Media Influence

"Media influences are bad. Young girls are looking up to celebrities showing ways of keeping their size zero figure perfect. In my eyes, young girls should be looking up to healthy looking sizes and seeing that it's okay to be bugger. Marilyn Monroe was the perfect role model, and now stars such as Niki Minaj, Hayley Williams and Cheryl Cole are looked up to and idolised. Also, all the models that are photoshopped to have 'perfect' skin and a 20 inch waist is being seen as the way to look and anyone that is size ten and plus are seen as fat"

"Of course everyone like how the media displays people, mainly blokes because it sows an unreal factor of life, something you don't see in reality. It makes aspirations but can also be harmful to people who believe they should look how the media says"

"Not a fan of the media, simply because their view always seem narrow. Appearance should be affected by advertisements of models, because as far as I can see, it influences depression in girls, who's reasons are 'I wanted to look like them'"

"The media are everything and they feed us their perception of everything. It's like people can't think for themselves anymore. All the media are bothered about is making more sales, having the most customers and therefor having the most extreme and different stories. Media in magazines shows us what's in fashion or make up tips, if they don't follow them they'll be judged"

Anorexia Interview

How did you know you were anorexic?
I didn't, I was having panic attacks so I started to see a counselor who did some tests on me, and I scored the lowest score he'd seen in a few years.

How did you react/feel?
I thought he was being over dramatic, I didn't believe him. I felt bad for my mum because I felt like I'd upset her. I didn't want to gain any weight

How have you dealt with it since?
It was really hard being forced into eating with people watching me. Seeing a counselor has helped me loads

What were you doing to feed your addiction?
Coming to college and not eating all day, the going home and making excuses to avoid eating. I'd go to bed and sleep, then when I woke up i'd have something like soup and eat bits of it, then go back to bed and repeat it.

Size Zero and Eating Disorders

"Some people are naturally slim with the inability to put on weight and I think they get bullied as much as overweight people. We have been fed the idea that we should all be size zero and the media really project this and manipulate us to think we should be like this. The media use models to project the image and they make celebrities into god like characters who we should desire to be and usually, celebrities spend so much money to enhance their appearance. We have been given a false example of whwat we should look like. There are no longer celebrities that don't have their hair and makeup done 24/7"

"The media makes some girls want to be size zero because they think it's in fashion, but they don't realise it could have a massive effect on their health"

Cosmetics and Surgery Opinion

"I use a lot of makeup and hair products, mainly because they make me feel confident in myself. However, I am able to go outside without makeup on because I'm not largely bothered if people are judging me. I don't think I look good without makeup on. Nowhere, ever does it say 'wear as little makeup as possible, everyone is beautiful', you just get all of the new products that you need to have, the list is never ending. If I was to go to a club, I would never go without makeup because it's an environment where people spend hours trying to look good, and judge those who don't. I think surgery is okay because some people can get depressed with their appearance and it can really affect them, so if someone has one of their teeth or nose then I think it's acceptable. However, there are celebrities that go overboard with surgery to maintain their look. I think they need to be more aware of the complications and admit that people can become addicted to surgery in extreme circumstances"

"I use cosmetics nearly everyday because II feel better with it on, where as other people use it to cover up scars"

"All famous people wear make up because it comes across as the definition of perfection. I use makeup because I feel a lot more confident with it on, probably like most girls. Surgery I'#m not for or against it. If people feel strongly about it and feel like they would have a huge problem with parts of their body and getting it made them happy, I'm all for it, but on the other hand, I think you should embrace what you have naturally"

"I think that using cosmetics is a good thing. I wear make up every day as it makes me feel better when I have it on. Some people use it to cover up spots or scars so it has a good use. Also the surgery is good as you are able to fix something where to feel uncomfortable about it like having a nose job.

