Fashion photography A short history

1826 Firs t photograph 1850s Firs t fash ion photographs ( f rom the court of Napoleon I I I ) 1880s The f i rs t fash ion magazines, Harper 's Bazaar and Vogue ( fash ion was hand i l lus t ra ted) 1905 - Use of photography as an adver t is ing tool . 1913 Condé Nast h i red Baron Adolph de Meyer to shoot por t ra i ts of models , actresses , and ar is tocrats for Vogue .

The importance of magazines grew in the ear ly 20th century as col laborat ions with des igners increased. Ready - to -wear l ines and department s tores increased the access ib i l i ty of couture fash ion, and t rends were adopted and d isseminated in ternat ional ly .

With the help of photography, r is ing coutur iers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as Chanel , Schiaparel l i , Ba lenc iaga, and Lanvin , each became known for thei r dis t inct ive s ty les .

In a l l o f the examples be low, the photograph ex is ts independent ly f rom but supplementa l to the c lo th ing, brand or idea that i t communicates.

COMPOSITION: Ear ly fash ion photographers :

Horst P. Horst , Man Ray , Cecil Beaton , Edward Ste ichen , George Hoyningen -Huene , and Erwin Blumenfe ld .

Hors t B Hors t , Da l i des igned cos tumes 1939 Cec i l Bea ton , Audrey Hepburn in G iv inchy , 1954

By the mid -1950s, the t rend toward carefu l ly composed and beaut i fu l ly - l i t studio shots and the elegance of the models had g iven way to a new aesthet ic that was more f lu id , spontaneous, and energet ic . Arguably , the two most in f luent ia l fash ion photographers to emerge at that t ime were : Richard Avedon and I rv ing Penn , both of whom embraced a min imal is t aesthet ic that profoundly impacted the genre. Note the amount of movement and animat ion in these shots below.

ACTION:

Richa rd Avedon , Verushka wear ing I r v ing Penn , 1960s B i l l B las 1967

In the 1970s, soc ia l changes, par t icular ly femin ism, in f luenced the fash ion industry and the way women were represented. More women photographers , such as Sarah Moon , Deborah Turbevi l le and Eve Arnold brought f resh perspect ives to publ icat ions such as Vogue and Harper 's Bazaar.

Eve Arnold ’s moves seem very contemporary ( ref : recent Dove commerc ia l ) , her not ion of the beauty of the un - retouched woman can be seen in her very natura l pic tures of Mar i lyn Monroe, so d i f ferent f rom her g lamor shots and her book on Monroe reveals the ar t i f ice of her publ ic glamor persona– i t ’s carefu l construct ion . She a lso shot models behind - the -scenes at fash ion shows.

REALISM:

Eve A rno ld , Mar i l yn Monroe , 1950s

SHOCK -SUSPENSE -NARRATIVE: Helmut Newton pushed boundar ies wi th h is psychologica l ly and sexual ly charged images . Newton’s work a lways has a narrat ive e lement, and is both controvers ia l and extremely in f luent ia l in fash ion photography in everyth ing f rom Terry Richardson’s “porn” aesthet ic to David LaChappel le ’s s taged tab leaus.

Helmet Newton , M iam i , 1991 Ter ry R icha rdson , K ayne Wes t /Amber Rose , 2010

Dav id LaChappe l le , B r i t ney Spears , 2012 These photos are in tent ional ly des igned to push v iewer ’s but tons ( in di f ferent ways) .

THE SUPERMODEL (AND MASS CONSUMPTION) : More pract ica l and casual s ty les for both men and women predominated in the 1970s to 1980s, the concept of ready - to -wear (or , prêt -a -porter) or apparel bas ics took hold, and, by the 1980s, rampant consumer ism had grown fashion in to a booming in ternat ional industry , fue led by adver t is ing campaigns and te lev is ion commerc ia ls . The era of fas t fash ion was get t ing s tar ted.

Supermodels l ike Cindy Crawford, Chr is ty Tu r l ington, and Naomi Campbel l were photographed by Patr ick Demarche l ie r below.

MEN:

Men's fash ion grew in to i ts own industry as wel l , w i th photographers such as Herb Ritts and Bruce Weber known for thei r work for brands such as Armani and Calv in K le in .

Bruce Weber, Rob and Little Bear, Bear Pond, Herb Ritts, Johnny Depp, 1985 Adirondack Park, 1990

Both of these photographers use male sexual i ty to se l l c lo th ing des igned for both men and women. In the case of Weber ’s work in the 1990s of Abercrombie and F i tch, there of ten are no c lothes; these are exerc ises in pure brand ident i ty .

NOW: In today’s fashion photography, boundar ies are becoming increas ingly b lurred between commerc ia l and ar t is t ic work. These photographers inc lude Mario Testino , Ellen von Unwerth , Roxanne Lowit , Juergen Te l le r , and David LaChape l le .

Jurgen Te l l e r , 2014 Mar io Tes t ino , 2012

This b lurr ing can be seen in the edi tor ia l work of magazines such as Purp le, and Grey which of ten feature the work of photographers who pr imar i ly ident i fy as ar t is ts such as Wolfgang Til lmans . What is ar t–as– fash ion photography? We can see common techniques used across the ar t— to—des ign spectrum: use of ce lebr i ty models , “ rea l ism” ( in d i f ferent forms ( t i red strung -out un -made up models , “cheap” f lash photography, the “everyday ” , formal and compos i t ional innovat ion, unexpected [shock ing] imagery: v io lent , sexual , surrea l , psychologica l ly loaded; ambiguous , (somet imes unf la t ter ing) poses etc .

Wolfgang Tillmans, 1992

Dash Snow, various dates

When shoot ing your work you have the ab i l i ty to take many photographs, having 200 photos and edi t ing 5 f rom these is preferab le to edi t ing f ive f rom ten photographs.

Please:

1. Look at other work , th is l ink is useful as are many others on l ine: ht tp : / /www.complex.com/s ty le/2012/08/ the -50 -greates t - fash ion -photographers -r ight -now/v ic tor -demarchel ier .

2. Make some ske tches or notat ions on your shoot idea ( I rv ing Penn a lways drew), you can use th is as a bas is to co l lect props for your shoot . Be somewhat prepared.

3. On site , try dif fe rent ideas , and shoot a LOT. Vary the fo l lowing: • Shoot ing angle: above, on - level , be low • F lash/no f lash • Shut ter speed (may need t r ipod for th is ) • Compos i t ion (cons ider the f rame and negat ive space) • Get the model ’s body moving • Cons ider ro le of in -camera in teract ion (eye contact and other actors) • Shoot in mul t ip le locat ions • T i l t camera to compose on d iagonals • Coach good per formances f rom your model (express ive face and body) , at t i tude • In t roduce props and other e lements (can re la te to concept or jus t surpr ise v iewer NO BORING PHOTOS!