I have chosen to explore fashion photography as it not only has a major influence within the fashion industry but has a vast impact on today’s society. Fashion photography’s purpose is to display clothing and other fashion items which mainly appear in advertisements or fashion magazines. It incorporates models with striking locations, story lines, animals and bizarre objects to create interesting and sometimes controversial effects.

One of my favourite fashion photographers is Mario Testino who is best known for his highly sophisticated, vibrant work and how he always seems to bring effortless couture to his photographs. His main attribute is his relationship to color in his photographs which he has developed throughout his career. His defined photography has appeared in Vogue and used by high profile fashion labels countless times making him one of the greatest photographers of the century. An exceptional example of his work, and one of my preferred choices out of his selection of photography, is his recent work for V magazine for their September 2009 issue using Lady Gaga as the model which can be found below.

In the photographs below Mario uses contrasting, bold colors on the model and background emphasized by bright lighting to gain attention. He uses close-ups of the model which combine with the bright colors to give the effect that the photograph is ‘poping’ off the page.To add to the effect he uses a harsh front lighting to make the picture extremely clear.  To make the primary image stand out more he uses a simple orange canvas background but still makes the background vibrant to continue with the bright theme. I think it was the correct choice to use a simple background rather than a complex background as it could have distracted your attention from the main elements within the photograph and made it difficult to identify the subject. He also repeats this method in the photograph shown below demonstrating his work with British Vogue by using little negative space to make the primary image more vivid. In photograph 2 he uses blocks of plain color to make the intricate design on the glasses your main focus.  The glasses are also a distinctive shape as they are shaped at the top in a triangular shape giving a dynamic effect to the photograph and leading your eyes. It also appears to be shaped in an upside down heart which may to act as a hidden meaning.  The proportions in both photograph 1 and 2 are enlarged to make the photograph look exaggerated, in particular,  the glasses in both are considerably over-sized. In closer detail the model’s hair and mouth are also amplified as the model’s mouth is pushed open to a more exaggerated gesture and her hair is pulled out to extend its dimensions to decrease negative space. Her hair also creates soft curved lines which gives a sense of flow.

I think he has made these photographs effective as you cant help but look at them, they somehow pull you in!

V Magazine-

Photograph 1

Photograph 2-

British Vogue-

Another of one of my favourite photographers is Patrick Damarchelier who is another one of today’s most famous fashion photographers. Patrick Damarchelier uses a much more subtle approach and different methods to create a bold photograph compared to Mario Testino. One of my preferred choices is his work with Italian Vogue in December 2006 which is shown below. Lines are used collectively throughout the piece to portray the overall effect. In the photograph strong vertical lines are used to give the impression of  prominence and grandeur.  By positioning the models high up it also indicates that they command power. The photograph contains lots of powerful leading lines, in the particular, the models create diagonal leading lines which lead your eyes to one part of the photograph to the next. Symmetry is an important factor in this piece as it is the idea the picture is based upon. According to the ‘rule of odds’ it implies a photograph is more appealing if the amount of subjects in a photograph is equivalent to an odd number. Where as an even number of subjects makes the photograph appear flawless and un-natural. The photograph complies to this ‘rule’ and as a result almost appears artificial. A black dull canvas background is used to make the primary image grab more attention. I think the photographer could of possibly used more elaborate outfits on the models to draw more attention to them as the primary image.

I also have chosen to research sports photography which is used mainly for editorial purposes and occasionally advertising. Newspapers, such as The Sun and The News of the World, have an excessive use of sport photographyh which is mainly located in their back pages to enhance the latest sport stories. Brands also have a high demand for sports photography; particularly Nike. Sports photography captures athletes in the moment of action which enables you to feel as if your there.  Sports photography is hard to shoot due to the many different camera angles and lighting techniques involved to retain a photograph. Mainly the only available lighting effects that can be used is existing light which can cause a range of difficulties, for example if there is no sunlight this will affect the light in the photograph. Sport photography also requires fast telephoto lens in order to capture movement and prevent blurring movement. In order to achieve the best results photographers usually position themselves as close to the action as possible. Other than that sports photography requires little set up or staging a situation. It relies on spontaneity rather than technicalities therefor falling into Candid photography.

One of the sport photographers work that caught my attention was Lee Sanders. The images below are my favorite examples of his work as you can really sense the emotion within the photograph. He captures the photographs with blurred negative space in photograph 3 and 4 to allow your eyes to focus on the primary images instead of becoming distracted by the background. As a result of an out of focus crowd the bold colored clothing on the primary images becomes more distinctive and makes the athletes stand out more. In photograph 4 he has shot his primary image on a slight diagonal which in turn makes the photograph more dynamic. Photograph 4 also captures the emotion on the athlete’s face which is the primary source of all emotion. By shooting the face it makes the photograph talk to the audience. Furthermore the use of lines in both photograph’s is prominent to lead your eyes around the action in the photograph. The main athletes use the most striking, spread out lines within both photograph’s to divert your gaze towards them. Lee Sanders tends to use similar shooting angles throughout his work where as Bob Martin who shoots action, graphic and editorial pictures, uses different shooting angles. I liked how Boob Martin uses different shooting angles as it captures the primary image’s emotions in various ways. An example of his work below in photograph 5 shows one of his extreme shooting angles which creates an exhilarating image. He uses an extreme low angle shot to capture the image of the horse race to make you feel like you are in the photograph beneth the action.  By shooting below it also gives the impression that the primary images are dominant.

Photograph 3-

Photograph 4-

Photograph 5-