EXACTITUDES

When speaking with my mother about my final major project – just in general terms, explaining what I was basing it all about – she said to me:

‘Oh well all you girls in your Facebook pictures look the same to me’

A eureka moment suddenly hit me, as I remembered the work of Ari Versluis and Ellie Uyttenbroek, Rotterdam based photographer and stylist who have worked together since 1994. I had looked into their series exactitudes – a contraction of ‘exact’ and ‘attitude’ – when writing my Dissertation earlier this year and knew that it would be of some benefit to revisit.

Their work is inspired by an interest in prominent dress codes and innumerable social groups, systematically documenting various identities over the last 13 years. Rotterdam’s assorted, multicultural street scene is a main source of inspiration for the pair, although since 1998 they have been broadening their horizons and working in several cities abroad.

‘By registering their subjects in an identical framework, with similar poses and a strictly observed dress code, Versluis and Uyttenbroek provide an almost scientific record of peoples attempts to distinguish themselves from others by assuming group identity. The apparent contradiction between individuality and uniformity is, however, taken to such extremes in their arresting objective-looking photographic viewpoint and stylistic analysis that the artistic aspect clearly dominates the purely documentary element.’

This research and my mother's comment combined got my thinking about how a lot of people that I personally follow on social media accounts such as: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat are quite similar in appearance. Could this be due to trends in images and content being posted?

NETNOGRAPHY

I tested out this theory by conducting some netnography research - the practice of ethnology that analyses individuals behaviour on the internet. By searching through my Instagram feed,  I was able to find a selection of images that all have similar characteristics:

1. Within all of these images, the females have the same tilted side view pose, along with similar makeup and hair looks.

2. Waist Training sponsored posts and promotions were commonly found on celebrity/blogger accounts, all with alike styling and appearance.

Other examples of this could be:
The ‘Kylie Jenner Lip Challenge’ that went viral in 2015, where it seemed like everyone on Instagram suddenly had these huge lips as a result of lip plumping tools and products all inspired and promoted by the celebrity herself.

or

Simply high street clothes stores promoting their collections and new products through their social media accounts, which then inspires people to purchase these items. For example, Topshop have 6.6 million followers on Instagram alone, if they post a picture of their bestselling product, chances are a lot of that following are then going to purchase that same item.

REFLECTIONS

• From this information, it has been proved to me that a vast amount of content online is extremely alike and is influential on society and their self identification, both in subtle and drastic ways.
• I feel that at the minute, my thoughts and ideas are too literal and as a result of this, I'm not producing content with enough artistic and abstract relevance. 
• I've learnt that intense research is the key to success, as the more knowledge that I gain within a subject field, the more it will be reflected within my final outcomes. Research skills are something that will be of value to me throughout my whole career, no matter the industry, so being able to fine tune and perfect them now during the production of this project will ensure that I can use them the most effectively.

TUTORIAL WITH JENNIFER

I went into my one-to-one tutorial with a neutral attitude towards my project after the set back from the previous shoot that hadn't turned out well as I had hoped. I had researched further into my ideas to ensure that my thoughts were clear in my mind so that I could explain in the most effective way to show my progress; when I feel organised within my work it helps me gain a positive attitude as I feel everything is in order and can be achievable when planned well.

The images from the data board shoot were shown, with the explanation of how I tested the look, the struggles I faced sourcing a model and how after receiving the final images I did not feel that they actually fit the project outlines that I had set myself. Jennifer agreed with my thoughts on the images, expressing that they were ‘pretty’ images that would be great within a futuristic, robotic idea, but within my idea of tackling real life issues, it just doesn't work effectively. It was helpful to gain a second opinion that matched my own, as it lightened my attitude and I gained some confidence, which I sometimes need - confidence and believing in myself is an issue I struggle with regularly. By keeping on top of workload and always updating ideas so that I fully understand my thoughts, it will help me keep a wholesome outlook on my project and slowly help me gain the self-assurance I need to excel. 

Since shooting, I had been rethinking the focus of my concept, looking into real life situations that I can see around myself and the people in my life and how they are becoming consumed by social media and the technology needed to use it. I started to take down some notes of some first-hand observations around me:

•    Obsessions with celebrity Instagram accounts

•    People using Snapchat to document almost everything in their day-to-day lives

•    Photographing food to then post on social media accounts

•    Friends sitting looking through the social media on they mobile phones, while on the laptops, while watching television

•    Visiting friends, then all siting on our phones looking through social media platforms and not actually speaking to one another.

•    People posting how they are feeling on social media. Is this for attention? a cry for help? to boast?

