Before I began taking images I decided it would be best to design a potential cover for the final product, creating the cover design may allow for me to gain a better understanding of the overall aesthetic and the bold statement in which the book is trying to make. I decided to stick to the minimalist style with the grey scale and red colour palette. I decided to the font Baskerville Old for the title of the book and quote on the back so that it may still be bold yet have a kind of femininity.
Images: Cover designs created on Adobe InDesign
After looking at both cover designs I decided that the grey cover will be the best option as the dark almost black cover allows for an air of mystery, to which the reader will uncover the rich contents of the book inside. The grey cover will also allow for the pastel red within the book to stand out as well as the two coloured images throughout the book.
To begin taking the photos I started taking images of my twin sister Neive in our backyard during sunset so that the lighting wasn't too harsh. For the images I preferred to use natural lighting and to take images outdoors, so that the images seemed more natural and less staged and posed, and so that they can still suit the aesthetic whilst also creating a slight contrast with the professional images in the dividers.
I used a Canon 650D for all images so the quality of the images would be of the highest whilst also staying consistent throughout all images.
All images would be edited and converted to a grey scale format using Adobe Lightroom.
In order to make the interviews as simple and quick yet thought provoking as possible, whilst also focusing on femininity and feminism. I created 5 general yet complex questions, the questions were:
1. What does it mean to be a young girl/woman?
2. Do you have any female role-models, if so, why are they your role model?
3. What is one of your talents and/or strengths?
4. If you could tell your younger self anything what would it be?
5. What is your view on feminism?
2. Do you have any female role-models, if so, why are they your role model?
3. What is one of your talents and/or strengths?
4. If you could tell your younger self anything what would it be?
5. What is your view on feminism?
Images: Neive Elliott, (2018), pictured outside, by Sarah Elliott.
What does it mean to be a woman?
‘I think being a women means being just a total bad ass. It means working and doing what you love, not for anyone else but for yourself and just living your life the way you want to without letting people put you down or oppress you. It’s about being your own person and taking your own path, whilst also being strong enough to continue down that path.’
‘I think being a women means being just a total bad ass. It means working and doing what you love, not for anyone else but for yourself and just living your life the way you want to without letting people put you down or oppress you. It’s about being your own person and taking your own path, whilst also being strong enough to continue down that path.’
Images: Chloe Szafranski, (2018), pictured outside, by Sarah Elliott.
What does it mean to be a woman?
'When I was younger I was always thinking ‘Oh my god I want to be a Mum, I’m gonna have heaps of kids, I’m gonna have a husband, I’m gonna have this beautiful home’ and that I would just be that motherly role. But as I’ve grown up I've been debating whether or not I actually want to get married and do the traditional role of being a mum and having a family, it doesn't feel like I’m missing out on it, I’m good just having my own thing.’
Images: Rose Szafranski, (2018), pictured outside, by Sarah Elliott.
What is your view on feminism?
‘In this day and age, there is a lot of women who work twice as hard as men because the expectation is still that they are the wife, the mother, the housekeeper and a full time worker, so I think they deserve a bit of a break and deserve to feel equal’.
Images: Nempha Ani, (2018), pictured outside, by Sarah Elliott.
What does it mean to be a woman?
'It’s very important for me to be role model to my little sister’, ‘I want to show her that it's okay to speak your mind and stand firm in what you believe in and to not fear away and back down when people criticise you. You can learn from it but you also don’t have to form into their opinions’.
Images: Kerry Elliott, (2018), pictured outside, by Sarah Elliott.
What does it mean to be a woman?
‘Being a woman comes with a unique set of challenges, your fighting centuries worth of societal norms, that are gradually shifting but are still there in many subtle ways. So I think the challenge for today’s woman is to be the catalyst towards the next real shift in our culture where women are truly considered equal to men, I think being a woman isn't about denying your feminism or femininity, it's about embracing that whilst having very clear boundaries and expectations of your role in society and the value that you bring. I think we owe it to our daughters and their daughters to continue to challenge all of the remaining subtle forms of discrimination and harassment that occurs in society.’
Images: Stephanie Nott, (2018), pictured outside, by Sarah Elliott.
If you could tell your younger self anything, what would it be?
'It's okay to be yourself and its okay to do whatever you want to do and that you should never be degraded by men, other women, by anybody. To rise other people up, not just women, cause if you want to get to the top you can’t and shouldn’t step on other people.'
Images: Abbie Harpur, (2018), pictured outside, by Sarah Elliott.
What does it mean to be a girl?
I think to be a girl means that your a girl, when your born your a boy or a girl, that's why I’m named Abbie’
What I Would Like To Achieve Next Week
I was unable to obtain images of all subjects and participants this week, I hope to complete all images and interviews by Tuesday evening of week 8 so that I may have enough time to compile all images and text into one InDesign file so that I can create the final edit. I'm hoping to have the final edit and cover printed by Thursday evening so that I have room for mistakes and errors.