The Evolution of Fashion Photography
Fashion photography was born around the 1820’s and was
produced for fashion magazines of that time with a target audience of people
with a keen interest in the fashion industry. Over time it’s developed and has
grown into a phenomenon in which fashion photography images are seen worldwide
on a daily basis. In this essay I will explore the evolution of fashion
photography and its impact on both society and the art and design world in
comparison to my own work. I plan to discuss a range of photographers who have
influenced fashion photography by making relevant links to my weekly CAS
sessions.
‘Vogue’ fashion magazine has helped to launch some of the
most influential fashion photographers, one being Adolph De Meyer, who worked
for the magazine from 1913 to 1912 and who is also considered to have been one
of the first ever fashion photographers. As I have never come across any
of De Meyer’s images before I was interested to research his work and see if I
can find any similarities between any other photographers work or any of my own
images. Whilst browsing through some of his
work I found a link between one of his images and one of my own. Obviously the
two images have their differences, but for one, both of the models are holding
their hats and perfecting their hair, the backgrounds are similar as they are
fairly blurred out in order to make the model the focus point. As well as this,
the light sources in both images are at a similar angle which lights up the subject
and creates a similar atmosphere in both images.
I have also chosen one of my favourite of De Meyer’s
photographs to analyse for future reference if needed for any of my projects. I
have chosen this black and white portrait to analyse because of its
originality. I like the model’s serious expression as I feel it emphasises the
desired atmosphere of the image and the focus and dedication that is portrayed
through her eyes. I also think that the headband is successful because if her
hair was down I feel that it would become a distraction for the audience,
especially with the lace as well. For the time period that this image was
captured in, the idea of using the lace over the top was an innovative and
creative idea and I believe that it influenced fashion photographers that
followed.
I believe that the next significant development in
fashion photography was created by German-Australian photographer Helmut
Newton. His provocative images took the fashion world by storm and opened up a
whole new area of fashion photography, using nude models, like this image which
was taken in Paris in 1975. His plan was to ‘seduce, amuse and entertain’ his
audience and he definitely succeeded!
Throughout my ‘recording the body’ life photography
project, I definitely took inspiration from Newton’s work but I captured images
that weren't as sensual and eccentric and his, I order to keep my images
relevant to my project and fine art related. I have chosen one of my life
photography images from the first week to compare to Newton’s because I feel
that there are a number of aspects of the image that have been influenced by
his work. For one, the use of the mirror is a technique that
Newton has used in his work previously and I chose to include it within my own
work as I feel that it show the audience more of the model’s body through a
range of angles in one photograph and it also allows for more of an interesting
angle and overall image. Another similar aspect within this photograph is the
obvious black and white effect that I have applied because I felt that it
created a better ambiance than in colour, but more than this I felt that the
model’s pose was typical of that that would have been used by Newton
in one of his images, which I feel I have emphasised by capturing it from a low
angle. Overall I would say that Newton’s work has inspired me and clearly had
an influence on the way I capture life photography style images.
It was around this time that photographers like Erwin Blumenfeld began to become more experimental and contemporary with their work and introduce elements of the weird and wonderful into fashion photography. Some of his work would be catagorised as experimental photography which is where I feel the next stage in the evolution of fashion photography changes, but the ideas and the meanings manage to remain the same. Blumenfeld’s work was and still is iconic and will continue to have an impact which causes the audience to question the work, this is where I think that fashion and fine art begin to cross and combine and produce masterpieces like Blumenfeld’s work.
Whilst researching, I came across one of his photographs that reminded me of an artist that I researched for my ‘recording the body’ life photography project; Francis Giacobetti. The light and dark striped shadows initially linked the two however, now I have the images next to each other to compare, I begin to notice the differences more than the similarities. It is clear to see how Giacobetti has modernised his image and successfully produced a more abstract image, most likely inspired by Blumenfeld’s piece. I think that both photographers have used an aray of techniques within their work, but I feel that the most important is the use of chiaroscuro within both images, because it was this that inspired my own chiaroscuro inspired photography task, in which I produced some of my favourite images that I will be including in my interview portfolio.
