The aim of my
project ‘Beauty in the Beast’ has been to create a journey into a fantasy world
through the medium of a book, where nature provides the backdrop from which to
showcase the hair and make up creations. Over the course of this assignment I
have learned a lot about myself as a hair and make-up artist, and also about
managing and producing all the elements that go into creating an entire
project.
Throughout this
project, my ideas changed quite drastically from my initial proposal. Originally
I wanted to create a book with ten different photo shoots using elaborate
costumes, props, hair and make-up to depict over-the-top dramatic fantasy
images, similar to those of photographers such as Kirsty Mitchell and Tim
Walker. However, after reviewing my initial ideas, I decided that they were
overly ambitious for a small team of just myself and a photographer to achieve in
such a short period of time. I also took into consideration feedback that I had
received from my tutor reminding me not to be too cliché when creating my
shoots and to make sure that they were as original as possible without copying
other artists ideas. My tutor was also unsure what my unique selling point
would be, so that made me again revise my ideas and come up with a new concept
but based on the foundations of the original proposal.
After much
thought, research and discussion with my photographer, I decided to go with the
theme ‘Beauty in the Beast’, mixing the idea of nature and beauty together in a
fairytale style book. I also decided to differentiate my book from others on
the market by including introductory prose to each photo shoot, and then to
close the chapter having a simplified, studio version of each theatrical shoot,
with a double exposure nature image merged into it in order to match the
theatrical photoshoot it belongs to, totaling eight different shoots (four
theatrical and four studio). I decided as well to include a ‘Behind the beauty’
section at the back of the book showing images of myself creating the hair and
make-up looks to give the audience a peek into how the looks were created.
Once I had decided
which shoots I wanted to do, I got busy ordering any supplies, costumes and
props I needed and organized my photographer and models, which was quite
difficult as my photographer had a full time job so was only available at
certain times and my models were all based in different areas around the
country, so I had to make sure the schedule suited everyone and that it stayed
set. Although this was slightly stressful, it taught me that I have good
organization skills, which will be useful for me to have in my career. I also managed to stay under my initial budget,
which was helpful.
When carrying out
the shoots themselves I felt that my time management was good as I always
arrived at the location early to set up ready for my model in order to be
efficient as possible. Although I did not carry out test shoots for the
majority of the looks, I did practice the hair and make-up looks before hand so
I felt prepared and confident when creating each appearance, and I also always
made sure my kit was clean and prepped for the shoot the day before, making me
feel professional and organized. However, the rain and wind was a problem when
shooting the looks, as the wind was blowing the models hair out of place and
was extremely hard to fix outside in the persistent bad weather, and it was
making the models freezing cold so they started to look stiff in some of the
shots. In an ideal situation I would have waited until the weather was warmer
but I shot the majority of my looks over February and early March so had to
make the best out of the situation.
I was extremely
pleased with the outcomes of all of the shoots as they captured what I had
envisaged and I could not wait to put all the edited images together into my
book. I made sure to have plenty of meetings with my photographer so that I had
some creative control over the selection and post-production of the images.
However, I made the decision that I was not pleased with the mermaid photo
shoot that I had done, as I felt there was not a great enough variety of
different shots and that it was not of the same standard as the rest of the
shoots. In consequence of this I decided not to include it within my final
outcome and instead came up with a new concept for another photo shoot in which
I only had four days to organize, source my models costume and design a hair
and make-up look, which put me under extreme time pressure. Doing this last
minute shoot also meant that I did not have time to put my book together before
I went on holiday as my photographer had not finished editing the images, which
put me behind schedule.
I felt that up
until this point of the project my time management had been carried out well
and I was on schedule, but the last minute changes of the final photo shoot
jeopardized my project. I was on holiday for three weeks over the Easter
period, so when the photographer had edited the images from the last shoot I began
to create my book online, but when I went to order it the website would not let
me as I was abroad. This started to worry me as it meant that I would have to
wait until the end of April to order my book putting me a month behind my
initial schedule and not giving me much time to amend any mistakes that may
have occurred during the printing process. I received my book a week after
ordering, and although the majority was good, there were a few changes I needed
to make such as the colouring in some of the images and the clarity of the
text. Re-ordering the new version of the book was risky as it was due to arrive
a day before my hand in and it also required me to hand paint the front cover
so I felt under immense pressure. Luckily the book arrived on time making it
possible for me to hand make the front cover in time for submission.
Overall I feel exceptionally
pleased with the final outcome of my project and am proud of what I have
managed to achieve, and thoroughly enjoyed creating and bringing my visions to
life with the help of my brilliant photographer Holden Tuffield. I feel that my
book is relevant to the current creative industry as people are always looking
for artists to present their work in new and unique ways, which I feel I have
done through the use of combining prose, theatrical hair and make-up designs
and mixed media photography to create a fantastical peak into an enchanted
world. I am confident that my work is of a professional level, as I prepared
for my shoots well, chose the locations specifically to fit the ‘Beast’
character I was creating, and worked with a talented photographer and
re-toucher so that I could present my images in the best way. If I had had more
time, I could develop this project further by creating more concepts for shoots
and different stories behind them so that the book would be fuller with many
small tales to depict and would show a wider variety of my work and skill sets.
I would also potentially create each book with a different hand-made title to
add value to the book, much like a collectors item, and I would also sell
‘limited edition’ prints of some of the images from the book framed in
elaborate carved gold photo frames. I feel developing these small attributes
would further differentiate my book from anything else like it on the market
and would make it a truly unique experience to behold.
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| Final outcome of my hand-painted 'Beauty in the Beast' book |
