LPS#4 Idea - I'm Undecided

DRabbit

So, I had this idea the first day the topic was announced... but getting it together took some work. Believe it or not, unless you know a plastic surgeon, getting your hands on breast implants isn't so easy! It tooks some phone calls and luckily a friend of a friend's friend was willing to help out in providing the props, and then after we got the shoot scheduled (because I couldn't my newly found artificial breasts out of his office) we were set to go!

I can't reshoot... this was a one-time thing, so help me decide on which one to enter...

Second Base


Man Boobs


Puberty in the New Millenium I


Puberty in the New Millenium II


Puberty in the New Millenium II B&W Version

Nikolai

Amy,
Sorry to sound like a broken record, but...
Which one you'd like to print 20x30 and hang on your wall?
As for me, the answer is none. It's a nice stuff for flickr, but I honestly don't think it's LPS-worthy

Annie222

I can't see pictures ? Is it just me ?

DRabbit

Annie222 wrote:

I can't see pictures ? Is it just me ?

Not sure why you can't see them... but here's links:

Second Base
http://www.dangrabbit.com/photography/albums/Shares/2ndBase.jpg

Man Boobs
http://www.dangrabbit.com/photography/albums/Shares/manboobs.jpg

Puberty in the New Millenium I
http://www.dangrabbit.com/photography/albums/Shares/newpuberty1.jpg

Puberty in the New Millenium II
http://www.dangrabbit.com/photography/albums/Shares/newpuberty2.jpg

Puberty in the New Millenium II B&W Version
http://www.dangrabbit.com/photography/albums/Shares/newpuberty2_bw.jpg

LiquidAir

First of all... ya made me laugh.

One by one:

Second Base
Great title, neat concept, not such a great image.

Man Boobs
I like the quirky humor in this shot and the expression in his eyes is priceles. However, I am not too fond of the title. My suggestion is rename this one "Peak-a-boo." My only nit is that I think your actor stole the show in this shot and deserves to be completely in focus.

Pubertey in the New Millenium
I like II better than I. The flourescent green version is rather clinical and unsympathetic which potentially works depending on how you want to spin your message. The B&W, on the other hand, is easier on the eyes which makes it more sympathetic and as a result has a more complex story. As stock photography they both have merits depending on the customer's message. For the competition the B&W is likely the better choice.

I'd say either #2 or #5.

DRabbit

LiquidAir wrote:

First of all... ya made me laugh.

Here... laugh some more:

LiquidAir wrote:

One by one:

Second Base
Great title, neat concept, not such a great image.

Man Boobs
I like the quirky humor in this shot and the expression in his eyes is priceles. However, I am not too fond of the title. My suggestion is rename this one "Peak-a-boo." My only nit is that I think your actor stole the show in this shot and deserves to be completely in focus.

Pubertey in the New Millenium
I like II better than I. The flourescent green version is rather clinical and unsympathetic which potentially works depending on how you want to spin your message. The B&W, on the other hand, is easier on the eyes which makes it more sympathetic and as a result has a more complex story. As stock photography they both have merits depending on the customer's message. For the competition the B&W is likely the better choice.

I'd say either #2 or #5.

Liquid, I pretty much agree with a lot of what you said... I think I like #4 and #5 myself the best. I had a lot of ideas but we really only had a short time to do the shoot so I didn't get a chance to shoot them all (and the doctor was still seeing patients so we were trying to be as descreet as possible).

Obviously the one I posted in this reply and #1 and #2 are meant to be humorous. #3, 4 and 5 really do speak to me though... it's more a statement on how superficial society has gotten, and the pressure women tend to feel to be "perfect". I'm having a hard time choosing between #4 and 5 specifically.

And Nik, while I appreciate your opinion, I don't agree. There have been many exhibits about women and the comfort or discomfort they feel with their bodies, and many exhibits speaking to our current culture, and the latter 3 speak exactly to that subject. YOU might not hang them in your house, but I don't think I could have taken a picture of a breast implant that you would (unless it was IN someone, ), merely due to the subject matter. I could think of a lot of photos that neither you nor I might hang in our houses, but that doesn't make them any less artistic or any less meaningful. I also don't believe that our entries are all going to "speak" as art... and I'd even suggest that, IMO, some of the qualifying winners already were more "stock photography" and less fine art (which isn't a criticism!). Regardless, whether you agree or not, with the girl I was attempting to capture something specific and feel I was successful. I may still be able to tweak them a bit so I'm open to any ideas you might have in that arena.

gus

DRabbit wrote:

Here... laugh some more:




.

I like that shot. Nice tones & funny.

DRabbit

gus wrote:

I like that shot. Nice tones & funny.