As time went by, fashion photography continued to change and evolve and photographers like Tim Walker and Rankin continued to experiement and produce more contemporary work. Tim Walker is a fashion photographer who has worked for Vogue magazine for a number of years and in which time has captured a number of iconic images. His work often involves altering the size of objects and their perspective in order to portray his desired message. This is one of the many traits of both Walker’s and Rankin’s work that I appriciate and want to take inspiration from for my own work, in all future projects I hope to be able to have a meaning behind my images, as I believe that it enables me to understand and consider the audience’s reaction and perception when they view my work, which is a key aspect when producing any style of photography. Walker’s work is often considered to be quite ‘creepy’ and ‘weird’ which I can understand, especially as there are some of his images that remind me of certain paintings that would be considered as ‘horror in art’, mainly Walker’s doll series.
Fashion photography is constantly becoming more contemporary
and relevant to a much wider audience than it was ever created for. It is now
often combined with commercial photography by using well-known models and
celebrities to advertise make-up and clothing products, some of the most recent
and popular being Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne and Kendall Jenner. Fashion
photography is no longer purely created for the eyes of those interested in the
fashion industry, because the images can be seen by just about anybody as a
result of social media, fashion photography now needs to cater for a much wider
audience than that of 1867, which also reinforces the importance of getting
your images displayed in fashion magazines and advertised as much as possible.
This alone puts great pressure on the shoulders of fashion photographers,
because they are now expected to always consider the social message behind the
images that they will be producing. There is a rising issue within society
about the way that the woman’s body is being portrayed within the media and when
it’s all broken down and deconstructed it is often the photographers who are
left to blame. There are a number of campaigns around asking for the use of
more ‘bigger models’ for advertising purposes, but as soon as ‘larger models’
are used, this then ironically causes offence and outrage amongst ‘smaller’,
‘skinner’ people who then feel as if they are being ‘put down’. I think that is
interesting to view fashion magazine articles and adverts from the 1950’s
because of the extreme difference to those shown in today’s magazines. In
current magazines there are swimwear and diet adverts, but instead of
advertising weight-gain, they were advertising weight-loss. I think the change
is important, as it has impacted massively on the fashion photography industry.
Fashion photography is both an art form and an industry which
will be ever changing and evolving with the times. There have been countless
photographers that have played a part in the development of the industry and I
have only briefly mentioned a few. In the future there continue to be a growing
number of photographers who will make history and help form a new direction for
the world of fashion photography in a variety of different ways and hopefully I
will have the opportunity to be one of these inspirational people, who will
then go on to influence the work of the next generation of fashion
photographers.
“I don’t believe in originality. You take
inspiration from whatever moves you
and you find your voice in those
things.” – Tim Walker
Bibliography:
·
Fashion Photography, (2010). The History. [online] Available
at: https://auntmame.wordpress.com/the-history/ [Accessed 10 Nov. 2014].
·
Francisgiacobetti.com, (2014). Francis Giacobetti - Photographer.
[online] Available at: http://www.francisgiacobetti.com/ [Accessed 20 Nov.
2014].
·
Mail Online, (2013). 'Sexually charged' Helmut Newton
portraits in new exhibit reveal how the legendary photographer seduced the
fashion world. [online] Available at:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2350098/Sexually-charged-Helmut-Newton-portraits-new-exhibit-reveal-legendary-photographer-seduced-fashion-world.html
[Accessed 19 Nov. 2014].
·
Rankin.co.uk, (2014). RANKIN. [online] Available at:
http://rankin.co.uk/ [Accessed 21 Nov. 2014].
·
Timwalkerphotography.com, (2014). Tim Walker Photography.
[online] Available at: http://timwalkerphotography.com/ [Accessed 21 Nov.
2014].
·
Wikipedia, (2014). Adolph de Meyer. [online]
Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolph_de_Meyer [Accessed 18 Nov.
2014].
·
Wikipedia, (2014). Erwin Blumenfeld. [online]
Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwin_Blumenfeld [Accessed 19 Nov.
2014].
·
Wikipedia, (2014). Helmut Newton. [online]
Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helmut_Newton [Accessed 10 Nov.
2014].
