What my plan is after the deadline

I enjoyed working with dancers and fabric and want to continue this idea after the deadline. I want to achieve the image that Bruce Monk achieved in which the ballet dancers arms look like wings and they are all look like swans. I want to achieve this in the student with one dancer and instead of having her in a white leotard and would like to use a black leotard and black fabric around the arms to create the effect of the black swan.

Below is the image in which I am referring to. Photographer Bruce Monk

One of my University colleagues gave me the item to print on to fabric and I fell in love with the idea and want to try and print onto fabric. I know it won't be the easiest but would like to print one of my Lycra images on to Lycra. This will be difficult as it is stretchy fabric and could stretch back ad ruin the image but I would like to try this.

I have contacted David Farnell and printing lab to see whether they can print onto fabric but unfortunately they are unable to. I have heard that the textiles department in out University might be able to and will look into this. If not, I can always try putting emulsion on the fabric and projecting the images on the fabric and try process this myself but it might not be that easy to process in the chemicals but I will look into this more. I aim to print the black swan image onto shear fabric to match the movement of how a swan moves.

Below are some examples of images printed onto fabric

Gels and fabric

I tried using some gels in one of my test shoots but felt that it did not suit the image. After speaking with my tutor Katy Suggitt I thought that after my deadline I would work on using different gels to light my subject and whereas my shots are full portraits I would try using close ups as well. My tutor and I decided to go into the studio and have a play with the gel lights and the floaty fabric on a mannequin to see how it looks.

We looked out how the fabric looked with two different gels shone on the fabric, the shadows it created behind and how how the close up looks. Below are some example of the images Katy and myself captured. I would like to try and achieve his effect with a dancer in the studio and try coloured gels and close ups

Images I will and won't be entering

Below are the images I have entered into competitions. I have entered into the AOP Awards, I have sent off for the awards for the Moving Moments Awards and The Exposure Awards and I hope to be entering into more competitons in the future

I decided to enter this image because although I was not happy with the background, I like the idea and the way the dancer and the fabric and formed while photographing the image and have therefore, decided to enter the image based mainly on the idea on the image

The above two image are similar but I like the tone and texture of both images and the form the material has made. I will enter both as single images as the other images similar the these two are not as good with regards to the form of the fabric and the lighting.

The images below, are examples of work I captured and was planning on entering in to competitions but when I looked closely at them I decided not to enter then because in comparison to the images above I do not think they stand out as much and have minor flaws to them . Therefore, I have decided not to enter them into competitions.

I decided not to enter this image as I like the fact that her face is hidden and you have to look closely at the image to try work out where it is but the image is too dark and the form of her body has too much grain and in comparison to the others I decided not to use it.

The two images are above I stretched the latex fabric and using a back light asked the model to hold positions. I liked them to begin as I thought they look very surreal but after looking close at the image you can see certain marks on the fabric that distract you from the shadows

The above images I didn't enter because my person brief was to use fabric and dancers and the images above do not use fabric. With the image above I wanted to be a little more creative and try some techniques such as over laying and the use of shadows. Therefore, I have decided not to enter these images in to a competition

The above two image I haven't entered into a competition because even though they include the use of fabric I felt compared to the first image in Blackpool it didn't have that same effect. The first image you can see her face and the fabric is to high up and is not covering all her leg like I wanted. The second image I don't like how her leg isn't straight and although she is jumping her legs sticks out at an angle and personally I feel it looks to artificial.

Overall, I am happy with the images I have created and I have enjoyed capturing them. With the experience of working with the fabric, I want to expand to try and create the images I had in mind using a large format camera and a dancer with fabric. I will be continuing this idea further after the deadline

Final Floaty Studio Shots

I really liked the idea of the fabric becoming part of the dancer similar to the image below from the beach shot and since then I have wanted to try and achieve a similar shot. Therefore, I wanted to try and achieve this kind of image again but in the studio. So, as it was the last time I was in the studio before my deadline I wanted to try and achieve something similar to it.

