FINAL STATEMENT

1. Briefly describe the final outcome of your project and the progress you have made, and if applicable how it differs from your original Project Proposal:

My final outcome is a photobook or a zine depicting a narrative of two models through fashion photography. I have made a lot of progress as I have been stuck with my idea more than once, through changing how I was working to what materials I used. My original project proposal said I wanted to work more on my own memories, but as I tried to do this I realised it wasn’t moving my project forward.

2. What methods have you used to show how your learning has effected your project eg FMP Blog/ FMP Plan/ sketchbooks etc, and how has this helped with development of your work:

I used my FMP Blog and my sketchbooks to show how my learning has effected my project by recording my processes and my research and reviewing what I had done. It helped the development of my work to go back through my sketchbook and see how one experiment had worked out, and deciding how to go about moving it forwards, and by writing detailed reviews of the work I’d done on my blog to look back on my processes.

3. List the targets met (from the original FMP Plan and any that were added later):

I experimented a lot with various materials on a variety of platforms, e.g physically (paint, collage) and digitally (Photoshop). I added more targets to do multiple photoshoots before I decided on a final shoot, which really helped with development.

4. Reflecting on your overall final major project, please discuss any developments which have contributed to the final outcome:

Working with mixed media definitely pushed my project in the direction of using materials within the shoot to create effect instead of over the top of the photographs, and also experimenting and deciding which way did and didn’t work, e.g, deciding not to go forward with physical mixed media.

5. Please state what advice you received from others during your FMP, and discuss what you found particularly useful: you should refer to group reviews, one-to-one tutorials and feedback from evaluation groups

I received a lot of valuable advice from one to one tutorials, such as pointing out where I was weakest and where I was lacking, but also suggesting successful processes that I should take forward into the final outcome.

6. Key points to take away – things to change about my approach (give at least 2) eg improve time management, what skills you have developed and how this will affect your future course/career and things to continue doing and to build on (give at least 2). What are you going to do next year? (NOTE – you may find it useful to refer to this document at the beginning of your next self managed project.)

Things to change about my approach: To use my experiments more in the development of my project, and to take more care and consideration with the presentation in my sketchbooks. I have development valuable organisation and time management skills, and a lot of independence in terms of going out and getting things done, which will definitely help my future course as it will rely a lot on me working in an independent and organised way. I am going to do a Photography BA at Middlesex next year.

FINAL PRODUCTION: MAKING A ZINE/PHOTOBOOK

After the photoshoots were done and the photographs were edited and narrowed down, I started to construct the layout of the zine I planned to make. Using inspiration from Polyester magazine which I purchased to get a better look at, I decided to use a lot of typography and negative space. I chose a colour scheme based off of the colour schemes of the photoshoots so that the pages would all tie nicely together through the different photoshoots, using slightly different colour schemes for each shoot.  Constructing the page layouts took some time due to experimentation with colour, but in the end I decided to use colours taken from the actual photoshoots themselves using the eyedropper tool on Photoshop. This meant that the whole zine would have a colour scheme and flow nicely together. I did use some pages to fill with photographs so that the zine wouldn't be too repetitive throughout.

I had a total of twenty-eight double spreads and so that would mean when the zine was constructed I would have fifty-six pages, which is a normal zine size. I planned to make my zine A5 to keep within the 'zine' genre, as my book is meant to offer something different and new to it's readers. I think the pages look good, but perhaps now in hindsight, Photoshop might not have been the best programme to construct the book in. If I was to re-do this part of the project I would familiarize myself more with InDesign and construct my zine with that software instead, as Photoshop probably was part of the issue I had with printing which I will discuss shortly.

Once finishing the pages of my zine, I had to print it out double sided, which proved to be extremely difficult and time consuming. I first attempted to print it through the printing options, which turned one of the pages upside down. After trying several times to get that to work and failing, I then opted for asking the technician at the IT desk to help, who then told me I had to take out the printed image and flip it before putting it back into the printer.

