Final Photos

After taking my test shots into consideration and looking at what I thought worked well and didn't work so well I looked into what I could do to improve my images. Each image was taken on a DSLR which helped my images look the best that they could be. I also used photoshop on each image to write over the paper that was hold by my talent in the photos.

My photos are supposed to tell a story about the person in them. My themes and formats are fashion and identity because I feel like fashion is a key aspect in making a person who they are. My work is all about stereotypes that are related to different fashion choices and stereotypes about the people.

 I asked the people in my images if they have ever been stereotyped because of the clothes that they wear. The most common name people were associated with was "goth."

The image to the left shows a girl wearing black clothes and a band t-shirt for a heavy metal band. I really like this image as I believe that the facial expression of the person shows that the person isn't happy with the name that they are associated with. The image is in focus an the person is looking directly into the camera lens making the whole image come across a lot more personal to her, this also draws a lot of attention to the person and really pulls in the audience looking at the photo. I am very happy with the placement of the paper as I feel it is very effective due to it being so close to her face it makes the words on the page more linked to the girl herself. I asked the person why they believe they are associated with this name and they said that the word goth is defined as someone who only likes the darker side of things, often get classed as "freaks" and depressing. When I asked if she believes that she is a goth she said that she wouldn't call herself a goth instead she believes its a silly stereotype related to dark clothes and heavy rock music. The image was taken with a high ISO of 800 meaning that the image was clear instead of grainy and it allowed enough light to make the image lighter in contrast to the dark clothes she is wearing that give her the "goth" name. I kept the background clear to have full focus on the images subject.

In this image is a boy that is often called a "menace" meaning a person who's actions and attitude come off as dangerous, a treat or troublemaking. They believe this is due to their clothes and attitudes when I asked if he agrees that he is a menace he told me that they never have any evidence to him being a menace. Again in this image I used an ISO of 800 so that it wasn't a grainy photo making it clear and light so that you can see the photo fully. Again I also kept the background the same white, one colour and clear so that the focus again was on the person in the image. Unlike the first images above the talent in the image isn't facing straight on, this makes the image effective because his direction of standing makes him look slightly rebellious to the photo which makes the word "menace" stand out a lot more. Despite his posture being faced to the right of the image he still looks directly into the camera meaning the photo is still personal to him and shows that this is his "story."

 As I said previously the most common stereotype people were associated with was "goth" here is another girl who often gets associated with this name. When I did my test photos for this person they were very out of focus therefore I retook it with a higher ISO so the image wasn't as grainy and set my focus so the image was much clearer. Again I asked the person to look directly into the camera and face straight on to get the photo about her and nothing else. The background is again clear so there are no distractions and the paper is held in front of

the person. I asked this person if they believe they conform to this stereotype and just like everyone else I took photos of she told me that she doesn't agree. In this image much like the fist one the girl is wearing mostly black clothes and a band t-shirt. The girl told me that the clothes are just comfortable to wear and the band is one that she likes therefore she is wearing their merchandise to show her love for the band. She also told me that she is comfortable in herself and thats all people should care about.

All of the images above had the aperture set to F11 making the image extremely clear and meaning that there is no particular focus on either he foreground or background. I also used rule of thirds to get my image as central as possible,  I used the grid so that the talent in the photo would be in the middle putting all the attention on them as you can see below. 

test photos

Before taking my final shots I took a series of photos to make sure that this is what I want to do. All the pictures below are my test shots for my work and I have explained below what went well (WWW) and things to improve (TTI). I found this to be a productive way to look through the images I already had and be able to change the bad things without changing the good parts of the overall photo.

WWW: I like the background that I chose for this image because its very simple and doesn't draw any attention away from the person or the paper as they are the main focus of my work. Another thing i think that is good is the size of paper, the size I used was A4 and i find that this is a good size as its not too big to overshadow the whole image but also not to small for me to struggle writing over in photoshop therefore I will keep this the same when I do my real photos.

TTI: As you can see this image is slightly blurred around the edges of the person in the photo. For my final shots i will make sure that I take my time to check all my settings are right and my camera is in focus. I will also need to make sure that the person Is ready for the photo to be taken because in this particular image his eyes are beginning to close. I will also make my iso higher so that the image is brighter as the walls look more grey than white. 

WWW: Unlike the photo before this image is more in focus and clear.

TTI: If I was to make this photo better I will get the person in my image to face forward so the focus is more on the paper than just them. 

WWW: This is the best image I took with this person therefore will probably use this one for my final work. The image is well in focus and the ISO is set so the image is neither under or over exposed. The camera is also very still and in line with the lines on the wall.

TTI: The only thing i might change if I was to take this again would be to have the paper held higher up. 