•    Happy selfies being posted online, but are these people really in a happy frame of mind? Is this a mask?

•    Nights out being documented from almost start to finish. Have they actually enjoyed the night?

•    I myself check my social media accounts when I wake up in the morning, sometimes half an hour passes and I’m still in the same position doing the same thing. Is this wasted time?

These ideas were shared with Jennifer, along with a Pinterest board I had collated including images that I found inspiring or relatable to my own ideas. I was praised on the research I had created, however she then challenged me asking: why do I look to Pinterest for help with ideas so much?

Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/adkins0730/

After taking time to reflect on this question, I have decided that I should step away from the online pin board as it can cloud the mind and only allows me to think of ideas that have already been created before. I hadn't realised how much of an impact the website had on my creative outlook of my project. Without knowing, some of my ideas were very similar to a few of my pins - not exactly carbon copies, but they had many similarities which was worrying for me as I don't want my work to be so heavily influenced by work that is already out in the world. I understand that it is nearly, if not impossible, to create something totally unique that has never been thought of before, however I want to try and push the boundaries of my ideas so that they progress from my own thoughts and innovations rather than off the back of others. By doing this and pushing myself, it will help with my confidence issues and to create work of the best quality that I will feel really proud of.

What Next?

• To ensure the project moves forward, I should undertake a social experiment or two to understand the habits and patterns of people around me (friends, family, etc) . This will aid me in gaining knowledge on how serious the issue of social media obsession and dependency is within my circle of friends/family and what issues that need to be focused on when creating concepts - this also works well as these are the individuals who I will be looking too to be included (as models) within my my publication.

SELFIE ADDICTION

I came across this article (here) when researching into social media obsession.  It speaks about how a 19 year old boy dropped out of education, wouldn’t leave his home and lost a severe amount of weight all in the hope to improve his appearance for selfies. I hadn't realised the extent that social media and smartphone obsession had reached, as I only have personal experiences to relate too. 

For someone to be spending 10 hours a day, taking over 200 images of themselves seems so unrealistic to me, however Dr David veal explains how ‘Danny’s case is particularly extreme, but this is a serious problem. It’s not a vanity issue. It’s a mental health one which has an extremely high suicide rate.’

Danny says that:

‘I was constantly in search of taking the perfect selfie and when I realised I couldn’t I wanted to die. I lost my friends, my education, my health and almost my life. The only thing I cared about was having my phone with me so I could satisfy the urge to capture a picture of myself at any time of the day. I finally realised I was never going to take a picture that made the craving go away and that was when I hit rock bottom.

People don’t realise when they post a picture of themselves on Facebook or Twitter it can so quickly spiral out of control. It becomes a mission to get approval and it can destroy anyone. It’s a real problem like drugs, alcohol or gambling. I don’t want anyone to go through what I’ve been through.’

From personal experience I can understand feeling frustrated when the lighting isn’t perfect in a picture or if I simply cant get the right angle, which even then is a silly thing to be getting worked up about in my opinion. Why should a selfie or a picture that you post on social media ruin your day?

It is only a picture at the end of the day.

This article has opened my eyes to how serious some of the issues surrounding social media use are, inspiring me to want to truly understand the matter and convey it throughout the project in the best possible way. By conducting further research through primary resources and academic psychology journals, it will help me appreciate this topic, as at the minute it is completely new to me.

Being knowledgeable within a subject matter will achieve better outcomes in the long run, as it will open up different thought processes and paths for ideas to grow from. The ideas and concepts behind the project imagery should improve as a result of this, as there will be factual knowledge behind it.

ALDRIDGE, G. and K. HARDEN, 2014. Selfie Addict Took Two Hundred a Day – And Tried To Kill Himself When He Couldn’t Take Perfect Photo. The Mirror. [Viewed 13 February 2016] Available from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/selfie-addict-took-two-hundred-3273819

DATA BOARD FINAL OUTCOME

Following the test shoot (here), the improvements and ideas mentioned were taken into consideration for this photoshoot - Gold materials and smaller circular stickers were purchased to incorporated into the look. 

I found that sourcing a model was a difficult task, as models that I felt had the desired look weren't available within the booked studio slot. To avoid postponing the shoot and losing out on valuable studio time, Megan (MUA) found someone that had modelled for her previously. I was informed that the model was confident in front of the camera and photogenic, which she was, however I had a specific type of individual set in my mind - small dainty face, long ginger hair, naturally beautiful - which caused me to be a little displeased by the final images as they didn't meet my original expectations.

