Photoshop vs Real Life Props and Locations

Within my series and experiments that have led to this project, I have had a very set way of doing things in the sense that everything I do is physical. I used a physical moon, I physically wear the costumes, a physical lyre, no studio sets etc. This has not been a coincidence. Below I will run through my reasons why this is;


My work is centered around escapism. I feel that by having things physically, I am offered a much greater sense of escapism. Although I do get this feeling while editing and bringing the image to life as such, there is certainly a large aspect of my work that revolves around me being there, in the moment and embodying my chosen Goddesses.

This leads into my next reason, which is connection. These myths were written centuries ago, and by experiencing physically being there and getting into character and recreating these images I feel a connection between both the Greeks and the artist of the painting I am recreating. This then intertwines with escapism, as this connection brings a feeling of nostalgia for a time I never experienced, sparking the imagination and temporarily detaching from reality.

Thirdly, my skill is simply not high enough. While I practice my photoshop skills, I think it takes a lot of knowledge, work and talent to make scenes such as I am creating to look realistic. This, yet again, links with escapism. If my images are too obviously photoshopped, it completely detracts from the sense of escapism for not only me, but the viewer. I intend to make these images something that an audience can look at and temporarily enter perhaps not a completely mythical world as I certainly have aspects of modern reality within my images, but a better, or maybe just different world.
There is the option of hiring an editor, but then the issue of getting across exactly what you want, losing the intimacy of the images being so personal to me, and finances.

It's become clear that the reasons for me preferring to do things physically rather than digitally all come down to the fact that I want the escapism throughout the entire process of making these images to be as prominent as possible.