In today's seminar, we did some photography analysis comparing historical and contemporary Elizabethans. We started off by watching a video called Fashion Film - Amor on a website called showstudio.com, it shows famous fashion photographer Nick Knight and creative director Amanda Harlech teaming up on a shoot for V magazine and features model Molly Blair wearing fashion by Prada, Alexander McQueen, Comme des Garcons and more. The video shows the combination between creativity and love. The idea itself is quite emotional, every image is in black and white or grey, it gets quite deep by showing photos being burned and ruined and black flower petals falling on the floor. When being interviewed on his thoughts on Fashion Film, he said 'When a fashion designer creates a garment, he or she always creates that garment to be seen in movement. They never think oh i'll draw this dress, it'll only be seen from one angle static, they're always created to be worn and they're always created to be seen in movement.' He talks about how he chose to do studio photography back in 1999 because he knew the Internet was going to become a really big deal to people to communicate and put sources on. He says that by using the Internet, it can show how designers intended for their ideas and materials to look, by designing a dress on paper and creating an idea, you can use the Internet to put it into movement and broadcast it how you want. In his video, you can see the different movement throughout it, there are times when the movement is shown by burning the top layered image so it reveals a different one underneath and sometimes it will show a person moving round so you can see the full dress in 360 spin. I really enjoyed this video, I thought it was very interesting but mysterious and emotional at the same time but it was definitely one of them videos where it makes you want to keep watching to find out more.
We looked at some images on the board and were asked 'What makes these following images Elizabethan inspired?' and then had to write down what we thought made the images look Elizabethan.
This second image is completely different I think compared to the previous ones. You can see the pearls in the hair in the centre parting and also at the end of her hair curl at the side, this is the most similar Elizabethan reference as Queen Elizabethan was known for loving her pearls. She has a very netted ruff around her neck which is my favourite thing about this photo because the style is Elizabethan but the look of it is very modern and more contemporary than old fashioned. This image is different to the previous one as the model doesn't have any eyebrows which is how the style was for Elizabethans. The lipstick colour is darkish red/brown which makes it look like her lip has been bleeding, the Elizabethans would have had more of a bright red shade on their lip as opposed to a more brown shade. This photograph looks different as the setting has has changed compared to the last one, this one looks like it's been shot in a museum rather than in a studio room.
This is similar to the first set of images as it shows golden tones, again in the hair, on the eyes and on the cheeks. The necklace in the first image is quite similar to something Queen Elizabeth would have worn, it is similar to the one she wore in the Pelican Portrait. In the second image, the designer has created a necklace out of pearls which I really like and think is very creative. I like how the pearls wrap all around her neck and then hang down at either side and then also at the front. The pearls are being used as a ruff which is similar to Queen Elizabeth. Again, black clothing has been used for both images as this shows power, the background is also dark so the lighting is focused all on her face. In the right image, her clothing looks almost like armour with the slits by her armpits and the pearls hanging around it.
There are more typical Elizabethan style images. The makeup is how typical wealthy Elizabethans would have had theirs with the pale, white face. The photo on the right is more similar as the model has ginger hair and no one in the Elizabethan era had dark hair, it was either ginger or blonde. There is a lot of structure in the hair as it is high up and backcombed a lot. In the second one, it has a pattern with a swirl on the side and also on the front of the head, there is an animal although you can't see it very well. The black clothing is popular once again, with the dark background and the lighting on the face. I like the background for the image on the left as it isn't completely black, it's like a washed up brown shade like coffee painted on a white background.
The first thing that captures my eye about this image is the lace in the dresses, this definitely would have been someone who was wealthy in the Elizabethan era. You can also see the red pearls wrapped around her neck which almost looks like a high collar, I like this as the pearls you usually see being worn are white and not red. The earrings are very elegant and stand out a lot as the model is wearing her hair tied up, for her hair it is a braid starting from her centre parting at the front and leading all the way round to the back, this is one of the nicest hair styles for this era i've seen so far. There is a lot of detail in the dress, especially in the collar of the white one. One thing that is very different about this image is that the model's hands are in it which never usually happens, even in Elizabethan times, the hands were rarely shown. I like how her body position is facing towards the camera and she is sat up straight but her face is looking slightly off to the side rather than at the camera.
