MOTION

One of the areas we touched on in last weeks lecture and IT sessions was the use of post production and how it can enhance an initial photograph or campaign, coming from a photography background in which a lot of my work was focussed on architecture or figurative photography, I have been used to relying on a strong location to enhance the quality of my images, Tim's lecture given on post production techniques opened up an area of knowledge for me I hadn't yet had the chance to explore.

This is where my piece 'motion' came about,  initially it was just experimentation and one big mess to start off with as I found I was trying to incorporate too many of the new techniques I had learned. To create this piece I used the stroke tool to form a solid line around the outside of the figure, I then duplicated this layer numerous times and overlapped the shaped to make the image appear as though it was vibrating.   My ideas behind this piece, once I had experimented, was to work on the idea of 'motion' and to create a repetition of linear shapes taken from the outlines of my images to create something that looked almost like a sound wave or motion pathway.  

For a first time attempt at something so bright and colourful, which definitely isn't my comfort zone, I don't think its too shabby! 

becky x

DESTINATION CHRISTMAS

With my first FCP module titled 'visual awareness',  one of the areas we have looked at in great detail is visual merchandising and brand advertising, whether that be in-store interiors, online campaigns or live shows, as the majority of the day in London was self directed, me and the girls decided to venture towards Bond Street to see the newly placed Christmas shop fronts.  

When you live in student accommodation the home comforts are just not there, I've found I have been extremely lacking in the Christmas spirit,  after all, the paper cut-out snowflakes just don't do the job like the smell of your mum making a home made Christmas cake however the synonymous Selfridges window displays definitely gave me the festive feel!

6000 metres of fairy lights and more than 190,000 baubles later, Selfridges unveiled their story telling themed festive display and seeing it in person sent me right back to my childhood.  Each classic story in all of the 23 windows depicted a modern day twist, for example, 'The Ugly Duckling' display is arranged with the focal point being a central mannequin who is sat within a rainbow nest and wears a bespoke feather dress from the SS15 AF Vandervorst which is everything other that ugly! 

As I'm a northern girl, getting the chance to go to London (FREE!! may I add) is an opportunity I couldn't miss, as its not on my door step like most of the people I go to university with, I found I still felt the buzz and excitement of seeing the classic big red bus and tube stations just as I did when I went as a child with my family.  There is something about the city that draws me in, I can't decide whether its the constant rush or the diversity within the popularity. 

At one point in the day I found myself standing on the tube next to a European women, listening to her playing the ukulele and singing along entertaining all passengers and it wasn't until I was travelling home reminiscing on the days events that it hit me, that is normality in London, weird and wonderful confidence is exuded by all of its inhabitants- and I love it!

becky x

LONDON CALLING

I have always had a love for geometric shapes and intricate designs and have found myself taking photographs of them wherever I go, this trip to London was the perfect destination for me to find some new interiors to add to my collection.

becky x

HORST EXHIBITION

On a recent residential trip to London with we had the opportunity to visit the Horst exhibition at the V&A museum, when I first heard about this trip I was sooo excited to see his amazing collection as I'm a lover of classic photography and studied him as part of my photography A-level and its safe to say I wasn't disappointed!

As materials were limited in 1906, all of Horst's work is black and white, using lighting and shadows to create interesting illusions and depth to his images.  This is an effect that interests me greatly due to my love of old photography and the distressed, classic nature to simplistic black and white images, I find the compositions of his objects also very powerful as they focus on strong curves of the figure and show the natural beauty and macro quality of the skin.

These two images shown above are favourites of mine, although they are extremely different I feel they both share similarities, for example, the shapes in both images involve a strong, unmissable curve.  The first image relies strongly on dramatic lighting and shadows, sculpting the woman's back showing the curve of her spine.  The crisp white corset and loose ribbon fastening in the image allows you to delve further into the connotations of the image and makes you question where she is and what she is doing? 

The second image leaves a lot for the imagination, making you question the meaning behind the hands and the racial diversity in the image. Although the photograph is made up of 2 individuals  of different races there is also consistency, both nails are perfectly painted in a shiny black nail varnish, this leads me to believe that both women are similar in the sense that they may be upper class as their manicures are made up of absolutely no imperfections.  The contrast between the skin tones also relates to the strong lighting and contrast within the image. 

When looking around the exhibition I was instantly drawn to these particular images as they reminded my of the work I did surrounding my final major project in my art foundation. Since coming home and researching further into the life and work of Horst, I found that when he created these images in 1945 he decided to take a break from photography and work on a new kind of project, patterns from nature.  He used shells, butterfly wings, flowers and minerals and repeated the intricate patterns over and over to create these detailed designs, this is similar to the techniques I used in my own initial designs when repeating my architecture photography for my garment inspiration.

