SantaSusanaHighSchool

COSTUMECATALOG
SeniorProjectResearch

SarahWilcox
CPEnglish12
Mr.White
20November2015

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SeniorProjectResearchPaper
CATALOGINGTHECOSTUMES
SincemymajorhereatSantaSusanaisdanceandIhavegrownfondofthedance
programandeveryoneinit,Iwantedtodoaprojectthatcouldbenefitallthedancersandbeof
useformanyyearstocome.FortheseniorprojectthatIultimatelychose,Iwillbe
photographingallofthecostumesbelongingtothedanceprogramhereatSantaSusanaandthen
creatingawebsiteinwhichIwillcatalogthecostumes.ThemajorityoftheworkIwillbedoing
onmyprojectinvolvesphotographyandwebsitedesign,twopracticesthatIknowverylittle
about.Tomaketheseprocessessimpler,myaimistogainknowledgeaboutphotographyand
webdesignsothatIcanexecutethemtothebestofmyabilityinmyproject.Havingample
amountsofknowledgeonthesesubjectareasundermybeltwillcomeinhandywhenIfacethe
issuesIanticipate,suchashavingtroubletakingnicelyexposedphotosornotknowinghowto
arrangethephotoseffectivelyonmywebsite.
ThefirstmajorstepintheprocessthatIwanttolearnmoreaboutischoosingtheright
peopletomodelthecostumesandworkingwiththosemodelstocapturetherightphotographs.
Next,IwanttolearnmoreabouthowIcantreatmyphotographsliketheyaresomethingIam
writing,sinceIknowthatthetwoartformssharesimilarprinciples.ForwhenIbegintobuild
thewebsiteitself,Iwouldalsoliketogainknowledgeabouthowtostructurewebpagesand
applyaestheticstomydesign.
FOCUSINGONTHEFINDINGS
Whenphotographingforthepurposeofmakingclothingproductsseemdesirable,
choosingthecorrectmodelsisthefirstcriticalsteptodoingso.Formodelswhowork

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professionallyinadvertising,theyaremorelikelytogetjobswhentheirphysicalfeaturesand
attributespertaintoandenhancethespecificproducttheyaremodeling(Williams21).Agood
fashionmodelshouldlooknaturalinfrontofthecamera,andshouldhaveexperienceinfashion
modeling(
"HowtoChooseYourFashionPhotographyModel").
Althoughamodelsheightand
weightareimportanttoconsiderforfashionphotography,bodyproportioniswhatgivesamodel
therightlookforthejob(Williams36).
Thisideallookdependsonwhatisbeingsoldandwho
theaudienceis
(
"HowtoChooseYourFashionPhotographyModel").Inadditiontoexperience
andphysicalappearance,maturityandresponsibilityareimportanttoconsiderinchoosing
modelsforthephotographyprocess(Williams40).
Oncethecorrectmodelshavebeenchosenforthejob,knowinghowtoworkwiththem
asthephotographeristhenextcrucialpartoftakingphotosthatselltheproduct.Astrong
relationshipbetweenthephotographerandthemodelcanhelpthemodelactandlookmore
relaxed,whichcanbebeneficialtotheoverallmovementofthephoto(Adler).Thisvisual
movementcreatedbythemodelcancreateacertainemphasisinthephotographthataffectshow
thephotoisviewed(Siegel14).Asthephotographer,beingspecificandstraightforwardwhen
directingmodelscanmakethingsgosmootherandfaster(Adler).Inregardtousingthecamera,
shootingfromtoolowortoohighananglecandistortthesubject,andisnotidealforfashion
photography.Aneutralcameraangle(aboutatthesubjectswaist)isthebestchoiceforshooting
clothing(Siegel10).
Sincephotographyisanartform,treatingitsprincipleslikethoseofotherartforms,
specificallywriting,canhelpaphotographergainanewperspectiveandlearntoconvey
photographsinnewways.Bothwritingandphotographyareusedtocommunicate,andinboth

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artforms,thepersoncreating(thewriterorphotographer)mustconsidertheiraudienceand
purpose(Silverstein).Artistsmustalsobefamiliarwiththeirequipment,which,forphotography,
canmeanlenses,lightingequipment,andeditingprograms(FarisBelt).Inphotography,asin
writing,itisbesttokeeptheworkclearandsimple,asitisthetrulyskillfulartistwhoconveys
theirmessagewithsimplicity("F.L.LucasonHowtoWriteBetter).Whenphotographing,itis
importanttoavoidusingjargonsothatphotographsareaccessibletotheirintendedaudience
(Silverstein).Perhapsmostimportantly,aphotographer,muchlikeawriter,mustlearntofind
theperfectbalanceofpassionandcontrol("F.L.LucasonHowtoWriteBetter).
Whencreatingawebsite,itisimportanttostructurethewebpagesinawaythatmakes
themaccessibletothewebsitesusers.Whenapersonlooksatsomething,suchasawebsite,for
thefirsttime,theirbrainautomaticallycreatesmodels,basedonexistinginformationandnew
information,thattellthemhowtheymightnavigatethroughthatwebpageandfindcertain
things(LynchandHorton).Webpagehierarchies,ifstructuredwell,areaneffectivewayof
organizingwebcontent(Djonov2).Ahierarchythatistooshallowleavestheuserwithlong,
confusinglistsofunrelatedinformation,whileonethatistoodeepburiesinformationbeneath
toomanylayersofpages(LynchandHorton).Helpfulfeaturesthatmakeawebsitehierarchy
moreeffectiveincludehyperlinkanchors,suchaswebsiteinternal,websiteexternal,and
surfacinghyperlinks(Djonov4),whichallhelpusersnavigatethroughoutthesiteandtoother
relevantsites.
Inadditiontobeinguserfriendly,awebsitemustalsobeaestheticallypleasingsothat
userswillenjoyusingthewebsiteandbemoreinclinedtouseitmorethanonce.Researchers
whohavestudiedtheeffectivenessandaestheticsofwebdesigncontinuetodisputewhetheror