After several wrong attempts and two hours later, I finally managed to print my front and back cover along with my front and back pages. I then had to repeat this process twenty six more times, which would cost both a lot of money on the printers at Ravensbourne and also a lot of time. I decided I would attempt to print the rest of the pages from home, which also proved difficult because I had the same issue with trying to flip the paper the right way. After wasting a lot of ink, I had to go for my last option, which was to take my USB stick to Snappy Snaps and ask them to print it for me. My last obstacle was that their printer was broken and so I had to get it printed a lot later than I first hoped.

After all the obstacles and problem solving, I finally was able to construct the booklet, which wasn't as challenging as I thought, although if I was to re-do my zine I would probably do it in a different way. I felt accomplished and was happy with the way I persevered and stuck with my idea even through all the hurdles and problems, and instead just found different ways to work so that I could get the job done. This project has definitely helped me grow as a student, especially since hitting several slumps within these seven weeks and forcing myself to get around them and expand my project idea. I will take every lesson I learned during these seven weeks and my entire year at Ravensbourne into my BA course, as I have learned valuable problem solving skills and how to deal with an almost degree level way of working.

front & back page of zine

first page spread 

PHOTOSHOOT 2: CALLUM.

After the success of Qetina's photo-shoot, I was feeling confident about Callum's. Before going off to do the shoot I spoke to my tutor John, who advised me on ways I could use the coloured cellophane when doing outside shooting, such as wrapping it around the lens. I gathered my materials and styled Callum before we left to walk to the park I wanted to shoot in. The walk is around 10 minutes, so it wasn't too much effort to get there. When arriving at the park my plans for going during the day when it'd be quiet were successful, as we only had to wait a short time for the round-a-bout to be free.

When I got around to shooting in the park it began to rain, which ruined my shoot only a little because it was hard to adjust the camera settings to get the lighting right due to the weather. I used the technique that John taught me, but it wasn't very successful, so I decided to scrap it and try again during the indoors shoot. I instead used the yellow plastic and placed it over the camera lens, so that all the photos had a yellow filter, because Callum describes the yellow of the round-a-bout as the main colour he associated with that memory. The photos came out mostly too saturated with light, but there were a few I could use in my zine, so I decided I'd put more effort into the indoor photo-shoot and we set home.

The indoor photo-shoot was a lot easier, both in terms of lighting and through instructing my model Callum. I could tell he felt more comfortable indoors, so the photos came out a lot less stiff and showed a bit more emotion. What also helped was having a conversation with him about the memory of almost setting fire to our grandmother's carpet, which was making us both laugh and so I got good shots of him being himself and laughing about the memory I was trying to portray in the photograph.

What worked about the inside shoot was the lighting, and also the techniques John told me about that didn't work previously outside. The photos where I used this technique came out with really nice, crisp lighting and had a really nice yellow glow around them, which made it look as if there was more colour gel lighting than there was. I really like this aesthetic and I tried it out with other colour plastics during the shoot.

What didn't work so well in the shoot was trying to get the same movement as I had in the shoot with Qetina. I can't quite put my finger on why I couldn't get the same effect with slow shutter speed, however I think I might have not had enough lighting to get a clear image with movement. I did get some which really work with the lighting and slow shutter speed as it made it look like a flare or a light leak, which has a really good aesthetic. The colours ended up being more saturated than originally planned, but I feel that the indoor photographs were a lot more successful than the outdoor ones, however I will still use some of the park shots in my zine to show variety.

PHOTOSHOOT 1: QETINA.

The day of Qetina's shoot was on a Monday morning, and she turned up on time ready for me to style her. I dressed her in the tan dress over the top of a longer black dress, which was a good plan, considering that she is very tall and the tan dress would have been like a top on her. I also gave her a mustard coloured cropped jumper to change into after a few shots. I did her make-up as planned, with dark purple lipstick and some eyeliner and bronzer to contour her face. I put her in a wig for the first few shots as she recalled she had shorter hair when she found out her grandfather had died. I also liked the wig because it meant that I have a variety of looks even with the same clothing, because for some shots I put her in a large-rimmed black hat, which really worked with the funeral style. 