- Thanks Gus. I was just afraid it was hard to tell what he was holding... or they look too much like plastic sacks filled with water (, they kinda are, but you know what I mean). It's also not done... I'll finish working on it tomorrow.

LiquidAir

DRabbit wrote:

And Nik, while I appreciate your opinion, I don't agree. There have been many exhibits about women and the comfort or discomfort they feel with their bodies, and many exhibits speaking to our current culture, and the latter 3 speak exactly to that subject. YOU might not hang them in your house, but I don't think I could have taken a picture of a breast implant that you would (unless it was IN someone, ), merely due to the subject matter. I could think of a lot of photos that neither you nor I might hang in our houses, but that doesn't make them any less artistic or any less meaningful. I also don't believe that our entries are all going to "speak" as art... and I'd even suggest that, IMO, some of the qualifying winners already were more "stock photography" and less fine art (which isn't a criticism!). Regardless, whether you agree or not, with the girl I was attempting to capture something specific and feel I was successful. I may still be able to tweak them a bit so I'm open to any ideas you might have in that arena.

Even in the world of fine art photography, there are shots I'd hang in a gallery that I wouldn't put in my living room. Shots that make very strong statements aren't always easy to live with. They aren't usually the realm of the hobbiest but in the world of the professional photographer getting a sophisticated message across quickly and effectively is often considerably more important than making it pretty.

Beyond the humor, I find that shot #2 captures the guilty voyerisim side of implats and pokes fun a the whole Playboy aesthetic. It has a sort of "dorm room chic" feel to it and I think a poster run of this might sell at college bookstores.

As for the color vs. B&W debate, I find the color makes the whole process look unappealing enough that my gut reaction is "how could you do that?" By being more appealing the B&W admits some of the allure and in my eyes comes across more as the question "should I do this?"

VisualXpressions

LiquidAir wrote:

Even in the world of fine art photography, there are shots I'd hang in a gallery that I wouldn't put in my living room. Shots that make very strong statements aren't always easy to live with. They aren't usually the realm of the hobbiest but in the world of the professional photographer getting a sophisticated message across quickly and effectively is often considerably more important than making it pretty.

And Nik, while I appreciate your opinion, I don't agree. There have been many exhibits about women and the comfort or discomfort they feel with their bodies, and many exhibits speaking to our current culture, and the latter 3 speak exactly to that subject. YOU might not hang them in your house, but I don't think I could have taken a picture of a breast implant that you would (unless it was IN someone, ), merely due to the subject matter. I could think of a lot of photos that neither you nor I might hang in our houses, but that doesn't make them any less artistic or any less meaningful. I also don't believe that our entries are all going to "speak" as art... and I'd even suggest that, IMO, some of the qualifying winners already were more "stock photography" and less fine art (which isn't a criticism!). Regardless, whether you agree or not, with the girl I was attempting to capture something specific and feel I was successful. I may still be able to tweak them a bit so I'm open to any ideas you might have in that arena.

As for the shots... Perfect for the theme! I like the "man boobs" and the first one of the girl... IMHO they both need some pop, and the background in the shot of the girl is somewhat distracting... The last one you posted is great! doesn't need a thing... If you are going for humor I would use that shot! (the one Gus likes)

For what it's worth...

Winston

DRabbit

LiquidAir wrote:

As for the color vs. B&W debate, I find the color makes the whole process look unappealing enough that my gut reaction is "how could you do that?" By being more appealing the B&W admits some of the allure and in my eyes comes across more as the question "should I do this?"

I think I agree with you in your interpretation of the color vs. b&w... and I think that's why I'm torn as to which one to pick. I like your gut reaction for the color one... ... and I actually think that's more the feeling I was going for. Hmmm...

I may try to reshoot Peak-A-Boob... I could definitely reshoot him and combine the two shots.

VisualXpressions wrote:

As for the shots... Perfect for the theme! I like the "man boobs" and the first one of the girl... IMHO they both need some pop, and the background in the shot of the girl is somewhat distracting... The last one you posted is great! doesn't need a thing... If you are going for humor I would use that shot! (the one Gus likes)

Thanks Winston!
I may try the first one of the girl in the two other color treatments (the blueish hue and B&W and see how they look.


As for the latest one I posted... the funny shot... objectively, if you didn't know what they were, would you know they were breast implants?

Swartzy

Amy....
The color shot works best for me. A plethera of emotions (indecisions/questions/fear..etc.) stir up when viewing this and I'm a guy. So, one would think a woman would be even that much more effected by the shot as those questions undoubtely have run through most women's minds. Just my take.

DRabbit

Okay... tell me which of these you like...

Tentacion

I love humor, the 1st, 2nd, and VERY last one (Laugh some more)...are GREAT shots....the titles are so implicative of the fake breasts...