Apologies for the low quality of these images... the files are just waaay too big! As you can see there is a clear resemblance between Horst's work and my own, I'm so happy to have had the chance to visit his amazing collection and expand my artistic knowledge!

To find out more visit this link http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/exhibition-horst-photographer-of-style/... I would definitely recommend a visit to this exhibition if you get the chance.

becky x

BALMAIN BEAUTY

 Brand Identity

In-store experience & Advertising

Events

Online Experience

Across each brand I investigated as part of my colour trend research, I found I was instantly drawn to Balmain, whether that be for their slick and refreshing colour palette or their structured garment shapes.  As my pallet 'marsala meets aluminium' focusses on a traditional autumnal colour palette rejuvenated with modern shades of midnight blue, sharp grey and zingy lemon, I felt Balmain was the perfect example of my target brand. 

My first mood board is all about the brand identity,  I wanted to incorporate both colours from my palette shown alongside their garments, campaigns and shows.  After experimenting with a hands on approach to mood boards shown in the post below, I decided to take what I learnt and apply it digitally.  As the grid technique was probably my favourite I used the crop tool on photoshop to select certain sections of a particular image, whether that be small embellishments on the products or close ups from the shows I felt represented the identity of the brand. 

When creating mood boards for in-store and online experience I gathered my research second hand from the website and from the internet, the online experience focussed mostly on campaigns and typography found on the website. For example when items are placed in the basket and the brand name shown on each web page, I found the slick and simple design flowed all the way through to the web page design from the initial garments and in-store interiors. 

becky x

LEGENDS OF THE FALL

IF A CLUTTERED DESK IS THE SIGN OF A CLUTTERED MIND, OF WHAT, THEN, IS THE SIGN OF AN EMPTY DESK?

GRID 

FREEFORM

MINIMUM

MAXIMUM

My colour palette 'marsala meets aluminium' taking inspiration from A/W15 and A/W14 colour collection combines the more traditional autumnal colours such as fiery oranges and deep reds but adds a twist of modernism with flashes of zingy lemon and slick charcoal grey.  As part of a mood board activity, allowing us to develop our skills when it comes to compositional ideas, we were asked to create a series of mood boards using primary research images/phrases we felt represented our colour palette.

The first composition I experimented with was grid, I found this to be probably the least challenging out of all of them, due to the fact it allowed me to display my images in a neat and organised fashion... (my flat mates would say this is my OCD coming out). Nevertheless, I found the colours in all of the images complimented each other extremely well and I feel this could be a more refined piece that could maybe be used after an initial mood board was made to gather trend ideas.

The next was free-form, something I found quite challenging as it involved me being really free and expressive, once I got the hang of this technique I found it to be one of the most interesting designs as  the contrast between a busy space flowing into a minimalistic small image allows the eye to move across the entirety of the board, I loved it so much I'm thinking about displaying all of my initial crazy ideas to projects like this!

Minimum is one I found quite challenging when creating a hands on mood board, I found that to make use of the powerful white background it would have been better if it was created digitally using Photoshop to ensure all of the images lined up perfectly without any messy edges and odd spacing.

Maximum is another, like free-form, I thought I would struggle with as I live by the phrase 'less is more', however, after much experimentation I finally found, what I deem to be, the perfect layout! Introducing typography into this layout I feel helped to break up what could have been an over powering set of images, I'm really happy with how this one has turned out and will definitely be experimenting with many more of these to come.

becky x

RAIN// QUELLE SURPRISE

Coat- Topshop // Jumper & Shirt- UO // Jeans- Topshop // Boots- Topshop

Rainy days in Wigan, a concept I'm all too familiar with, writing this from my bedroom at home hearing it pouring down outside, I felt it was a perfect time to reminisce on some photography taken by my very talented friend Helloellenor this time last year! oh how long ago it seems!

I love the natural lighting in these images, it makes the photographs appear cold and neutral, in-fitting with the seasonal aspect to the shoot of A/W 2013.  Focusing on the trend of classic tailoring and modern monochrome we decided to mix the outfit up a bit and instead of going for a tailored trouser we opted for the more feminine, classic black skinny teamed with a crisp white shirt, black knitted jumper and A-line jacket.  As my personal style tends to lean towards a masculine/feminine vibe anyway, this outfit was perfect for me.