Qetina really co-operated with what I was instructing her to do and even posed herself without my instruction, which is why I love using her as a model. The lighting I used in the beginning was green and red, which creating an interesting duo-colour feeling. I used both flash and no flash, and played around and experimented with my camera settings. I mainly used a slow shutter speed to capture the movement and the colour more vividly, which gave the overall shoot an interesting aesthetic that could suit publications such as Rookie magazine. 

I changed the colour of the lighting several times: Sometimes I made it one colour, sometimes I used yellow acrylic over the flash to make the whole image yellow, other times I used two different gels on lights placed in particular order to get one colour on the front and a different colour on her shadow, etc. It was really fun to experiment with how I was using colour in the shoot and it was good to work out what was working and what wasn't.  

After quite a few shots of her in the wig, we decided to change up the shoot. She removed the wig, so that the last shots in the sequence would be her in the present paying tribute to her grandfather. To show this part of the narrative, I used all the pieces of cellophane that I'd discarded from using as a colour gel, and placed them all onto the sofa. I then got Qetina to sit beside the sofa and lay on the plastic, so that I would get portrait shots of her surrounded by a shining, textural background representing candlelight. I used the piece of yellow acrylic over the flash for this part of the shoot throughout, and used the setting of slow shutter speed. It produced beautiful results and I really like how experimental I got with this shoot for my final zine. 

PLANNING SHOOT: SCOUTING LOCATIONS FOR SHOOTS & GATHERING MATERIALS

For the first shoot with Qetina, I decided to use the living room in my house as the location, because the main colours of the room are orange and red. I went out to charity shops to look for clothing to style her with because I have a tight budget. I found a tan dress that was a little see-through, so I decided I would layer it with a plain black dress. The rest of the styling was going to be done on the day of the shoot, but I planned on having her styled in dark accessories with dark lipstick, to represent the subject matter at hand; Death.

For the lighting I wanted to keep using colour gel lighting, but I decided that the plastic bag way of working wasn't good enough, so I travelled to Hobbycraft in Croydon and bought coloured cellophane rolls, similar to the ones I used in my experimental photoshoots. I bought around 6 rolls in several colours incase I needed any different colours to work with, as well as the colours I already intended on using. This didn't hurt my budget too much as it only cost around ten pounds with student discount.

Callum's shoot was a little harder to plan because of the switch in locations. I decided I would shoot the first half in the exact park on the exact round-a-bout he had his head stuck under, which is only walking distance from my house. I planned to go during the daytime when children would be at school so that I would have privacy to shoot without disturbing kids' playtime and without them disturbing my shoot. Styling Callum was a little harder to plan as well because he wasn't very co-operative about my ideas, which did ruin it a little. I eventually just decided to style him in casual wear, with vintage jeans, a casual jumper and Dr Martins boots.

The second half of the shoot was easier to plan. I used the bedroom that he said he remembered almost starting a fire in, as my grandmother used to live in the same house we live in now. I found a box of large matches, which was ideal because I wanted them to be visible on camera. Styling for this half of the shoot was also difficult, as again, he was unco-operative. After this I decided I wouldn't use him as a model again, despite the fact he is a good one. I styled him in the same vintage jeans as before and in a Superdry t-shirt, just so that he didn't look too plain and not fashion enough.

Round-a-bout in Dulwich park

PLANNING SHOOTS: INTERVIEWING & CASTING MODELS

I decided that I wanted to do shoots of two models, one male and one female, so that readers of both genders could enjoy what my zine has to offer. Choosing my models was a hard process, because I wanted to use models that I know and that I already know are good at modelling, yet I wanted to use a model who had an interesting story to tell of their strongest memory. I asked three of my friends, who I'd used as models before, what their strongest memory was, and picked them based on the most interesting ones. I asked one female and two males to give me a maximum of three strong memories so I could choose one to work with and plan a photo-shoot around.

The first friend who responded was Qetina, a model who I use a lot because of her photogenic looks and height. I like using her as a model because she is a close friend that I've known from school and she has a naturally pretty face, which means I can style her in any way I want and she will still suit whatever the theme of the shoot is. She is of Albanian decent, so I like using her as well because she offers something different.  I like to use models who aren't white, of all body types and genders, and models with unique looks. When interviewing her, she told me three of her strongest and weirdest memories.

