There are
different types of fashion photography such as product / catalogue photography
for online documentation for stores such as ASOS. Within this, you also get the
technique of the 'ghost mannequin' where you can only see the clothing and no
person wearing it. But in this lecture we are going to focus on the artistic
aspect and the emergence of fashion photography.
The history
of photography
First
permanent photographs: A photograph of faint rooftops from a window in France
from 1826 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce.
After Niépce's
death, Louis Daguerre continued the pursuance of photography's potential with
his landscape of 'Boulevard de Temple' in 1838/9. This could be considered as
the first photograph of human beings, as a man can be seen having his shoes
polished. The subjects were able to be caught on the image despite of the long
exposure time, because they were seated for so long. However, there is no
traffic or other people on the image because they were not still for long
enough to be captured.
The
calotype photography process was introduced and invented by William Henry Fox
Talbot.
Lady Alice
May Kerr produced defined portrait images such as 'Portrait of Wilfrid Scawer
Blunt', 1870.
Virginia
Oldoni, the Countess di Castiglione was both a subject of early portrait photography
and the director of these 'theatrical' style shoots where she would re-enact
significant events in her life. Photographed by Adolphe Braun in 1856 and
Pierre-Louise Pierson in 1863/66. There are hundreds of photos in these shoots
to be explored.
Age of the
Fashion Magazine
First ten
years of the 1900's we start to see an emergence of photography to be used
in
magazine
culture in particular fashion, replacing the use illustration to exhibit the
clothes.
Paul Poiret
(1879-1944)
House of
worth (Charles Worth, considered the Father of Haute Couture)
Edward
Steichen photographs Paul Poiret's designs for Art et Decoration, 1911.
Adolphe de
Meyer - big fashion photographer in the 1920's that explored Romanticism and
Mythical beauty in his work. Thoughtful, beautiful.
Martin
Munkacsi - sports-style fashion shots with slight blur and movement with active
poses and faster shutter speeds.
The Conde
Nast Years, 1923 - 1937 by William A Euring and Todd Brandow - modernism and
experimental dramatic portraits. Marian Moorhouse, a celebrity of the time
features in their images.
Cover of La
Mode Pratique, 1938 uses photography on the cover, and is one of the early
examples of this.
Vogue vs.
Harpers Bazaar
Both
leaders in fashion photography in the 20s/30s. A constant battle of the rival
magazines in professionalism and moving forward with photography in particular.
Hoyningen
Heune, 1931, Madame Vioumet - Romanticism.
Introduction
of surrealism in fashion photography, Horst P Horst - Costume for
Salvador Dali's "Dream of Venus", 1939.
Cecil
Beaton (1904-1980)
• British Vogue and Vanity Fair
photographer
• One of the 'Bright Young Things' of the
1920s/ 1930s.
• Photographer of British Royals
• Vivien Leigh for Vogue, mid 1930's showing
the glamorous backstage with movie style lighting. A beauty the general public
cannot have access to.
• Stephen Tennant
• Queen Elizabeth II in 1968
Lee Miller
(1907-1977)
• (photographed by Steichen)
• American photographer and fashion model
aged 19
• Goes to Paris in 1929 with photographer
Mon Ray
• Grungey fashion shots - first of their
kind
• Became a war correspondant photographer
- a vast contrast to the glamorous world of fashion photography.
Louise Dahl
Wolfe
• Spent 1936-58 at Harpers Bazaar
• 'Night Bathing' 1939 is clever and
dramatic in lighting and comparison between statue and girl in image
• 'Panorama of Paris, Suzy Parker in
Jaques fath gown', 1953 - high end and international style.
In 1935
Kodak colour film is introduced but it is not really seen commercially until
the 1950's.
William
Klein
• 1950s
• Movement in his fashion photography with
long telephoto lens capturing peoples reactions.
• Although looked accidental, is in fact
very stage to look natural.
Bailey
& Donovan
• 1960s
• Self-taught photographers, the emergence
of pop culture and the general public having access to photographic equipment.
• Mick Jagger portraits
Terence
Donovan
• Spy Drama style photography, almost like
a story board put the fashion into context
• influenced by film
Richard
Avedon (1923-2004)
• At Harpers Bazaar until 1966
• At Vogue 1966 onwards
• Tina Turner, 1971
• Bill Curry, Drifter, Interstate 40,
Yukon, Oklahoma from the American West, 1985. (a 5-4 negative image)
glamorising the everyday people who aren't models and putting them in a studio
setting.
Helmut
Newton, (1920-2004)
• Vogue & Harpers Bazaar
• wife and models 1981.
• Much controversy over subject of his
shoots because he was married. So he included his wife in one of the shots
proving that it was 'OK'
Guy Bourdin
• Charles Jourdan Shoes
• showing only the part of the body that
is being advertised
• rough relationships with on screen
models
Jamel
Shabazz's book, 'back in the days', published in 2002 showcases the street
fashion photography of the 1980s hip-hop scene in New York City.
ID Magazine
(& face magazine rival)
• 1980s
• straight-up photography, documenting in
a more informal way, what the people of the street are wearing
• the new showcasing of street style
• ID cover 'wink'
• none airbrushed images, all freckles etc
included
Jeurgen
Teller
1990s
Works with
musicians
none
airbrushed photography
example -
'Annie Morton' in 1996
Corrine Day
(1965-2010)
• British fashion photography and model
• worked for 'the face' and 'Vogue'
• invented the 'waif'/ 'warts and all'
photography
• one of the first people to photograph
Kate Moss
• 'cocaine Chic'
• 'Tara' documentary project- showing the
deterioration of commercial beauty in her friend as she battles with drug
addiction
Adobe
Photoshop was launched in 2003. Gritty realistic style starts to fade and
idealistic bodies and looks become popular imagery for fashion photography in
particular.
Terry
Richardson
• 2000s
• 'Terryworld' 2004
Nick Knight
• Mercedes Benz campaign 2009 -
photoshopped, futuristic body of model and architecture inspired fashion
Introduction
of Fashion Blogging
Rawness and
realism comes back as photography becomes accessible to everyone. Is this a
threat to the fashion photography industry?
Tari
Gevinsons becomes known in the fashion world at the age of 11 because she is a
successful blogger.
Poppy
Dinsey 2011 - 'What i wore today' - daily documentation of everyday outfits
inspires others for their clothes and is more accessible than fashion
magazines.
'Streetstyle
Copenhagen'
Company
magazine releases a 'Superblogger Issue' in Jan 2013.
'Exactitudes'
exact/ attitudes by Avi Versluis & Ellie Uyttenbrock documents lots of
peoples street style but groups them in similar styles proving that our
individual style is not necessarily unique.