Shoot 4
Characters
For the fourth shoot, I decided to re-create a piece of work by Mathu Andersen. This photograph featured Mathu portraying 9 different characters using different props and a range of body language. I chose to re-create this and create my own characters - The characters I made are either Past, Present or Future Aspired versions of myself. The 9 different characters will be put in a grid of 9 to replicate the inspired image.
Improvements
As there were no alterations needed to the way I take and compose images, I have experimented with editing by using different filters and editing tools to improve my images and make them link perfectly to the subject matter of Self-Identity.
Editing
All of the images below feature me wearing rainbow coloured suspenders and a silver ring on one hand. The image you see on the left is one of the raw, unedited versions of the images. The right side shows the edited version of the image.
This first image represents the night of my Secondary School Prom. At the prom, I was in Drag and wore this bright red wig. I am posing with both hands in the hair, roughing it up as I wanted to present a model-like appearance as at the prom I felt very glamorous. I wanted the wig to be messy as a lot of fashion and glamour recently holds a type of imperfection that is classed as perfect.
I'm wearing a natural, pink-toned lip colour called 'Chrysanthemum'
This second image shows a version of me that I hope to become in the future. I used a jewelled lampshade to represent a pageant crown as this image presents me as a pageant winner.
I am wearing a bright pink coloured lip (called 'Pink Lust') as the vibrant pink is a colour typically associated with pageant contestants and also is a stereotypically feminine colour.
The third image represents my first moment in drag. The Blonde wig and the red lipstick (called 'Kitten Heels') are the first two products I bought for my Drag persona. This character is the stereotypical female with the blonde hair and bright red lipstick. I am posed smiling out of frame because, at this point in my experimentation of the drag world, I was still timid; the pose replicates this.
This next image shows me replicating my mother. I used some of her clothing and put them on myself to show that my mother is a part of me. This character is very bright and extravagant which is presented with the vibrant lip colour (Named 'Watermelon Soda') the large sunglasses and the straw hat - all of these things represent my Mum. My Mother is a very relaxed person which is why I chose to pose in a relaxed manner - This allowed me to get into character easier.
This next image shows me as an androgynous model. This is something I aspire to be in the future. The two contrasting patterns on the hat and the purse are something that is very high-fashion as it's weird yet wonderful at the same time. There is no reason for the pose that I chose - I just posed and took the pictures, This was my favourite shot as I felt it looked more professional than the others.
This character is no particular person/persona in my life but features a childhood hat that I loved to wear. I am wearing a grey coloured lipstick called 'Stone Fox'
This next version of me shows me wearing a wig cap. This wig cap is in two of the other images but it is hidden as the two wigs are covering it. The wig cap allows me to cover my real hair and my boy self and create a female persona with the use of wigs and makeup. The lipstick shade that I am wearing is called 'Queen Bee'
This image shows my younger self. The whole composition of this image represents fun and comedy which is a contrast to the rest of the image. My younger self was still bright and expressive which is why I continue to wear bright coloured clothing in my day to day life. The pose and facial expression is quite comedic which is what my child self was. My older self carries this same trait. The lipstick shade I am wearing is called 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'
The final image portrays a character who has always been a part of me; a gamer. I am wearing a pair of headphones used for gaming and also holding a controller.
I have come to realise that I am a very diverse person and have a large range of personalities and interests. This character will stay with me forever. Stereo-typically, gaming is seen as a masculine activity so I wanted to carry on wearing lipstick to counteract this stereotype. The lipstick shade is called 'Blue Velvet'
This is the final edit that I have created using all of the 9 images above. The grid of 9 is used to show how one person can hold a large range of persona and memories and that not everyone is the same. The use of the different characters was a creative way of showing how everyone may have similarities but despite that, are all still different in their own unique way.
All of the images were edited using the same tools but at different levels.
I started by cropping the images into a square so that they would fit into a 3x3 grid later on during the editing process. I did this by simply using the crop tool and guidelines so that the 6000x4000 resolution became exactly 4000x4000.
After cropping, I used a blemish/spot healing tool to conceal any blemishes on my face/body or imperfections within the image; such as on the background. I did this because I personally feel that beauty is what you stereotypically see within the media and wanted to be as glamorous as possible. This is a personal choice and links to the subject matter as it is how I want to portray myself online.
The next step to my editing process was to increase the shadows and decrease the highlights within the image - the lighting in the image would then be as evenly distributed across the image as possible and there would be no harsh shadows forming on the background.
I then increased the vibrancy and saturation of the entire image so that the colours would really pop and catch the audience's attention. The bright, intense colours also link to the subject matter of Self-Identity because of the underlining subject matter of the LGBTQ+ Community.
The next step was to put all of the images into a grid of 9. I did this by using Photoshop and rectangles to divide the images and create a border around them.
I finally increased the sharpness of the images slightly so that the entire image would look sharper and the colours and small details would intensify further.
Progression
I feel like I have progressed a lot in terms of composition over this project as every image in this photoshoot was perfectly composed unedited. I took my own criticism from other shoots and kept it in mind when shooting the next shoots. This increased my skills in photography and also the quality of the images. The lighting was mostly the same in all images and the camera was place in a position that captured me center in all of the images which made editing the rectangular images into squares easy. As the day progressed, the lighting got slightly darker which needed to be altered using shadows and highlights - This was the only negative in terms of composition however it is a very minimal negative as it was easily edited with the use of highlights and shadows.
