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MY FINAL PROJECT VIDEO

MODELS: 2 MALES, 2 FEMALES 

MAKEUP ARTIST 

EQUIPMENT USED: BEAUTY DISH, REFLECTORS, SOFT BOX, RED, CHAMPAGNE, GREY BACKDROP

CAMERA: NIKON D3300

VIDEO ENDS AT 1MIN 47SECS

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RmK/RmQ

Here are some of my final images from my project RmK/RmQ

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MY MOOD BOARD FOR MY PROJECT RmK/RmQ (Rich Melanin King/Rich Melanin Queen) - How to make your vision come to life

I have always had this project in mind, and I wanted to portray the beauty and empower women and men of colour. This project is to show that we are not how the media perceives us and we are Rich Melanin Kings and Queens!

In order for me to successfully do this project, I created a mood board full of ideas, inspiration, colours, and the type of models I wanted to shoot. 

After I created my mood board, the next step was to put a casting out which specifically stated that I need models and a makeup artist for a collaborative project. This casting was posted on Instagram where models and makeup artist could either comment on the post stating they were interested or directly messaged me on Instagram. This way I got a variety of models and makeup artists to chose from that I believed would go with my vision. Overall, we received over 30 people saying they were interested. 

*background image on casting sheet taken and edited by me*

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SOME SHOTS I TOOK

Here is the images which I took of the model. The lighting I used was the beauty dish and I had the model posing in front of a white background and also managed to capture her in her unique moments! 

I used photoshop to edit these images, and I believe that as I have began to progress my editing skills have enhanced and I am beginning to find my own unique style of taking and editing my pictures. 

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Behind the Scenes of Photographers...

KNOODLES

As well as the in house photographers, a photographer came along to this models shoot and took photos of her and I managed to take a shot of her whilst he was doing so

IN house photographer: NSWPHOTOGRAPHY

In this shoot, I got the opportunity to watch one of the in house photographers to take headshots and beauty shots for this beautiful model. The equipment that he used was a beauty dish which results to a wide surface area of lighting hitting the model, a reflector which intensifies the highlights on the models face and body and soft box which was facing the white backdrop in order to reduce the intensity of the models shadows. 

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4 photographers - 1 model

I was fortunate enough to be in the position to work alongside amazing beauty and fashion photographers, Labelle London, NSWPhotography and RGZGCreative. 

This has taught me that photography is a very diverse as we all have different ways of taking our images and editing them which results to uniquely composed images overall and I believe this is one of the best things about photography and it brings everyones differences together. On the other hand, we eventually become inspired by one another, which is a blessing! 

Additionally, my photography skills enhanced MASSIVELY, I was able to see what the photographers set their camera settings to, the way they positioned the lighting, the different directions they gave the model, and the different angels they took their photos. As you can see, this resulted in a very high end beauty/fashion photograph. I edited my images using photoshop, I adjusted the image, dodge and burned the hair and top to add more contrast to the image retouched the face and body of the model and I got rid of the stray hairs caused by the fan by using the clone tool.

As you will see below, all images are different!

Equipment I used:

-  Camera: Nikon D3300

- Lighting: Beauty Dish, Soft Box Light 

- Backdrops: Champagne, Blue, Pink/blue, backdrop wall

- Fan

MY IMAGES

LABELLE LONDON

NSW PHOTOGRAPHY

RGZGCreative

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a bit about me...

- student photographer

- interested in photography since 2010

- I specialise in portrait, landscape, beauty, fashion photography and more!

- the work below is mine 

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2 photographers that helped me with my photography skills via Youtube!

JESSICA KOBIESSI: Fashion and portrait photographer 

Jessica Kobiessi posts tutorials on youtube such as editing and retouching, outdoor location tutorials, natural light photography and she also does different photography challenges such as ‘ugly locations challenge’, ‘taking pictures of strangers’, ‘toy camera challenge’ and multiple series where her and other photographers come together and shoot the same model, on the best ways to take your photos in indoor locations and outdoor locations, she mentions the best way to use the lighting that you have and as a bonus she also has tutorials on editing in photoshop and lightoom! Jessica Kobiessi makes you realise that you do not need the best camera, or the best equipment to become a photographer and I can honestly say this made my photography life much simpler as I used to believe everything has to be high in quality to achieve the best quality image. But now I truly believe that it hasn't got to do with that, it is the way you take the image that is important and at the end of the day, everyone has a different and unique way of taking their images.

She was recently involved in a video with Canon and she mentioned that she takes pictures of mostly women, as she likes them to be independent, have power and attitude. I believe her images are very empowering for women and as she is a female photographer producing amazing images it is very inspiring that she has taken her photography so far! 

(the photographer herself)

JESSICA WHITIKAR

Jessica Whitikar is a portrait photographer who also creates youtube videos on photography tips for beginners, how she edits her images and behind the scene  videos of her photography shoots which consists of her directing the model and  using different props around her to add to the way she composes her image and she does videos based on pricing your photography which is very essential to me as a photographer, as I am beginning to place a price on the images I take and edit for people. Another one of her videos is how to contact model and stylist, which is very helpful for when I want to do shoots with models.

Jessica Whitikar takes images of people especially in their authentic moments; she inspired me to do the same when I started to build my portfolio, I took images of my friends in moments when they were being themselves and freely posing however was comfortable to them rather than me giving them constant directions. As well as capturing the moment, she has also done videos on how to pose models who have very little experience in photography. When expanding my portfolio, I was able to learn how to pose male models and this was very helpful to know as taking pictures of females is very different from males, as they have different features from one another.