Below is an example of what I would like to achieve but in the studio instead

Originally I wanted to use the purple fabric as this is a pastel colour and would not stand out as much as and I wanted it to blend with the model so it looks like they are one but I decided to try using a different colour. I wanted to use red to symbolise passion and to point out the fact that it is different but is still as one with the model. My aim was to get this image printed in out in metallic and would really make the red pop and stand out but personally I am not to sure whether this images is as striking and as effective as the image above. In these images I wanted to the dancer to perform the moves and not just pose them so she kicked her foots up to try and catch it but let go, so I would have to try and capture the images as her foot was at its highest point. I edited the image below by dodging the background to make it more white and the model has a bracelet round her foot and white marks near her groan area where she has missed putting her fake tan.

I changed the colour of the fabric to black and white to symbolise the good and bad within dance and becoming part of the dancer. Again I wanted to try and symbolise that the fabric is taking over her body and she is becoming free like the fabric. The opposite of what I wanted to achieve with the Lycra fabric where she felt constricted, this fabric allows her to be free. I have not edited these but will do and may enter them into a competition

Below are examples using the black and white fabric.

I like this one because you cant see her face so you are focusing more of the shape rather than looking at her face but I am not happy with her leg being bent but she was jumping slightly to try and create these images so it was hard for her not to bend and she landed

Again I like the image below as the fabric covers her whole body but her leg is bent and to be does not look correct but at the same time does look surreal so I am not too sure whether to use this image or not. I may possible choose this image as the effect of the body being hidden I prefer but I may photo shop her leg from a different shot that is straight into this image. The reason why I want it straight is in dance you have to make moves sharp and I don't feel that her leg is sharp in this shot.

The dancers leg is better in the shot as it is straight and she has jumped so is slightly different from the one with the red fabric but you can see her leg that is flicked up more that the others so again I am not too sure whether to edit this image or not

Overall I was much happier with the images I captured using the floaty fabric then in previous shots. I would still like to continue with this idea after my deadline and try and critique it similar to the Lycra shoot as I find the concept different. To find out which image(s) I have entered go to the blog that mentioned which competitions I have entered.

Below are contact sheets showing images I captured using the floaty and Lycra fabric in the studio for the last time before deadline

Final Lycra Studio Shots

This was the last time I had the studio and wanted to make the most of it. I have worked with Sophie Lee the dancer most of this project. Therefore, she understood what I was trying to achieve. I looked through my images using the Lycra and thought what I liked and didn't like and what I wanted to try and photograph. I liked the one where her face was tucked in and you couldn't tell where her head was so I wanted to try some without her face stretching through.

Below is an example

Another thing I noticed when looking through the Lycra images was that a lot if not most of them, Sophie's legs were spread apart and she was stood up straight so I wanted to capture some where she was at different heights whether that was on knelt on the floor or her legs bent

Below is an example of her knelt down on the floor.

I also got the dancer to lift her foot up some she is standing on one leg to see what effect it would give the fabric and it is different but because the fabric is not stitched at the bottom you can see parts of the fabric hanging down taking away the illusion that she is restricted within the fabric

Below is the images in which the dancer is stood on one leg

One of my favourite is the image below. I asked to stretch up and she did I liked the form that was created. Her foot is a step back and her knees are slightly bent so there is still some shape but I like how her arms and legs are extended making it look surreal and she looks to become thin and disappearing symbolizing the fabric is making her feel more constricted and it looks like she it starting to disappear.

Below one of my favourites

Overall, I am happy with the images I have captured throughout this project and I have enjoyed it and would like to continue working with dancers and fabric and critiquing the concept behind the idea of how dancers are free when dancing but they are bound to do certain styles and moves. To find out what images I have centered please go the blog that's mentioned this

You will find a contact sheet for these images in the blog that's says "Final Floaty Studio Shots"

Lycra Photo Shoot

I wanted to experiment more with the Lycra fabric, I was happy with the set up of the lighting but wants to continue more with the shapes of the fabric. I asked the model to try and break free to make is more natural and stronger. Below are two shots that I like from this shoot

I like how the arms are crossed and the head is tilted back given a different form of shape and symbolising the fact she feels restricted. I edited it by adding more exposure to give the image a high key lighting effect and outlined the dancer instead of her standing out from the back ground again symbolizing that because of the fabric she is becoming invisible.

Another one I like is the image below. I like how the lines of fabric have given it a different texture. Again I have editing the image but adding more exposure and light to the image.

Below is a contact sheet from that shoot.

