Kirsty Mitchell

Kirsty Mitchell is a photographer very experienced in fantasy portraiture. In her personal statement on her website, she expresses how the images she produces resemble the stories that her mother used to read to her when she was younger. She became fully immersed in photography when her mother died in 2008, and has been taking photos with this mythical theme ever since, as a form of escapism yet connection to her mother. I think that she is a key influencer of my work and this future project, as I have known about her for years and been exposed to her  work for a while. It's important to know who and what is influencing me subconsciously, and deconstruct this into a clear understanding of how and why it affects me and my work.
I have made some key observations about the general style of her work;

Her images often have a black or very dark background, giving them a very mythical and mysterious mood, because black has connotations of hiding and mystery. It effectively sets the mood for the viewer. I attempted this in my second shoot and I wasn't keen on how it looked, however I am considerable ill practised compared to Mitchell and so may find better results after a few more trials. Her subjects are often engaged in direct eye contact with the viewer too, and the way she poses them to do this makes it feel both inviting to this make-believe world and confronting in their attitude of not shying away. I have practised both non-direct and direct modes of address so far and I think I will keep experimenting as i'm not sure which will be most effective within my images so early on. This direct eye contact , however, draws the audience into the image and creates a bond or connection with the subject whose gaze they meet. 

They all also have a colour scheme, sticking to shades of the same colour within the image. I really like how this is used because I feel like it really pulls the images together, and by using just one colour it can really set the mood and tone due to the colour’s connotations. This colour unity makes the image feel whole and complete almost, and is enhanced by her use of textures and makes her work so interesting due to having so much to look at.

Apart from colour and tone adjustment, there's little photoshop. She makes all of her props herself for authenticity, and spends months making everything perfect. I'd really like for me to it this way too.

The image above is very yellow toned, and because of the connotations of yellow (happiness, energy and intellect), we have a very positive vibe from it. This makes the image very pleasing to look at, however, her stern facial expressions and harsh makeup counteract this which in my opinion makes it much more interesting and contrasts against the colour connotations. When I first see it I think of a sun goddess. In fact, the image is titled 'Gaia, The Birth of an End' - Gaia being the Greek goddess of the earth.
She titled the image as such because;

Her body language appears to be protective; her hands are facing towards her body, holding her decoration. It makes me wonder who this woman is - her story - and why she feels this way. That's why I like Mitchell's blog posts on her website so much. I understand photography doesn't need to share the answers of the whys and hows but I find myself so intrigued and feel a sense of peace when I can understand the meaning behind it - it acts as an extended synopsis or interview. Her immense decoration and accessories, to me, suggest that she is a person with great power which is then confirmed by this blog post. This sense of power is due to how we’ve seen the jewels and intricate decoration happen in real life, with the royal family, for example the painted portraits of Queen Elizabeth I as seen below;

The pattern in her decoration are very symmetrical, and it’s only the arms that really break this symmetry. I feel that this makes the composition very aesthetically pleasing.

To create the yellow splodges surrounding her - almost emitting off her - Mitchell used a yellow powder paint. This adds movement into a very stationary image and enhances the goddess-like feeling of the character.

This image is called the Faraway Tree, after a book by Enid Blyton from her childhood. I find this image so visually entrancing. The lights in comparison to the dark that's emitting from her dress, and the way the ships are illuminated. The ships are 1.5 meters in size and made from laser cut metal produced from the only place in the UK with a big enough machine to print it. The factory said this was the most complicated design they ever had, and it was drawn and designed by Mitchell herself.

She put bulbs behind the ships to illuminate them, and it appears that there's a few beneath her dress too which is something i'd love to attempt.

The way the branches seem to disperse from her as if being controlled by her, and the way that the roots appear connected to her. Mitchell's composition is perfect, giving the viewer enough to look at all around the image.

The colours used, greens and creams and whites are all very earthy and intensifies the feeling that this White Queen as Mitchell names her, is truly connected and one with the earth.

I feel that it can be rather hard to not make fantasy portraiture feel too fake or artificial and Wonderland does the genre so much justice. She thinks incredibly hard about every image and every single element that goes into it.

This image is less about the character, like the first image, and more about a story that she leaves the viewer to create within their mind. It sparks imagination.

While I know I won't be able to get anything on the level that Mitchell has created in a few months, I think there's no doubt that my word will be heavily inspired her whether it's conscious or not. She is  the most influential photographer to me, who made me fall in love with the fiction in photos and who pushes me to let people see how I think. Her images are stunning yet often heart wrenching, and I often find myself wanting to cry at them without even knowing why. This powerful strength Mitchell gives her work comes from her pure emotion and how she is capable of flooding that into her work, which is what I intend to do also.