Photo Shoot - Miss Miller

Taking pictures is a necessary to creating a very varied course of pictures. A photo shoot provides a clear vision onto what we all as individual photographers aim to have for our digipak as well as magazine adverts. The photo-shoot doesn't just allow our digipaks to be individual and unique but they also guarantee a higher quality of photo. With elements such as lighting and angles that can be manipulated and set up to achieve a preferred look. In addition to this we are able to see how much of a difference the real photos are compared to if we where to just screen shot them from the video clips. The real images continue to be very sharp and focused and provide a very crisp image to edit on. This means that while playing about with the backgrounds, lighting, and filters we are able to get the highest quality possibility. I in particular appreciate this as it will supply a very accurate type of advertisement that would appeal to a real life audience. One of the most important things while doing the photo shoot is to actually take a lot of photos for yourself. I learnt that this was a very important thing to have done while editing the images as having a range of photos to choose from was important. This was because pictures can sometimes look different on Photoshop with a particular font and lighting attached to it. This meant that some of the photos I wanted for the original idea did not actually make it onto the final scene as it did not provide the same look as I intended. Luckily though I has a lot of others to choose from and this made the whole task a lot more calming.

Originally I took this image to supply a good amount of my 'hidden' close ups. This meant that as a photographer I had decided to create something that showed my artist as vulnerable. I wanted to have a number of close ups that would be visible to the digipak at some point. This particular image was planned to be used on the artists CD. I would have a plain wall and two images of her faded into the wall. This allowed me to be a lot more creative while coming up with the different poses and positions for my artist. The unedited image is conventional as it still shows the artist as someone who may be seen as shy and vulnerable. This in fact implies to the audience that she is exposing herself on the CD. They will be more assured while actually looking at the CD and playing it as they will be encouraged to feel connected to the artist. They will see her as someone who is very human and likely to feel embarrassed or even vulnerable at times at the thought of people listening to her music. This is because conventionally the audience are more likely to recognise this as an indie genre artist if there is more emotional and expose to her inner and more personal feelings and emotions in the song. The hands across her face offer a very shy welcome. The fact that eye contact is still seen acts as an invite to the audience whereas the hands spread out over her face still imply that she is a little guarded. The audience will feel a connection with her and build a relationship immediately as they will begin to see her as someone who is asking for help and letting the audience in slowly, which is what a 'normal' person might also do. This implies that she is a very down to earth and assured artist. She doesn't necessary take any sort role in the music industry and she doesn't follow the typical codes and conventions of a typical famous artist. 

The first thing that drew me in when taking this photo was the idea that I could turn this graffiti in to something more and display it in a certain why that benefited the artist and audience. I took the image as I thought that it would be a good background for a shot that I particularly thought would work well and help sell the digipak. I wanted to use this image as I thought that it would provide a very precise message to the audience. My plan was to have her stand there and have the name 'Amy' above her, I would take the already graffiti 'A' and add the other two letters to appear as though they had been painted on as well. I do believe that this image can actually be seen as both conventional and subordinate. The setting and positioning of the character actually remains very true to its genre as it provides a very clear image. The brick wall behind relates to the typical city setting that the indie genre sometimes uses in there music videos. Her positioning is again faced away from the camera as she provides a very hostile, yet beautiful image. This implies that The fact that she is facing away from the camera tells the audience that again she is very closed in on herself. The subordinate feature of this picture is typically the graffiti itself. Although it may demonstrate the city location it doesn't provide a very good 'role model' stereotypically some indie artist such as Gabrielle Aplin, Birdy and even more popular indie artists like Ed Sheeran are overall good role models. Typically in there music videos no law is broken whereas in Rnb or the Dance genre you may see drinking and drug abuse as well as sexual references. This means that the audience may pick up on the fact that this is actually being a bit more edgy and risk taking in her album by having something that is technically illegal be present in her album. They may start regarding her as someone who is willing to take risks in the own genre. This may encourage them to want to go out and pay more for the digipak as they want to see what she has to say and what story she is telling in this representation.Throughout the digipak the theme is rather similar as I wanted to create images where the artist looked a little guarded. This is because I wanted to really exaggerate the fact that indie genre music is stereotypically a lot more emotional and personal when it comes to expressing the feelings of a certain person. The artist themselves want to be able to distribute there own personality and life experiences through the songs although this can be seen as a scary process which is why I decided to have the artist turning slightly to the side and have her looking down at her side. This not only creates a sense of innocence that the audience may pick up on but they will notice that this is a very important piece of music to the artist and they will wish to carry on and buy this album almost as through they are taking care of what means the most to her, her emotions.