Pole Dance- Test Images

I have a friend who does pole dancing and because some of the images I have taken are mainly about the shape of the person I wanted to continue with that in the future. These shots are primary research, I wanted to go and see what sort of positions my friend Megan Ellison could do. Below are some examples and at the bottom are contact sheets from that evening. My idea it to use low key lighting behind to highlight the pole dancer and make the positions stand out. I changed the images to black and white because it has a orange wall and I wanted to illustrate the pole dancers and not the colour of the walls

This idea I would like to work on as it is moving away from the fabric and focuses more on the shape but I could incorporate some different kind of fabric. I would like to also include more than one person in my images at a time and as seen below and in the contact sheets Megan and another person have done some duo work and posed together on one pole.

Contact sheets below

Studio Shoot

I decided to concentrate mainly of photographing dancers with the fabric in the studio. This is so I can build my technique in the studio with lighting the subject. As the main focus is the fabric I wanted to light the fabric so that it become transparent and you could see through the fabric.

I first used the fabric Lycra. The fabric is stretchy and from my inspiration from Martha Graham stitch the dancer inside the fabric and asked her to strike a dance pose whilst pushing the fabric out, to symbolise she is trying to break free. Its about being free but the paradoxical restriction of the fabric. I first tried to light the dancer using continuous lighting and placed it behind the subject but you could see the lighting and the wires as seen below. Therefore, looking very unprofessional and did not have the same effect.

I put one light on one side and shone the light directly onto the back of the model, this allowed to fill the room but gave a harsh shadow on one side as seen in the image below and although the pose of the dance gave the impression she was trying to push the light away, the light was too high key and the fabric around her head is to loose. I may try and experiment with this image to improve on it.

I asked my tutor Andy Farrington how I could improve the lighting. He helped set up the lighting. There were two lights either side being reflected on a reflective board bouncing it onto the back of the studio allowing light to shine through the fabric. The boards boxed the dancer in allowing the light not escape and light the dancer. I set my camera to 100 ISO 1/125 shutter speed and would use my aperture to adjust the exposure of the image. Below is an example of the way the lights were set

The image below is one of my favourites and I wish I had turned my aperture down to expose the image more making it more high key. I mainly like the position of the dancers has her arms are flexed out but you can't tell without looking at the image closely as to where her face is making to look surreal.

I tried other styles of lighting, I added a blue gel on top of one of the lights to give it a different feel to the image but I tried to use one light and shown it on the reflective board but this just made the Lycra look blue and didn't have the same effect. Next time I will use different colours like blue and yellow to experiment and see if the back looks better but I feel it doesn't improve my images and distracts the viewer from looking at the shape of the subject. An example of the image below.

When I captured images of the dancer in Lycra, I wanted to try and edit the image so show that I have use some editing technique. I tried using duo tone and turned the image to gray scale and used added colours. An example of this work is below but I felt that it did not have an impacted on my work and there was concept behind me changing the colours. I spoke again with my tutor Andy Farrington and he pointed out that my technique was the lighting and the aim of me getting the image I wanted first time in the studio and not editing. I should try and capture the imaged I would like to achieve in the studio that would need hardly any editing as I do not edit my images to the extreme I therefore why should I do something extreme when it is not the type of work I do.

Before and after image using duo tone.

I tried to experiment with the fabric in a different way I tried to achieve the work I did in the studio the other day as practice shots with my friend Emma. I put the fabric up and stretched out and shown a light at the back so you could get a shadow. I then asked Sophie the dancer to go behind the fabric and strike a dance position but something that was contemporary. Below is an example of what I achieved. I like the image as it fits in as being surreal and the shapes and texture are interesting. It is different and yet similar to what I want to achieve so I do not know whether I will enter this piece of work in a competition

Another type of shot I was trying to achieve was to use the floaty fabric and create the effect of the fabric coming down on the dancer to symbolize it striking down on Sophie not allowing her to dance. Below is one example of what I captured that day

I have booked the studio to prefect some of my ideas but this is not that easy as fabric are like children you never know what they will do or where they will go and it is the same with the fabric. I could want it to be spread out but it could come together. I am to create more shapes with the Lycra and want to try an achieve an image similar to the one I did with the dance on the beach where her body was arched back and it looked like the fabric was apart of her

Below are contact sheets from the shoot that day.