EVALUATION

Throughout the brief of Heroes and Villains I have thoroughly enjoyed taking photographs of myself in someone else' shoes. For my hero/icon I chose my favourite, inspirational model of all time, Twiggy. The main reason I chose her as my Icon is because of her influence towards a decade, the change she made regarding fashion and the influence she had on the female gender as a whole.
I feel quite proud of myself with my final image, although it could be more perfected, I feel as though the lighting was similar and the expression was on point.. although now I have finished I feel I could re-shoot and do a better job. But its all a learning curve.
For my Villain I chose the inspirational Nan Goldin, with her life as just an inspiration an whirlwind of fun times gradually falling apart leaving her with nothing to remember her past except photographs.
I feel the makeup is similar to Nan's beat up face, and the expression is dramatically asking for help.
I think the main reason I went ahead with this one is because of the Documentary of her life we watched in lesson really touched me- I am happy with my final outcome but mainly because Photoshop saved my life. Editing really give the photo the final touches they needed.
For my final Self-Portrait I used a basic 35mm film camera to show a natural photograph of my in the mirror. I like the simpleness to the image which gives the viewer connotations of passion within the photography world- this is how Id like people to view me as a person.
Overall throughout this brief I have gained various traits, working with lighting in the studio, using the Hasselblad more intensely to recreate photographs, working with people, makeup techniques, photoshop techniques and also working within a deadline.
If I was to re-do the brief I think I would control my time-management and use the studio/ different places to shoot more to recreate photographs so they almost can't tell they've been recreated.

To Display my work I have used a bigger frame for Twiggy as I think it was most appropriate, a small frame for the self-portrait. Although for my Nan Goldin image I have just used a slip as I don't think the image is meant to be framed as it is a documentation of her life.

SELF-PORTRAIT

FINAL IMAGES

HERO/ICON - TWIGGY (LESLEY HORNBY)

VILLAIN - NAN GOLDIN

SELF PORTRAIT

I decided to use a Pentax film camera 35mm to take my self-portrait.. I wanted the camera to be in the photograph as its one of my biggest passions. The background is blurred with me as the central focus. I wanted to pull a happy natural expression so people could associate my happiness with my passion. I decided to use colour film as I felt that it created a warm tone to my photograph.

Shooting Twiggy

I decided to use the Hasselblad camera. I felt that using the studio would be best to recreate the photograph as Twiggy was in a studio herself. I set up a light to shine down on the left side of my face to create the shadow the my right cheek..

I kept the photograph I was recreating of Twiggy by my side so I could do the same facial expression. (Surprised). My friend Kristal helped me shoot the photographs, she helped me with composition and expression.

I bought a blonde wig but I decided to use my own hair instead because my hair colour was more similar than the wig.

I combed my hair back into the 1960's pixie haircut that Twiggy has with a side parting.

Shooting Nan Goldin

I decided to shoot the photograph at home, as I had a window similar to the one in her photograph..
I thought the best camera to use Canon 5D, with a flash also to create similar lighting to Nan's self-portrait.

I had a wig similar to Nan's own hair, although it was red I knew it would be easy to edit on photoshop. I used a sheet for the darker part of the image.
I tried to get into character by reading books about her and watching documentaries, I wanted to portray the emotions she does on the image- a look of pain, uncomfortableness, almost asking for  help.
Overall I was quite satisfied with the lighting, I felt that using photoshop would help me include the finishing touches and green lighting techniques.
Above I edited my left eye by using the smudge tool, to make it look as if my eye was bleeding..
my sister Sherilyn helped me with the make-up to get the same look as Nan herself.

Things to edit:
Green lighting
Hair colour
Eliminate curtain tie
Facial colour

NAN GOLDIN

This is the photograph I am going to replicate for my 'villain', she is not necessarily a bad person, but she has been some through some trauma. 

For a number of years I was deeply involved with a man. We were well suited
emotionally and the relationship became very interdependent. Jealousy was used to

inspire passion. His concept of relationships was rooted in … romantic idealism … I craved the dependency, the adoration, the satisfaction, the security, but sometimes I felt claustrophobic. We were addicted to the amount of love the relationship supplied ... Things between us started to break down, but neither of us could make the break. The desire was constantly reinspired at the same time that the dissatisfaction became undeniable. Our sexual obsession remained one of the hooks. One night, he battered me severely, almost blinding me.

(Quoted in The Ballad of Sexual Dependency, p.8.)

