Evaluation

ALT-GAN is a photographic story-telling sequence that showcases the quality of organic beauty products and the theoretical journey a consumer may take, choosing naturally sourced products over mass made chemical alternatives. The aim of this report is to summarise the overall project, touching on aspects such as learning outcomes, the relevance of ALT-GAN and a self-critical analysis.

At the beginning, when researching into organic, I aimed to direct the project towards professional women who could afford the upkeep of organic products. These women had experience in the different makeup available in stores, from high end to high street, and were looking for alternative options. My aim was to find the best of organic available on the high street and show what makeup looks could be achieved. Ultimately to remove the stigma that surrounds the idea that Organic makeup isn’t the best quality compared to larger mass made products. My final outcome, ALT-GAN, a website, engages the customer through creative imagery making them conscious of the options that they are making when buying products. They can see the evolution of the chemicals surrounding the skin, trapping the skin leading to the skin becoming free. I initially said that I wanted to aim my photographic series at women aged 24-30, but I think this was a wrong estimation, as younger women are interested in organic products and healthy lifestyles as well. I think to put an age range on an organic project was incredibly restricting. The target market should have been based on aspects such as consumer habits, lifestyle choices and people looking for a change in their normal beauty regime. I mentioned in my proposal that the older women would want to be trendy and keep up with trends that will keep them looking and feeling young. However, once again I think that this comment was wrong because most people look at trends regardless of their age. I myself in my early twenties am now extremely conscious of being healthy, of what I put in my body and on my skin and also how I can keep my skin looking young! I think because people are so image conscious, a restriction on the project such as aiming it at women who are 24-30 looking to stay trendy just would not work. The project was a lot broader than originally intended, which isn’t necessarily a problem. I have learnt that sourcing your target market and pinpointing a specific group of people to aim a project at is a lot more difficult than it looks and can change as the project evolves.

On the subject of projects evolving, initially I set out to make an online exhibition with a series of images and blog posts to show what chemicals are used in everyday products. The online exhibition was going to have four sections, Natural, Mother Nature, Quality and Inorganic Decay. When creating the project and looking at the moodboards I had created for the proposal, I realised that the four area’s would not work and did not make sense together. I wanted to have sections that would lead the audience through, connecting each segment to the next. I struggled to find links between the four narratives and decided to come up with three alternative options to help make the exhibition flow. I also decided to change the outcome from an ‘Online exhibition’ to a ‘photographic series’. I wanted the project to be less constricted than what it would be if it was made into an exhibition. The exhibition would have had to be formal and clean cut like a physical exhibition. The photographic series gave me creative freedom in the sense that I could photograph anything and make it link together through a series of metaphors. I thought the online exhibition would have been too similar to some of the competitors that I mentioned in my proposal. I wanted to create something that could be web based but could also be easily turned into physical copies if the opportunity arose.

To be critical of the project, I don’t think that it would be that relevant to the market right now. I think the photographic series would need a bigger following than what it has, which was an area that I didn’t consider in much depth. In order to make it a threat to competitors and relevant in today’s market, it would need a bigger promotional push to make people more aware of its content. I also think that the project would need a lot more content and collaborations from other opinions to make it anything that could be seen as a rival to other companies. However, the project could be seen as relevant to the audience because they are there to learn something about that they may not have been aware of before. I hope that the photographic series is considered more of a creative educational tool, that would be of relevance to the audience and those interested in the organic alternatives available.

My time management and communication levels with the tutors will be something that has let me down with this project. I found that I thought I had more time than what I did and was less motivated for this project than anything I have ever done before. Even though I made a schedule I found that I completely ignored it. I think this was because I decided to change what I wanted to do, creating a photographic series instead of an online exhibition. I did not meet with my tutor once, and I think that this probably reflects in the work that I have produced. I know that this will majorly affect the grade that I get but I found that I lost my way and avoided asking for help, stupidly. Although I have managed to create a photographic series, I think that I could have done better. I don’t think that I pushed myself to the best of my ability and I regret not using the amount of time given to me. I think that I got side tracked by the work based learning and thought I had longer to achieve this than what I actually had. Overall, I know this would have let me down but I think I still have managed to show people how organic products can rival that of others on the high street.

I found making the website was the most time consuming aspect of the whole project. I underestimated how much time and effort goes into making a successful, working site. I also underestimated the complexity of choosing colour combinations, fonts and text sizes along with producing a decent amount of content. I think that I should have researched into website making more and researched thoroughly into competitors to see what works and what does not work. I also didn’t give consideration to anything that could go wrong; I didn’t allow time for such a scenario. I found that I didn’t encounter any problems, apart from my card being blocked when trying to buy the domain to my website. A problem that was easily solved but time consuming.

Finding models and photographers that were available to shoot was something I found quite challenging. I used the website Purple Port to source the other creatives that I needed for this project. I found that the people that replied to my casting were not suitable and that the photographers didn’t produce the work that I had envisaged. Therefore I had to turn to people I knew and I did the photography myself. Doing the photography myself just added more stress to the work load that I already had, however I am pleased with how the imagery has come out. Once again my time management here lacked, and I didn’t consider how long it would take to find the perfect model and photographer. This is something I think I should have sourced before Christmas.

