Photoshoot 1: Surrealism Body Paint: Work Diary Evaluation -

Photoshoot 1: Work Diary Evaluation - 

Equipment Used: 
Canon EOS 450D, standard lens, snoot, key light and black backdrop. 

Settings: 
1/125, F/8 ISO 200.

Lighting: 
Snoot and key light. 

Theory: 
Beauty, race, gender etc is skin deep.

Favourite(s):

This image is my joint favourite of the shoot as the black light worked well with the paint and created the style that I was hoping for. The image is surreal in that the outline of the subject is unclear where it begins or ends.

This image is also a favourite of mine as the majority of the subject is in frame and the painting on the arm appears to be spreading up the arm whilst the black jeans also create a surreal image in that the body appears suspended in mid air due to the lighting.

Least Favourite:

The above image is the least favourite of the series despite that it conveys both sections of painted area. The positioning of the model was difficult to convey both areas of paint and thus the effect was lost as the painting was lost. Also, the paint on the face of the subject does not work as well as the paint does not extend to reach the black backdrop and thus create the desired effect.

Evaluation and Development -

This shoot was mostly successful in that the original idea of utilising the practice of low key lighting in cohesion with a Man Ray inspired body paint technique was executed well. The arm of the subject appears to disappear directly into the black backdrop as was the desired outcome that is often used by many make-up artists on social media. The only negatives that have arisen from my initial shoot is that the model is a friend who does not have experience posing and as such the final outcome is not as dynamic as hoped for. Moreover, the lighting did prove difficult to set up and to ensure that the body paint blended into the background the images are darker than was expected. Despite this it was still an insightful exploration of surrealism for the first photoshoot.

I am unsure as to whether I will implement this skill any further within my photographic shoots as the preparation is extremely time consuming and I have achieved the connotative meanings that I wanted to imply already within these images.