MADISON STEVENS
Digital Photographic Practices
PROJECTS
MIDTERM PROJECT
Artist Statement:
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My work explores the relationship between fashion and confidence. I as an artist believe that fashion impacts the way someone feels and the way that they hold themselves. Clothing can be an indicator to many things such as the personality of a person and their internal well being and social status. I choose to just show the clothing and body stance so that the face is not a distraction or the main focus of the photograph. I wanted to make the clothing and the stature of the person the main focus of the photograph. I did not want to shoot traditional portraits, even though these photographs can be considered a style of portraiture. I also tried to not shoot traditional fashion photography because I wanted to style the series more creatively and have the viewer think about the photograph more than if it were in a magazine.
I have always been interested in fashion and modeling, however, I have never wanted to be the model. I wanted to challenge myself and shoot fashion photography instead of my usual landscape photography. This opportunity has allowed me to expand my knowledge in the fashion industry, as well as, my photography skills. I worked with lighting and the effect it has on the way clothing looks, as well as, how the model stands. This project also challenged my directing skills and challenged me to take control and tell the model how to pose instead of taking snapshots and candid photography.
I want the viewer to look at my work and see the unique way clothing can be photographed and how clothing can affect how a person carries themself. As I continue this series, I plan to manipulate the clothing and background of the photographs to provide and expand on the element of fashion being a creative way to express yourself.
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FINAL PROJECT
Artist Statement:
My work explores the relationship between fashion and confidence. As an artist I believe that fashion impacts the way someone feels and the way that they hold themselves. Clothing can be an indicator to many things such as the personality of a person and their internal well being or social status. I choose to focus on the clothing and body stance of the person rather than the face. I chose not to show the face because I wanted to narrow my subjects focus on the clothing and stature of the person as the main visual aspect rather than the face which could be a distraction. As my project progressed, I started to shoot more traditional fashion photography because the clothing gave a character to the model. The project transformed from creatively shooting clothing in a unique way to using clothing to characterize the model.
I have always been interested in fashion and modeling, however, I have never wanted to be the model. I wanted to challenge myself and shoot fashion photography instead of my usual landscape photography or traditional portrait work. This opportunity has allowed me to expand my knowledge in the fashion industry, as well as, my photography skills. I worked with both natural and set lighting and managed the effects lighting has on the way clothing looks, as well as, how the model stands. This project challenged my directing and set design skills, as well as, taking control and instructing the model to pose instead of taking snapshots and candid photography in a natural environment.
I want the viewer to look at my work and see how clothing can give a person a personality or characterize a person without having their face be in the photograph. I want to show how clothing is a representation of who you are or who you are not.
As I continued this series, I changed my focus on creatively showing how to photograph clothing to using clothing to help define a person and who they are or who they are not. I enjoyed the progress and the transformation of the project. The project led me in a direction that challenged me, but inevitably summed up my passion for photography.
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