Overall, this project has taught me that I need to organise my time wisely and that my communication skills seriously lack, which is something that I need to work on in order to progress in any career. I have also learnt that I need to undertake more research in order to be successful. If I had more research I think I would have been more prepared in the design aspect. Although I enjoyed working out what works well together, I definitely underestimated how long it would take me to create. In order to further improve my project I would carry out more research and push myself further in the creation of the photographic series. I would use more models and focus more on the makeup and the looks that I was creating instead of creating imagery that was more focused on the photography. I would evolve the project to include interviews with people who are also interested in organic and natural beauty products, like Nat Van Zee. I would also look at creating my own organic and vegan friendly products to appeal to a wider audience, furthering the idea that organic products are of a exceptional quality. 

Instagram

In order to engage more people in the project and to get a wider audience I created an instagram page. The importance of social media is vital for a project to be successful. Without social media, people would not know about the project. It is also important to keep the project up to date, adding content to keep the audience interested. I have learnt that it is easy to lose the interest of people quite early on, and if you haven't engaged the audience than they won't care for what you are doing. I also found that in order to engage, you first have to attract your target market and then work from there. I did this by using the relevant hash tags and following the main organic beauty companies. 

https://www.instagram.com/alt.gan/?hl=en

Organic Products

Below is a list of the products used that are Organic and have less chemicals than other products.

Skincare: 

Liz Earle - http://uk.lizearle.com/a-z-ingredients 

Liz Earle is my favourite place to go for naturally sourced skincare products. The link goes to their website showing the list of ingredients that they use in their products and also their statements on animal testing and the use of preservatives. 

Makeup: 

Green People UK - https://www.greenpeople.co.uk/shop/by-product/organic-make-up

I researched into Organic Makeup and came across Green People Uk. I found them on instagram and then ordered some makeup from them. I thought that the quality would not be that great because the products are made from natural ingredients, but I was surprised when the makeup arrived and was of a great quality. The eyeshadow was pigmented and lasted a lot longer than I expected. It was also of a better quality, I think, than some MAC eyeshadows that I have. 

https://www.greenpeople.co.uk/our-story 

Superdrug B Makeup - http://www.superdrug.com/search?text=vegan+makeup

I then researched into an alternative makeup brand that was easily accessible on the high street. Superdrug stock a vegan makeup brand called B. The brand doesn't use elements taken from animals or test on animals. I once again had my reserves about the quality of the makeup, but found that they were of good quality and are something that I will continue to use. 

Website Platform

I decided early on that I wanted to use Wix as the platform to create my website on. I have experience in using Wix so knew what I would be doing on there. I didn't encounter many problems with the site as it is pretty straight forward to use. The only aspect I struggled with was when trying to connect my domain to the website. The bank had blocked my card because it had been cloned, which meant that I couldn't access my funds to pay for the upgrade to the website. This set me back for a couple of hours which put me behind. I didn't allow for things to go wrong, which I have learnt now that I should have done. 

I wanted my website design to be fairly straight forward and easy to follow. The colour palette needed to be whites, greys and blacks to represent the demeanor of being organic. When I think of organic, I think of pure objects and things in nature. I wanted the website to be quite cold in its design, but enough to draw the audience in. 

Shoot Day

The shoot for the content of the website happened over two days. One location was a rapeseed oil field near Winchester. The other location was in the park opposite the University where some bluebells were growing, and also in the studio. 

Winchester - On the first shoot day I wanted to focus on getting the 'Texture' content for the website. For this I decided that I would go to a local woods which has a view of the countryside and look at the textures that I could find there. I spent most of the day walking around looking at the textures in the trees and on the ground. I also used a piece of material and experimented with the light reflecting through. I also put it over the textures, for instance the bark on trees, to see what imagery was reflected back. The only problem I really encountered here was the sunlight vanishing behind clouds. I had to wait for some time while the clouds disappeared otherwise the images were quite dull. It then began to rain, so I decided to leave and go to the next location. 

The next location was a field full of yellow rapeseed oil crops. Luckily the sun had come back out which made the images contrast against the blue of the sky. I spent the rest of the day here experimenting with the use of materials over the crops and also over the camera lens. I wanted the material to represent the chemicals that are found in everyday products, and the crops would represent the organic nature which is better for our skin and the environment. I decided that this location would best represent the 'Nature' content of the website, instead of 'Texture'. I think these images came out really well, the composition of them worked well along with the contrast of colours and textures. I didn't encounter any problems on this location other than the weather changing for the worst which meant that I had to go home earlier than intended. 