The first memory was about her first time visiting her Albanian family, where her uncle was cleaning a cement mixer that was six foot deep with water, so she and her younger siblings swam in the cement mixer for fun. She also recalled how her Albanian family were surprised and amazed that the three of them could swim, which made me laugh. She said that was her weirdest memory because it seemed to vague. She found it hard to associate a colour with that particular memory, so I didn't use it. The second was what she said was "Her strongest memory because it is her worst memory". She told me about the night she learned her grandfather had committed suicide. She describes being woken up by her aunt in the middle of the night, and going to the living room where there were multiple candles lit. She vaguely remembers the 'lime green' TV screen mixing with the orange, and how all the colours mixed together both from the shock of the news and from her tired state as a child. This memory stood out to me, so I decided to use this one of hers. I planned to use mainly the colours of green, orange, pink and yellow.

The second person I interviewed was my boyfriend Dean, who I use quite often in my photo-shoots, because he has interesting style and offers something different when it comes to menswear shoots, as all too often a white man is the model for a brand's menswear. He is from Mauritius, so when asked about his strongest memories he told me about being by the sea, eating Mauritian street food and partying with his cousins. He found it hard to describe any more memories in detail to help me plan a shoot on the story, so I decided I wouldn't use him.

Lastly, I interviewed my brother Callum, who I've also  used before. I like using him as a model because he has a 'blank canvas' look about him which makes him easy to style. He also has a good height and is photogenic. When I asked him about his strongest memories he told me about childhood memories. The first was about a time he had his head stuck under a round-a-bout in a play park, and how he associates the emotion of fear and the colour of yellow and black with the memory. The second memory he told me about was a time he was playing with matches and almost set our grandmother's carpet on fire. He said he thinks of all kinds of colours, specifically yellow of the flames and purple of the carpet and bed covers. He also says he associates green with the memory, though he couldn't tell me why. I decided I would try to use both of his memories in my shoot, as his memories were a little short, so to make a whole narrative out of it I wanted to use both. This would also give me the opportunity to experiment with outside location shooting.

RESEARCHING ZINES (POLYESTER & MUSHPIT)

To get me started in the direction of creating a fashion-based final product, I researched zines: A 'mini magazine' that offers something different to the reader. They're usually A5 in size and around 50 pages long. I researched Polyester and Mushpit. Polyester was the one that stood out the most to me so I purchased a copy to look at the entire thing for analysis, I took scans of my favourite pages in terms of layout and photography to help me with my production of my zine. 

I liked Polyester the most because it's a zine for girls with predominantly feminist and liberal views, and offers this type of reader an alternative to fashion magazines that might promote gender roles and unhealthy, unrealistic body image. Polyester uses models of all shapes and sizes and mainly has bright, colourful and girly photo-shoots accompanied by girly and sometime 'kitschy' pixel images. I really liked the aesthetics in Polyester and the flow of the editorials. I love how the editorials and photo-shoots are all different yet keep the same running aesthetics, which gives the zine an overall brand and recognizable look that their readers will identify with. This aspect of giving the zine a collective aesthetics that keeps the theme running throughout is definitely something I will want to use in my zine in terms of colours. 

I also researched Mushpit, but didn't purchase a physical copy as I did with Polyester. Mushpit has a somewhat similar aesthetic and agenda to Polyester, but the in-your-face feminine colours and themes is a little more toned down. Mushpit is also a zine for a mainly female target audience who want something with more substance when it comes to fashion.  The layout of Mushpit is similar to Polyester, and I really like the use of editing and graphics within the editorial's shoots. I like the bordering of the scans from Mushpit I found online below, and the choices of colour are carefully thought out so that the whole thing ties up well and flows. 

Researching these zines suggested to me by my tutor John has definitely helped me to envision what I will create, and has given me a good head start in planning my shoots and how I will lay them out when constructing my zine. I also like the thought of offering something different to just fashion imagery. I will offer my audience a narrative to follow from two models or characters, and I need to make sure that my layout tells the story in the right way to get my message clear, consistent and beautiful.