Self Consciousness Opinons

"I'm self conscious about my face, because it's the first thing people see, and it can instantly set someone's impression of you, because everyone gets judged"

"My skin - I have really bad eczema, so I always wear long sleeved tops because I don't like showing it. I try my best to help it but it's more difficult than people think"

"My weight, due to slowly getting bigger and how people respond to it. After a period of time I noticed how it affected social circumstances. I didn't realise at first, but a lot of people who hadn't seen me in a while would comment on it"

"Not looking 'neat', I don't care much about looking anything other than neat, clean or trimmed. This is mostly because I don't like people point out things out of place"

"Probably my smile, because I have a tooth out of place. People tend to slyly look at it or comment on it, so it highlights that it's noticable and abnormal"

Tattoo/Piercing Opinions

"I have piercings but no tattoos, if people think they look attractive with tattoos plastered all over there body and pieces of metal through their faces then that's their decision"

"Tattoos are a sign of art, and who people are. They express themselves through body art, is could also be personal to them"

"I think tattoos or piercings should not determine a person. People are making a bigger deal of tghem than it actually is. When people have tattoos to look like a lizard for example, they are going to get noticed and asked questions, humans are curious! However, I feel people with tattoos have been labelled wrongfully and can be percieved as lazy, boisterous and dangerous, when in reality they're normal"

"I feel as though expressing your personality through how you look is important. Being boring looking makes me self concious. I hate it, it's not me, it's a kind of plastic surgery in a way. The thing that sucks about body mods is how 'unacceptable' it makes a person look in a workplace, it's bullshit, you wouldn't judge someone with a physical deformity so why would having tattoos reduce the ability or someone working hard?"

Discrimination/Racism Opinions

For my theme on appearance, I decided to get opinions on certain topics from a random selection of people. The group vary in age and gender, and it was all done confidentially to allow the participant to feel more comfortable, and be able to open up more. I have also added my own opinions in to the selection for a broader range of research.

"Society is narrow minded. We only see what we want to see and that's in every relighion. There are extremists in religion but people need to realise that does not sum up a whole race. I believe that racism is more likely to occur when your parents are racist too, as the child will see it as acceptable behaviour. Discrimination is serious, and can really affect people's lives to the point where they have ended their life to stop it"

"Only thing I ever don't like about the way people look is if they look rough or threatening. Not a fan of people who judge others on their appearance, and even less of a fan of racists, but that goes both ways"

"Racism and discrimination these days are really bad. Just because someone has a different coloured skin, doesn't mean they are different"

"I don't think it should happen just because of your colour or background, but you can't change how people view it. I think every country should be multicultural and not biased against certain cultures or backgrounds. For example, England/UK, they are scared of being called racist, so they offer privileges to foreign people. I think people who were bred in this country should get first 'dibs' and people should only come into the country if they can offer something positive by doing so, such as work like in the United States and Australia"
 

Blue/Brown Eye Experiment

In 1968, Jane Elliott was just another American schoolteacher. She taught third and fourth grade (eight to nine-year-olds) children at a school in Riceville, Iowa, which was a very typical, all-white, small American town.

Jane had tried to introduce her students to the idea of racial equality. She had even appointed Martin Luther King as the class's 'Hero of the Month', but she struggled to explain what racism was really like to the all-white class. They seemed keen to learn, but had never seen a black person in real life.

After the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jane tried a more direct exercise to bring the truth home about racial discrimination. It was an exercise which was to change her life.

Jane Elliott told her pupils a pseudo-scientific explanation of how eye colour defined people: blue eyes showed people who were cleverer, quicker, more likely to succeed. They were superior to people with brown eyes, who were described untrustworthy, lazy and stupid1. She then divided the class according to who had brown eyes and who had blue eyes. To ensure clarity of divisions - given that some eye colours might be subject to dispute, she used ribbons to mark out the 'inferior' brown-eyed children (those with clearly different eye colours acted as bystanders). To reinforce the situation, she gave the superior group extra classroom privileges, and would not let the brown-eyed children drink from the same water fountain. She made a point of praising the blue-eyed children, and being more negative to the browns.