The Park - Since the location shoot in a field, I really wanted to find a location that had bluebells to create more of a contrast of colours to represent the multiple chemicals found in products. On the way to university one day I noticed there was bluebells in the park opposite. So I decided to get my model and shoot in the park. I wanted the bluebells to be surrounding the model, so she had to lie down on the ground. This location worked well for what I wanted to achieve. I once again used the material to represent the chemicals. I then also used the nature around to get some more content. I took pictures of the model surrounded by texture and nature. In the end, the images were the model was surrounded by bluebells didn't work because the sun was in the models eyes which ruined the poses. The images that did work included texture which was good for the content of the website. 

Studio - On the same day, I also had the studio booked. I decided to use a dark backdrop for the 'Pure' section of the website as I had this idea to shoot the curves and bones from the skin to show how one has freed their skin from the chemicals. I used one white board and one black board either side of the model initially to reflect the light. In the end, I just used the black board to create shadows on one side of the skin. I used two light at the beginning, one soft box and one honeycomb light. In the end I didn't need the honeycomb light. It took me some time to set up the camera settings and the lights which really consumed the time that I could spend on the makeup. If I had my own photographer, this time could have been spent on experimenting with more imagery. I am happy with how the images came out and in the end they didn't need much editing which was perfect for my time management. I also experimented with blurring the images, having a longer shutter speed to catch the model moving around with the material. I wanted that segment to represent the model trying to be freed from the chemicals that shrouded her skin. 

Overall I am happy with the locations that I chose to create the content for my website. I do however think that I should have used more studio time and gone to the beach and shot there like my proposal stipulated. I put not doing this down to poor time management which has affected my overall project. 

Harmful Chemicals

Have you ever wondered what some of the chemicals in your everyday products do to your skin? Below is a list of the chemicals that are found in beauty products on the market, with surprising results. 

Sodium Laureth Sulfate and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate - The two sodium's are found in products that lather up like shower gels, toothpaste and shampoo. The chemical is a skin irritant, yet when looking through the products in my own shower most of them had one or both of the sodium's in them. Even the products that are regarded as products to help with conditions such as eczema. 

Triclosan - Found in hand sanitisers and deodorants, Triclosan is an environmental toxicant. Therefore the chemicals found in everyday products not only effect our skin, but they also effect the environment. I never gave any thought that my deodorant, or anti-bacterial products could be effecting the environment. 

Silicone Chemicals - Silicone chemicals found in moisturisers and other cosmetics is a skin irritant and also harmful to the environment. Once again, I did not realise that my moisturiser could be effecting the environment or my skin. Moisturisers are there to look after the skin and maintain the moisture level, so it is surprising to see that most have silicone chemicals in them that irritate the skin. Once again leading brands that focus on helping people with problem skin have put these harmful chemicals into their products. 

Parabens - Found in moisturisers and cosmetics, the parabens are an allergen, a male reproductive toxicant and also a immune toxicant! 

Petrolatum - Found in lip products and moisturisers, the petrolatum is an allergen and skin irritant. This explains why lip products are used so much because they make dry lips better for a little bit until the product wears off meaning consumers become reliant on the product, which is actually harmful. Green people UK do a really good alternative to lip products like Vaseline. Although it doesn't taste that great, it works, and isn't harmful to your skin or the environment. 

Overall, it is shocking to see that these products are allowed into products that come into contact with our skin everyday. Albeit they are in small quantity's, but the harmful chemicals are still there. Not only do they go on our skin and get absorbed, but they also go down the drain into our water systems which was an aspect I never really thought about. If everyone is using these products that have harmful chemicals in them than that is a large quantity going into the environment. Learning the difference between chemicals has made me aware of what I use on my skin and I now currently actively seek out products that are organically made. The aim of my final major project is to inform other people of the chemicals that are in their products and make them aware that there are alternatives out there, especially with makeup. 

Although this is a short list of the chemicals found in products, there are many more that are harmful to the skin and the environment. To avoid harm to the skin it is so much better to use organic products that are better for your skin and the environment. 

Location

I originally intended to use beaches as the location for my shoots. Creating a smoky effect along the beach with the model posing covered in materials that were blowing in the wind. However because it took so long to try and get a photographer and a model, I decided that it would be easier to use locations that were a lot closer to me, so that I could use back up people in case my model dropped out and I would be left with a day wasted. 

The first location I used was woods near my house and a rapeseed oil field near Winchester. These locations were close to where I lived and were easy to get to. The rapeseed oil field was my favourite location because the colours were so bright and the vast amount of crops made for an interesting depth in the imagery. Luckily it was a nice day which made the colours stand out even more, although when the bad weather did eventually roll in, the clouds presented a interesting background. I am happy with the locations that were chosen and thought that they represented the three aspects, Pure, Nature and Texture perfectly. The woods were especially good for the Texture aspect of my project. Everywhere you looked, there was different materials, different textures and mediums. 

I shot the Pure aspect of my project in the studio so that I could control the lighting and create the dark shadows that I wanted. I used a soft box and a honeycomb light to create a dull shadow across one side of the face. I used a dark reflector which brought out the highlight on the models skin. I thought that shooting in the studio for this part would be more effective as I would be able to control the outcome. I also had more control over the settings, meaning that I could create blurred imagery in a controlled environment. I feared that if I did this outside I would have had more aspects to think about.