Date: 8th April 2016
Camera: Canon EOS 450D
Editing Software: Photoshop CC 2014
Settings: F/8, ISO 200, 1/125
Plans For Shoot: My plan for todays shoot is to photograph a series of objects that represent the field of men's work in my gender equality series derived from the personal opinions exam section.
What I Hope to Achieve: I hope to achieve a series of photographs that depict male work in its stereotyped state. This will be through the use of a variety of objects; my initial idea is to have wood that connotes a shed with DIY tools leaning against it, such as a shovel, but this may be too impractical to bring into college.
I am also hoping that a change of backdrop colour does not end the easily distinguishable connection to my inspirational photographer Phebe Schmidt. I have decided that I will shoot using a white backdrop as the blue and pink backgrounds provided a few difficulties in editing.
I would like that the composition in the photographs are well planned and constructed in a way that intrigues an audience and allows them to draw upon connotations of the work and the implicit meanings.
My final hope for today's shoot is that I will achieve at least four final outcomes that fit my hopes and expectations when it comes to aesthetics, colour, composition and other such aspects.
What I Actually Achieved: In todays shoot I believe I was mostly successful in creating a small series of photographs depicting a variety of stereotypes surrounding men;s work. For example, I used items such as a tie, calculator and a hole-puncher to depict the business world association with males whilst also employing the use of items including pliers, work goggles and a tape measure to portray the idea of males being those involved in DIY and manual labouring roles within a society revolving around gender equality.
In this particular shoot I was pleased with the white backdrop as it did not causes issues in editing like the pink backdrop did. The pink colour was tonally darker and brighter in patches and could not be amended in Photoshop CC 2014 using dodge and burn. I did not adjust the white backdrop this time, except for removing one muddy mark, as it was already bright enough and not patchy. I was pleased with this and thus think it may be the backdrop that I use in my final exam.
Furthermore, the composition, whilst not directly adhering to ideas such as the compositional grid method, remains aesthetically pleasing in my opinion. The somewhat cluttered but deliberate layout is placed in a way that the audiences eye is almost taken on a journey through the paths created by the various objects.
Finally, I was able to form a small series of photographs that documented stereotypes and labels about the male gender and the work associated with them.
What I Am Going To Do Next/ Progression:I will again be employing the white backdrop in my next shoot as I was so pleased with its appearance even without editing. Although, I will be developing my idea through the use of portraiture and physical manipulation next.
As the next shoot is not a table-top object shoot it is hard to suggest how I will experiment with composition. However, I will try to compose the portraits so that they are at eye-level and and are central within the frame of the photograph.
Least and Favourite Image Evaluation -
Least Favourite:
Favourite:
The reasoning behind the above pictures being my favourite and least favourite are for a few reasons.
My least favourite is so because a shadow from the soft box lighting is encroaching on the main section of the photograph. Additionally, the least favourite image does not have such a variety of items as in my favourite. The top image was too closely composed and thus appears chaotic.
The second photograph is my favourite as it is more careful in considering the composition, it studies both the stereotypical business and manual labouring extremes of male role stereotypes within society. Furthermore, the colour combinations, as enhanced by the blue tie, adheres to the stereotypical gender colours. In my favourite final image I was also able to edit out the muddy mark better than in the top image as the top image because the shadows behind the bolts made it difficult to use the clone stamp tool.
Meaning -
Denotation: DIY, business, work.
Connotation: Males are stereotypically the manual labourers or breadwinners who work in male dominated environments, more professions available to men than women.
Context: This photoshoot was done to influence peoples ideas that considering jobs either masculine or feminine is outdated due to advancements of technology, changing perceptions and different expectations of genders. Men should not be concerned about expressing themselves differently to the male role stereotypes due to fear of being ridiculed just the same as women and other gender should not. Inequality within the workplace is extremely common and needs to be addressed.
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