Jane Elliott was amazed at the speedy transformation in her class. The superior blue-eyed children became arrogant, and were bossy and unpleasant to their brown-eyed class mates. The brown eyes quickly became cowed and timid, even those that had previously dominated the class. But what really astounded Jane was the difference academically. Blue-eyed children improved their grades, and managed mathematical and reading tasks that had proved out of their grasp before. Brown-eyed high-flyers stumbled over simple questions.

A few days later, Jane Elliott told her class that she had the information about melanin the wrong way round, and swapped the colour superiorities over. The brown-eyed children tore off their now-hated ribbons, and the situations quickly reversed.

Jane Elliott had proved - more dramatically than she had ever thought possible - how much discrimination is soaked up subconsciously, by both the oppressor and the oppressed. She had not told her pupils to treat each other differently, only that they were different; and yet they developed the characteristic responses of discrimination. Jane Elliott felt that they did this because they had already absorbed discriminatory behaviour from their parents and other adults. On the plus side, she had also proved that racism can be unlearnt as quickly as it can be learnt. She had also found an excellent way of demonstrating what it feels like to be the subject of discrimination.

Jane's exercise - which she repeated with subsequent classes each year - did not make her popular with many of her neighbours. Her family was victimised, and her father forced into bankruptcy. Parents would refuse to have their children taught by the 'n****r-lover'. For much of the time she had the support of her superiors in the education system, so that as news of her exercise spread, she was able to appear on television shows, and even start to repeat the exercise in professional training days for adults.

But by the 1980s, her bosses felt they could no longer support her dual roles by providing unpaid leave, and she left school-teaching to become a full-time 'diversity trainer'. She took the Brown Eyes/Blue Eyes exercise, and other work, out to colleges, and government, professional and community groups across the world. In these training sessions, she usually puts the brown eyed attendees in the superior position. As these groups are more likely to be mixed race, this ensures that the people feeling the discrimination are more likely to be white, who are less likely to be used to it. She uses choice of language and tone, removal of basic rights (such as being allowed to speak without permission) and a constant shifting of rules to discomfort the blue-eyed participants. At the same time she uses positive language, praise and encouragement to the brown-eyed people. Even assertive, intelligent professionals have expressed their surprise at how quickly they start to mirror the trainer's behaviour, and how thoroughly they become affected by this technique, even at a two hour seminar. Jane Elliott then hammers home the point: people who are the subject of real discriminations cannot call a halt to the misery and frustration at the end of the afternoon. Jane Elliott started her exercise to point out racial discrimination: now she uses it to highlight sexism, ageism and homophobia too.

And what of Jane Elliott's original classes? These children had gone home after the exercise and told their parents that racism was wrong, and it was a lesson that stayed with them. Reunions and interviews have shown that the children remember the exercise and are positively affected by it, feeling that it makes them more empathic and sensitive.

Research taken from http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A1132480

Jewellery Natural

These are the first shots of the jewellery, with natural lighting instead of studio lighting. I positioned the pieces to the left of a large window on a sunny day, so they were all lit quite brightly. I mainly used an 18-55mm f5.6 lens, to allow me to work around the jewellery more, using +10 filters in some of the shots to get even closer in, filling the frame more. Using the cupcake mat to put the subjects on makes some of the shots seem a bit too 'busy', which puts me off, but it seemed more appropriate than anything I had available at the time. 

For a lot of the shots, I worked in a similar way to the studio work (these were shot first), using shallow depth of fields and focusing on subjects slightly off centre. Shooting less formally seemed more appropriate because they're quite bold and exciting, rather than jewellery like gold and silver which is a bit higher class.

The photographs I shot in more of a formal way didn't turn out as well in my opinion, they seemed quite boring. This put me off shooting in this way when I did the lot in the studio, and drew me towards shooting shallow depths of field. 

