The Story of the Inky Boys

First Shoot, Ink coming out of the mouth, Model: Issy

This shoot was originally going to be a test shoot but I have decided to use the images as final images because they exceeded my expectations and I think they are my favourite set of images from the whole project. Before the shoot I was a bit apprehensive about getting the mood right in the images as this style of image I have not created in the past and so I did not know how good my ability would be. Therefore I prepared for the shoot by testing out several different products to create the black oily substance that I needed to create my desired look. I tried using Supracolor, Aquacolor, Mac Mixing medium, primer, Mac Lip Mixes, glosses, lipstick and different combinations of the products mixed together to see what work the best. I felt that the Black Mac Lip Mix together with the Mac Mixing Medium created a very glossy wet look that was not too runny as it created drips yet did not move around too much which made it easier to control and create the look I wanted.

I wanted the background on my images to be dark and the images to have quite a sombre mood and so I spoke to my photography tutor Chris about this and he showed me how I can create this. It was actually not too different to photography techniques I had used in the past the only thing I had to change was the positioning of the lights and move my model slightly away from the background so that the background stayed very dark.

I chose Issy to as my model because I have worked with her before and so know that she looks very effortless in front of the camera, follows directions well and is willing to do poses that are a bit unusual. I also knew that the paleness of Issy’s skin and brightness of her blue and green eyes would create a bold contrast to the black make-up.

The shoot went well and was faster than I expected so we had more time to experiment with the make-up and try few different versions of having the black around Issy’s mouth. I think the look that worked the best was when her make-up and hair was messy and she looked uncomfortable. I think this worked well to reflect the story as I wanted her to look destressed at having her speech taken away and having ink pouring from her mouth. I also think my photography was the best on these images as the angle and composition complement the way Issy was posed yet she skill looks distressed.

At the beginning of the shoot I was a bit tentative with applying the black as I knew it would be difficult to take off if I put too much on. However when I applied more product and made it look messier it was far more effective and so I learned that I need to be bolder when applying make-up. If I did apply it in a way that looked bad I could always remove it and reapply it and so I need to remember this in the future.