The photograph above is a self-portrait in colour of Nan staring into the camera. Her eyes are all swollen with red blood in the white of her eye which mirrors the shade of her lipstick. The photograph portrays the end to her long-term abusive relationship as well as a period of her documented life. The dark shadows behind her head indicate the use of flash and also that the photograph was taking at nighttime as their is no light coming through the curtains.

Getting into character

For my Iconic photo shoot of Twiggy I have decided to use the Hasselblad camera, because I feel that it captures a more close up intricate detail shot which would be ideal for a close-up of Twiggy's face..
Below is the chosen image I am going to replicate:

To recreate an image the lighting is particularly important, as you can see the light is shining on her left cheek(shooting perspective), which is creating a shadow on her right cheek. The background also is bleached out with a slight tint. I need to pay particular attention to her composition also as quite a lot of her photographic stereotype is central.
I then began to watch make-up tutorials on youtube, to get the right sixties look I needed to portray.. the link below shows how Twiggy herself created her look, It was extremely helpful..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DHJFhnSwyE

Here is a quick snapshot I took of myself after creating the sixties make-up look, I was quite pleased as it was quite difficult to do..

The Ballad of Sexual Dependency

Another one of Nan Goldin's books. A visual diary chronicling the struggle for intimacy and understanding between friends, family, and lovers collectively described by Goldin as her "tribe". Her work describes a world that is charged and seething with life.
Quoted by Nan Goldin herself, " Real memory, which these pictures trigger , is an invocation of the color, smell, sound, and physical presence, the density and flavor of life"

The Devil's Playground

The thing I like about this book (The Devil's Playground) and about most of her books in general really, is that all of her photographs tell a story, there doesn't need to be any text.. the power of realism and a sense of life that is portrayed is compelling to me personally or any viewer I feel can appreciate the intimacy of her work.

SELF PORTRAIT

Nan Goldin has not only inspired me to recreate her for my 'Villain' but also my self-portrait..
Nan Goldin has documented various photographs of herself, after she freed herself from drugs, she took an image of herself to represent change. As the AIDS epidemic hit she lost many of her friends-who she classed as her family- she confronted the reality of AIDS, trying to 'preserve' her dying friends, to keep them alive by taking photos of them. I think Nan Goldin's way of coping was the power of photography.

'A Self-Portrait in Daylight'

"The party was over but I couldn’t stop.’ As Nan slipped further into addiction, she became isolated, reclusive in her loft for months on end. Drugs, her intended liberation, became an imprisonment. Upon leaving the darkness of her apartment, daylight had to be rediscovered, and it was reclaimed through photography- to relearn, her face through self-portraiture, and then the external world."

NAN GOLDIN

http://beta.videos.sapo.pt/Ystuom59225zPJLZrmp7

The above link is a Documentary about Nan Goldin called "I'll be your Mirror", we watched the video during lesson. The Documentary is about the well-known photographer 'Nan Goldin', and her life.
I am going to recreate one of her images as my Villain. The film is a very personal journey through Nan's life and career- both very much entwined. She is narrating throughout the Documentary, as she interviews friends and explains the intimacy of her photos. I have never been so amazed by a Photographers work until I watched this Documentary although it made me very emotional to watch it. Her work is almost an attempt to capture and save the people she loves. Goldin's upbringing was shattered by the suicide of her older sister, this could explain why she lived her youth the way she did..
Her photographer portray a sense of energy - with the highs of life and the emptiness of death. Although her photographs are in the past, they still seem full of life and real - this is what I like about her work. A sense of meaning, a sense of living on the edge and a sense of realism.

Avedon the Sixties

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its nosiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only"

TWIGGY

1960s style is remembered as the period that broke with fashion traditions. Below are some of the potential fine images for my 'Icon' and for some reason I am drawn to the second photograph. I need to establish what were key aspects of the decade's style. (Bright colours, bold shapes, patent shoes, cartoonish eye makeup, pixie hair).

Leslie Hornby

Leslie Hornby known as 'Twiggy', was discovered at the age of 17. She was known for her endlessly long, stock legs, a high pale forehead and her innocent Bambi eyes. Twiggy dressed im Quant's shifts and minis. Twiggy's size was not only most young girl's dream, but also their trauma - many girl's started dieting and trying to be like their idol. Twiggy was the first fashion model to achieve international fame, with a childlike innocent look that everyone wanted to look like.
I have decide I am going to replicate one of her famous images as my 'Iconic/Hero' photograph, I would have probably been one of the young girls in the 60's who looked up to her style, way of working and her confidence to break out new styles.
I think its essential to read into a persons history for me to be able to get in her character to replicate an image of her.. below is a short video clip of her modelling/dancing..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrJjxlP0iYM

1960's Icons of Fashion

I began reading one of my mams psychology books 'Fashion, culture, and identity' by Fred Davis. The book stated 'That the clothes we wear make a statement is itself a statement that in this age of heightened self-consciousness has virtually become a cliche' - It made me question the nature of the statements we make with our clothes as well as other material artefacts we surround ourselves with. 

