Styling Concepts

Write, in brief, 3 ideas for styling a photoshoot based on the memory exercise we did in class. You can accompany your short description with a sketch if you like.

In your brief description of each concept, explain your inspiration and how that could manifest in style: mood, type of clothing, model(s), makeup, location, lighting, accessories.

 

Idea #1: Outdoor on the street (in the rain with rainbow)

• I got my inspiration from the musical “Singin’ in the Rain,” and American musical-romantic comedy film. Growing up, I had always wanted to become an actor for my future career. However, due to my Asian background and was raised in such a conservative environment, I didn’t get my family’s approval of pursuing my acting career. Therefore, I wanted to bring a sense of loneliness and hopeless for the photoshoot. The photo shoot should take place on the street on a rainy night. The mood should be depressing and sad. In terms of the clothing, I would guide the model to wear something with the color red because red is associated with the feelings of anger, the determination as well as passion, desire, etc. (it relates to my childhood dream, the dream of becoming a movie superstar.) I wanted the model to have a solid contour (makeup) on his/her face to define or reshape the cheekbones and forehead. Wanted to make the model look overwhelmed by the power of makeup. Also, I would ask the model to hold the umbrellas to contrast the shadows (symbolize hope)

 

Idea #2: By the beach “Silhouette shot” (in front of a bright background (sunset)

• I got my inspiration from the moment when I “came out” to my godmother back in 2016. I wanted to capture the feelings of “relief” and “free.” The meaning behind this photoshoot is to show our society how hard and painful for many of the LGBT teens to come out to their friends and family. My intention of the photograph is to brighten the life for many of the LGBT members and to show the world how “great” and “amazing” the moment when we (as being part of the LGBT community) to let out biggest secret out to our surroundings. Therefore, I wanted to do a silhouette shot by the beach along with the bright background (which is the where the sunset is.) I wanted the model to stand on a flat surface or tree stump while doing the photoshoot from a lower angle. I want to silhouette his or her entire figure against the amazing backdrop. The mood of the photograph should be warm, feeling of safety, and enlighten. If possible, I would ask the model to wear “nothing,” to  portray his/her “true self,” a sense of identity, and the feelings of being “free.”

Idea #3: By the staircase (dark & blurry background)

• Whenever I think about my grandma and the things she has done for me when I was a little kid, I always ended up thinking about how I used to piggyback on my grandma’s back and shoulders. However, I remembered there was this one time I punched my grandma and refused to hold my grandma’s hand when my grandma refused to buy the toy that I wanted from the dollar store. It always upsets me whenever I thought of that particular scene. Therefore, I wanted the mood for the photo shoot to be mysterious but has a sense of “love” to it. I wanted the photograph to mainly focus on my grandma’s body posture (the posture of me piggyback on my grandma’s back) to illustrate “love” by not overpowered by a bright colored background. I would say the style of the shoot is more like an “everyday-like” type of photoshoot. The location for the shoot would be by the staircase. I would ask the model to face forward (not facing the camera) because I wanted to capture the spirit/relationship between family traits.