The past few days have been a bit of a whirlwind of emotions and confusion. It has been evident that Chris (the photographer) and I have been clashing with ideas and concept developments over the past week or so, and I have been feeling for a while that the project that I first proposed to Chris was starting to feel less and less like my own. I feel that Chris has been trying to steer it into a direction that I wasn’t entirely comfortable with, as although we are both working towards the same final outcome, we are of course presenting our work from two different fields.
Both Chris and I are both very theoretical in our approach to work, which is what I have liked the most when working with him as it has added a great deal of depth and reference points to start designing. However I feel that 80% of his work is based on theory, the rest of course within the outcome of his photography. My own work is very much a 50/50 share of theoretical development and final practical skill and outcome and for this reason, there has been far too much pressure to produce essay-like pieces of work to justify every creative idea that I have proposed to him so far. I have been finding this stifling as a designer, as I feel that I am not able to freely produce creative sketches without having to reference at every stage of design, something that is quite tiring and less enjoyable.
Chris and I did our first test last Tuesday 31st Jan, which I felt went very well. The images were emotive, capturing the beauty and obscurity of what was planned and discussed. The contact sheet from the shoot is here>
Chris expressed a few days after the shoot that he felt that the model was wearing too much makeup which I disagreed with, however I was willing to tone down some areas as a compromise for the experimental nature of makeup design to follow in the consecutive chapters. However we have both recently reached the conclusion that having to make such ‘compromises’ for our Final Major Projects was something that we were both unhappy with, and although I have enjoyed working in a professional and collaborative way, it is just unsuitable for the creative demand and freedom that a project such as this will require.
It is the best decision I have made so far in the project, as I now feel totally free to design and create my own limitations, which is refreshing and inspiring for me as a designer. As I proposed the original concept and chapter development for the project, I will continue to follow these guidelines which create realistic boundaries, whilst still allowing me to experiment with designs and be as free as I would like. I am now going to be collaborating with the wonderful Lauren Catherine Kaigg who I have worked with countless times in the past and have produced stunning results. I met Lauren when I first started using Model Mayhem and since then, a great relationship and trust has been formed which is very reassuring for the demand and pressure of my FMP. We have devised a meticulous production plan which breaks down dates, studio times and locations, to ensure that all images will be photographed and edited by 11th April. This will give me almost 4 weeks to finalise layout plans, get the images printed and finally create the book myself.
Originally, the book was going to be produced and compiled by Chris and I, however I feel much happier and more confident to produce everything alone. This is a personal project and upon reflection, I feel that I would be unhappy to compromise my ideas along the way. I do, however, welcome criticism and ensure to take it on board to improve and drive my creativity further. However I feel that the final decision in an FMP should be personal, and although Lauren will be extremely inspiring in taking beautiful photographs and contributing to ideas, I feel much happier and more comfortable with the fact that the final outcome will be a very personal production.
We are beginning to shoot the first 2 chapters from 16th February as Lauren is away in Berlin next week, which will give me plenty of time to test, test and test some more and source some beautiful models. I am really excited for the foreseeable future outcomes, and can’t wait to work with Lauren once again!
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