(the photographer herself)

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If I was behind this photographers lens...

Photographer: Koray Hussein

This is a portrait image which is taken in front of a window; the lighting is a back light, taken indoors where I assume the indoor lights were switched off in order to lightly enhance the shadows in the image, the light still enters the room and this allows light to bounce off the walls of the bedroom and the white sheet and curtain. The model is sitting in the centre of the window and the white cloth and curtain creates a 90 degree angle, which overall draws the attention to the model and makes her the focus of the image. Additionally, it adds to the whole aesthetic of the image, the colour she is wearing ties in very well with her surroundings and creates a nice neutral image (e.g, the white shirt matches very well with with the curtains and window/s in the background, her bottoms also ties in very well with the plants and the brick walls in the background)

If I was Koray Hussein I would take a close up portrait image of the model either sitting closer to the white curtain or in front of the white curtain and leaning against the window or towards the curtain where more light would hit her face. I’d keep her eyes closed and use the white curtain as a prop by bringing it towards my camera lens, which would result to a white out of focus effect. It would also be nice to add fairy lights, a white rose or the reflection coming from a prism to create a positive vibe in the image and to add more to the image. 

I would keep the editing style that Koray Hussein used to edit this image as it gives a soft film to the overall image. 

Photographer: Micaiah Carter 

I believe this image is a studio image with built back drops, or the background may have been photoshopped in. the light that is hitting the model is very warm, and not harsh. This creates a beautiful highlight on her body and face. The background creates a nice contrast with the model, as she is wearing a navy blue/grey dress which ties in well with the blue background, the outer background also ties in well with her skin complexion and the ground goes well with the ground. I love that the background is a gradient, as the highlights of the background contrasts well with the highlight on her body and the jewellery that she is wearing. Overall, it is a mixture of highlights, shadows and a very warm and subtle effect. 

If I was Micaiah Carter, the backdrops would be solid enough for the model to lean her shoulder blades against lighter backdrop, with her left arm left hanging and her left leg slightly sticking out of the slit in the dress. This would result to the highlights showing on there leg, then I would take a shot with her face looking at the camera and away from the came, looking up to extend the length and highlight on her neck. I would switch the blue backdrop horizontally so she is on the lighter side of the backdrop. I would still keep the same editing style as I like the warmth it adds to the image.

If I was to keep the image the same, I would also take shots including a male model of a dark complexion, I would ensure that he wears a suit made of the same material. I would position him on either the highlighted side of the backdrop or the shadowed side. If he is standing the shadowed side of the image, I would want him to face the opposite direction from the model, and looking at the camera, this way the highlight from the light would still hit his body and the female models body.   

Photographer: Cara Stricker 

This is a studio image which has been taken with a mixture of white lighting which looks as though it is coming from the top of the studio and pink light which looks as though it is being directed to the bottom half of her body. This overall creates a two tone lighting effect. The long white line looks like a long rectangular beam of light or it is some sort of tape stuck along the backdrop. This helps to draw the focus onto the model and the ties the overall image together as it goes very well with the outfit of the model, the beam of light comes across subtle and welcoming. Overall the image is highlighted well, which is a positive vibe created. 

If I was Cara Stricker, I would add a silver/foil curtain on the right side of the long beam of light or against the whole backdrop. I would keep the lighting the same and take images of the model being positioned the same way, however I would take images from multiple angles (e.g. close up portrait, close up landscape, from a low point of view, and from a birds eye point of view) I would also ensure that the beam of light is included in some of the shots. 

I would also tell the model to lay on top of the beam of light so that it would go across her face, he hair would remain out and I would definitely incorporate a prism to reflect on her face, additionally I will add an actual prism right by her to add to the reflection and the overall image

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Behind the Scenes of Maternity shoot and product shoot

This day of my work experience was and amazing learning experience. I got the chance to see a maternity shoot which this lovely lady booked to shoot with one of the in house photographers (RGZGCreative). She brought balloons over as probs, and the crown head band. I also saw the way the photography positioned the lighting and the way in which he took the images in different angles and also the different directions that he gave the customer.

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Studio Hire, Studio equipment and pricing

At The Lounge Studio, people are able to hire the studio (30£p/h) so that they can shoot or film or people are able to book their in house photographers ‘Labelle London’, ‘NSWPhotography’ and ‘RGZGCreative’ as they offer packages that customers can pick from in order to shoot with them. I was lucky enough to watch different photographers, videographers and makeup artists use the studio space for different reasons and for their business/projects.

The Lounge Studio is an amazing place, the have a range of lighting equipment, backdrops and props that people can use whenever they have a shoot. They also have a makeup station where makeup artists or hairstylists can do the hair and makeup of their models. They have a clothing rack for people to hang the outfits they would be using for their shoot. 

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photography inspirations

HOUSEOFENID

JESSICA KOBEISSI

MEEKS RAYVON

MICAIAH CARTER

LUCA PERRIN

ADRIENNE RAQUEL

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NETWORKING EVENT: 8 EYEZ EVENT - GUEST SPEAKER LABELLE LONDON

I was fortunate enough to be invited to an event hosted by ‘8 EYEZ’, where they offer young creatives the opportunity to showcase their talents through media production and events. Labelle was a guest speaker, and she mentioned that she was a fashion photographer that owns her own studio. I saw this as a great opportunity to go up to her and ask her whether she offered work experience and fortunately she did. She was handed me her business card and I emailed her. Fast forward, she was happy to take me on board and my work experience journey began!!!