With editing the image I've chosen for the cover, I wanted to keep the simple nature of the photos while adding elements such as spotlights and album titles to complete the images. I focused on smoothing the background and sharpening the boots.
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I also cropped the images into squares to fit the typical album cover aspect ratio and used the rule of thirds on the boots to create a simple and balanced image. This gave me the negative space around them to add an album title.
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Swift's body of photos for reputation revolve around portraits and so I wanted to contrast this while staying true to the albums message, concept, and aesthetic. I think the boots are perfect for this as they have a sense of feminine strength to them while remaining delicate. To me, the image feels like it is the moment before they step on stage, which is a scary and nerve racking moment, but simultaneously empowering. I wanted the capture this theme using only objects and props and I think this worked well. The original album cover works with a portrait of Swift, combined with a black and white palette, negative space, and also complex typography. For my version, I wanted to follow through with the idea of negative space and the unknown tone that it represents, I also wanted to move away from the solely black and white palette and include the red on the boots as I feel like for the message behind the image - stepping out onto stage - the addition of colour makes the image feel more reachable and real, allowing viewers to be in that moment with the boots and feel the emotions with them, where as in black and white, I feel like the image would feel strong and powerful but unable to penetrate and reach any inner emotions.
