Beauty Begins From The Soul
a typology that explores the influence a simple pair of shoes can have
Test Shots & Outtakes
(before editing)
Final Product
(after editing)
Genre - Still Life
Composition techniques - simplicity, framing
Elements and principles - shape, colour
Artist Statement/Reflection (400 words):
My typology Beauty Begins From The Sole explores the simplicity of the everyday clothing item we use and how each shoe has its own emotion to express through us. This is done through the commonly used but powerful camera technique, the rule of thirds, as well editing done in the program Capture One. Beauty Begins From The Sole aims to show that even the simplest of choices in our life, such as what pair of shoes we are going to wear that day, will influence our mood and mindset for the day. Every shoe is different and radiates a different kind of energy and that rubs off on you and others. For example, an intricate and daring design on a pair of heels empowers femininity and encourages boldness.
I was inspired by Jodette Holly’s Sunglasses Typology 2 as Holly captured an elegant and sophisticated look by editing her photos to black and white. I found that her typology made the sunglasses look similar, but taking a closer look, you can see all of the small details that each pair has. I decided to take Holly’s black and white techniques and put it under my belt as I continued exploring. I then found Shannon Jensen’s Sundanese Shoes typology which consists of 12 different pairs of shoes in different colours, which were torn apart and worn. This typology caught my eye because of the different colours and how similar each pair looked from far away, but looking at the photographs close up, you can see that they all have similarities. With the idea of colour in my mind to create variety, I chose a bunch of different and random shoes in my household that had little to no common ground with others, but also some that were nearly the same in shape.
I found that choosing to do my typology on shoes was a little bit of a boring idea as it was so easy to photograph and edit. Looking back I should have challenged myself a lot more and continued to entertain the different ideas I had in the back of my mind for this assignment. I think that the typology I did come out the other side with isn’t bad. I believe it is successful in communicating the purpose of the piece as I think an audience would respond to my work positively. At the beginning I don’t think an audience would understand the big picture behind such a simple collection of photographs, but that’s the whole point of my piece. From doing this project, I’ve learnt that even the smallest of things can mean the most to us and that just because something may be hard to produce doesn’t mean you should go down the easy path. There’s nothing wrong with challenging yourself. With these lessons in my pocket, I hope to push myself in my photography and explore more possibilities and ideas without being intimidated by the shadow of hard work.
