Before and After - The Final.

Photoshopping.

On my own face, As well as changing the colour tones in the images, I made my eye colour brown and removed any blemishes, moles or piercings. I had most trouble changing the under eye area, It was hard to look natural but i lowered the opacity on the clone tool to make it less harsh.




I did mostly the same things with Vickys face as I did with mine. Only I made her eyes green, and changed the colout tones in a different was to emphasise her skin tones and hair colour. I also created some freckles when i first started post production on her face but they were so hard to make look natural that I left it as it was. I also struggled to remove a small double chin problem (sorry!) but I used the heal tool and it I ended up pleased with the results I got.

Before Images

I wanted to use some really considered High key, high production images for my before images. I think this will look much better than simple shooting someone in a day to day envo=ironment, and much more like the big rocket before and after images I was first inspired by. I took these images in the studio using two lights and a white backdrop.

Blondes.

Although not all of the Gods exhibited the trait, blonde hair was seen as a sign of divinity in Ancient Greece. Blondes were seen as exotic and otherwordly.
Blonde hair was also commonly ascribed to the hoeroes and heroines of European fairytales. Only Snow White has adrk hair because of her Mothers wish for a child, 'as red as blood, as white as snow, as black as ebony.'

It is often stereotyped that men find blonde women more attractive than women with other hair colours. Alfred Hitchcock preferred to cast blonde women for major roles inhis films as he believed the audience would suspect them the least, hence the term, 'Hitchcock Blonde'. In the medis and in culture, blonde women are often portrayed as 'promiscuous', bacause of this, many believe that blondes, 'have more fun'.
Blonde jokes are a class of derogatory jokes based on a 'dumb blonde' stereotype of blonde woemn (or men) being unintelligent, sexually promiscuous, or both.

Redheads.

Red hair is the rarest type of natural hair colour in humans. Since the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, red hair has been seen more of a symbol of wealth and power. It was seen as a great sign of beauty back then, along with the pale skin we associate red heads with.

Many painters have exhibited a facisnation with red hair. The colour 'titian' takes its name from the painter Titian, who often painted women with red hair. Renaissance artist Botticelli's famous painting, 'The birth of Venus' depicts the mythological goddess Venus as a redhead. Who is supposed to depict the very essence of beauty. Other painters notable for their redheads include the pre-Raphaelites, Edmund Leighton, Modigliani and Gustav Klimt.

Rees in 2004 suggested that the vividness and rarity of red hair may lead to it becoming desirable in a partner and therefore it might become more common through sexual selection.
Sometimes red hair darkens as people get older, becoming a browner color and losing its vividness - this leads to some associating red hair with youthfulness, a quality that is generally considered desirable. In Countries like India, Iran and Pakistan, henna is used by women to give a bright red appearence.

Brunettes.

I have decided to look at the three hair colours and how they rae represented in historical culture and the media today. I will use these stereotypes in my final images. By showing, a before and after image and how I can emphsise their qualities using post production. Or possibly the qualities we think someone should pocess because of their hair colour.

Brunettes (like me) are often seen as the dowdy 'girl next door' in films and the media. Or if not that then they are vampy, gothic men stealers with red lipstick and big cuvacious hips! We are never the starring role!
Anita Loos who wrote the novel and screenplay 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' also went on the write a sequal called, 'But gentlemen marry brunettes'. This title suggests a wholesomeness and reliable character people expect in brunettes. Is this in the past or still around in todays society?

Brown hair is culturally identified as the colour of dependability. Brwon hair is, perhaps, most famous for being the colour of mystery and seduction.

In the film "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes' Jane Russel (brunette) plays Marilyn Monroes sidekick, her trusty friend, who albeit, seems more intelligent with buckets more common sense. At the same time she lacks the charm Marilyn has in the film and she gets much less attention from the men in the film.

More representations of beauty...

...Relating to hair. In Western society there seems to be a popular image of beautiful women as having a fair complexion, light eye colour, and blonde hair. In contrast an ideal man would have darker features. We have traditions like the 'fair haired maiden' and 'tall, dark and handsome' to remind us of this (if us brunettes ever dare forget!)
Cultural definitions of feminine beauty vary with regard to body size, skin complexion, hair length and colour.

Historically, the length or removal of hair has been a sign of status, age, appropriateness, and gender distinctiveness. Hair colour has been a symbol in mythology and literature. In 'Paradise lost', Milton's Eve, the original symbol of feminine sexuality, possessed, 'Golden Tresses'.
The innocent princesses often have long, golden hair, whilst the evil witches are shown with dark hair. Blondes are also overly represented in the 'good characters' of angels, saints, goddesses and fairy godmothers. Greek actors who portrayed villians, wore black wigs, heroes wore blonde wigs and clowns wore red wigs.
Do these stereotypes still exist today?