Full Length Image - Unusable

The image shots for this project were to have a head shot, mid shot and a full length shot.

My full length shot was very unsuccessful and unusable. My photographer didn't reach the requirements I had set and when looking through the photos I found them unprofessional and not at all idea for a fashion inspired image. The specific areas of location that I cleared of litter have been included in the images and the lighting is too bright. Post production doesn't make this image look any more professional. After noticing the images were unsuccessful my photographer and model were then unable to rearrange a date to collaborate and redo the shoot. This has taught me a lot about time management and finding the correct team members to avoid situations like this. The only usable image is a mid length image, which I am submitting as my final image. 

The above image is the location image I am very unsatisfied with using. Below, is the half body shot that I think would be a lot more suitable despite it not fitting the shoot requirements.

I have come to the decision that I will not submit the full length. Combining it with my other two images makes it look awful and I am not satisfied at all. This is well and truly a lesson learnt!

FINAL IMAGE SCENE 3

'Myrtle Wilson's Death'

FINAL IMAGE SCENE 2

'Myrtle Wilson vulnerable after a beating from her lover'

FINAL IMAGE SCENE 1

'Myrtle Wilson before the fall of the American Dream'

Styling

The styling for my character has to represent the theme of a 1920s lower class woman. The colours will slightly clash, showing the effects of a woman who tries to look like the rich but fails due to the means of the poor. She will always have a headscarf tied like a headband, in a pattern, representing her working class status. 

Shoot 1:

Blouse, Head Scarf (flows around neck).

Shoot 2: 

Shirt like dress representing work class, Head Scarf, Flat Pumps. Made to look creased and dirty after beating.

Shoot 3:

Black Maxi Skirt, Cream Blouse (not pure enough to be white), and Head Scarf (but used as prop).

Final Shoot - Scene 1

"Myrtle Wilson and The American Dream"

Model Casting

Myrtle was the outsider. She wasnt the beauttiful one. She wasnt honest, loving, caring. She was sly, egotistical and a big believer of the American Dream. The model casting was to find someone who didnt have a classic, photogenic face but did have a secret beauty. Someone who stood out as not the most attractive but still sold herself to men. 

Her scenes depict different emotions, but throughout the main are confusion, lust and sadness. The models natural eyes are drooped, but I think is perfect for these emotions.

Shoot Plan

The Great Gatsby – Myrtle Wilson.

Shoot 1:

Natural makeup: brown smokey eye, red lipstick, blushed cheeks, little mascara.

Hair – Curled like ringlets with head scarf in place.

Styling – Shirt (no bottoms needed) necklace, head scarf, scarf.

Position – directly infront of camera, smug look, hand under chin.

Shoot 2:

Makeup: Purple smokey eye to represent a bruise, wet mascara lines under eyes, lipstick faded.

Hair – Messed Curls, loose scarf.

Styling – undone shirt, clutching scarf.

Position – crouched down, looking down, scared, vulnerable.

Shoot 3:

Makeup – very pale, natural, glossy, dried up lips and smudged eye makeup. Fake blood on floor and down mouth.

Hair – no particular style as needs to look messy and uncared for.

Styling – shirt and maxi skirt (made mid length) no shoes.

Position – laying on floor, face towards camera, location shot on dusty floor.


Time Scale - 2 hours per look for makeup, hair and shooting.

Primary Resources

These are my primary resources - jewellery, garments, accessories and scarves. 

Large Jewel Necklace

Gold Brooch

Blue Jewel Necklace

Large Bead Necklace

Silver Bracelet

Location Images

Out of my 3 shoots, it will be the final one that will definately be shot on location. The first shot is certain to be shot in the studio, and the second is yet to be decided based on test shots and makeup and hair preps.

In the studio, it will be a basic white backdrop. There will be no props, just a main focal head shot of the model with accessories, expression, emotion shown through makeup and hair. This will suit the idea of the shot well, showing a clean cut version of Myrtle, representing her needs and wants to be a upper class woman. The intention of the white background is to show what she wants to be, but any white in her styling will be slightly off to still show the difference between class through location.

The third shot is on location, representing the dutsy, dull valley of the ashes. The weather needs to be dim and dreary, showing the emotion of the images going down hill. I want a dusty road with stones and yellows on the ground. I also want to show a derelict area.

 ^ the above images are how the Valley of the Ashes are portrayed in the film version of the novel.

