Sean Freeman's use of ink in his images has inspired me to create my own ink photos that reflect the beauty of movement and models in fashion photography.
The first step was to take images of ink. I had previously taken photos of ink in water however they came out quite blurry and the lighting wasn't right, i think this was due to the containers used and not actually using lighting. I found a glass jug, cup, bucket and vase. I filled each container with really cold water as i realised form a previous experiment that even if the water is slightly warm it has a thicker cloudier colour to it. i then arranged the lights so one was right behind the container and shone light into the glass and the other in front so when i took the image the ink would be bold and the background would be white 
This was the most successful shoot of ink i have done so far and I'm really proud of the final images. Alone i think these images express beauty but i really need to up my game and challenge my skills. So i want to intertwine a model into my ink images by manipulating them on photoshop. Before i do a final shoot i wanted to experiment with a more simple image of a model so i could see how i could make my idea work. i did a photography shoot with my friend Alice who fortunately was a dancer so could create flexible movements with her body.
From these images i selected one image to experiment with ...
It took a long time as i first had to cut around my model Alice so that the strands of hair still appeared to be divided by her movement and i had to make sure i didn't cut off parts of her limbs or leave any unusual outlines around her. i then had to apply the ink images. to begin with i made sure they were highly contrasted so i could use the magic wand tool to delete the areas of white/grey that i didn't want. after doing so i lowered the contrast and desaturated both the ink images and my model. after doing so i linked the ink images with parts of her body so i could make the right shapes to compliment her movement. i then deleted areas of ink that overlapped her body so it seemed as though the ink wrapped around her rather than lay flat underneath or on top of her. Overall i wasn't too happy with this image as I felt the quality of the lighting used on the model wasn't right. for my final piece i think i should use a lot of light so not so many shadows and highlights appear on the model. i also think i should be more fussy when editing my ink images and make sure all the areas that appear white or grey should be deleted. After doing this experiment i really wanted to stop and try something different as i thought i wouldn't be capable of getting an image that reflected exactly what i wanted, but I no i need to take risks even if it goes wrong then at least i tried and maybe by making mistakes i can learn form them to develop an even better final piece.
The first thing to do was to cut out my figure. I used the magic wand tool and lasso tool to cut around the edges and select particular areas i didn't need. i wanted to have a high contrast image of Alice on top of a white background. i then took my ink images and used the magic wand tool to select the gray scale background and delete it so all that is left is the highly contrasted and thin layers of ink.
I used about 5 layers so tha ti could place the ink on top and behind Alice so it wrapped around her leg and arm.
overall i don't really like the finished image as it is clear the ink and the figure are two different images. i noticed the white outline around the ink which seems rough and messy. I also don't like how i had to make the images black and white so they appealed to each other.
I think i need to step it up.The first thing to do is organise a photoshoot with a model who is brave and flexible. I think in some cases of fashion photography that clothing can takeaway the element of the image and distract the eye away from the truth of the photograph. So for my shoot I want a model who is brave enough to show her true image that reflects her natural beauty by only wearing her undergarments. By doing this i can capture the natural beauty of the human figure. but i also want to manipulate ink in my image to reflect movement in my images. My best images of ink were black so maybe by using a black piece of fabric or netting I could intertwine the ink with the fabric. I need my model to look the part so i need her to wear black undergarments so i could also intertwine the ink with her own body as well as the fabric, but i also need to enhance her face, so maybe by using dark eye makeup and messing up her hair a bit I could end up with an even better image. In my experiment the ink still had sections of white and gray so i need to be picky and carefully analyse my photos so i erase all the background colours i don't need. maybe by using small sections of my images would be better for my final image. The only way to know is too do it ...
This is my Model Hayley, One of my good friends who studies dance for A level. I already knew she was flexible and could dance really well. She also has dark hair and an elegant face, but it was a bit too elegant for the intensity i wanted to get form her eyes. So i applied a dark eyeshadow and a little gold glitter to enhance her eyes as well as some pale lipstick to compliment her pale complexion. I didn't want to do to much with her hair as she would be waving her head around anyway from dancing so i just backcombed it a little to give her hair a bit of volume and she looked the part.
She was very nervous when it came to the photohoot and at the beginning was very stiff and tried to stage herself Rather than relaxing and just going with her instincts. so to help her i put on a little music. as soon as the music began she burst out her shell and started leaping in the air, kicking , spinning, swaying, gliding. she was really amazing at dancing and the photos captured that ...
I took over 400 images of Hayley moving around and when she was continuously dancing i used the sport setting to capture each image.
After taking the photos i took a selection of images to manipulate and edit. i chose the ones that were abnormal but beautiful. I made sure the contrast was high enough so the black fabric matched with my black ink images so i could blend them together. I also made sure the white background was a clean white and her skin was quite pale. I then added the images of ink. i cropped the images so i only had a selection of an
Area which I thought could blend with the model and the fabric. I then edited the image so the black of the ink and fabric matched and ended up with these few images...
I took a few close up shots as I wanted some surreal images that were out of the ordinary. The first image I asked Haley to face her back to me then bend over so her hair hung and her eyes stared straight at the camera. I looked at it form a different perspective by turning my camera upside down. To me it looked she looked a little deformed like the young girls you see in horror films that crawl on the ceiling. To me this image represents natural beauty in its abnormal deformities. No matter how you’re built and how you look you’re always beautiful. The second image I wanted to capture was representing beauty in a more close up shot. I asked Haley to hold the fabric across her face so the netting added texture to her skin. But when I took a shot of her just looking into the camera it seemed staged and too simple. So I asked her to scream as loud as she could letting out all her anger. I feel that I got a better photograph when she released her frustration and was honest rather than when she just looked at the camera as I got a visual of honest beauty.
This is one of my favourite images as it her skin and lower body is shown but the area which beauty is usually taken from is hidden by the beauty of movement through fabric and ink. Although there are a few areas which may need a little touching up as looking back at the image I’ve noticed a few grey areas between her legs and beside her right leg. I thin k if I edited the image so there is a little less contrast and the areas which are a little rusty are removed I could have a final image.
I also found that some of the original images carried their own beauty. Not the ones where she is posed or pouty but the ones where shes just freely dancing to her own instincts. like this one on the left. shes leaping through the air not even thinking about if she looks beautifull or not, she just lets herself go and shows the true beauty through her movements 
This was actually the first image I edited. Which ignorantly i thought was the best. However this image is the most posed and pristine in the essence of beauty. It was not staged and I did not make her pull that face, it is her own honest movement and expression however i feel this image doesn’t show beauty in the same way my other image show beauty. However I do love this image due to blending of the ink with the model and fabric and the intensity of her eyes and facial expression.
The Final Images ..
