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Week 5

 Edits

These were the others photos from my first photoshoot that I have now edited. I really like these photos but I definitely would prefer to see them in the studio maybe with bigger glasses so that there is more water effect and less of my flat in the background!











Feedback

The photo with the glasses of water don't speak to the topic, it is difficult to get the point of the image without me explaining it. Also the mirrors speak more to a perception of self which is not exactly what I'm going for either. 

- could use a phone to show the digital space
- smooth retouching of face to show that the image is not real
- it is okay to take one photo and have it stand alone if the digital manipulation is enough (don't have to layer another image on top)
- recreating instagram images, choosing ones that are not real at all
- look at Hayley Morris-Cafiero's 'The Bully Pulpit'

Pinterest is an okay place to start but it is important to remember that on Pinterest you get a lot of what is already out there. I want to be creating more original works that show my own design and photographic style.

At this stage I'm going to go ahead with recreating images found on instagram, but I need to be careful with how I do this because I am trying to show the idea of perfectionism and happiness rather than beauty standards and the use of the female body. Every time I open up my phone and go on instagram, I am bombarded by images of smiling, happy people at the beach, with their babies, with their dogs, with their new houses, at parties, at weddings, on tropical holidays. Everyone is happy according to social media.

I just scrolled on instagram for 3 minutes and took a screenshot of every picture on my feed that a person was in. This is what I got.












The lives that everyone seems to lead are so full of joy, light and love. They are constantly happy, always smiling (if not they are doing a professional photoshoot where their hair and makeup is gorgeous). What is important is for me to capture the reality of this. We have all been told that Instagram is a highlight reel but it is so hard to believe when the same person is posting a new photo daily of some amazing place they're visiting, dress they're wearing, friend they're meeting, house they're buying etc. And if they're not posting to their page, they are constantly adding to their stories. I think social media has transcended beauty standards, to become 'life standards'. 

I think it would be really interesting to create a series of images where I take the inspiration from an image I've scrolled past on instagram but include me in the image instead. 


For instance, I really like this image because it is so obviously edited. If I recreated this I could sit on the rock with my hands over my face, or looking directly at the camera yelling. This would show that the reality of the image is so much more than what we see, and that nobody is happy all the time.

Artist Models

I did some research on photographers who discuss social media and our digital world within their work. Most of these photographers address the issue of beauty and body standards, but also they all have work that addresses perfectionism and the 'highlight reel' that is social media.

Yonca Karakas

Karakas focuses on creating works that are obviously highly edited. The works usually consist of people that have smooth skin, perfect hair and are almost made of plastic. The work discusses how most of the things we put online are just straight up not true or misleading. Nobody is happy all the time, nobody is pretty all the time, nobody leads the perfect life - there is no perfect life or perfect way to live.




Glenda Lissette

Lissette's work has a huge emphasis on the false and misleading aspects of her work. She creates pieces that talk about how we interact on social media and how brands try to sell the female body. 



Glenda Lissette. 'Self Gaze'. https://glendalissette.com/self-gaze


Signe Pierce

Pierce takes vibrant, colourful neon photos that represent the branded, oversaturated, plastic world of instagram. Her self portraits speak to the idea of the perceptions of reality online. We cannot believe anything we see. If it's not edited then it's probably giving you a false perception of how that person lives their life.






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