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notaestheticsplayanimportantroleinwebsiteusersatisfaction(LavieandTractinsky8).
However,manybelievethattheydoindeedplayanimportantrole.Itiseasytoidentifyand
processanobjectwhenitisconsistentwithitssurroundings,suchasacaronastreet,andeven
easiertoidentifywhenithasnobackgroundatall(DavenportandPotter4).Simplicitymaybe
theultimatelinkbetweenaestheticsandusabilitywhenitcomestowebsitedesign(Lavieand
Tractinsky9).
INVOLVINGTHEINFORMATION
Althoughtherearemanywaystouseknowledgeofphotographyinreallife,inthiscaseI
mustidentifytheinformationthatwillhelpmeinmyprojectspecifically.Sinceitispartofmy
projecttochoosepeopletomodelthecostumes,itishelpfultoknowthatthebestmodelshave
physicalattributesthatreflecttheitemstheyaremodelingandwhohaveexperienceinthearea
.I
amphotographingdancecostumes,somyidealmodelswouldbedancerswhoarecapableof
hittingposesthatarerelevanttothedancestyleofeachspecificcostumeandwhohavedone
dancephotoshootsbefore.Sincemymodelswillbehealthy,experienceddancersandmy
audienceiscomposedofmembersofthedanceprogram,Idon'tbelievethatmymodelsheights
orweightswillbeofconcern.Itis,however,importantthatthemodelsIchoosearematureand
responsible
.Thiswillensurethattheyarededicatedtofinishingouttheprocessandwilltakeit
seriouslyinsteadofwastingtimeorjustnotshowingup.ItisalsoimportantthatIhaveastrong
relationshipwithmymodelsandthatIamcomfortableenoughtodirectthemclearly.SinceI
willbechoosingamongstpeopleIamalreadyacquaintedwithandwhoIknowarerightforthe
task,Idontthinkitwillbeanissuetoworkwiththem.Inadditiontochoosingandworking
withmodels,treatingaphotographysessionlikeanyformofwritingcanhelpmegainanew

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perspectiveonhowtotakethebestphotographs.Rememberingwhomyaudienceis,whatmy
purposeis,andthatsimplicityiskeywillhelpmetakethemosteffectivephotos.
Sincethefinalproductonmyprojectwillmethewebsiteitself,learningaboutthemost
relevantaspectsofwebsitedesignwillhelpgreatlywithmakingsuretheoutcomeisworththe
timeandeffortputintoit.Sincemywebsitewillhavealotofinformationthatiseasierto
navigatewhencategorizedbasedongenreofdance,creatinganeffectivedesignhierarchybased
onthosegenresisagoodwaytomakethewebsiteuserfriendly.Keepinginmindhowother
effectiveandpopularwebsitesarestructuredcanalsohelpmegetanideaofhowminecouldbe
structuredaswellinordertoserveitsintendedpurpose.Inregardtomakingthewebsitelook
good,keepingmybackgroundsconsistentwiththecontentofmywebsitecouldincreasethe
aestheticvalueofthedesign.Forexample,apagethatshowsballetcostumesmighthavealight
pinkorotherlightlycoloredbackground,whilejazzcostumesmightbeaccompaniedbya
brightercolor.Inaddition,keepingmywebsitefreeofunnecessaryembellishmentsand
distractionsisonewaytoutilizesimplicityandmakemythewebsitemoreaestheticallypleasing.
Theinformationthatmyresearchhassuppliedmewithwillaidimmenselywiththe
executionofmyplansformyseniorproject.Whilephotographyandwebsitedesignarenot
subjectsIhaveeverconsideredmyselfknowledgeableabout,Inowmorethanenough
informationabouttheseprocessestobeabletodothemjusticeinmyproject.Inowfeelmore
equippedtocreatesomethingthatthedanceprogramcanuseandappreciateforyearstocome.

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WorksCited
Cai,Deng,etal."ExtractingContentStructureforWebPagesbasedonVisualRepresentation."
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(2003):406417.
Davenport,JodiL.,andMaryC.Potter."SceneConsistencyinObjectandBackground
Perception."
PsychologicalScience
15.8(2004):559564.
Djonov,Emilia."Websitehierarchyandtheinteractionbetweencontentorganization,webpage
andnavigationdesign:Asystemicfunctionalhypermediadiscourseanalysisperspective."
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15.2(2007):144162.
FarisBelt,Angela.
TheElementsofPhotography:UnderstandingandCreatingSophisticated
Images
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"Fashion:WorkingwithModelsbyLindsayAdler."
Fashion:WorkingwithModelsbyLindsay
Adler
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"F.L.LucasonHowtoWriteBetter."
About.comEducation
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"HowtoChooseYourFashionPhotographyModel."
Steve'sDigicams
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2015.
Lavie,Talia,andNoamTractinsky."Assessingdimensionsofperceivedvisualaestheticsofweb
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Internationaljournalofhumancomputerstudies
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Lynch,PatrickJ.,andSarahHorton."3InformationArchitectureSiteStructure."
SiteStructure
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N.p.,n.d.Web.10Oct.2015.
Siegel,Eliot."PhotographingWomen:1,000Poses."(2012).
Silverstein,AnnParker."Workingwithimages:applyingwritingprinciplestophotography."
(1982).

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Williams,Roshumba."TheCompleteIdiot'sGuidetoBeingaModel."(1999).