Photographer Research 1: Kirsty Mitchell

About This Photographer:
I came across Kirsty's work when reading her story in the news, and I was immediately captivated by her 'Wonderland' series of work. When Kirsty's mother, an English teacher, died of a brain tumour, Kirsty was inspired to go from fashion designer to photographer in order to create some of the characters and scenes her mother would create for her in stories when she was a little girl. She lives and works in Kent, the 'Garden of England' where she photographs many of her beautifully breathtaking scenes. I love her use of intense colour which makes her images really stand out, as well as how creative she is with her set designs and costumes.

Why Have I Picked This Photographer?:
I have picked this photographer for many reasons. Firstly I think that her inspiration for her work is inspiring - I love that she is creating these characters based on the stories her mum used to make up for her when she was little. It just shows that I don't have to look at existing characters for my work - they can look and behave in any way that I want them to which is what I find fascinating about the topic of Fantasy. I LOVE how she combines her love for fashion, and I adore the different costumes and colours she uses in each photo - they are really eye-catching and beautiful and perfectly reflect the type of work I would love to replicate myself.

Evaluation:

The use of deep, dark colours are perfect for reflecting the theme of Fantasy in this photo. The use of the rich purples with the darker shadows are symbolic of the themes of magic and fantasy which actually contrasts nicely with the bright reflections from the model's skin. Everything has been thought about in this composition - everything has a purple hue to it from the make-up to the butterflies, the clothes and the flowers behind her. The depth of field technique she has also followed allows for us to completely focus on the model, whilst the blurred background nicely fills the rest of the composition with a soft pattern.

The character within this picture really reminds me of 'Effie Trinket' from the Hunger Games series - a character who I also think would be great to replicate for this topic as I love the eccentric costume, makeup and colour associated with her. The plain black backdrop works really well as this allows for a stronger contrast in the model's pale skin and also the colour within the flowers draped around her. This technique also looks effective as it gives the model more of a silhouette, creating an extravagant and over-the-top shape. Kirsty's background in fashion and design really shines through in this image, as the whole headpiece constructed entirely of flowers perfectly demonstrates this, and nicely reflects on the natural perception of Fantasy and 'Wonderland'.

The complimentary colours in this picture work so nicely as they help to set the autumnal theme of the costume and the character. The brighter yellow in the costume follows the path nicely, creating a line for viewers to follow until they come across the main focal point, which is the character. The texture is also important as that within the costume clearly matches the surrounding leaves on the floor and in the trees, adding a sense of continuity and also telling the story that this character forms a big part of the setting Kirsty has shot in.

The contrast between the purple of the dress and the balloons and the greener surroundings is so strong and vivid, making for a beautifully attractive and eye-catching picture. I think that the use of powder/smoke around the model works really well as it helps to further lift and define the purple colour, whilst it adds a more mythical, magical element to the work. The overall feel of this photo is drama which is why the black balloons work extremely well as it adds more depth to the image and also gives the viewers different points within the picture to look at.


Influence:
Kirsty is a huge influence on me because I love the individual stories behind all of her work, and how creative she is able to be. I've learnt that the use of colour is extremely important as this helps to carry the mood and the emotion, whilst props and costume are equally as important and can be constructed from almost anything. Whilst I may not have the money to buy extravagant costumes for each of my shoots, looking at Kirsty's work I have learnt that I can use a variety of materials as long as I continue to use this as a theme for each shoot, such as her pictures with the dress made out of books. Therefore, I have already pre-planned for some potential shoots, such as sticking paper butterflies across someone's face and constructing a dress out of newspaper.

Summary:
Although I'd not even heard of Kirsty until December last year, she is easily one of my all-time favourite photographers simply because her work to me is magic. Every inch of detail she puts into her work is perfect and definitely inspires me to plan more for my own work, including building my own props and sets to make everything I do seem more real. Her work is so colourful and eye-catching, and she definitely understands the concept of symbolism when it comes to colour and emotion, which I understand now is really important to the theme of Fantasy as it helps to portray the identities of different characters.