I am... (Shoot 2)- Work record

Basic information:
Date: 11/03/17
Location: Studio
Camera used: Nikon D5300
Editing program: Photoshop CC 2014 
Camera settings: 1/125, f8, ISO 200

Plans for shoot:
In this shoot I will be focused on portrait photography and ways to explore peoples personal identity.  I plan to overlay font in my images during the photoshop process featuring one word that the subject feels describes them.

What I hope to achieve:
In this shoot I will be focusing on the way text can be used to convey personal identity in an image.  I will be experimenting with studio shoots and allowing the subjects of my image to choose the background colour which they wish to be presented with an attempt to enhance the personalisation of the image.

Outcome of shoot:
This shoot was overall successful as I found that the technique I used of placing a layer of font of the background layer of the image and then reducing it's opacity allowed for an interesting element of contrast to be present in the image.  I feel that the use of a darker background for this shoot worked best as it made the decreased saturation in the image around the world more striking and evident.  

Progression:
I feel that this shoot was successful overall as it conveyed the personal feelings of the subjects in a successful way however I believe that it may be more effective to gain a sense of personalisation through having the subjects physically alter an image.  For this reason in the coming weeks I plan to experiment with the use of Instant film photography as this will allow the subject to alter the images themselves.

Favourite image:

This is my favourite image due to the high level of contrast found between the areas of the subject covered with text and the layers without text.  This is particularly striking in this image as areas of the subject are in black and white where there is not text.

Denotation: This image features the text "Star" overlaid over an image of the subject who is posed in a dramatic way that evokes the mentality of a star this is important as it ties together the image and the text.  The dark background creates a nice sense of contrast between the subjects saturated areas crated by the text and the black and white areas without text.

Connotation: This image carries connotations of self identity and removal of gender roles in society as the subject is male and wearing lipstick as well as posing dramatically.  This is interesting as it is accepted in the current generation as a cultural norm however older generations may find this behaviour anti-masculine and odd.

Context: This images context is that of self expression of the subject and the way that the convey their identity through words and expressions.

Least favourite image:

This image is my least favourite image due to the way that the images saturation has not been decreased to a point of black and white and the fact that the text of "hyper" does not seem to fit well with the dark background of the image.

Denotation: The image features the subject with the words "hyper" overlaid over her with an energetic expression on her face.  The image is very dark and whist a good layer of contrast is created it is not as effective as the other images from this series.

Connotation: The dark colouration of the background here carries connotations of sadness and depression which contrasts heavily with the message of happiness and energy that is being converted through the subjects expression and text.  The phrase "hyper" conveys the idea of youthfulness and energy.

Context: This images context is that of self expression of the subject and the way that the convey their identity through words and expressions.