face chart...

Model: Lisa Cross     

Skin tone: Light

Skin type: Dry

Makeup:

·      Black Rimmel liquid eyeliner

·      Estee lauder Foundation

·      Screen face red blush

·      Red mac lipstick, chilli

·      Brown Rimmel eyebrow pencil

·      Iyler false eyelashes

      



      With this image I originally was going to use a different image however on the day the model did let me down. Luckily for me one of my previous models was free so I could use the same model. With the image not really showing the face I could pull off using the same model twice, even thought that was something I tried to avoid doing. As I had to use a different model my quote did not relate to my model so I decided to use a quote from a song lyric instead ‘Jessi J- who am I’. The lighting for this shoot was difficult as I didn’t want to get a shadow where I was repeatedly getting a shadow. As I was limited on the lighting I had, I had to reposition the model so not so much of a shadow was being cast. Producing two sides to one person was interesting on this shoot as I wanted one to appear over confident and one shy and timid. Using the black and white persona (white being pure and black being seedy) it gave the image a good balance between the images. Also positioning my model in the set poses also help create my look I wanted to achieve.

       The retouching on this image was once again merging two images together; by the time I did this image I had previously edited 3 images in the same format so it came pretty easy to me, as I was repeating myself with the images.

 

face chart...

Model: Lisa Cross     

Skin tone: Light

Skin type: Dry

Makeup:

·      Black Rimmel liquid eyeliner

·      Estee lauder Foundation

·      Screen face red blush

·      White ‘Screen face’ face paint

Finding makeup which matched this shoot was hard as the quote was more about people not seeing the real her... so I decided to take this opportunity to be creative with the makeup I was inspired by one of the illamasqua shoots from 2011. This makeup didn’t start off well within the trail shoots, however I leant from my mistakes and when it came to the actual shoot I was well prepared and all went according to plan. This shoot took longer than expected as I had a few problems with the focus of my camera. No matter what I did the camera wouldn’t focus, but with a little help from one of the photography technicians I was finally on my way with it.

Re-touching this image was interesting as I wanted all the different angles from the images blurred into one, I wanted to create this effect so it matched the quote ‘from every angle I appear the same...’ blurring and editing to create the perfect image took a while but I was happy with the end result and overall was extremely pleased with how the image turned out.

face chart...

      

Model: Claire Booth

Skin tone: Olive

Skin type: Oily

Makeup:

·      Black Rimmel liquid eyeliner

·      White illamasqua eye cake

·      Estee lauder Foundation

·      Screen face red blush

·      Iyler False eyelashes

·      Mac lipstick, chilli

        This shoot was my toughest, having to create 5 different images to merge into one; I found this the most difficult.

       Originally with this shoot I wanted to do a location shoot in a vintage laundrette, however because of the amount of photos and the changes to each image I couldn’t find a place that there would have been enough time to do the image in. However I did find an image I could retouch into the back of the image to give the same effect as if she were in a laundrette.

       Changing each image was fun as I slowly got to create the look I wanted, which also meant I could concentrate more on a particular part that was being done next. Luckily my model arrived with her Virgin Atlantic uniform on, which meant I could create the real thing instead of making my own uniform for the picture. I have to say the retouching for this image took the longest, having to cut out each individual silhouette, and then positioning them onto a background was the hard part as I’m not a master at photo shop so using the skills and techniques I had, along with a litter help from my tutor Brent I did eventually get the image I wanted.

 

Models:

For the book the models I decided to use were:

·       Annabel Winchester

·       Emily Mursel-head

·       Joey Herbert

·       Jemma Smith 

·       Lisa Cross

·       Siobhan Porter

·       Claire Booth

       Having my models booked in at set times did help as I could test shoot before I did the final image. This helped a great deal as I ended up changing some of my original ideas. One shoot my original model did however let me down on the day, but luckily one of my previous models stepped in, this meant I had to change the quote as it didn’t relate to the model, however a song lyric did come in handy here ‘who am I  - Jessi J’.  All of my models worked well within the shoot, and were very helpful when it came to thinking up at quote which related to their lives.  Each model worked well within the chosen environment, most of the models have had previous modelling experience, or have worked in theatre so they weren’t a stranger to being in front of the camera. All of the models used were punctual and helpful when it came to both test shots and producing the final images.