CHOSEN LOCATION: 

The location I am going to use is an old WWII airfield in Hadstock, Essex, This location is right next door to my home town, so I know the area well and I have easy access to the location. The roads are dusty, gravelled and full of tracks - exactly what I am looking for. It is surrounded by fields which will represent the Valley of the Ashes perfectly. The location represents the poor, run down, derelict area that Myrtle lives.

1920s Accessories

To help with the styling for my character, I need to research the accessories that women in the 1920s would have worn. There was a clear distinction between the two classes, which I imagine has also been portrayed through accessories. A bit like noticing the rich and poor now through designer labels or high street labels - however the status of a person through this isn't as serious in the modern day world.

JEWELLERY:

The jewellery in the 1920's was very art deco and transitional. There were a lot of jewels, as opposed to beads, which were bright royal colours with silver chains. The upper class jewellery was expensive gemstones and diamonds. But there was a different style for the flappers. These women wore beaded necklaces that looked like jewels but were not. Women wore jeweled head pieces as a flapper or just as a woman who dressed up. Items of jewellery were things such as necklaces, bracelets, brooches, hair clips and head pieces.

Jade 1920's Necklace

Art Deco Emerald, Diamond and Bow Brooch, 1920's

Ruby, Diamond and Platinum Ring, 1920's England

USA Art Deco 1920's Ring

1920's Aqua Blue Necklace

Beaded Flapper Necklace 1920's

Flapper Necklace 1920's

HEAD SCARVES:

I want to style Myrtle in a headscarf for the shoots to still bring in the elements of her lower class working woman life. Therefore, I have researched scarves from the era to see what they wore. Women wore the scarves in a very particular way, either as an accessories or to generally cover up their hair.

^ This image above is such an inspirational image for me as it represents my ideas of Myrtle perfectly. 

Love it!

 

HEAD PIECES:

Myrtle's Hair Style, Finger Waves

The classic 1920's style for women was finger waves. The hair was generally short and shaped into a fitted bob. Flapper girls often represented the look of finger waves, as did the richer women, but I also want Myrtle to have finger waves for the first shoot - where she is happy and inlove with Tom.

I am choosing finger waves for this shoot because its representing the time in the novel in which Myrtle is happy being Tom's mistress. Despite Myrtle actually wanting more, she will settle for what she has with Tom because its much better than what she has with her husband, George. 

Practice Finger Waves:

Another reason for wanting to use this hairstyle is because it represents how Myrtle is trying to be like Daisy, Tom's wife. From this image, we can then see the character deteriorate and express the change in emotion that this character goes through in the novel.

Madame Peripetie

Another guest lecturer that we were lucky enough to have in; and for this particular project, looking at her work is perfect. Madame Peripete is a Polish conceptual photographer. Her work is very avante garde, in which she is known for creating characters. Peripetie means 'an unexpected thing' which becomes clear when you look at her work. She photographs strange, out there images helped with props, styling and makeup. She is extremely characteristic, inspired by the idea of surrealism and experimenting. The photographs she publishes have barely any post-production, basing her hopes on the photography. It's a brave way to work, but she bases so much background of the shoot on research that they become so developed post-production isn't needed. 

Here are some examples of Madame Peripetie's character inspired work:

il salone, AW 12

 

Master Class, No 4 Show Off Magazine

Bird Series

Some helpful tips from Madame Peripetie were: 

"Don't just be inspired by makeup. Reference art and yourself through your work. Base your outcomes on your findings and your build up of research. Research is very important".

She also made it clear that as a makeup artist you shouldn't be inspired by magazines. The shoots that you are seeing in the magazines have already been done. Your aim is to create something you've never done before - copying an image or trying to recreate one doesn't make your work unique.

Face Charts, Shoot Three

The final image that I am going to shoot is representative of the scene where Myrtle gets hit by a car, and dies. I have researched how to make death look fashionable which is what I intend to do. I need to create the look of Gothic makeup and styling again, in order to show a contemporary version of my character and show the signs of death and torture. The idea for the makeup is based on that, alongside the general idea of her looking pale, heart broken, weak and making the viewer feel emotion towards her.

^ These two face charts above show the face of Myrtle as shes laying in the road dead. The face is plain and simple, showing no means for appearance. However, I have chosen to have red lipstick, which is Myrtle's signature thing for me, in order to represent death. Most people would consider death to be represented with black, but I want to represent the colour of blood. Since this is a fashion image, I cant cover the model in blood because it will look too theatrical. Therefore, using red lips is there to represent blood and through image analysis I hope people will understand this.