09/12/14 - GUY BOURDIN PROJ. (Final Editorial)

One of the final images - Caroline Wong

During the shoot, we had to work rather quickly as although the weather was sunny, the air was still cold and my models were required to dress in summer attire (as the shoot is for SS15). We had few problems thankfully during the shooting process but there were a number of tasks needed to be done in post-production editing. 

Firstly in the shot above, in order to capture the shoe, I had my model hold a piece of string with the shoe attached to it. This was done because whenever I tried to capture the shoe falling in momentum, the images always came out blurred due to the weight of the shoe. The speed of the shoe falling was too fast for my camera to accurately capture and so I remedied this by using string and then later photoshopping it out.

Another problem faced was that the shoe I used for the shoot was white and therefore didn't stand out well against the white windows. Whilst I was extremely happy with the composition of the shot, there was little vibrancy in the photo and so I ended up choosing a mint green colour that had been forecast in WGSN's colour palette and photoshopping the shoe to be this colour. The end result was much more preferable and as I'd done the research into the predicted colour trends, I was able to accurately make a decision as to which colour to pick.

I was happy with my series of four images that showed a trainer flying out of a window and whilst Ian preferred the shots to not have a hand it them, I decided to stick by my decision and chose not to photoshop them out. In our final critique, the other tutors also agreed with me and said that they too liked the hand so I am happy I decided to stand my ground. Since all forms of art is subjective anyway, I figured that it was each to their own and I was essentially staying true to my own style of photography.

This project has been a fun and rather lovely way to end the first term. I'm looking forward to the upcoming projects as well as being let loose with a camera over Christmas. One drawback of how fast-paced everything has been is that I feel I haven't been able to explore and utilise my love of analogue photography. As a self-proclaimed perfectionist, it can often take me up to a year to finish one roll of 36 exposures as I usually wait for the perfect occasion to take photographs on film. Because of this habit of mine, it hasn't been possible to shoot in film as I know I wouldn't be able to finish a roll fast enough. However, to try and curb this habit as well as refresh my photography skills, I've decided to make sure I shoot consistently over the Christmas holidays.