I massively prefer the work like this, which is less formal, focussing on small areas to grab the attention of the viewers. 

This photograph looks really odd, because I shout it with the cupcake part the wrong way round, and had to rotate the photograph to correct it. 

These were my favourite to photograph, because they caught light really well which highlighted the detail in them. They also looked quite bright and bold in both lighting, so I'd definitely like to photograph something like this again.

The close up shots like this aren't as good as the others in my opinion, too much detail is captured in the frame, which highlights dirt and dust on the top of the cake. Viewing the photographs on such a small screen, I didn't notice whilst shooting, but when blown up, the imperfections are really obvious.

The coloured pieces are really bold in the natural light, so I photographed a lot of them, but it was quite hard to work with such small subjects without a macro lens, focusing close up was difficult.

Because the cupcake mat was a metal baking tin lid, if got a lot of ambient reflection from the window, which was hard to avoid in some cases like below. It doesn't look particularly bad, it just looks odd, because it's so much brighter than the subjects.

Shooting really close up was more difficult, because it's a lot harder to focus. As well as that, my reflection can be seen in the beads, which is why shooting from further away worked better. 

The jelly babies photographed really well, because the lighting made them look a lot bolder and brighter, but they loose detail in the lighter ones, which can be seen in the yellow.

The iced gems looked a lot better because they were so detailed, so more shadows were created, making them look more defined. This is the same for all of the more detailed pieces, like the rest of the chain and the cakes.

I think these photographs fit in to my appearance theme, because it's all about perspective. The pieces could easily be mistaken for full sized objects, because of the way they've been taken, they've almost been manipulated to look different to what they really are.

Jewellery Studio

This is the second lot of photographs I took of the jewellery, this time in the studio instead of with natural lighting. I used one light placed to the right with a soft box, turned right down to softly light the subjects whilst creating small and subtle shadows. I like the simplicity of the photographs, the plain white background doesn't draw focus, so the viewer instantly looks at the subject instead of the background, which I think may of been a problem with the cupcake background. 

Also, I used a macro lens for these shots instead of a standard 18-55mm f5.6, which allowed me to get a lot closer to the subjects. Getting closer in stopped the problem of getting the background and the edge of the mat in the frame.

This is one of my favourite shots from the set, mainly because of the large aperture used, it instantly draws focus the the cake at the front. 

I like the shallow depth of field used in the photographs, it draws focus to specific parts of the jewellery, but you can still tell what the pieces are in the background. 

Having the subjects slightly off centre is a point to the photographs that I really like, it's not very formally composed, which gives you a lot more room to work. 

I think the lighting looks best in the following shots. They're softly lit, whilst having subtle shadows to really highlight the details in the pieces, which can be seen more in the following photographs.

Having the black background in the shot in these photographs seemed like the best thing to do, because it split the photograph up, the light on the bottle almost blended into the background in the shots that were completely white, so having that darkness in the frame made the bottle stand out from the background a lot more.

Focusing closer to the centre rather than on the foreground was a part of the photographs I really liked, again because it wasn't formally composed. The positioning of the pieces were a key part of the shot, shooting in a straight line would of been too boring, so going diagonal made the photographs better in my opinion.

I reshot a few more of the pieces of jewellery, using different angles and focussing closely on the foreground. I prefer some of these, mainly because of the composition and lighting, they're all shot in similar ways to before, but positioned so that more of the subject is in focus. 

I like the ribbon being out of focus, it almost looks like smoke because it's that blurry, you can't tell what it is in most of the photographs.

I like the contrast in the pink, because of the light only being on one side, a smooth gradient of shadow has been made which really highlights the colour and detail in the subject.

Focusing on objects in the background rather than the foreground seemed like an interesting approach, the massively shallow depth of field meant that all of the foreground was blurred, instantly drawing attention to the subject rather than anything else.

The more detailed pieces turned out better in my opinion, mainly because more shadows were created, which really exaggerated the definition in the subjects.