Senses Shoot

Smell is mechanism by which scents are observed, and includes our ability to detect hazards and pheromones. It also plays a crucial role in another one of our senses; taste. For this theme, we wanted to evoke the viewer’s sense of smell through the use of visually fragrant items like a floral bouquet and a spritz of delicate perfume. We decided to dress our model in bridal attire to further elude to the overwhelming scent of flowers that fill the chapel on days of holy matrimony.

Taste is the perception produced when cells on your tongue react chemically with something in your mouth; producing flavor that is recognized by our brain. For this theme, we went with the obvious and incorporated the use of food. Because certain foods evoke certain emotions when we think of them, we decided to play into the viewer’s sweet tooth and used items like cupcakes, suckers and bubblegum. Those items are also a bit playful in nature and also conjures up the sense of taste in other forms of the word.

Sound is a sense achieved through the reception of acoustic waves and their perception by the human brain. For this theme, we wanted to evoke the viewer’s sense of sound through the portrayal of physical responses to both making and observing sound. We decided to go “loud” with our model’s look and dressed her in rock and roll attire, complete will sequins skeleton graphic, heavy metal jewelry and a hairdo that screams! We also incorporate the guitar a few power poses to turn these photos up to eleven.

Sight, or visual perception, is the ability to interpret the surrounding environment through vision, using light reflected by objects in the environment. For this theme, we decided to focus on the idea of visual beauty; this is being represented by the use of pearls by our model. The pearl is an instant visual symbol, evoking a sense of elegance. Additionally, I directed our model to look off camera, provoking the viewer to wonder what she sees. We also did some takes of her looking directly into the lens, which draws you in even more. Fun fact: oysters have eyes over their entire bodies.

Touch is a sense achieved through a series of neural structures in the brain and body that produce the perception of physical touch including temperature, proprioception, and pain. For this theme, we wanted to evoke the viewers sense of touch through the use of texture. We achieved this in two ways; through the use of textured fabrics and accessories and with the use of dramatic, hard lighting to accentuate the contrast in those textures. We chose strong, familiar materials like fur, feathers and beaded jewelry.