During yesterday’s film club we watched the Rankin documentary- “The 7 Photographs that Changed Fashion.” It was very easy to watch, and I really enjoyed the entire film. It would be easy for me to write about each image and Rankin’s efforts, however, I am going to reflect on how the documentary helped inspired me for my next studio shoot next week.
- Even if I do not get chance during the next week, I would like to try to work with different film, exposure and digital cameras over the summer. I was pleasantly surprised at the difference between cameras and developing techniques. Rankin’s attempt at Cecil Beaton’s ‘White Panton Hat’ held a whole new emotion and mood when taken in film compared to digital. The much slower and gentle technique conveyed a much softer image and added power to the model’s emotion.
- I was struck by the power and importance of lighting. It is crucial we know exactly what we are after before walking on set. I think we should play with gels, filters and angles before the day of the shoot.
- I think that David Bailey’s portrait of Jean Shrimpton held the most context that had to be conveyed by Rankin. However, despite being both powerful images, it made me aware of the context and depth needed behind a successful image. I think that this is the weakness of our existing image proposal.
ChynnaDavies 