The book underlines the deeper meanings through the idea of fashion as a culture. 

Paying particular interest to the Icons of the sixties below are some familiar faces you've probably seen before..

Catherine Deneuve

 Audrey Hepburn

 Twiggy (Who I am considering recreating)

Mary Quant 

Jean Shrimpton

Icons of Fashion

Whilst writing my Contextual Studies essay about the 1960's, I took a great interest in the styles of fashion and famous models around that time. I really enjoyed researching and reading about the youth-oriented pop culture and English fashion scenes, which flourished in swinging London throughout the 1960's. I think the main reason why I took such a big interest was because of the dramatic change from the previous decade- The Beatles appeared with 'unmanly' long hair, whilst women cut their hair short. The 60's was more about fun, with extreme youthfulness.. reading about this particular decade makes me feel like I slightly missed out, I get a sense of excitement reading about how Mary Quant's new invention of mini-skirts and the newly considered attractive appearance for women.

Self-portrait Shooting

I booked out the studio and took some photographs of myself using the Hasselblad camera, I thought it was a good idea to use different lighting techniques and play around with different lenses. I also thought it was best to experiment in the studio to practice different techniques so I felt more confident when it came to recreating the Hero and Villain of my choice.
Below are some screenshots of my self-portrait photo shoot..

I think the photographs are quite humorous, I like the soft lighting of the background. I did benefit from experimenting in the studio, however, I don't like any of the above images as my final self-portrait. I feel that I would rather portray myself in a deeper way, rather than just a plain Self-portait. Although I have an idea for my Hero shoot and I feel that the Hasselblad camera would be perfect to use. (This photo shoot has benefitted myself in many ways even though none of the images above are a potential final Self-portrait.)

Self Portrait Research

Martin Parr, one of my favorite photographers, created about called 'Autoportrait' - a small book filled with 57 self-portraits. The photographers are taken by studio photographers, street photographers and photo booths across the world. The book shows Martin Parr in various different ways, it shows a range of portraitist's techniques from airbrushing to digital manipulation.

Self- Portrait

For part of the brief we are required to produce a self-portrait of how you intend the word to see you. I am thinking about doing a photograph of myself with a camera inside the photograph. I would like people to see me as a photographer, who creates photographs of the world around us.
I am not 100% about what self-portrait I will actually create, however I think I may use a film camera.

Ernesto (Che) Guevara

Again from the book 'Photo Icons' -' When Enersto (Che) Guevara met his death at the hands of the Bolivian army in October 1967, he was transformed from a living legend into a true cult figure. Four years earlier, Rene Burri had made a portrait if Che which, together with the portrait by Alberto Korda - is probably the most-reproduced icon of this twentieth-century martyr.'

Photo Icons

I picked up a book in the library called 'Photo Icons' - I came across the extremely famous photo 'Migrant Mother' by Dorothea Lange.

The image is iconic in many many different ways. The image basically sums up stock market crash, economic crisis, and catastrophic drought in the southern states: with good reason the decade following 1929 came to be known in the USA as 'the bitter years'. This is when the photograph became very famous, taken by Dorothea Lange portraying a migrant worker and her children, thereby creating an image that has established itself as a timeless metaphor for human suffering.

Villains

"A villain (also known in film and literature as the "antagonist," "baddie", "bad guy", or "black hat") is an "evil" character in a story, whether a historical narrative or, especially, a work of fiction. The villain usually is the antagonist(though can be the protagonist), the character who tends to have a negative effect on other characters. A female villain is sometimes called a villainess (often to differentiate her from a male villain). Random House Unabridged Dictionary defines villain as "a cruelly malicious person who is involved in or devoted to wickedness or crime; scoundrel; or a character in a play, novel, or the like, who constitutes an important evil agency in the plot""

I began researching Villains by looking up the definition because although we can easily define a 'bad' person, its always helpful to know the deeper meaning - as I have to become on for my photo shoot.
Personally I also think that a Villain can be someone who has had a terrible life- not only in films or documentary's. The brief states that we can become a 'Villain' from society's point of view.
Below are some famous shots I come across on the internet..