Onesie Photography; Helen Scott

Posted on: 19/09/2014

Onesie Task for HND Photography Students

 

For the onesie project I started with a couple of ideas that revolved around the incorporation of dance as before this photography course I completed a BA (Hons) in Contemporary dance and would like to pursue a career in dance photography.

One of these ideas was to recreate a ballet story, such as Swan Lake, Coppelia, Sleeping Beauty etc that would incorporate the onesies and a Northumberland location such as a castle that would help to tell the story in more detail.

Onesie Photography; Helen Scott  

My second idea, which I decided to choose, was to include a female child (wearing the onesie) into the beginning of the story, reading a storybook about a dancer in a castle as the child aspires to be a dancer like the one in the book when she is older. The story would then show the child dreaming about the dancer from the book and the photos would make it look as though the book is coming to life.

Onesie Photography; Helen Scott

Following this the photos would then show the dancer from the book at a Northumberland location (Edlingham Castle). I decided to have the child wearing the onesie as it would help to show that she was reading a storybook before she went to bed as the onesie can be worn to sleep in.

I designed the onesieso that the child looked like a ballet dancer so that it shows the child aspiring to be a dancer. I chose a plain light pink onesie and added a tiara, ballet shoes and bright pink leotard and tutu to the onesie to achieve my idea and effect. To incorporate the North East/Northumberland location I researched a variety of castles and woodland areas that I envisioned the dance scene to take place and went around 6 places including Hylton Castle, St Pauls Monastery, Cragside, Dunstanburgh Castle, Edlingham and Seaton Deleval Hall to see which was the most appropriate and effective for my images.

I decided that I would use Edlingham Castle for the dancer images and Cragside for my still life images.

Whilst researching for this project I came across a lot of influential images and photographers that I was inspired by. These photographers included Tim Walker and Gregory Crewdson.

Onesie Photography; Helen ScottOnesie Photography; Helen Scott

For the first set of photos, which would be placed at the beginning of the story, my main aim was to take a selection of images that would successfully show the child reading the storybook of a dancer at a castle which would then come to life as she dreams about the story. I wanted these images to portray the child’s love and aspirations for dance and that the storybook has influenced her mood and actions. To create these images I used the studio at college and decorated the space with objects/props that you would find in the child’s room, such as beanbags, a rug, toys and objects that relate to dancing such as ballet shoes, ballet outfits and ornaments. I was really happy with this arrangement and felt as though I was able to create a really good set for these images.

Onesie Photography; Helen ScottOnesie Photography; Helen ScottOnesie Photography; Helen ScottOnesie Photography; Helen Scott  

For the child I used Rebecca Robinson’s eldest daughter who takes part in dance classes and competitions as a hobby and interest. Within this shoot I also took photos of the child sleeping next to the storybook as I decided to end my set of photographs with images like this to reinforce the fact that the child was dreaming about the dancer from the storybook. Onesie Photography; Helen Scott

For the next set of photos which will show the middle of my story, transport the viewers to the images of the dancer from the story book at the castle. To help demonstrate that the dancer is what the child aspires to be like and is dreaming of I edited these images with dream-like effects to make them look more fantasy like and dreamy. Within this section of my images I also included photos of still life objects that I used in both of the main shoots (photos were taken at Cragside) and photos of landscapes including Edlingham Castle and Cragside to help tie the story together and to fulfil the brief for this project.

Onesie Photography; Helen ScottOnesie Photography; Helen ScottOnesie Photography; Helen ScottOnesie Photography; Helen ScottOnesie Photography; Helen Scott   Onesie Photography; Helen ScottOnesie Photography; Helen Scott To decide upon my final images I chose the photos that I felt best portrayed my storyline and that were eye catching and appealing to the viewers to create a more successful story of images. For some of my final images I also decided to create photo montages as I felt that this would help to tell the story in more detail and be more understandable to the viewers of the images. Onesie Photography; Helen Scott   Onesie Photography; Helen Scott   Onesie Photography; Helen Scott