You can see in these images, that similarly to the previous one, the model's hands are on show. In the left image, her hand is holding a skull which represents death and I think also represents power as if it is saying that she has the power to kill if she wanted to. The material for the dresses looks like a pleather which is completely different to all the others, it is also plain and doesn't have any patterns in it and the only part that would stand out is the netted collar. The makeup is typical Elizabethan as the face is very pale and she has ginger hair, the one on the left has similar makeup expect the hair is brown. The hairstyles both are correct, especially the one on the right as this is curled and frizzy which is my favourite Elizabethan hair look. The light in the image on the left is bouncing off the jacket and skull and shining onto her face.
These are the most typical Elizabethan images so far. The skin is very pale in both, you can also notice the traditional red lipstick in the photo on the right. This image is also different as it has more skin on show compared to the others. There is a traditional old style look to the photos and they don't look that contemporary as they have a slight fade on them. You can also see that the model's don't have eyebrows. The image on the left is my favourite as the leaves act as a frame and it looks like you're looking through vegetation like it's a portrait image. I also like the position of the model, the way she is completely turned away from the camera and looking straight ahead like a portrait shot with just part of the body in. The collar she is wearing is a shirt buttoned up backwards so it's interesting to think about what ideas to come up with and create for my photoshoot. The hair is tied up in both and the one on the right has little patterns and accessories in. The necklace she is wearing sets off the dress and makes her look very wealthy.
This was the last set of images we looked at. The one on the right is my favourite photo of all of them, I like how it is a contemporary take of an Elizabethan style. The hair is completely different to any of the other hairstyles i've seen for this era so far and I like the clothing how she is dressed all in black but then has a white ruff to make it stand out and also to match her hair. Her body pose is something very contemporary, you wouldn't have seen someone pose like this in Elizabethan times. I like how the background is light grey and not black and how the lighting reflects off this and onto her face. The image on the left shows a typical wealthy woman's dress from the era and the typical hair up design with pearls around her neck. The image suggests class and wealth and shows skin in a sophisticated way, the image is also shot in natural light as opposed to in a studio.
After looking through all of these images and analysing them, we looked at all the ladies in waiting during the Queen Elizabeth I era, we got into groups of two and chose a lady each and brainstormed ideas of how we wish for our characters to look. The ladies in waiting were:
- Katherine Swynford - she married a knight called Hugh Swynford, her sister Phillipa was married to Geoffrey Chaucer and both served as ladies in waiting.
- Kat Ashley - she was a faithful servant of Queen Elizabeth from a small, neglected child to the most powerful woman in England, she was a Chief Lady of the Bedchamber.
- Lettice Knollys - she was a lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth, she married the Queen's favourite, Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester in secret
- Elizabeth Throckmorton - she was the lady in waiting and maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth and the wife of Sir Walter Raleigh
- Elizabeth Brydges - she was the daughter of Giles Brydges, the third baron Chandos, she was at court in 1603 when Queen Elizabeth died and was included in Elizabeth's funeral procession
- Blanche Parry - she had cared for Queen Elizabeth since her childhood and became Gentlewomen of the Bedchamber
- Anne Vavasour - she was lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth and the mistress of the Earl of Oxford
- Bess of Hardwick - she started her life very poor, married four times and became a lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth and was the second most powerful Elizabethan woman, next to Queen Elizabeth
- Anne Russell - she was maid of honour and lady in waiting to Queen Elizabeth. She married Ambrose Dudley, the brother of Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester
- Catherine Carey - she was the chief Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth and was her first cousin. She married Sir Francis Knollys.
- Mary Fitton - she was an Elizabethan gentlewoman who became a maid of honour to Queen Elizabeth. She was mistress to William Herbert, the Earl of Pembroke.
After looking through all the ladies in waiting, we had to pick one to research and look into, we had to list the key qualities of our character that symbolise them as Elizabethan through makeup, hair and styling and put it all into a mind map. We also had to look at use of accessories, lighting and the pose.
I chose Bess of Hardwick as I thought she seemed like a really interesting woman and how she went from being very poor when she was younger to becoming the second most richest and powerful woman in the world, after Queen Elizabeth. I wrote down some aspects about her including her hair, her relationships and other facts. I included all this in the mind map pictured above. My next step is to research into my character more and develop a story and makeup look of what I want my character to look like. I will incorporate how Bess of Hardwick looks into my idea and also add in some key ideas of looks from the Elizabethan era as well as some designs I think will look good for my character.
No comments:
Post a Comment