FOLIO in progress

Proposal for Final Folio

I choose the them Displacement to work for my Final Folio. I will create a series of makeup photos showing models are being styled up by hands of artists. My idea is about how normal people would look stunningly beautiful / perfect with all the magic of the fashion industry.
I did a test shot and I'm pretty happy with it. I'll do a series based on this shot:

FORMATIVE BRIEF #6: INSPIRATIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER

Another hard brief to me, not because I can't do anything respond to one of my favourite photographer, but because I don't actually have a favourite photographer. I surf web for inspirational photos a lot, not from any specific photographer. So I don't know who is the best one that I could respond my work on.

But there is one photographer called Laura Ferreira (http://lauraferreira.com/) who based in Trinidad and Tobago (I don't know where it is) has some beautiful images about beauty shoot mixed with floral set. I've been always wanting to do something like this before so when I saw her work, I decided to choose her work to recreate something of my own.
I've organized a team to help me with:
Model: Fellisa Burton, Maria De Los Angeles, Priya Chandra
MUA: Jolina O'Hair
Hair: Priya Chandra
Floral designer: Jade Genner
Stylist: Sophie Ranson

This is the reference photo:

Very dreamy and romantic

Mine, acutally, are not like that although based on the same concept. But I like the cross stripe shadows on her face and her expression so I chose this one to submit for this brief.

Some other photos in this series:

FORMATIVE BRIEF #5: AUSTRALIA IDENTITY

This brief was a really tough one for me, an international student, who has only been in Australia for 7 months. I've been thinking for a while about what make Australian special and what is their identities. Maybe they will be all about foods or beverage, or landscape ... but I still didn't know what to do with them. I thought I don't have enough experiences and knowledge about this country to do it.
But then when I thought about my experience about this country, I just realized that I should bring my own experience about my feeling toward this country. That would be all about Australians, all about the people that I've met in 7 months I've been here.
I still remembered the very first days when I came here, I felt alone in this photography class in CIT and I was afraid that I couldn't blend in with everyone, just because I look different with them and just because I couldn't have a normal conversation with them in English. I struggled with listening to what teachers speak in class and when I was sitting with other Australian classmates, I felt like I'm a dumb who couldn't understand anything they were talking about.
That was the reason why I didn't talk to anybody in my very first class days. I was afraid coming to class because I was afraid being a dumb, couldn't understand to anyone.
But my Australian friends, they didn't do the same to me.
They came and talked to me, they tried to make friend to me and I knew, they only tried to make me feel easier when I'm the only one who came from another country. I appreciated their kindness a lot. They did actually helped me feel easier coming to class every week. I proud to tell everyone: "My classmates are very nice and friendly."
There once a man who asked me: "Do you have any trouble with Australian here?"
"Why you ask so?" surprisingly I asked him.
"Because some Australians are very racist, especially to Asian, you know" answered him.
"No I haven't had any trouble with Aussies here. They are very nice and friendly to me" I told him.
"You're very lucky though!" he said.
And yes, after that talk with that man, I felt I'm very lucky to know and be friend with some of the most awesome Australians, who I'm so much happy to hang around with.
That's the reason I make them become Australian identities, based on my very own experiences, in this photo:

Thank you everyone, not only Alex, Sammy & Ben, but everyone, for being very nice to me until now. I'm proud to cross path with you guys, who make Australian special.

FORMATIVE BRIEF #4: THE JABBERWOCKY

The Jabberwocky

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

“Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!”

He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought—
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.

And as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! and through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

“And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!”
He chortled in his joy.

’Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Context:
You have been given text of Jabberwocky by Lewis Carol. Read it and think about the visual effects of the words. Most of the words are made up and nonsensical, but the point is that they still have meaning.


This brief is really intersting. They have many ideas & concepts that can be responded to produce visual effect. I've tended to create 3 ideas for this one then I can choose which is the best for submission but after consider about all 3, I decided to do the most idea I like, the fighting part.
I had a studio shoot with a male model and I asked him to pose for all 3 ideas. But in the end, for the idea i've decided to go with, it came out really good as what I've planned either lighting and posing for idea.
And here is the idea:
The Jabberwocky poem is about a boy who fought Jabberwocky, a terrible monster. And in the end, he slew Jabberwocky. But what if, the monster is only created by their own fears? Or the monster is something that people try to scare others by a horror story? Or, everyone has a monster hide inside themselves, and they need to fight with that monster all the time, to control their behaviors, their thoughts, their dignities. So based on the idea: "everyone has a monster inside them and they need to fight with that monster to control it" or "the boy fight with a monster but he doesn't realize that he only try to kill his shadow", I created an image of a man throwing a spear into his shadow.

Here is the image:

Model: Clint Domine

Spear from Googles 

FORMATIVE BRIEF #3: MUSIC

The song I pick is: "I Kissed A Girl" of Katy Perry

This is the photo of the song:

And lyric:
This was never the way I planned, not my intention
I got so brave, drink in hand, lost my discretion
It's not what I'm used to, just wanna try you on
I'm curious for you caught my attention

I kissed a girl and I liked it, the taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it, I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong, it felt so right, don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it, I liked it

No, I don't even know your name, it doesn't matter
You're my experimental game, just human nature
It's not what good girls do, not how they should behave
My head gets so confused, hard to obey

I kissed a girl and I liked it, the taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it, I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong, it felt so right, don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it, I liked it

Us girls we are so magical, soft skin, red lips, so kissable
Hard to resist, so touchable, too good to deny it
It ain't no big deal, it's innocent

I kissed a girl and I liked it, the taste of her cherry chapstick
I kissed a girl just to try it, I hope my boyfriend don't mind it
It felt so wrong, it felt so right, don't mean I'm in love tonight
I kissed a girl and I liked it, I liked it


The photo from the song doesn't show anything about "kissing a girl" but only the title. So I decided to create a photo that can show intimate girl on girl to make people really want to kiss a girl when look at the photo.
It was an on-location shoot. The shoot turned out good when I got a few photos that show girl-about-to-kiss-a-girl but in the end I decided to choose this photo to present:

I love the model's expressions in this photo and also love the surrounding. I think they look very hot like that, trying to make out in the back seats of a car. It doesn't have much color on them so I chose to shoot in B&W mode on my camera.


A few more shot in the series that I've done so far (click to enlarge)

FORMATIVE BRIEF #2: PLACEMENT & DISPLACEMENT

Context from the brief:
"The theme of placement "feeling at ease" and displacement "unease" has been a constant of contemporary, and usually developed with a particular vocabulary about light and space"

• Placement:

 Human's friend

• Displacement:

Man-made beauty 

 Credits:

Model: Melissa

MUA: Kylie

Hair: Priya