Today I did some test shots, to prepare before I do my proper shoot for this project. I started with the first image of the “pound of flesh” using a lump of clay that I moulded. I shot these images on a table, with a white paper background in a bright room with natural lighting. I think that the colour of the clay isn’t quite fleshy enough, therefore I bought some red clay to add some pigment.

Bird’s eye viewpoint: I think that there’s a lack of depth and space in the bird’s eye view images.

Close up shots: I think that the closer-up shots are more effective for understanding the context of the object.

Off-centre compositions: There is too much negative space, the audience might read into this composition as being part of a deeper context. Centre compositions are much more powerful.

With flash: I like how the flash illuminates the background; however, the natural light creates nicer shadows on the actual object. Perhaps I could experiment with placing a diffused, box light in place of the natural light.

Further away shots: (not my model or styling choice) I chose to experiment with this pose as I felt it was non-confrontational. Without the subject facing the camera, it allows her to exist within herself, in a stripped-back, pure form. I think that a shot like this would be effective for the second image of the series, as it fills the composition slightly more than the clay, whilst showing the full outfit of the model, giving the audience more context.

Closer-up shots: I think that this composition would be effective for the last image of the over-the-top version of my model. Not that much of the composition needs to show the full body for the audience to understand the context. The exaggerated make-up, hair, expression and top section of the outfit will suffice. The natural light is a little bit too shadowy, so perhaps if I were to replace it also with a box light, that may be more successful.

Colour palette: I think that the background needs to be elevated from just a simple white. The third colour scheme is my favourite as the flesh tones increase with the intensity of the image. 

Studio Bergini

• Teamwork – through different project discovered that it worked effectively.
• Didn’t want to get a job – tried to make a job for themselves.
• Liu Xiadong: Weight of Insomnia – art catalogue/book, experimenting with new technology and paper coatings to communicate the atmosphere of the work shown in the book – typeface communicates artists’ cultural background.
• Website plan – asking themselves “what we art, how, for who, where” etc, multiple drafts trying to write the “About’ section.

“Studio Bergini is the graphic design practise of Francesco Corsini and Kristian Hjorth Berge, based out of our East London studio. We take a conceptual, informed, content-orientated approach to our work, whether it’s for clients in arts, culture, or business, avoiding a “house style” and instead give each project a unique form based on contextual research, often rooted in typography.”

• Thinking about tone, trying to be warmer, less technical.
• ZINE-ZINE – make every year, like a report of what they have been working on/thinking about, just for fun, procrastination, art project. Consists of screenshots of random things that they have encountered throughout the year. 

Question/Answer:

• Conflict in a workspace: Know who is better at what. Learn to trust each other, willing to push each other. Unproductive.
• It’s much more effective when a client is familiar with your work as a graphic designer.

Regular Practise

• MA RCA: testing things, trying techniques that you’ve never done before, met there and a project came up, first time that they worked together. Those new friends become your eventual business partner.
• How do two graphic designers collaborate?
• Sometimes a practical approach can be more effective – physically cutting out letters.
• Jazz posters: cut up heart shapes to make letters – used same approach of cutting out letters on acetate. The extra-curricular activities where what resembled what they do now and what they were most enthusiastic about – liberating, they didn’t have to explain themselves at every stage.
• Physically rendering posters, tape pen to a lino cutter, how does a blue pen look, how about red or three pens? – Importance of experimentation in reaching an outcome.
• Consider how to be thrifty, know when printers are ripping you off, using clever techniques and processes to make work that looked like it could exist in the real world.
• Don’t necessarily do all the work together.
• Their launch was provoked by It’s Nice That wanted to write an article.
• Ice cream: can apply their approach to things that people don’t necessarily associate graphic designers with making.
• Inspiration: looking to the past, or a time that is different from now. A lot of tools now that help create contemporary looks, however they are interested in looking elsewhere – things don’t have to look like they do on the high street.
• Being a designer is being a collector.
• You can find inspiration in weird, unconventional places, recontextualise things from the past.
• Archive documents of different lettering rubbing shoulders together – can manifest new designs.
• Self-publication ‘In Review’ catalogue of their work over the year to send to potential clients.
• Experimenting: mixing inks in press machines and screen printing to create a gradient.
• Made type stencils to respond to a puffer jacket, thinking about how an object feels and communicating that through type.

Question/Answer:

• Conflict in a workspace: organise themselves in a way where they have different skills and allocate different tasks to each person, worked together in a non-commercial environment before, have worked with other people before where it hasn’t been good that’s how they knew the collaboration with each other would work. Not necessarily efficient to have conversations about every single detail, have to trust the other person to make decisions.
• More effective when there is mutual respect and understanding with a client.
• Word of mouth is the strongest source of getting commissions.

Reflective questions:

What do you think is the benefit of working in a studio compared to alone?

