Development Three

To develop my project further, I wanted to show the effects of disorders like bulimia and anorexia. The first thing I knew affected these disorders is weight. The main cause of these disorders is weight because those affected are so certain that they aren't skinny enough that they go to extreme measures to become 'perfect'. I wanted to show this in a way that didn't seem too personal. I didn't want to upset anyone by having real people show the effects, so instead I came up with the idea of using the Barbie dolls. I felt this would prevent it being personal as well as showing even those classed as 'perfect' aren't happy.

I chose to do this idea at home to see if a natural setting would make the image look realistic, so I found a Barbie doll and tape measure to start a photo shoot. This photo shoot consisted of the Barbie being 'hung' by the tape measure to represent how being weight-conscious can be life threatening. 

Here is a photo from the photo shoot of the Barbie being 'hung'. Your eye leads to the Barbie because her hair colour stands out from the plain colours. The composition is to the left to create the rule of three so your eye leads to the main part of the image. It wouldn't look right in the middle because it would look staged.

I used an aperture of F/5.3 and a shutter speed of 1/2 sec. This is because I had a dull light in my room so I had to allow a lot of light to come through. 
The colours consist of blonde, white and black with the blonde with no high contrast. This is great because it shows how this is a serious matters and represents how dark it can be going through those emotions.
I do not feel like this image is very strong because the background is distracting by the lines on the door and the shadows. I was unable to change the composition of the image and couldn't find any other ways to develop this image because her face was too happy so I had to hide it, and it didn't look realistic enough.

I chose to not continue with this idea or even attempt to improve it. Instead, I chose to start a new photo shoot still using the tape measure to represent weight. This idea was to use the tape measure to go around a person's body. As there were no models available I didn't want to waste time so I use myself as the model by using self timer to allow me to take the photos. I also did this photo shoot at home as it was only an idea so I wanted to test it out before spending school time on it.

This first image shows me wrapping the tape measure around my stomach as that is the main area most people focus on when thinking about weight. Hip bones and skinny waists are a massive part of society's issues with weight.

Your eye leads to the stomach because the tape measure captures your eye and guides your eye around the stomach area. I broke the rule of three by putting the composition so it was in the middle. This was to keep the focus on the whole stomach.
I used an aperture of F/5 and a shutter speed of 1 sec because the lighting was really bad so I needed to allow a lot of light to come through.
The colour include black, white and nude which are all dark contrasts. I didn't want to use bright colours because it's not a cheery subject.
The mood created is insecurity because weight is something loads of people have insecurities about. This image exposes the stomach area which is why it creates that mood.
To improve this image I would want to remove the shadows because they are a massive distraction and would move the hands so they were in a better position or out the image as they are also distracting the eye.

To stick to my aim of the project I used different angles for my photos; one of them being this close up. This image shows the tape measure being wrapped around the neck which helps create the mood of control. The tape measure is strong and around a vulnerable area which shows how much control weight has on people.

Your eye leads to the cross over in the tape measures because the lines lead straight to that point. 
I used an aperture of F/5.6 and a shutter speed of 1 sec because I needed a lot of light to get through due to the poor lighting. I also needed a wide depth of field to keep the softness of the skin.
The colours include nude, brunette, black and white which are all low contrasts.
To improve this image, I would have the model wear something else because you can see it in the image which ruins it as it's distracting. I feel it would look better if it was bare.

This photo shoot also wasn't as successful as I hoped it would be. I feel it would look better in the studio as it would remove the shadows and be much brighter. I followed this through by going into the studio on the next available date, and re-shooting this photo shoot of my myself as I had no models. This was proven difficult because of having to keep testing the composition but I feel I finished with a few good images.

The first image shows the tape measure wrapped around the waist being pulled by my own hand. This was to represent that being weight-conscious is what someone does to themselves; things may trigger it, but it's the person who usually does bad things to themselves.
Your eye leads towards the tape measure because it stands out against the rest of the black photos. I feel rule of three was used because it's slightly to the right side which is where your eye gets drawn to.
The techniques I used were an aperture of F/22 and a shutter speed of 1/125 sec. This is because I was in the studio so I didn't need a lot of light to get through, and I also wanted a narrow depth of field so my image looked sharp.
The colours used are black and white because I really wanted the tape measure to stand out so if I had used bright colours it wouldn't be as easy to see.
The mood I feel from this image is sadness because you interpret from this image that the person is so worried about their weight that they look like they're forcing themselves to be thinner. This saddens me because I feel no one should have to go through such pain of hating your own body.
The textures are the fabric feel of the t-shirt, the smoothness of the skin and the roughness of the tape measure.
To improve this image, I would have the tape measure further up as the top half of the image looks bare.
 
This image is a similar photo but at a different angle. Your eye leads towards the hand because of the pink catching your eye, and also because it follows the rule of three in the left corner. The tape measure then works as a leading line to guide you around the body.
The techniques I used were an aperture of F/22 and a shutter speed of 1/125 sec. This is because I wanted the image to have a narrow depth of field to capture the numbers on the tape measure, and also because there was a lot of light in the studio so I didn't need to allow too much in.
The colours and textures in this image are the same, although there is a hint of pink in this one because of the nail varnish which I feel works well because it represents the girl; as if that's the only 'girly' part left of her.
This image clearly shows that it's the model pulling the tape measure around herself which gives a mood of disgust; it's like she doesn't like her weight which is what I wanted to show through this image.