WWW: I think the colours and white balance in this image showed up well, the person in my image is very central and her hands aren't covering the paper too much meaning that I will fit my words on the paper when I write them on in photoshop.

TTI: Again this image is out of focus therefore I will be retaking this to get a clearer image of the person so she will stand out more in the photo, I will also be asking her to raise the paper and make it more straight forward to make it easier to write over. 

WWW: This image is well focused and clear and my person is very central in the image.

TTI: This image was taking on an obvious slant so when I take it again I will make the image for parallel and straight. I will also ask the person in my image to look directly into my camera to make the photo more personal to him and tell more of a story. 

WWW: In this image my talent in this photo is looking more into the camera meaning its more personal to him. Unlike the photo above this is much more parallel with the lines on the wall. The image is in focus and clear to see.

TTI: If i was to change anything in this photo i would bring up the ISO and aperture so that the colour isn't so bleak and looks more ascetically pleasing. 

WWW: This photo is also in focus and very clear for people to see, the talent in this photograph is looking directly at the camera lens making it more personal to her. I also really like where the paper is held as its just under her face again meaning the things ill write on the paper will be personal to her and look like a physical label. She has also kept her hands from covering the page again leaving me more room to write on the paper during photoshop. The camera is parallel to the walls making it look better and well framed.

TTI: The only thing I will changing if I take this again I will make the ISO higher and the white balance to make to the colours stand out better in the image. 

The Risk Assessment

Distribution The Manchester College

Production Company The manchester College

Type of Production Photography 

Title of Production Unit 57

Date or period this Risk Assessment covers Fr: 12.01.15 To:16.01.15

Producer/Editor Harriet Lawson 

Location address and Contact No. 

Shena Simon Campus

Whitworth Street

Manchester M1 3HB

0161 203 2100

proposal

The proposal

Harriet Lawson

U57 LO3

For Richard Evans

Theme – identity 

Format - fashion

Stereotypes in fashion

My inspiration for this idea came from hearing a lot of comments on young peoples fashion choice and people linking the clothes that they wear to what kind of person they are e.g. people in tracksuits are seen as chavs. I feel like a lot of young people have many stereotypes towards people of the same age and I am interested to see if any of these stereotypes are real or just made up.

Scenario

I will be looking at how fashion and identity go together, to me identity means the way that people can tell who or what something is and it also means how people are recognised for who they are.

I am going to use different peoples fashion choices to see how their clothes match their identity. I will find out what stereotypes are matched with each fashion type and try to find out if the people conform to the stereotypes. To do this I will ask my peers to name some well-known stereotypes of people and what it is that makes them get put into these classifications of people. I will then look for these stereotypes of people and photograph their fashion with labels attached to their clothes with key words referring to how they are seen or labels of how they actually think of themselves when they wear their clothes along with taking pictures of people in town where the clothes would normally be seen. I also have a second idea for my work, which is to take photos of people holding a white sheet of paper. I will then write the stereotype related to that person over the white paper in a text box using photoshop, I will have two versions of the image one will have a stereotype written over it and the other one will say how the person sees themselves and why they don’t conform to the stereotype. I will print my images on photo paper and layer them up so that you can pull back the first image reading the stereotype or name that they have been called in the past to then reveal the paper saying why they don’t think that they should be associated with that stereotype. My final idea is to have some of my peers tell me a stereotype or name that they have been associated with so that I can use the word with my photography to make my work more personal to the people that are involved in my work and I can show the people looking at my work that is issue is real and affecting real people. I will get some of my peers to hold a piece of blank white paper just under their face near their chest, again I will be using photoshop and a text box to write over the paper with the name that they have been called. I think this will be effective because having the name near the face of the person it will look almost like a name badge or label that they have physically been given. I will have also have a second version of each picture that will be slightly different because instead of the name that they have been called/associated with, the paper will read the response the person would say back to the mean names and stereotypes they have been called. I will put the 2 pictures next to each other to show how peoples stereotypes aren't always right. 

What is the intended goal?

My goal is to reach out to young people and teach them that most of the stereotypes they use toward other young people aren’t real. 

Target audience 

My work will be aimed towards young people between the ages of 16 to 20 as I feel like this is the age range where people become a lot more opinionated and judgemental. It is important for me to know the age range I am going to target so I can look into how I can make my work appealing for those people. 

Schedule and budget

My deadline for this work is the Friday the 16^th of January meaning all work including test shots and real completed work must be finished. In terms of budget all I will need are paper labels. 

Mission statement 

The reason I have chosen to do this topic is because I am passionate about getting rid of judgemental opinions and would like for people to be able to look like and dress how they like without hearing rude comments from other members of society.