the photo looks but it still needs a background that doesn't deaden out the colour of the hair and costume, and something where the focus wont be took off the real subject. I need to change the back ground because it ruins the weirdness, you can tell its been shot in a house and it needs to either be fully blocked out or put on a blank page.