Test Shoot

Due to the unconventional nature of the garments in my shoot, I thought it would be a good idea to get a test shoot out of the way with to highlight areas in which I needed to improve. I started this process by thinking about what sort of models I'd like to cast for my shoot. I decided that the pieces would probably create a better aesthetic on "real" and "interesting" looking models, contrasting with the experimental samples. I recored the process, and above shows some of the people I would like to cast in my shoot. They vary in age, gender, height and race. Since the project is based on the theme of diversity, I think it is easy to "tokenise" models, merely using someone to indicate allegiance to a particular group of individuals. I think I have avoided this issue by using models I think can bring the garment to life, rather that just a pretty face.

Following the casting process, I decided I would benefit form arranging a test shoot, so I chose the most readily available model and conducted one in a pop-up-studio. The idea of the test shoot was to experiment with styling the samples on the body in a variety of ways, but as the samples are not finished garments it proved difficult to “adorn” the body substantially. This task was extremely helpful to me as it encouraged me to style the samples in various different ways, and helped me to  guide my usual style towards something more interesting and unconventional - which i think is needed to celebrate these pieces. The samples have an abundance of diversity in the ways in which you can style them on the body, but I noticed that they were too small and too incomplete to fashion a whole 8 page editorial. 

I didn't want to scrap my idea because the samples I have decided to use are stunning in so many ways: shape, colour, texture and most importantly, versatility. To overcome this problem I created ways in which I could make the samples go further in terms of “outfits”. I experimented with colour correction to begin with and produced some mediocre outcomes. But something that really interested me from my previous visit to the Guy Bourdin exhibition at somerset house, was his use of scale. Extreme post production of images is something I am not fond of, as I think it can lead to amateur results, but after experimenting with scale in photoshop in a similar style to Guy Bourdin, I realised this might be a way forward in my project. Above shows a small percentage of the images I have taken for the test shoot. As you can see the light changes half way through the shoot, this is due to one of the bulbs in the flash kit overheating and breaking. Even though I encountered  a problem during this shoot I carried on, and ended up producing some images that could work well as a final. Although the test produced some good results, the contact sheet clearly demonstrates the lack of material / outfits.

Prompt 1 - Designers Aesthetic - 1205

PROMPT 1: 

As a group, choose 5/6 words that describe your designer’s aesthetic.

Together as a team, create 5/6 images that visualise the words you have chosen. It is up to the group to decide how the images are made, what materials you use and how you collaborate together to make them. 

As I chose the words Geometrical and Tactile I decided to use these words to experiment with. I looked for geometric architectural structures and/or patterns and simply photographed them. Photoshop manipulation is something I feel confident using, so i decided to use this skill to manipulate some of my imagery. I also experimented with manipulating some of 1205's previous photo shoots so that the group could get an idea of how it can work for the brand.

(GROUPS FINAL IMAGES, Highlighted Red - Authors Own)

(Authors Own)

Although our final images appear to be just photographical, a number of us did experiment with different mediums. We thought that as "Tactile" was one of our descriptive words, we would try to portray this concept through manipulation. As we had already used photography as our initial response we thought it would be silly to start over. We decided to use paper  manipulation both physical and photoshop based to achieve this concept. We explored many avenues of paper manipulation: Crushing, Burning, Tearing, Crunching even simple cut and paste. We discovered that some worked better than others based on the collection. 

In addition to that, we found a medium that gives tactile property – Moulding Paste. Modeling paste is an acrylic medium that is filled with solid material. The result is a thick white substance that can create a controlled textural surface. With brush or any tools, we can make the texture that we want and leave it dry. When it dries, it becomes an opaque white when it dries. After that, we can paint, write, or do anything on top of the texture. Therefore, this is considered to be a good medium to be incorporated in following prompts.

For the word "Geometric" we came up with some ideas for pencil drawing where we looked into unique building structures in different parts of london and roughly drew them on a sketchbook(which we carried everywhere). 

We found it quite hard to represent the word "Androgynous" without using the human form (which we didn't want to use at this stage in the project). So close to giving up with the word an image was created through printing technique using a gloss varnish.

(Experimental Techniques - Photoshop, Authors Own)

(Experiments - Photoshop, Authors Own)