P.s. Make sure to check out HelloEllenor's blog if you're an obsessed blogger like me! She puts up some amazing photography, my personal favourite being her daily outfit posts... I just can't get enough!

becky x

FIREWORKS AND FRIENDS

My first Bonfire night in Nottingham was spent with a few of my fabulous flat mates and what seemed like the rest of Nottingham, we headed over to Forest Recreation Ground and stood in the cold waiting for the firework display which my flat mate Sadie had been excited about all week, and we were not left disappointed!  I've always had a love/hate relationships with fireworks ever since I can remember, as i'm sure is the same for a lot of people... with the beautiful shapes and tranquillising colours clashing with the startling noises that come with it you kind of have to take the bad with the good when it comes to bonfire night. 

With being poor students and on tight budgets, we didn't get to indulge in the fairground games or the classic sticky toffee apple (much to my disappointment),  regardless of that however we had an amazing night and will definitely be attending the forest next year, even if it is just to experience the buzzing yet almost cosy atmosphere again! 

If you're in Nottingham I would definitely recommend a trip! 

becky x

DARE TO DYE

After our recent Photoshop workshops looking into colour and the use of this working with brand identity using our selected colour theme, mine being Autumnal, we also looked vaguely into colour manipulation. Since I really enjoyed the small amount of time I was able to experiment with this in my seminar, I decided to come home and try some more out.

After many different attempts using images I found online, I finally created this one... I used the 'paint brush' tool on Photoshop to add an element of Pink to the hair.  To do this I first imported the image and duplicated the layer, I then selected the first layer and used the paint brush tool to paint a pink section on top of the hair. Using the eraser tool on the duplicated layer, I reduced the opacity and only highlighted the areas that I wanted to show a slight hint of pink.  I am so happy with how this experiment turned out and it was just a little trial for me to see how effective and realistic it could look!

becky x

FUTURISTIC CHANEL

In this weeks seminar we were asked to complete a semiotic analysis on campaigns found in two separate magazines, one being a magazine we were very familiar with and one being something we had never bought or read before.  The idea behind semiotic analysis is to depict an image and work out exactly what the brand is trying to convey through their campaign.  Not knowing immediately what something means can be unsettling, Barthes calls this the 'terror of uncertain signs'.

For the magazine I was extremely familiar with I chose Vogue, naturally. After all what teenage girl hasn't seen, let alone heard of Vogue? The campaign I chose to use was the Chanel futuristic Autumn 2013 collection, this advert in particular stood out to me when I was browsing as I felt it was completely different to any I had seen in recent months, most campaigns were using soft, warm and bright stereotypical autumnal colours whereas this one focusses on the use of sharp metallics and a cold colour pallet.

When working on my semiotic analysis for this image I had to break it down into 5 sections, the first one being to write down my first thoughts and responses when I saw the image.  The second being to find out the field or tradition it belongs in, what type of visual it is.  The third and fourth required me to  list what the campaign denotes and connotes.

Denote - to list

Connote- to find the meaning

1.  Modern, futuristic, sharp, edgy, repetition, simple yet slick, minimalistic, strong, broken, unique

2.  Advertisement, promotional campaign

3.  3 women, one at the fore front of the image with a stronger more distracting pose.  Broken body       language used by all three models. Repetitive styling of garments, right hand models wearing the same neckline. Futuristic essence shown through metallic trousers and simplistic white, clean background.

4.  Futuristic connotation, androgynous,  powerful image, strong eye contact

5.  Promotional campaign, produced by Chanel in November 2013 to promote a futuristic collection using strong metallic fabrics and simplistic settings. Possibly belonging to monochrome trend and rise in modern technology.

becky x

BRAND NARRATIVE

Balenciaga

Zara

As part of our research into brand narratives and the image brands aim to portray to their target consumers, we were given a task to work in pairs and identify two brands, one high end and one high street.  The aim was to create a universal tagline for both brands, identifying the key elements of both and how they can be linked together.  When describing Balenciaga and Zara we said that they both used strong structured lines, sculptural designs and architecturally inspired shapes and prints in both of their garments. We found they both embarked upon a masculine/feminine approach to the shaping of their garments alongside classic tailoring and a minimalistic colour pallet with flashes of bright colour.

We said that they were "promoting a professional profile through the use of architecturally inspired shapes and prints alongside a minimalistic monochrome colour pallet mixed with an androgynous, ugly/pretty combination."

Jack Wills

Tommy Hilfiger

The first two brands we compared were Jack Wills and Tommy Hilfiger, we found that both brands focused on a sporty but very preppy vibe.  Our tag line for both brands was that their objectives were to "Deliver preppy dressing, promoting an all- American suburban life and fake British heritage."

becky x