Progress: Direction for my Project

For this project i have decided to look at greek goddesses for the theme of my images. I am aiming to photograph four different greek goddesses which are roughly based around the Elements. I would like to show my images in a fashion/editorial based way and select garments which i feel reflect the goddesses i wish to portray. I will also try to create headdresses and get my model to produce different looks through the use of make-up and hairstyling for each goddess.

Greek mythology has been around for thousands of years and played an important part in greek society for the Ancient greeks. Most Greek Mythology today is know from literature, however the stories were often represented through the Arts (Pottery, Sculpture, mosaics) and architecture. Mythology was later a popular subject in painting during the 16th-19th Centuries. 

Prometheus by Gustave Moreau (1868)

In Ancient Greece mythology was part of everyday life. The greeks thought of mythology as part of their history and so often used it to explain the reason various different things happened. This included the weather and natural phenomenons, friendships and relationships, disagreements and also variations in culture. Two of the most important narratives were Iliad and Odyssey which gave accounts of the Trojan War. 


Some of the most popular Gods and Goddesses include: Prometheus, Zeus, Aphrodite, Neptune, Hera, Apollo, Athena, Hermes, Ares and Poseidon.

Photographer: Emily Soto

Emily Soto is a fashion and portrait photographer based in New York. Her work often includes soft tones and ethereal pastel colouring. I wanted to include her in my research as i have been inspired by her work for a very long time.

A lot of her photographs include elegantly designed gowns and designer pieces which are dressed up in photographs based on fairytales and myths. The locations she uses are most often in natural spaces or outside of large mansions and stately homes, much as you would imagine princesses and well presented ladies to have been living in the past. I have also noticed that in all of Soto's images the gaze of the model is always very direct towards the camera which adds a connection for the viewer and draws them in to look towards the model rather than to look at the surroundings.

One of her most obvious Editorials showing fairytale images is that of Alice in Wonderland. The images live out scenes of the book and film interpretations in a quirky way. In the photos above she shows a model dresses as the Caterpillar smoking on a toadstool/mushroom and Alice playing crocket in the garden of the queen of hearts.

Photographer: Miss Aniela

Miss Aniela Photography is a partnership between photographer Natalie Dybisz and her partner Matt Lennard.

Natalies work started whilst she were a student with a lot of free time which she used to create self portraits, she used the persona Miss Aniela, her middle name, to distribute her work to the online world. This later became a trademark for Natalie as she felt this separated her personal life and her creative endeavours.

This photographers work started off with a fine art background (as a student) and so her later fashion works always seems to have a slight mix of the two. I feel this is true as her images include small details which all add up to create one bigger image. She uses conceptual narrative to add depth which is not always seen in fashion photography. The concepts and inspiration she has can be anything from blending nature with a dress, notations to the surrealist movement and to the slight representation of a portrait painted many years ago. 

Some of the work she produces also includes works from other painters such as George Barrett's A wooded landscape with travellers resting before a waterfall. In one of the photos you see above there is a small wooden hut with a woman dressed in a mermaid like dress, what you don't notice at first is that the background and surrounding area is actually components of Barrett's painting which you can see below. The combination of the two pieces of art creates an other worldly image where nothing is a recognisable reality, making it seem surreal and fantasy like.

    A wooded landscape with travellers resting before a waterfall By George Barrett

I find this work really inspiring as it allows you to see how boundaries can be pushed within photography and across different mediums. Miss Aniela allows you to explore her art but also celebrate garment design, intricate details and fine art. I feel like her work is about letting the imagination pour out and into her work whilst still keeping a balance that allows her work to be fashion and editorial based. A lot Natalie's more recent work is mostly created in camera, whilst also based on set design/locating and props and production from her other half (and her team). Her older works are based more around photoshop and combining more than one image. 

Introduction to Individual Practice Project: Myths, Legends and Fairytales

For this project i aim to carry on with work inspired by myths, legends and fairytales. For my last project i looked at a fairytale which wasn't well know and i then created a shoot that was inspired by it whilst collaborating with another individual. For this project i would like to carry on this idea and explore further, and maybe delve into the world of mythology and legend whilst keeping a portrait/editorial edge. 

I also feel that my work could explore the direction of Deities and pagan figures in different cultures.