       The models were easy to find as most were friends who had modelled for me in some previous shoots I did. I looked on a number of websites, for example model mayhem however I found the models to be extremely unreliable so I went in a different direction. 

       For the book I did however want to used more male models, however when it came down to it finding willing male models was the hard part, as none of which was really prepared to do the shoots I had in mind.   

Time management for website:

My website started off slow as I was concentrating mainly on producing my images and making the layout for my book, however when that got sent straight off for printing, I could put my full concentration on producing my website.

Going to tutorials helped a lot as I was advised that my website looked to repetitive, this then motivated me to produce an even better website. I decided to look at photographers and artists who related to my alter ego theme, it took me a while to find suitable people which related to my theme of alter egos, the artists I ended up using were David LaChapelle and Gillian Wearing. LaChapelle is a well known photographer who has worked with the likes of Madonna, Tupac and many more, his images are admired by many, I included, they are unique and original and perfect for my alter ego website. Wearings art work is that of the extraordinary she produces images which are of her family and other people; however she does this by putting a mask on herself, these images are perfect for my website as most people that have an alter ego say it is like putting on a mask and becoming someone else, even if it is just for a short amount of time.

A sample of my book is on the website, however I haven’t included all of it, and so then it gives the yearning to buy the book.

The references page on the website took me the longest, as I had to find celebrities, movies, comic books, and music which all related to alter ego, or had an alter ego persona.  The contact page for my website is a way for people to contact me and share their alter ego stories.

This is still a working progress…

Time management for book:

Overall I feel I didn’t really give myself enough time and because of this I did find myself struggling slightly at the   end. I stuck to my 12 week plan as best I could; however, due to my day time job I did find that it put me off course. At the beginning all the test shoots seem to be more planned then the actual shoots, having said that, all the images turned out as I had hoped.  I do however wish I gave myself more time as there was a few shoots I didn’t get to do which I would have loved to include.

Having my models booked in at set times did help as I could test shoot before I did the final image. This helped a great deal as I ended up changing some of my original ideas. One shoot my original model did however let me down on the day, but luckily one of my previous models stepped in, this meant I had to change the quote as it didn’t relate to the model, however a song lyric did come in handy here ‘who am I  - Jessi J’.  All of my models worked well within the shoot, and were very helpful when it came to thinking up at quote which related to their lives. 

I decided to get the book printed a good month before the due date so I had time to reprint just in case something went wrong. Luckily I was lucky enough for it to come back as I had hoped with meant I could fully concentrate on my website. The book I got printed was an A4 paperback book, originally I wanted the book to be a hard back, however at the place where I decided to get it printed, if I had it hard back I would of had to get a dust cover, which I didn’t want due to the fact it might of gotten damaged during postage, and didn’t want to risk it. 

Over all I got the book printed in plenty of time, which is the good thing, however if I would of managed my time better I could of saved myself a lot of stress in the process.

The wonderful world of Gillian Wearing…

Changing oneself to resemble something or someone else is a clear sign for an alter ego personality. The images below are the workings of Gillian Wearing. For those unfamiliar, Gillian Wearing is a contemporary British artist who mainly uses photography and video to capture aspects of human life. Wearings most amazing pieces are her photographs with masks. Her self-portrait series consists of her re-creating family photos with handmade masks. She poses as her mother, her father, her brother, her grandparents, and even herself as a teenager.  

I feel like this relates to my alter ego theme, as some alter ego characteristics change who they are by applying a mask or wig, etc. 

I didn’t even think of referencing Gillian Wearings work until someone pitched the idea to me. A fresh mind always helps.

On the website, there is a link under the self portrait picture, which opens a new page  and takes you to a short video on the workings of Gillian Wearing… I thought this would be good if the viewer gets interested in the images then they can follow it up and learn more about the artist.