Akatre began in 2007 in France, when a bunch of guys got together and came up with some wild and weird photos that these guys are extraordinarily talented, and have consistently blown the mind of thousands of people around the world. not only have they shown understanding of texture, colour, composition and just plain old good photography in a series of striking images; they have covered models in materials varying from hundreds and thousands, and bottles of paint to balloons and pianos. Similarly they have also created videos to present how their minds can collide together and make everyday items do strange, yet colourful things. Throughout Akatre and its creators, they have managed to progress their photography skills by receiving opportunities to photograph front pages for magazines. Not forgetting having published books on how they have developed photography and how they've come up with such unique ideas for photography which have made them very successful..
Written Analysis
I believe Akatre created this unusual image involving two completely different backgrounds, one being wildlife (the weasel) and the other being food (macaroons). to create this image the photographers used a stuffed weasel and stacks of baked macaroons for both the background items and also the front, not forgetting a blue backdrop, to create an usual combination of different variations for this photo. When gazing at the photo, i found that the focal point of the image was the realistic look of the weasel and how reflective the animals eyes are, even though it is an stuffed animal. However in the same prospect the vibrant colours of the lighter macaroons (such as the green,yellow and pink) stand out against the neutral colours of the weasels fur. The photographers have clearly considered the position of the lighting, by angling it to the left; from the angle the photo was taken from showing both contrast and detail. As well as the positioning of the objects in the photograph, they have done this, insuring that the viewer gathers in all the different aspects of the photo. After taking this photo, in order to improve the appearance of this image, i believe the image has been digitally manipulated in Photoshop. Some editing tools that may have been used during this process are; shadows and highlights, the curves too and vibrancy. By using these tools i believe they have achieved a more dominant color in the macaroons without loosing the texture of the weasels fur by over brightening the image. |
Responses to Akatre
Firstly, for editing the majority of these images I had decided to turn the images in black and white using the 'Black and White' tool. From using this tool I was able to adjust the different colours into different shades of black, white and grey tones, which has proven to make a very successful image.
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Furthermore, in these images I decided to use the 'Curves' tool which in many different ways is a multifunctional tool which adjusts the contrast, brightness, detail and many other aspects of the photo, which was a quick and effective way of editing the photos
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In these photos I decided to dress up my selected model in different materials such as the straw hat and shredded cardboard to represent the styles of Akatre. I also decided to develop my ideas further by applying paint my models face; by using white and black face paints, I was able to achieve a ghostly skull look which I felt very accomplished with. I also looked into detail with the skull theme and found out that this style of make up is a cultural celebration in Mexico and the make up style known as 'Sugar skull'. As Akatre is based on disguise I believe that this make up development has been very successful.
Background creation
Home Backgrounds
Experimenting with materials at home and editing personal background pictures to maximum colour vibrancy and creativity, in hope to create future background options for Akatre edits. Here I have taken multiple photos, mainly of sweets and edited them by using the brightness and contrast and hue and saturation to improve there original colours.
BACKGROUND MERGING
Stephan steigmister
Stefan Sagmeister is known world wide for his designing worldwide, and is one of the worlds most successful designers. Since his late teens Stefan was keen on designing and eventually managed to work his way up to the top by 1990's. As years went on Stefan had created eye catching graphics for many famous celebrities and businesses. Such clients include the Rolling Stones, Lou Reed and M&CO. In every design he takes great care to insure it is perfect; he is sure to pay an undeniable amount of attention to the smallest details so he can create amazing work that offers something new every time, and so the client/clients are completely satisfied. Because of this, his design work is very expensive and time consuming.
In response to Stephan's work I took a gallery of photos based on personal feelings and experiences. In these series of photographs I wanted to express powerful emotions to my audience. In order to come up with this powerful idea I asked Cameron what bad times and feelings he has felt. He responded with multiple words and judgements that he had been called. Eventually I came up with the idea to plaster these judgemental and belittling words around the written phrase "don't judge me". The words surrounding the title, have been collected by Cameron throughout his school life and personal life. While taking these photographs I took great care in forming the right angles, and providing a more lonely look to my models poses. When Cameron is front facing the camera and looking downwards to the floor, I placed the lighting precisely at different angles, so I could receive a good amount of shadow and contrast before editing the photographs; I also found that these shadows from the lighting also provided a sense of gloominess and mystery. After taking these photos I decided to enhance the brightness of the photos and converting them into black and white, I found that by doing this it also made the photographs appear more appealing and emotional.
Stefan sagmeister - working with hands
After getting inspiration from both the internet and Stephan's work I have taken photographs adding lyrics and quotations while photographing hands, and also other body parts to be more unique and add a twist to my work. By not just focusing on the hands I have developed my ideas further; in the sense that I've photographed feet and legs. And have also decided to show relationships through the body and hands.