That last shot is just too funny..."If You Can't Get the Real Thing..."...lol
but what comes to my mind is "Coppin' A Cheap Feel (Thrill)"..

Nikolai

DRabbit wrote:

Okay... tell me which of these you like...

Given the choices... the last one...

Greensquared

DRabbit wrote:

Okay... tell me which of these you like...

I have to say #1 would be my pick. In 3 & 4, it is distracting to me that her eyes are looking directly at the camera but out of focus (although I understand that the focus should be on the water boobies).

GREAPER

Of the last set, I prefer the first one.

She is not looking at the camera, she is focused on the implants. Which leads you to think that she is thinking about the implants, IMHO that is a stronger image.

DRabbit

Thanks... I'm still torn, but it helps to hear all your opinions...

Of course, the fact many of you like the funny ones goes back to what I was originally going for... I ended up doing the girl as an alternate idea with a different feel, but funny was my original intention. Problem is, I don't think I executed the funny ones as well as I wanted to, and I'm concerned with "here laugh more" one that you wouldn't know they were breast implants if I hadn't said so up front.

I may have to e-mail that one to a few friends that have no idea I did this shoot to see if they get it without any explanation.

LiquidAir

DRabbit wrote:

Of course, the fact many of you like the funny ones goes back to what I was originally going for... I ended up doing the girl as an alternate idea with a different feel, but funny was my original intention. Problem is, I don't think I executed the funny ones as well as I wanted to, and I'm concerned with "here laugh more" one that you wouldn't know they were breast implants if I hadn't said so up front.

My guess about the "here laugh more" shot is I would have figured out what they were after looking at it for a bit, but it wouldn't have hit me right away like it does in the other shots.

Ristyz

I like 'Man Boobs' the best. His face is a bit too dark in places and the overall image could use some other editing to bring in the 'pop'.

Swartzy

To confuse the issue further
The first 2 looks as though she isn't looking at anythng, but falling asleep (as her eyes are almost closed). Which leaves me to choice #4...#3 has the blue hue going so the colors don't work for me. These all look over processed, like some Lightroom preset (I don't own the program yet but from what others are posting lately). The B&W conversion just doesn't grab me....if it were more vivid/contrasty, I think the theme would have more pop in the photograph.

I did say earlier that I preferred color but narrowing these down to 4 choices #4 is still my preferrence. Good luck!

JillG

Hi, Of the last set I like #4, I could see that shot in a magazine article about teenage girls and breast implants. The only thing that bugs me is the one black nail.
Jill

sherstone

Annie222 wrote:

I can't see pictures ? Is it just me ?

Not just you - I can't see them either

Not sure why you can't see them... but here's links:

The links bring me to "Access forbidden!" and an error 403

EDIT:

Now I can see all of the images - so not sure what was up - all ok now


My favorite of all the images is "Man boobs"

douglas

I am undecided on my favorite of these, I like the man boobs, and the B&W girl alot. The tones,emotion,humor and over all quality is great in the make me laugh version, not sure it fits the theme quite as well though.

VisualXpressions

As for the latest one I posted... the funny shot... objectively, if you didn't know what they were, would you know they were breast implants?

[/QUOTE]

Seems like lots of folks like this shot the best... It may not be immediatly obvious that he is holding breast implants but I think most will get it eventually... You could name it something like "She agrees, Yipee!" or "my wife's new additions", something subtle, but a title that helps the vewer realize what they are looking at...

for what it's worth...

Winston

DRabbit

Thanks again everyone...

I sent the "make me laugh" photo to some friends (without any explanation that would tip them off as to what they were looking at) and they all seemed to get it (for the most part). Funny enough, when I then sent the others they didn't like "Man Boobs" - said it was hard to tell they were breast implants and that they are two different types/sizes (which has bugged me from the beginning). Most of them seemed to like the B&Ws of the girl best.

Douglas - of the girl ones, which one do you like best?

Jill - Ya know, it bugged me at first too, but then I thought it was a bit of a subconscious message... like she's giving society the finger about the whole idea of them. That's why in one version the nail is fixed up a bit. I could go either way... get rid of the black or keep it.

Swartzy - I can understand the color ones, but really there is minimal processing on these. I'm not sure how much more contrasty I could make the B&Ws... I'll have to play with them some more and do some selective contrast.

I know what you mean about her eyes in the first two. I do have another similar version where you can see her eyes more, but the framing isn't quite as good. I'll have to see. I'm really torn between whether I like her looking at the camera or not.

douglas

DRabbit wrote:

Thanks again everyone...


Douglas - of the girl ones, which one do you like best?

I like the first bw girl in page 2. The 2nd pic of the bw girl looks a bit like a hand out, were in the first pic of her it looks like she may be contemplating about getting implants.