In this particular image I wanted to be able to display the personal message to all of her fans. I initially wanted to have the writing on her hands but when doing the Photoshoot I realised that it wasn't that simple. I had to be able to present her in a way that was touching to the audience and having her hand covering her face took away the element of mystery and just made her look strange. The fact that I was then able to manipulate her hands to still be showing her eyes looking directly at the audience and have her fingers stretched out over her face made the whole image a lot more sophisticated and effective. This overall allowed me to be able to display the image across her fingers with a particular effect that almost made it look like tattoos. The main reason for me creating a photo like this is to actually contribute further to the audience. Her eyes are the main focus as they can be seen piercing through. This creates a well balanced, welcoming approach as the audience feel like they are looking straight at her into her soul and getting an insight into her life. This image is actually quite conventional as again the artist remains very guarded as it able to be seen having a close connection to the audience not on a fan/artist level, but more in the sense that it creates a very personal friendly relationship. You are getting to know her like a friend would. Not all genres of music continue to do this and often sing about stuff that they feel the audience would like to hear not what they want to tell the audience. Personally I feel that this is one of the best images that I have that connects well with the audience. Her hands are over her face which provide a very hidden and closed atmosphere, this is to show how shy and almost scared she is to tell everyone her personal news and have everyone listening to what she may find upsetting and very serious. Her eyes can be seen looking back at the audience. This immediately creates a close bond with the audience as she has finally given them a very true and honest piece of herself. She is able to contribute to the theme of being guarded but in this second while thanking them she actually manages to look at them on a more personal level and this overall guarantees a much more  secured relationship with the audience and helps the connection grow as they are able to produce and witness her thanking them and providing a very good facial expression.

This final image is what I plan to use for the front cover of my digipak. This will allow me to supply the audience with an introduction to what the theme of the rest of the digipak is. My themes being, natural settings, neutral colours and an artist who is presented in a way that makes her appear rather shy and guarded. This image shows her sitting under a bridge on the side of a river bank. She is looking out into the distance and I personally just thought that the location, theme and position of character well fit well with the overall theme of my digipak. I do believe that this image is a good way to display and hint to the audience what type of songs are on the music album. This particular image is conventional as it provides a good and typical costume that is able to be portrayed well within the indie genre. The boots that she is wearing are typically rather popular in the indie genre as they are rustic and vintage looking. The fact that the boots are also displayed as being dirty and well used shows us to the audience that she is rather adventurous and is able to explore. This implies that she is someone who is not afraid of getting dirty and going on adventures. The audience will take note of this and then able to build a relationship with her as they will see her as someone who is down to earth and not a 'snob.' In addition to this the fact that she is looking in the direction that the album is going to follow on from makes this a very suitable image. The idea that the representation is one that provides a very in depth and follows on well through her journey makes the audience feel very involved. This is very conventional to the indie genre as it means that as an artist this particular way of sitting and the idea behind it being that she is looking out onto what is coming up on the digipak relates to the idea that she is a very welcoming person that wishes to involve there audience as much as possible. The audience will then feel very connected to her and want to see what this album/digipak is all about.

The overall experience of taking images to me as been successful as it has not only allowed to create my magazine advert and digipak but it was also supplied me with the knowledge to get to know my own artist. This is due to the fact that I have constructed her in the way that I wish for her to be created. This allows me to be able to see her in a particular light and hopefully the audience will too. I believe that as a photographer for my artist I think the photoshoot was an overall success as I gained a different variety of photos. My main strength was being able to position my character in the exact way that I also imagined her to appear. This meant that as an artist the overall representation is of the impression that she is able to connect to the artist and also remain very hidden and personal just through the angles of the photos and the positioning of the artist herself. The main thing that was a struggle was having to take your own images and the over people of your group wanting to have the same image. This became a rather difficult but was resolved quickly as everyone began to actually take there own images and its helped with the more personal approach to the digipak. The overall representation of the artist remains to be very personal. She is seen as an artist whom would be very kind, but shy and reserved. This is because she is actually taking her emotions int o her own hands and being able to share her personal experiences (as an indie artist) to her audience. Her audience will ultimately appreciate this effort that she has put into the making of her magazine advert and digipak and want to continue to support her throughout her music career. I am very glad that I made the time to take my own images and have a wide range to choose from. Me and Amy went out while filming down by the train bridge and stream and took a number of photos in a very isolated area. It is important to take your own images as it provides a very personal touch on your digipak. Overall the fact that I had taken all the images myself in the photoshoot meant that there was a lot less conflict in the group and not as many arguments as in the end everyone had there own supply of photos.