Fashion Photography Beyond Studio
Louise Dahl-Wolfe, renowned for her signature style of "environmental" fashion photography, is the subject of a full-scale retrospective on view through Nov. 26 at The Center for Creative Photography (CCP) at the University of Arizona. The exhibit, entitled "Louise Dahl-Wolfe: The American Image," features more than 130 vintage and modern prints, tear sheets and other memorabilia, such as letters, scrapbooks and personal photographs. It premiered at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, which coorganized the exhibit. On view exclusively in Tucson are additional unique objects from CCP's Louise Dahl-Wolfe Archive, including portraits of the artist, her journal and her camera from her trips to Europe and Africa.
Considered one of the world's leading fashion photographers from the 1930s to 1960, Dahl-Wolfe received universal acclaim for her fashion and portrait photography. She was one of the first photographers to move beyond the dominant fashion aesthetic of studio props and lighting to photograph naturally posed models outdoors and on location in far-flung places, from South America to Africa. Her depiction of the easy but exotic American style "captured the essence of the new American woman: spirited, sophisticated, and above all, independent," said co-curator Nan Richardson.
Dahl-Wolfe produced 86 cover images and thousands more for Harper's Bazaar magazine. In addition, her oeuvre included significant black-and-white portraits of such luminaries as Mae West, Cecil Beaton and Josephine Baker.
"This exhibition gives contemporary audiences the opportunity to experience the career of a woman who brought a profoundly fresh and influential approach to American magazine photography," said Trudy Wilner Stack, curator of exhibitions and collections at CCP.
Fashion photography is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items.
Fashion photography is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. Fashion photography is most often conducted for advertisements or fashion magazines . Over time, fashion photography has developed its own aesthetic in which the clothes and fashions are enhanced by exotic locations and story lines or could be having great models with different vehicles or animals just to be an eye catching effect.
Photography was developed in the 1830s, but the earliest popular technique, the daguerreotype, was unsuitable for mass printing.[1] In 1856, Adolphe Braun published a book containing 288 photographs of Virginia Oldoini, Countess de Castiglione, a Tuscan noblewoman at the court of Napoleon III. The photos depict her in her official court garb, making her the first fashion model.[2]
In the first decade of the 20th century, advances in halftone printing allowed fashion photographs to be featured in magazines. Fashion photography made its first appearance in French magazines such as La mode practique. In 1909, Condé Nast took over Vogue magazine and also contributed to the beginnings of fashion photography. Special emphasis was placed on staging the shots, a process first developed by Baron Adolf de Meyer, who shot his models in natural environments and poses. Vogue was followed by its rival, Harper's Bazaar, and the two companies were leaders in the field of fashion photography throughout the 1920s and 1930s. House photographers such as Edward Steichen, George Hoyningen-Huene, Horst P. Horst and Cecil Beaton transformed the genre into an outstanding art form. Europe, and especially Germany, was for a short time the leader in fashion photography.
But now with the change in time every country has taken considerable measures to promote the field of photography.
In the mid 1940s as World War II approached the focus shifted to the United States, where Vogue and Harper's continued their old rivalry. House photographers such as Irving Penn, Martin Munkacsi, Richard Avedon, and Louise Dahl-Wolfe would shape the look of fashion photography for the following decades. The artists abandoned their rigid forms for a much freer style. In 1936 Martin Munkacsi made the first photographs of models in sporty poses at the beach. Under the artistic direction of Alexander Brodovich, the Harper's Bazaar quickly introduced this new style into its magazine.
In postwar London, John French pioneered a new form of fashion photography suited to reproduction in newsprint, involving where possible reflected natural light and low contrast.[3][4]
After the deaths of Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and Herb Ritts, some of today's most famous fashion photographers are Patrick Demarchelier, Steven Meisel, Mario Testino, Annie Leibovitz, and Suza Scalora.
Requirements To Become A Successful Fashion Photographer
We can get a glimpse of fashion photography almost everywhere we look on TV, newspapers, internet and all media. Dazzling women with long legs and tanned skin scream for attention on news stands all over the place. It is the fashion photographer who is primarily responsible to bring those photographers to us, the everyday people. Unlike what one often imagines, there is more to fashion photography than a glitzy life style, fun and happening models. In fact there is a lot of planning involved behind every single fashion photograph that we see.
A name such as Mario Testino has become iconic in the realm of fashion photography. Did you know that photographers like him are just as sought after as the models that they photograph? At times the photographer is an even bigger celebrity than the model.
This profession may seem dream like to the young and enthusiastic photographer but it is not all about fun and glitz. It is not just about meeting the rich and the famous, the fat checks and the feeling of rock that goes with fashion photography. Did you know, for every one photographer that is successful, there are hundreds who are left looking for shoots for many years? Many give up after a few years while some do go on to become successful later on in life.
If you want to become a fashion photographer
1. Learn the art well
There is no end to learning. Here is where many a youngster goes astray. they are so bothered about the style and the glamour associated with the fashion photographer, they concentrate more on looking right than shooting right. Know your photography so well that it comes naturally to you. Get books on the subject and read them to expand your knowledge of the subject.
2. Equipment
Next to the right knowledge comes the right equipment. Here is a hard truth - you cannot be a good fashion photographer unless you can afford expensive equipment. Cameras are not cheap, and you have new ones coming out every season. If you cannot afford to start off with a good camera and lighting system, your knowledge would go to waste.
3. The portfolio
The portfolio of a photographer is what finally lands the job. Make sure you have an impressive folio with your best work carefully selected. Choose the best 4 by 5 slide images you have. Some prefer to make prints. It is suggested - if you are discussing something with a photography pro, carry the slides. If it is a designer you are meeting the prints may be a better idea and more convenient for everyone.
4. Personality
Any editor is looking for original talent, so make sure you have a strong individual point of view. It is ok to be affected by another professional's point of view, as long as you add or remove from it to make it unique and different. You need an identity! |