This last image is also similar and is also at a different angle. I got closer up to the camera to really show off the tape measure. Your eye leads towards the hand because it follows the rule of three in the top left corner. I feel it then works as a leading line because you follow the tape measure around the rest of the photo. The composition is to the right as I wanted to show the hand looking strained to make it seem like she's really trying to get herself to look thinner.
The techniques I used were an aperture of F/22 and a shutter speed of 1/125 sec. This was to make a narrow depth of field so your eye didn't get distracted by the background, and also so the numbers on the tape measure were clear.
The colours and textures are also the same in this image, as well as the mood.



To develop this idea further, I was suggested to make my tape measure shoot look like her body had gone to represent the idea of the body disappearing. I chose to do this by going into Photoshop, selecting the hands and tape measure and then pasting it onto a new layer which was completely black. The image below shows the results. You can see how the body is completely removed, as if it had disappeared. The only downside is that if you look closely you can see where I have cropped some areas out.



 

I am quite happy with my results from the tape measure shoot, although I do see loads of images that show tape measures being used so I wanted to create something more unique.
This is where the pig idea came to mind. When trying to find a unique way of representing weight issues, I was listening to Lady Gaga's song 'Swine' which gave me the idea of having a model look like a pig. A word loads of people use as insults is 'pig' as someone who eats loads usually gets called a 'greedy pig' or something along those lines. I decided to do a photo shoot of a model with a pig's face to represent how people who suffer from these disorders feel like a pig when they eat. Below are the results.

This first image shows a close up of the face of the pig mask but I positioned it in a way to make the body look smaller than the pig mask to make it seem like it's taking over the model. Your eye draws directly to the mask because it stands out against the other colours. There is a rule of three in the top right corner because that is where the head is tilted.
The techniques I used were an aperture of F/22 and a shutter speed of 1/125 sec. This is because of the lighting already been bright so I didn't need a lot getting through, and also because I wanted a narrow depth of field to capture the detail in the mask (like the wrinkles).
The colours in this image include nude, red and black which are fairly neutral looking colours, but work together well to create a harsh look.
The textures in this image include the roughness of the pig mask and the smoothness of the normal skin to show contrast of the two.
The mood I get from this image is possession because I feel like the mask looks like it's overtaking a normal person's body.

This second image shows more of the top half of the normal person so you can really see how it's affecting the person. The arms are in a creepy position to make it seem like the pig is taking over the whole body and affecting how the person acts.
Your eye gets drawn to the mask still because of the brightness of the red, and the composition follows the rule of three to make it draw your attention.
The techniques used were an aperture of F/22 and a shutter speed of 1/125 sec. This is because the lighting was bright so I didn't need to allow too much in, and I wanted a narrow depth of field to capture all the detail.
The colours include nude, red, pink and black which all work together to create a dark and harsh look. This therefore creates a dark mood as it looks like something from a horror movie.
To improve this image, I would probably place the left hand in the photo so it's not cut off.

This next image shows a close up of the pig mask with hands at either side. This was to create an effect of the pig coming out of the person even if they try and block it out.
The composition is in the middle to create a symmetrical look to show off the different angles on it's face. It breaks the rule of thirds but this was intentional as I wanted to gain a unique angle to look at it from.
I used an aperture of F/22 and a shutter speed of 1/125 sec to show the detail of the mask and hands.
The colours and textures are the same as before, as well as the mood.
To improve this image, I would remove the shadows on the hands so it's not as distracting.

 

This next image shows the pig at a new angle on the floor to represent the model acting like a pig on all fours. It shows even more how the pig is trying to overtake the body to represent how some people let their thoughts over take their actions.
The pig mask is right in the middle and closer than the body so it attracts your eye. The arms then work as leading lines to guide you around the rest of the body.
I used an aperture of F/22 and a shutter speed of 1/125 sec because I didn't want it to look too light because it's a dark subject, and I also wanted to show the detail.
The colours, textures and moods are the same as before because it's a similar photo.
To improve this image, I would want the bra strap and beauty spot to be removed because I think they are too distracting. I feel I could easily make this improvement so I went on Photoshop and used the 'Clone' tool to remove the strap and spot. I feel it made my picture much better as there are less distractions, although if you look closely you can see where I edited it so I may have to try harder to make it look realistic next time.

 

I then wanted to include the tape measure into the pig photo shoot to show the relation between the pig and my theme. I wanted it to represent how some people feel they are pigs because of their weight.

Your eye is drawn to the pig mask because it stands out against the other colours and is near the top right corner following the rule of three. The composition is at a diagonal angle to make it look like the pig is falling to represent how some people feel controlling their weight is the only thing keeping them going.
I used an aperture of F/22 and a shutter speed of 1/125 sec because there was a lot of light in the studio so I didn't need to allow too much in, and I wanted a narrow depth of field to capture the detail.
The colours in this image are the same (black, white, nude and red) and the textures are the same (rough and smooth).
The mood I get from this image is reliance because it looks as though the person is depending on the tape measure to hold it up, which represents how vulnerable people with disorders can be.