The photographer, Denby Axam, was sourced through word of mouth of a fellow student of Megan's on the Makeup & hair design course, as they felt she would be well suited for the job and was a reliable individual. I trusted Megan's instincts to work alongside Denby, as we had been working so well as a team so far. These instincts paid off in the end, as the photographer was onetime, well equipped for the shoot and worked well alongside Megan and Myself - exchanging ideas and thoughts on poses, improvements and lighting that could be used to achieve the most successful images. I feel that the images (below, unedited) work well on their own as beautiful imagery, however after revisiting the ethos of my project and the topics that I wish to approach, I found myself doubting the relevance they actually had. The images have a futuristic feel to them which was something I wanted to avoid as I wish for my outcome to cover real life issues and how this social media obsession is affecting peoples everyday life now, rather than what will come of it in the future.

I am glad that the shoot still went ahead, as I was finding it difficult to define the specific path I wanted my project to go down. After trialling and shooting this idea, it has clarified in my mind that I need to be focusing on real representations of situations that society is finding themselves in within the present day we are living in rather than what the future may hold if we carry on as we are. 

I need to go back to the drawing board of my project and ideas to make sure I research further in the right direction so that my ideas can progress and my time can be used effectively to achieve the right imagery.

DATA BOARD TESTING

An idea that I had for an image for my project was to produce a beauty shoot where it would look like the model has a data board as part of her face. This concept came from the idea that if we carry on this obsession with social media and technology, it would soon become a part of us physically - in this case, embedded within our minds/skulls.

After searching for a makeup artist through the university Facebook pages, Megan Edwards (MUA) and myself decided to work together on this specific idea as it fit the aesthetics of a project she was working on as well as my own. Within this I worked as the creative director as the idea was my own initially, while Megan contributed ideas for the use of makeup and materials as she had further knowledge within this field. Within the trial run, a strong pigmented green was used as the base, which I felt was too bright and almost ‘martian’ like, creating a different look to the one I desired. The decision was made that the green should be of powder form rather than a cream product in future, as the look is quite strong in itself, so a subtle base needed to be incorporated to keep it looking lifelike and not so futuristic.

The materials that were used to create the pattern worked well I thought, as it was easier to create straight lines than to draw them on freehand, which may have looked childlike and unprofessional. A team decision was made to incorporate gold into the design in future, as the black on its own is two-dimensional, along with the agreed decision to use smaller round stickers as they would look far more intricate than the large ones trialled. This will hopefully improve the design so that it resembles an actual data board which is the overall concept.

PLANNER: 'ONE WHO PLANS'

Within my final major project I intend to work with a large team of creatives to help produce a final outcome of the highest quality possible. I am the type of individual that needs to have everything planned and written down. I can remember majority of information off of the top of my head, but I am very wary that the slightest thing forgotten could also be a recipe for disaster, which is why I have invested in materials to help me plan thoroughly throughout production process.

Materials:

Diary - 1 day per page, this allows me to schedule all important deadlines, studio bookings and meetings to specific times of the day.

Notepad - to write down ideas when they come to mind, information from meetings, etc.

Highlighters - So that I can highlight and group things of the same urgency and topic.

Sketchbook - Rather than creating mood boards online, a sketchbook will be easier to take with me to shoots as well as my laptop, incase my laptop breaks/cant connect to wifi/etc.

I have also printed out a copy of my final major project proposal that I keep within my notepad to refer back to whenever necessary.

By posting on all of the Southampton Solent creative university pages on Facebook, asking for individuals who would be interested in working alongside me and my project, I have received messages from students ranging from first years to third years, who have since sent me examples of their work and the times within the week they are available to collaborate. Seeing examples of work has allowed me to choose who would be the best suited individuals that I should work with, allocating specific ideas and concepts to people that have similar visions and working processes to myself. In doing this, it is more likely that final outcomes will reach their best potential and quality. Having looked at their previous work within their creative field I have then been able to choose specific creatives for example, photographers and makeup artists who have similar style to work together in the hope that this will contribute as another factor to produce high quality, professional images.

I have noted all of their names and free time within my notepad for now so that I can look back to this when planning my photoshoots. I found this quite an effective way of doing things as I don't have to put an advertisement out before each shoot asking for assistance, as I now have a list of contacts that I can rely on. As these are new contacts and collaborations that I have acquired,  the relationship between myself and the other creative is currently unknown, meaning working together may be quite difficult if personalities and attitudes differ. Unfortunately this is a tricky situation to tackle beforehand, so I will have to ensure that I come across as an easy-going yet still firm creative director when on shoot, so that I am approachable for the new acquaintances yet still seem authoritative.