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Notes and Commentary By: Robyn Barnette
If I had to think of one word that best describes this Bratz Photography Project, that word would be: Ordinary. And considering what type of Bratz Photography Project this was, I would say that ordinary best describes "Express It Yasmin." Even though I usually try to go above and beyond my abilities to capture and produce the best photos of my Bratz dolls possible, I was not looking to accomplish that for this project. Unlike what I did for my previous Bratz Photography Project "Danalicious," all I wanted to do in "Express It Yasmin" was simply capture photos of my Yasmin doll in realistic backgrounds and settings. And despite the title of this project, it is not devoted to Bratz XPress It! Yasmin. Instead, it is devoted to Bratz Back To School Yasmin. This is the first project that I can think of where I had more ideas for photos than the number of photos captured. The goal was for me to capture photos of Yasmin in settings that reflected not only the Bratz' passion for fashion, but also their passion for school and learning. I wish that I had captured more photos that reflected this, but due to security concerns some ideas for photos such as a hallway shot inside a high school and a classroom photo had to be scrapped. I did, however, capture two photos of Bratz Back To School outside Nazareth Area High School in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, and they were the first few photos captured for the project. Because of summer recess, I was able to capture the photos in early- to mid-August. Another photo that I captured of Bratz Back To School Yasmin was at Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. This was a photo of Yasmin sitting on a railing with a waterfall and pine trees in the background. I was actually capturing this photo for another photography project that I was doing for my "Yasmin's Story" Fan Fiction, but I had to capture the photo during August, since Longwood Gardens traditionally shuts off all their water fountains after Labor Day. And what an experience it was to shoot the photo there, but not in a good way, either: The first attempt at capturing the photo was disasterously unsuccessful, since the batteries on my Kodak EasyShare V550 Digital Camera died and produced some of the worst images that I've seen in a long time. Determined to capture this photo, I went back to Longwood Gardens a week later and attempted capturing the photo again. Even though the batteries on my digital camera were fully functional, it was still difficult to capture the photo. But I persisted, and after forty takes I successfully captured it. Perhaps my most favorite photo from "Express It Yasmin" is the one of Bratz Back To School Yasmin dressed in her track outfit and standing on the bleachers at Fisher Field in Lafayette College. The stadium had recently undergone a $23 million renovation, with a brand new football field and brand new seating. And I can honestly say that all the money poured into renovating Fisher Field was money well spent. What I love the most about this particular photo is the colors, with the alternating green colors of the football field, the red colors of the bleachers, and the beige of the Wellness Center in the background. They were coordinarted perfectly with the colors of Yasmin's track outfit. Then again, Lafayette College is ranked nationally as one of the top engineering schools in the nation, so it was expected that everything would work out perfectly with this photo. One of the features of "Express It Yasmin" that is very interesting is the video slideshow. For some time, I had been viewing the video slideshows for the previous Bratz Photography Projects that I've done, and I came to the conclusion that they all needed to be reworked. The video slideshow for "Express It Yasmin" is the first of its kind, containing plenty of new transitions and animations that were not previously present, since I wanted the video slideshow to play out like a music video. Some of the animations and transitions came from the Bratz DVD movies and Interactive DVDs, while others were created exclusively by me. And the musical track used for the video slideshow was appropriate for what I wanted to accomplish with "Express It Yasmin," even though the pacing of the track may have contributed to fewer photos this time around. There are some other photos that I enjoyed capturing of Bratz Back To School Yasmin, including the photo at the Philadelphia Art Museum and the photo of Bratz Back To School Yasmin dressed up in Bratz Genie Magic Yasmin's fashions. But after having after having spent twelve weeks doing this project, and after having spent the past couple of years doing these Bratz Photography Projects, is there anything that I have not yet accomplished with my Bratz photography? Have I accomplished everything that I could with these Bratz Photography Projects? Well, I believe that I have accomplished everything, but I am continuing to develop newer photo ideas for future projects. Perhaps that's why "Express It Yasmin" represents something of a transition between my previous project with Bratz Feelin' Pretty Dana and my next project, because after all, this project was ordinary. I was not really looking to accomplish something revolutionary in my Bratz photography with "Express It Yasmin." Then again, I didn't want to. But the best is yet to come, and I hope to continue capturing more cleverand amazing photos of my Bratz dolls. Who knows? The next Bratz Photography Project that I do could be....out of the ordinary. | |||||||||||||
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