I think that the benefit of working in a studio compared to alone is that you are in an environment that you associate with work, ideas and inspiration, it is a productive place where you can think and create and then leave it all behind at the end of the day. If you are surrounded by other creators then you can bounce ideas off of each other, and have multiple viewpoints that can dissect a brief, with some people seeing details that others might now.

Considering your current skills what type of role do you think you are suitable for?

I see myself as a maker or a craftsperson. I am best being given a task and the time to go off and create something visual and tangible. I prefer to be the mind behind a project and am not necessarily interested in the communication and negotiation aspect of things.

Write a short biography about yourself as a creative practitioner now. (150 words)

Lucy Badger is a Scottish photographer and filmmaker based in London. After graduating from St George’s School for Girls and the National Youth Film Academy, she now continues her practise at Central Saint Martins, studying Photography and Moving Image. Her work has been featured in publications such as ‘Independent Women’ as well as the 48 Film Festival. She is interested in using her skills as a photographer and filmmaker to tell the stories of people whose voices might otherwise not be heard. As a director, she strives to be respectful, ambitious and look towards unique solutions within her work.

Today we had a talk from Julia Grieve, a CSM Fashion Communication graduate who discussed her approach to photography, casting and working with models. Grieve gave me a lot of insight into establishing a certain kind of relationship with the person I am photographing, and how that can affect the image. I found her presentation really inspiring, and I am excited to put the things that I have learnt into practice, especially her street casting method, and all of the interesting faces that she has found and photographed.

I also had my progress tutorial today where I presented my statement of intent at this stage for my project. The feedback that I received was to experiment with the scale of my subjects and to see if I can use the scale as part of the narrative in my series of images. Another point of feedback that I received and that I will definitely take into account with my test and final shoots, is to make sure that the final shot in the series with the model all done up, is more of an extension of the model herself, and not an extension of any old feminine stereotype – I need to take my subjects ‘self’ into account when styling and creating these images.

Statement for the Project At This Stage:

The story that I want to tell through a series of photographs, is about we start as just flesh and bone and slowly evolve and decorate ourselves to succumb to the male gaze. The first image will start off as a still-life portrait of a ball of flesh (probably painted playdough or some raw meat) perhaps on its own or on a scale (inspired by the poem of Tracy Cox) I need to do some experimentation to see what would work best. Ideally, I would like to shoot this in a clean studio space, with clear lighting – so that I can keep the conditions consistent throughout and can also alter the background colour in post-production if needed.  The next image will be a female-bodied model wearing nude coloured clothing sitting sit and expressionless, to communicate the next stage of development as a woman under the male gaze: simply being sexualised for our basic form. The model that I will likely use for this is foundation student Anna Dewhirst, as we have a close friendship, she is very comfortable in front of a camera, and therefore I think that communication and direction for the images will go smoothly. The next image will be Anna all dressed up in extremely stereotypical clothing, a bright pink sparkly dress, big hair and makeup etc, with an over-the-top beauty pageant-esque facial expression, inspired by the work of Nadia Less Cohen and Cindy Sherman. The three images could be presented together in sequence, to highlight both the passage of time and the contrast between the subject matter.

To start off the ‘Self, Portrait and Body Politics’ project we got into pairs and interviewed each other, asking questions that would give us an insight into who our partner really is in order to understand the concept of ‘gaze’ and the contrast between how we perceive something or someone, versus how they perceive themselves or what that thing really is. These are the questions I asked my partner, and the responses that I got back.

When do you feel most beautiful?

Umm. when I’m getting ready for a night out.

When do you feel validated?

Validated? Um…When… I don’t know! When somebody compliments something that I’ve done, rather than like me, say somebody compliments a work I’ve done that’s not related to me or how I look.

What was the happiest time in your life?

When I went on holiday with my friends. Because in the night we’re just chilling with each other we just take wine to the beach and I just sit with like all of my closest mates for like hours when it was still warm in the evening. And then we’d just wake up and do the same thing every day.

What was the saddest time in your life?

Probably when I was like 14 and you don’t have a real friendship group, and you keeping falling out with your friends. Just nasty girls at school. Girls school drama!

What’s your biggest fear? Like on a deep level, not like spiders.

Claustrophobic. But not in the sense of being in a small room, in the sense of not being able to leave somewhere, like being stuck in something that I didn’t like doing and not being able to escape it. Like a job.

Who do you want to be?

Strong, feel completely confident in everything that I've done and constantly be working towards something that was even more successful than what I last did. Feeling like I keep achieving things.

What’s your biggest insecurity?

Maybe being perceived as being vulnerable. Not an insecurity, I’d be fearful about that.

My overall perception of Laura is that she is a strong girl, who doesn’t want to be taken advantage of, and who enjoys the simple things in life – like watching the sunset with her friends. This is what I tried to portray in portraiture task, where we had to shoot on location, in a studio, with a prop and of a detail.