Images of 'Black'
- Millie Fisher
- Oct 8, 2017
- 2 min read
Looking back onto the images that I took for my project on the colour black, I wanted to clarify the meaning behind the pictures and why I decided to interpret the colour in this way. When partnered up with Liony, a class mate, we deliberated why we thought black could be used to look seductive. In saying this, we also thought that even though it could appear seductive on the outside, there may be internal dark connotations.
The first image was taken in order to show off the material and how that even though the colour can be perceived as ‘boring’ and ‘dull’- it can actually appear seductive when paired up with a sheer material against bare skin. This image, as well as the others, mostly denotes how black is used seductively and can be used as a colour that is also sexy opposed to the colour red.
The second image, again, reflects how black can be used seductively and not just appear to be ‘gothic’. We took a pair of fishnet tights, an item relatively familiar when looking at gothic style, and made them appear sexy and sultry. My partner and I framed the image so that the legs appeared in an attractive way and made the fishnet tights seem appealing by sliding them up and down the background. This was also construed in a ‘boomerang’ that we created.
Next, the third picture had a fairly similar meaning to the image of the fishnet tights. We took a pair of studded boots and captured the shot so that it showed the model perching upon the window ledge. The background of the image presents buildings seen from the window, but put in black and white. The fact that the view from the window is put in black and white demonstrations ‘grey’ and eerie undertones. This then begins to portray the images in a slightly darker way.
The final image that we took was of a girl (myself) holding a rose towards her face, or smelling the rose. This image denotes innocence and purity of the colour black. We decided to put this image into black and white to show the shadows and shades that is created from the filter. If you look beyond the girl in the photo, you can see grave stones, which therefore decodes the 4 images and the darker story behind them. The message in which we wanted to get across was that even though the colour can appear to look seductive, it can also have negative connotations as well and is a colour particularly associated with funerals and sad endings.
When interpreting what the colour black meant to us, we came up with this story to show our findings. Our next task was then to combine our images with words to make them appear in an alternative way:
I created a perfume advertisement in order to show a different meaning to the image taken. I decided to link it to Calvin Klein in order to show a clear idea of what my advertisement is selling. I think that the power of words is an extremely important factor when taking images, because it then turns the photo into something that has depth and meaning.