Shoot 5 - Eyebrows - Work Diary and Technique

Evaluation
When studying the beauty topic, I have noticed all magazines which publish studio images of celebrities manipulate their appearance in photoshop. Therefore, to keep my work similar and try and recreate images in the beauty scene, I have also decided to teach myself how to airbrush and edit Beauty images on Photoshop. As we can see from the image below, I have edited Vandana to conform to these expectations. This included me firstly applying the RGB and selecting a colour filter of 'Yellow'. By doing this I was able to see the skins surface much easier as a lot of colour was drawn out. I then inverted this so that I would be able to paint over the bits I want to filter out. This was known as the Flaws process. Following this, I smoothed out the skin using a filter technique which takes away certain flaws - which do not conform to the beauty industry. I found this an extremely hard photograph to edit, as I feel like the positioning of the model as well as the lighting and her skin tone - was something new to me. Although, it has enabled me to learn how to airbrush successfully - to conform my work to that of the beauty industry. Below, you can see the technique I went through summed in a few images and also the final image which has been airbrushed.

Technique

Edited Image:

Progression

In my next shoot, I aim to experiment more with the makeup choice and use a softer background. I feel like using a white background, will give a stronger contrast and brighten the models face. I will then experiment with a bolder colour, perhaps on the lips to enhance femininity. I also want to incorporate the colour gels, to give different tones on the face and highlight different parts of her face. I will also try and use different angles and compose the model in different ways.

Shoot 4 - Connie - Work Diary and Technique

Evaluation

During this shoot in which I did with Connie, my aim was to take images to appear like those you would expect to see in advertising and on magazines. I feel like this shoot was my best one by far, and I got several good images. However, one image stood out to me due to the positioning of the model and the framing in which I shot. The head tilt is a posture commonly used by models so that the audience is able to see some of the neck aswell as some of the hair. When I was taking the images, many of the gems fell down and I had to replace these in Photoshop. Below is a step by step technique of how I managed to get from the first image to the last one. I love this image, however it did have many flaws which luckily I managed to adjust through Photoshop. I taught myself how to change the colouration of the skin, reshaping certain aspects whilst airbrushing and removing flaws. The video I used was extremely helpful as it enabled me to gain more experience and will also help me apply this knowledge to shoots further on in my project. I then applied makeup on photoshop, as I decided to take images which were completely makeup free so I was able to do my own makeup in photoshop. 

Technique 

Shoot 4 - Connie - Animation

via GIPHY

Shoot 4 - Straight Images

Shoot 4 - Contact Sheets

Shoot 3 - Work Diary

Evaluation

During this shoot, I continued with my idea of using a male model and placing makeup on him in order to achieve a slightly feminine image. When applying the makeup, I felt as though it was too strong early on and didn't fit into my topic of beauty as it subverted it too much. Therefore, I simply decided to leave the stubble and make a masculine male with a feminine idea. I set up the studio, by placing two redhead lights with honeycomb diffusers over the top. This allowed me to direct the light so that it wasn't so strong as only appeared on a certain part of his face. I also used a beauty dish which was placed up high pointing down, creating soft and subtle shadows but still giving the face a nice glow to conform to the publishings in magazines. This worked, however I felt that all of my images were coming out very similar and I didn't get much variety in my shoot.

Following this, I decided to place two different colours of glitter on the face. I was hoping to get two clean stripes, however using face glue gave a sticky glow and the glitter was going clumpy on it. The model had to hold there face up causing fairly awkward pictures. I changed the lighting to suit this and I feel like my images came out well in contrast to the previous shoot. I used two different coloured blue gels, which I enhanced in photoshop. In Photoshop, I went onto the Hue/Saturation tool and changed the strong blue colours. By adding a slight white tint, the image appeared brighter and the glitter stood out more. Again I sharpened the eyes and the facial features so that they stood out. I tried images with certain lights turned on and I feel I really experimented my use of lighting in this shoot as I had enough time in the studio to do so.

The image above is my favourite from the shoot due to the colours it emits. I changed the colour on Photoshop so that it went from a strong blue, to a more artistic colour. With the soft green and pink tinge on the face, the image appears darker and also allows facial features to appear more masculine. I also like the contrasting colours on the background, and a soft gradient is present with a dark header and a slightly brighter middle of the frame. Below is an image from the shoot which is unedited, it appears messy and the colours are very dull baring in mind I used two strong colour gels. I feel as though the biggest contribution to this shoot was the use of Photoshop in cleaning up the glitter and enhancing the colour.

Progression
In my next shoot I wish too use diamond gems with more relation to the beauty industry. I will aim to get a range of different close up and portraiture images within this. I want my work to draw similarities to that of Rankins, with high key lighting and a smooth complexion. I will aim to learn how to airbrush on Photoshop properly without losing pores and making sure that my image is cleaner and more crisp. I feel like the work of Rankin will influence me a lot, and I have strong ideas to take smooth and cleaner images.

Shoot 3 - Glitter - Straight Images