Re-shooting january look

I knew I needed to reshoot the January look as I wanted to create a striking look for the start of the calendar. I knew that when looking through a calendar the consumer instantly gets an impression from the first few images they see. In order for them to be attracted to purchasing the calendar it needs to feature beautiful, attractive images as well as fully support a trend which is likely to take place in the future. I feel that by me addressing the issue of needing to re-shoot it shows that I am taking accountability for the outcomes and addressing several of the learning outcomes. 


I also wanted to ensure that the images were strong enough to showcase my skills and meet the higher learning outcomes. I was aware that because the January look was unsuccessful I needed to thoroughly plan a new look and ideally find a new model. 


I spent the week planning the new revised look. 


The make up in the originial look was not strong enough and did not relate to my moodboard well enough. I also wanted to use a different model that would be able to convey the dark theme of the trend. I used the class time available to shoot to get this look as I would be able to get help from two lecturers to ensure I was going to get the right look.


I changed the makeup design to be a lot simpler but darker with black eyes and the rest of the makeup very minimal. I really liked the idea of the hair blowing in the wind so I decided to stick to this idea as it relates to the diffusion part of the trend. I decided to base it upon this image. I like the strength of the model but it is still feminine with the sheer material and soft blowing hair. I wanted the model to show confidence as well as a slight air of femininity in her facial expression and pose. 

This was the image that I was able to recreate.

 I really like the way this image turned out. It did need some retouching that I had to do myself so it was very time-consuming but I think the result is sucessful. I love the way there is real depth to the image with the texture of the material blowing across and the darkness of the eye makeup against the smooth pale skin. One issue that I do have with the image are the eyes. They look a little gazed as the soft box is reflected so strongly in the reflection. I have tried to edit and darken the eyes but they are still a little 'dreamy' looking.
The image links in well with my trend as it is dark and strong but also soft and flowing at the same time. I like the material blowing away from the face which helps represent the diffusion part of the trend. The moodboard below relates to the image in the darkness, the soft lighting and faded appearance.

I already had an idea of how I wanted the makeup to look as I had done so much testing. On the day of the shoot I had lots of assistance to get the image which was not expected. It looked such a simple image to get but in the end there was the photographer, the model, two people holding hair dryers and myself holding the material up. I would not have been able to do this if I was to shoot of an evening in the basement studios, it is only because I jumped at the chance to shoot in lesson time that the image was able to be created. I was very lucky in the fact I was the only person to shoot on this day so I had the whole of the lesson to create the shoot. I already had most of the products for the shoot so I only needed to buy the material which was not too expensive. (£7.00)


When I put the two images for my trend next to each other they had totally different styles. The first issue was that one was landscape and the other was portrait. For the layout for my calendar I wanted to shoot portrait so I tried cropping the latest shoot down, it lost all effect once the material was cropped out.


My next problem was the image of Meg was a lot brighter compared to the latest one, I think I should of shot against a white background instead of black. Overall the images did not gel well together which was very frustrating as I knew that I needed to re-shoot again! I knew that it had to be done otherwise it would effect the standard of the calendar. By me understanding that I would need to re-shoot the image again shows that I am making informed judgements of my own work as well as 'Displaying initiative and showing responsibility for independent learning'.


I luckily had another opportunity arise to carry out a makeup look on a model for a one to one with Alex Box. I used this time to recreate a third look for my January image. I did not change too much as I liked the dark eyes and simplicity of the makeup in the 2nd image. I did however change the dark eyes to make them more intense to become a stronger look, more reflective of my mood board. It was also decided that I needed to link my two images so I decided to bring in the silver leaf again to show their relation.


After the time with Alex Box I was able to shoot the look. A studio was already set up which saved on time. I gave guidance as I wanted to ensure that nothing else would make me need to re shoot. I was really pleased with the way the images turned out. Again, I had to edit the images myself so it did take a long time but whilst I was editing I kept my February look up so I could make them have a similar colour tone and feel. I feel that I am effectively utilising IT systems and software appropriate to the project and feel that my Photoshop skills are improving dramatically. 


This was the image I settled on.

I decided to keep with the theme of black eyes as it is much more intense and makes the blue eyes stand out. I made them more intense than the previous shoot so that there was a clear darker mood to the image, especially as I reverted back to using a white background. I brought in some of the silver leaf across the mouth and used the silver around the eyes. As the eyes were so strong, I wanted to keep the rest of the makeup simple so that the image did not become too busy. I linked the makeup design back to the trend in that the makeup branches out and upwards in a shattered tree like movement. I also brought this idea into the hair with the head being the epicentre and the hair breaking out in different directions. I think this image was successful in relating to the February look.


There are certain parts of the image that I am not so keen on. I do not like the silver which I did down the nose, if I was to do this look again I would leave this element out. I did it to link the eyes together but instead it has created a mask like look.


I felt very relaxed and organised for this shoot as I had plenty of time to create this design.


As I had already got most of the products, this shoot cost me nothing as the model was willing to work on a TFP basis.


After showing my lecturer they approved on the image but highlighted that the image was not crisp enough, especially if I was wanting to blow it up in size. I was shown how to go back and make the changes and I think I have been successful in doing this. I have learnt that it is important for others to see the images as there are elements that you do not pick up on that someone else may notice.


I feel that my first trend prediction was sucessful. I did lots of research and I think it has really paid off as I have a trend which can be backed by many different sources. I also feel that the name of the trend fully explains the meaning behind the trend. At some point I think I may revisit the written explaination of the trend as I feel it may be a little vague. I feel I have set the bar quite high now to produce two further trend forecasts to the same standard.


The parts to the trend which went well were creating the moodboards and deciding on a theme. I knew immediately what I wanted to base the trend on once I had visited London and I really believe the trip benefitted me massively.


There are some parts to the trend which I thought did not go so well, the first was finding a reliable photographer and models that I thought fitted the trend. I have had a few issues with my photographer with the way I want the images edited and her availability. 
From getting the images back from the first shoot I realised that the one model needed to be reshot. This was a huge disapointment but I knew that it needed to be done. I learnt from this experience that in future shoots I would need to be very selective with the models and also to spend more time planning the makeup before a shoot as I feel it did not gel well together for the final outcome. This is another issue which I struggled with; designing a concept on a moodboard is fine but being able to convey this into a makeup design is something that I have struggled with and feel I need more practise in.


I have learnt many things from these shoots,the most important thing is to allow myself more time and to ensure that I am fully prepared (whether this is with the design or having clean brushes that are dry in time for use).


For future shoots I plan to look further a field than just Model Mayhem for models as I have heard from others that many models are unreliable and can cancel last minute. It is vital to my project that I pick a relevant model for each shoot so I can not afford this to happen to me. I have also decided to do the lighting set up for my photographer before the model and anyone has arrived. This way when the photographer arrives I can get started with shooting straight away.


As this trend is only made up of two images, the budget and costs were not too expensive. Overall I spent £150.45. In this budget, some items were returned and some others can be used in other images so although it sounds expensive it can be justified. 


So moving on to trend 2; S/S 2014.


 I decided to look at previous S/S to get a better idea of what the trends are for this time of year.