photo styling

Reflection

After we've heard that we needed two editorial photoshoots - reflecting the values of our magazine, we first started setting the boundaries for our visual vision to make it easier to come up with a concept

Concept base: Crowns in Disguise

Analysis

Interesting elements that we are able to work with are mostly the technical aspects / values:

- Cinelooks
- Soft and Artificial light
- Cinematic photography

- Bright colours
- Cultural-derived headwear

Reflection

After having a group conversation - I told them that I still have a half-researched project that we could maybe use for this magazine. This is a personal concept that I would love to work out for this magazine + research further. (And combine it with the magazine)

An Appreciation of the Black Woman: A Black woman is like a statue, I am showing the Black woman that is my statue. A Black woman and her inner spirituality mixed with the Afro-Caribbean spirituality. This is a modern context, looking at the diaspora of the decolonized African woman. This series is about recalibrating the Black images.

An essay reflecting on the wisdom and practices around Afro-Caribbean spirituality, traditional headwear and culture of decolonized Surinamese in the West.

Decision making

I want to create a modern translation of the ancestry and underappreciated costume of the Caribbeans. This is a story that is untold and oppressed within the Western world. The train of thought of wearing these costumes is bigger than only style and I think that could be a well-thought second layer for this shoot.

Research: In-Depth Afro Caribbean Spirituality and Generational Trauma

Reflection

Fransje (art director) had trouble working out the second editorial photoshoot so I voluntarily decided to help her out with the shoot. After having a conversation for my second article; I decided that it would be a good idea to combine it with an in-depth editorial - visually emphasizing Tida's story

Research: Tida Kamara

Reflection

After doing the research for the article: In conversation with Tida Kamara - we decided to show the Joy of her expressing Rude Boy Culture and Rastarafi culture throughout her shoot

From there on - my research starts.

Analysis

"Dana Lixenberg is known for her stripped-down portraits that revel in the elemental characteristics of her subjects. She uses a large-format field camera – a cumbersome tool, which necessitates what the artist refers to as a ‘slow dance’ between her and her subjects. The resulting portraits contain an enormous amount of detail and texture, and are as revelatory as a personal encounter. The power of the work arises from its intimacy, compositional rigor and, importantly, the absence of social stereotyping. Lixenberg has been predominantly active in the United States, and her thorough understanding of the country and its society seeps through palpably in her work." - Grimm Gallery

Analysis

Jenn Nkiru, ‘Still From Neneh Cherry, Kong’, 2018. Copyright Of The Artist Copy

The framing of the photo creates a film-like cinematographic setting. The styling is clearly focused on the extravagant headwear, made stronger by the white blouses worn by the models.

It feels like a photo in action due to the unsharp forefront of the moving heads.

This is in my opinion a beautiful strong photo.

Decision making

Her way of showing a person's personality through a picture is very admirable and inspirational to me. Her pictures are like movie stills out of a story that you want to know more about. Lighting is something she plays with and would like to inherit this within our shoot.

Decision making

A visual storyline - creating her story through 5 images that would reflect her own way of healing based on what Tida experienced as “white-passing”. With our shoot, we are creating a set that would represent her story. We are bringing back Tida’s crown on her head, in terms of spiritual energy as an extension of the body and identity. We are shooting at places where she has an affirmation.

Decision making

White passing: to be perceived as white when you aren’t

White gaze - Race is a defined social construct

“you are not black enough” no place in the black community

Express herself and her creativity with outfit and where her hair as big as possible

Spiritual energy

Extension of body

AFRO: symbol of pride, beauty, heritage

Decision making

Rastafari, questioning, threw her off, because she is light skinned, express culture, music sense, through clothing, with the rasta cap confident, it gives her Joy.

We live in Europe, a African diaspora, we connect through the diaspora in Europe, The ultimate aesthetic, culture within hip hop culture, braids or locks, wrap it up in a bun, with a headwear around it, combine it with a tracksuit, - complete opposite, connecting the dots within the diaspora.

Her dad came to the Netherlands as a refugee, she has a white mom, mixed kid, made an asylum within their house, 0-6 years a lot of asylum of friends asked, my mom, - big inspire, did a lot for the culture and her dad, African food to connect to heritage, - also within London, rude boy aesthetic

Feedback
09-03-2022

Nice link to cinema and identity

How does your concept translate into styling?
Is it about different roles?
Why does an outfit communicate with a wig?
Does Fidelio's aunt goes into a character and have different outfits?
Or does she show her own?

Keep it close to her or experiment. maybe she doesn’t identify or does. That feels like she goes into a character. More like a movie.

Feedback
09-03-2022

You did good research, nice references.
You need 5 looks so do we also have different headwear

Photographer:
Don’t use 3 photographers.

Make a storyboard before you shoot
What do you shoot and where?

Styling:
How can you add designers?
Decide on the looks.

Research: Crowns in Disguise

Decision making:

For the photoshoot I would like to create a light and natural lighting to emphasize the Black woman that is my statue.

Also to emphasize the dress and koto she is wearing. To fill the Surinamese visual language that has been lacking due to oppression.

Decision making:

Clean and natural soft make up - combining my mom's make up style is something I would like to keep.

Also to make her recognizable as she is now.

Decision making:

Set design is clean emphasizing the modern context and spiritual element, putting her as a statue in the middle.

The nature (moss, grass) should be a metaphor for the Black women as the beginning of life. - But mixed with spiritual earthly context.

Decision making:

The styling should be focusing on BIPOC-created designs and references from Surinamese traditional costumes within a modern context.

This to bring it back to life and show the beauty of these cultural elements - celebrating untold stories within the western context.

Production: Crowns in Disguise

Decision making:

This is a beautiful option to shoot outside. Only am I not able to reference back to Japanese blossoms and doesn't have a connection to the concept.

Decision making:

Jelmer Gunnink (set designer) contacted me to tell me that he wants to work on this concept. He wants to help me creating the set design - using what he already has created and transform it into a fitting set design.

I said yes.

Decision making:

I contacted Golldie - A jewelry maker from Curaçao that has moved to Rotterdam. She uses a traditional way of making earrings herself by drying flowers.

I want to work with BIPoC designers so would love to borrow these earrings for the shoot.

She said yes.

Decision making:

I contacted Ciro Duclos - owner of In-debt studio to directly use this space. He sadly said no due to it being part of an exhibition and the artists does not appreciate his work being used as set design.

Understandable ;)

Decision making:

I contacted Allysia van Duijn - Surinamese-Dutch designer that is using Surinamese references to create new modern designs.

I am lucky to borrow a couple of her pieces for this photoshoot.

Decision making:

The available space has a long corner that we could use to create the spacious feeling that we want to give within the photoshoot.

Feedback
09-03-2022

It has been insanely hard to find BIPOC designers that were able to add a contribution to this shoot. Next to that - my mother is a plus-size woman and there were no design pieces findable for her size.

This again shows how this industry has been built and hard to give her the platform that I wanted to give her.

We made the intentional choice to not use fast fashion because that doesn't reflect our values.

Production: Tida Kamara

Decision making

This is a photo we would like to re-create and put within our own context. The focus gives an alienated feeling while she is surrounded by other people - this reflects back to being "questioned" by society due to being mixed.