23.01.12

The first week of this project commenced with lectures and seminars that provided inspiration for future photo shoots. This made me determined to put this project into motion. I then proceeded to research photography iconic and amateur, contemporary and vintage as well look to sources such as art, film and music. Lynn Federle Orr, The Cult of Beauty (1995), delivered a visual insight to the renaissance, paintings that have evidently been recreated through contemporary photography. This demonstrated how an image can refer to previous historical works yet be original with a contemporary twist. Using sources on the Internet such as blogs and Tumblr gave me inspiration for future shoots. With over 33 million worldwide users (vabsite, 2012) Tumblr is evidently a reliable source of visual guidance on imagery favored by the typical 21^st century blogger.   

Tumblr stats

The nifty fifties Tumblr page 

This weeks IT session provided further knowledge of the significance of networking in determining the success of any business, online publication and website. Creating a Facebook page, Tumblr account, Twitter account and blog essentially assured numerous platforms for the exhibition of my magazine, posting information about the publication and Sneak Peak imagery to promote the magazine to an extensive target audience instantly informed people about the publication and got others talking about the magazine. While blogger is extremely informative and influential Tumblr is evidently a more innovative source for image research as it primarily visually engaging and allows for more consistent flow of imagery throughout the day. Allowing for interaction between the blogger and the viewer, showing how well the images were received with the like button and ability to ‘reblog’ images. Researching imagery exhibited in contemporary print magazine editorials such as Numero, ID and Volt was helpful in providing inspiration for photography however the imagery was limited and although innovative not as versatile as the imagery provided on social networking sites.

Updating my Tumblr account daily with image research means I can document my image research and provide a visual reflective journal to document the researching process for the construction of my magazine.

Having approximately 25 photo shoots to complete means shooting on a weekly basis is an essential. The first photo shoot took place in my own house, which meant there were no time limits, or restrictions. The overall aesthetic I was aiming to achieve was authentic blog style imagery similar to the imagery featured on Lookbook.nu as well as tumblr accounts and blogs. The shoot went well in that the intended blog style outcome was achieved however; the imagery was not up to a professional standard that could have been achieved with use of a lighting kit,as well as applying the make-up more carefully. Therefore future shoots will be planed more effectively, being more organized and preparing call sheets.