Fear of dying | Development

Fear: Death

For this photo-shoot I asked my model if she had any fears or phobias and she said that she has a fear of dying. After finding out her fear I created a makeup look to represent that, so I created this skeleton as this represents death. I out lined her bones on her chest and neck area to highlight them and make them appear contoured.

I started to experiment with the lighting and different angles. For most of these photographs the studio lights were either side of my model. Creating a different mood to the images. Towards the end of the shoot I started to play around with different coloured gels to put in front of the camera/flash to make the photographs a different colour. I used blue to start with then added pink. I also played around with different camera angles; I sat on the floor and took pictures looking up at my model.

This set of photographs also portray insecurities and how most girls hide behind makeup to make them feel a lot more confident. These images also show how some people battle with eating disorders and how they see themselves. By using makeup to show the bones and different features on the face and body shows fear of loosing herself to her insecurities.

This shoot was inspired by makeup artist Topolino. I created this look based on his "Trashy trendy, fantasy but chic" style, I wanted a makeup look that would represent a fear of dying, so I came up with this look and composition idea.

Raw photographs (not edited)

Edited Photographs 

To edit all of these photographs I used Photoshop CS6, I used the curves tool to brighten up the background area. I also used the dodge tool enhance the eyes and make them brighter. 

By experimenting with different poses and angles this helped my images look more 3D and not as flat as if my model was looking straight into the camera. I really like the lines and contours of this photograph. The angle in which my model is facing compliments the features of the makeup. I think that the lighting in this photograph also compliments the makeup as I have placed two studio lights either side of my model, as you can see the left side has more darkness and shadow. Which suggests that her fear is still there and she will never be able to shake off her fear, but on the right side it is much lighter which suggests that her fear is not always around her and that there is some light in all of the darkness.

If I were to re-shoot these images I would make more of an effort to do something with my models hair. I like how it just falls down behind her head, but I think that it would look more effective bigger and more volumised. The composition of this photograph is interesting because her body is facing the side, but her face is towards the camera. I like the lines this creates, by adding a bit of contouring to the chest and neck area also enhances the lines, making them look stronger and contoured.

By getting my model to face the side but still look at the camera makes different unique lines in the photograph. The lines of her shoulders and neck areas define the image and transform it into something innovative and different. My eyes automatically look at her eyes first because they are bright and bold.

I like how the right side of the photograph is brighter than the left side because this creates shadow and makes the image more dramatic by creating shadows. If I was to reshoot these images I would try it out with a black background as I think that this would create more distinctive colours and that it would create a clear divide between the model and background. By having my models eyes looking straight into the camera creates an illusion that she may be confident but actually she is scared of her own fears but her emotion and facial expressions tell a different story.

The photograph below has been cropped down slightly. There was too much white space either side of my model so I cropped it down a little on each side and at the top.

 This is my favourite photograph from this shoot because it captures different emotions and feelings. With her eyes looking straight into the camera, this shows emotion like she's trapped in her own fear. The composition of this photograph enhances her fear as it is close up and zoomed in. 

For this photograph I was sat on the floor and I got my model to look down at the camera but also keeping her head central. I really like the composition of this photograph; I think that it captures everything, from the different lines and shapes on her face to the highlighting and contouring of her collar and neck bones. Therefore by having bright white eyes this contrasts against the black circles around her eyes and this also makes the makeup defined.

This photograph also creates different lines from her neck, shoulder, hair and nose. These all compliment each other and give the shadows of the image somewhere to fall into. The lighting for these set of photographs were placed either side of my model. This created shadows and also brightness in the background.

Again the photograph below has been cropped down, I didn't crop out all of the white space on the right side of this image because I like how there is a gap for my model to look into.

I started to experiment with coloured gels, I really like the effect this has on the photograph but I find that by putting the coloured gels in front of the lights, it makes the whole image darker and this is harder to edit and make brighter. By have two very distinctive bright colours (blue and pink) this also contrasts against the black and white skeleton makeup.