Analysing Editorial 2

Makeup

I am so happy with how bright and vibrant the makeup turned out with all the oranges, yellows and reds. I am didn't want to highlight too brightly under the eyes because I wanted the eye shadows to look warm against the skin tone and I am happy with how flawless the skin looks. I didn't want to make the skin look too dewy because I wanted the matte texture of the face to contrast with the shiny texture of the hands as I thought using the same finish would make the hands and the face seem too uniform. I really like how all the coloured blended so seamlessly on the eyes as there are no joining lines and it looks so effortless. I like that the vibrant orange on the inner part of the eye and outer part of the lower lash line balance each other out and make the eye look bigger. I am happy that I did such a smoked out and exaggerated eye look because it stands out even against the dark lighting, which I think a softer eye look would have got swallowed up in. I like that I didn't use mascara on the eyes because it gives her a more youthful and bright eyed look. I also think the black mascara on the eyes would have stood out too much as it would have been brought out by the surrounding black hands, making the eyes look too dark. I am happy that I gave her natural looking eye brows because I didn't want them to take too much focus or make the makeup look more severe or dramatic. I like that I didn't give the lips a sharp outline because I think the softer line compliments the blended out eye. I chose an orange/red for the lip colour because I didn't want it to be a definite bright colour, but I still wanted to incorporate some of the warm tones included in the eyes. I like that this is a colour that is commonly worn by the public because I want it to look like she is having to conform to what society want her to look like. I love how pitch black the hands look because they completely blend in with the background, as if they are coming out of nowhere. I like that the hands are so glossy because the fingers are only visible against the black background where the light reflects off them; I used black acrylic paint to do this. I love this because only certain parts of the hands are showing which makes it difficult to work out who's hand is who's and where each hand is coming from. 

Lighting

I think the lighting is what makes this image work! I used a soft box because I wanted the lighting to be harsh; however I still wanted the lighting to be flattering on the skin. I felt that if I used a spill kill or beauty dish, the lighting would have been too harsh and unflattering on the skin. I first positioned the soft box to the right side of the model and level with the model; however I felt this created shadows cast across the face on the lower part of the face, but it left the forehead looking bare. I therefore moved the soft box higher up and angled it down so that it would catch the fingers on the forehead to cast shadow across the forehead. I really like how the finger shadows almost make it look like there are even more hands trying to grab and engulf the model and I think they add a sinister look. I like that I positioned the light on only one side of her because then the other half is in complete darkness, making the image look mysterious and sombre. I didn't want exactly half the face to be in darkness because I did't think there'd be enough detail in the image so I asked my model to face the light slightly and lift her head up so the opposite eye and some of the cheek bone caught some of the light too to give the face more shape and to add more detail. I positioned the model far away from the background and made sure none of the light was shining onto the background because I wanted it completely black so that the shadows and black fingers would blend into it perfectly. 

Lighting Set Up

PhotoShop

My model's skin was clear and smooth; however I had to use the Clone Tool to remove any flaked off black acrylic paint on the face and she had lots of black dots on her chin which I removed very carefully on the chin. I didn't want to use the technique of frequency separation because I wanted the image to look more raw and real, instead of the over edited look Mac usually go for in their adverts. There were some parts of the hands that weren't completely black, where their normal skin colour was showing through, so I used the Clone Tool again to make those areas black or blend then into the fingers. I brightened the image slightly and increased the saturation and contrast because I wanted the orange colours on her eyes to look very vibrant against the dark black. I am really happy with how flawless, but realistic the skin looks because I didn't want my editorial images to have the same fake, doll-like look of their adverts. I found a Mac logo that did not have a background so I copied it into PhotoShop, changed the text colour to white, and then pasted it onto my editorial image. I positioned the logo in the bottom, right corner and made it quite small so it didn't take too much attention way from the image. I considered making the Mac logo orange to reflect the orange makeup look; however I wanted both logos on my editorials to look the same and I felt white worked the best with both of them as it is such a neutral, clean colour. 

Model Choice/Positioning
I am very happy with my choice of model because she looks very youthful, with full cheeks and plump skin, and she had fair hair, making her eye brows less dark and intense. I didn't want my model to make any exaggerated facial expressions because Mac cosmetics tend to give their model's a dazed and empty look as they are usually positioned as dolls. I also didn't want my model to make eye contact with the camera because I thought this would draw too much attention to the eyes, instead of the overall makeup and message. I asked my model to tilt her head back slightly, as if she was being pulled backwards and she had her mouth slightly open as it happened naturally as she lent her head backwards and I wanted her to look natural. I wanted her eyes to be looking straight in front of her because I wanted the light to catch them and I wanted them to be looking slightly up as if she is looking for help. I asked her to very subtly slant her eye brows to make them go up in the middle to give her a sad and hurting look.  I am really happy with the natural and slightly expressive face my model pulled and how youthful she looks in the image. I like how the black hands surrounding her face are positioned in random directions because I didn't want them to look too uniform and forced. My face model used her two hands to put on her chin, I then used two more back hands on the right side of the face and then one more hand on the top of her head. I love how it isn't clear who's hands belong to who because it means you have to really look at the image to analyse and interpret it yourself.