ACCESS (HE) DIPLOMA FASHION MEDIA AND COMMUNICATION PHOTOGRAPHY NAME: AMIT MAIN STUDENT NUMBER: MAI12375764 26 TH NOVEMBER 2012 Arthur Elgort is regarded today as one of the most well-known photographers in the world. Born in New York, with a background in painting and art history, his work has been showcased consistently in world-renowned publications such as American and British Vogue and Vanity Fair. He was one of the youngest talents displaying his creativity in LA Revolution de la Mode for an YSL campaign in 1971 and has photographed some of the top supermodels from the 1980 s including Patty Owen and Kate Moss, 1993 (Fig 1). His work book includes a significant amount of iconic figures and fashion royalty including Karl Lagerfeld. I didn't use a flash, and I would go outside and look for instances where I could capture that naturalness (Givhan, R. 2011). Elgort s style is very relaxed and natural (Fig 3). His photography is highly influenced by his passion for various forms of dance especially ballet (Fig 4). Elgort still shows an avid interest in photographing ballet till date. His favourite location to shoot is the Vaganova School in St.Petersburg, Russia. His photography focuses more on capturing movement; a particular moment rather than the clarity of objects. He created a niche for his style of photography known as a snapshot and also gave preference to the outdoors instead of studios when it came to fashion photography (Fig 2). FIG 1 - Kate Moss, Café Lipp, Paris 1
FIG 2 - Jenny Howorth in Watermill, NY FIG 3 - Cindy Crawford, Vogue 1988 FIG 4 - Vogue 2
BIBLIOGRAPHY Ardeb, H (1999-2012) The Fashion photographers of the 1980. [Internet]. Available from: http://www.ehow.com/info_8239552_fashion-photographers- 1980s.html [Last accessed 22 Nov 2012]. Givhan,R. (2/06/2011) Arthur Elgort s casual magic: Renowned fashion photographer wins CFDA board award. [Internet] Available from: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2011/06/03/arthur-elgorts-casual-magicrenowned-fashion-photographer-wins-cfda-board-award.html [ Last accessed 24 Nov 2012]. Studeman, K (2011) legendary lensman Arthur Elgort on his life in Fashion photography. [Internet]. Available from: http://www.style.com/stylefile/2011/06/legendary-lensman-arthur-elgort-on-hislife-in-fashion-photography/[ Last accessed 22 Nov 2012]. The Red List. Photography [Internet].Available from: http://theredlist.fr/wiki-2-16- 601-793-view-fashion-1-profile-elgort-arthur.html. [Last accessed 24 Nov 2012]. 3
RICHARD AVEDON Richard Avedon was born in New York on the15th May 1923 and has a background in philosophy and photography. He has been established in photography for around 50 years, shooting for Paris collections throughout this period. Considered by many as an Iconic photographer, Avedon made his most critical and significant career shift in 1966 from Harper s Bazaar to Vogue (1966-1990). Prior to Avedon entering the fashion industry, fashion models were not portrayed in an impactful manner. Avedon changed this scenario by making his muses more physically and emotionally involved in his projects. He has worked with many fashion icons from the 1980 s including Brooke Shields, Janice Dickinson and Jerry Hall. Avedon takes interest in technical details and gives preference to capturing in black and white with the use of severe lighting (Fig 2). The resolution used is very sharp and precise to show the accuracy of detail and on plain backdrops. This clarity also helps the image look more intense and somewhat three dimensional. His subjects were mostly shot from the front. He had the quality to make complicated visuals look simplistic and with an almost minimalistic feel (Fig 3). Despite this simplistic approach, the glamorous elements were never lost from his photographs, producing a juxtaposed fashion style. He used people to create strange shapes and forms through his imagination and style (Fig 1). Avedon classifies himself as a portrait photographer, even within fashion - appreciating the beauty of the face (Fig 4). All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth. (Nikki, 2011) 4
FIG 1 - Audrey Hepburn, NY, 1976 FIG 2 - Shoe by Perugia, Paris, 1948 FIG 3 - Penelope Tree, NY 1967 FIG 4 -Elizabeth Taylor 5
BIBLIOGRAPHY Avedon, R (2008). Performance/ Richard Avedon. New York: Abrams. Avedon, R. Richard Avedon [Internet]. Available from: http://www.richardavedon.com [Last accessed 23 Nov 2012]. Famous Photographers (2011). Photography quotes. [Internet]. Available from: http://allfamousphotographers.blogspot.co.uk/2011/04/photography-quotes.html [Last accessed 22 Nov 2012]. Maoner, L (2012) Richard Avedon. Main photographic subject: Fashion models/ celebrities. [Internet]. Available from: http://photography.about.com/od/famousphotographers/a/richardavedon.htm [Last accessed 22 Nov 2012] Nikki (2012) Faded and Blurred. In touch with fragility: Richard Avedon [Internet]. Available from: http://fadedandblurred.com/spotlight/richard-avedon/ [Last accessed 21 Nov 2012]. Staff (2002). Photographic portraiture and the work of Richard Avedon. [Internet]. Available from: http://www.csa.com/discoveryguides/port/overview.php Photographic Portraiture and the Work of Richard Avedon [Last accessed 22 Nov 2012]. Williams, V. (4/10/04) The Independent. Richard Avedon. Fashion photographer whose dispassionate eye was applied equally to portraiture and the documentary. [Internet] Available from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/richard-avedon-6160520.html [Last accessed 23 Nov 2012] 6