Portrait Shoot 1 Edits

After time spent editing on Photoshop here are my finals from shoot 1:

Edit 1:

I feel with this image that the layering of the butterflies creates interesting shapes and colours however it isn't clear to an outside viewer what it is. However I like that its quite mysterious because I'm making a statement about peoples personality's versus there exterior looks. The image inside me is a representation of this battle so I don't think its vital if its not 100% clear what it is. My favourite part of this is how the light is where the butterflies show up but then they are lost in the shadows which work well with the message.


Edit 2:

 I really like this edit as I feel like I managed to get the shape of the grass and the flowers to flow with the shapes of my body well. This makes it blend and almost look natural for me to have this on my skin. I like this approach as visually its striking however it has a lack of contrast between the two layers which could give off the message that my visual looks and my personality are too different from one another.


Edit 3:

I was not as happy with this edit as I feel like the two images don't work together well at all. Its because the straight lines of the paper contrast against the curves of my body but visually this creates what I feel is a mess. I do like how I have got the writing most visible in the shadows but disappearing in the light because this helps my message but losing on the visual is not worth it. Now I know that its better to work with shapes and curves rather than straight lines.


Edit 4:

I really like the positioning of the top layer on this image because I have tried to line up my eye with the owls eye. I think this makes a common link for the audience between my personality and my exterior however it still shows the contrast of the two sides of me. Again I really like the effect of having the picture most visible on one side of me in the shadows then its fades out in the bright light which also helps it blend and work together.


Edit 4 (Black and White):

I then tried this same edit but in black and white. I really like how losing the colour adds more drama to it by enhancing the dark and the light creating more contrast. I also like how having it in black and white has enhanced the texture especially of the feathers which adds more interest. You could argue however that you do loose some of  the details of the layered image through making it black and white but I don't think this ruins the image.


Edit 5:

I found that this image wasn't too successfully visually because I think the sunflower image layered on top was too much of a close up. I thought it might be nice to show the detail of the sunflower but you cant actually recognise what it is properly once its layered with my portrait. Part of me likes the abstract feel to this but I don't think it is the best way to communicate my message.

Overall I am happy with my edit experiments made from shoot 1 because I feel like it has given me a chance to play around with the different effects I can create through this process on Photoshop and its also let me see which images are most successful to layer with so that I know which will be best for my finals.