Wednesday 30 October 2013

Lillian Bassman

Photographer Lillian Bassman was both director and photographer for Bazaar between the 40's and 50's and is said to have inspired John Galliano within his own work. Her transcendent photography invigorated fashion with her high contrasts between light and dark, the graininess of the finished photographs, the geometric placement and camera angles of subjects is what made her fashion photography different to others. 

I like the distorted and blurriness of these photographs its a possible technique I may try when experimenting but I think my style is more crisp and sharp photography, but I thought these were very interesting and different to look at.



Tuesday 29 October 2013

Eccentric Compositions

I really like these two photographs the details and movements captured I think are beautiful with the eccentric compositions with the way the photos have been taken, makes them look a little strange and unfamiliar which is what I like about these images, there different. 
Composition is something I will be exploring later on along side camera positions and poses to capture the emotions of the words I will be trying to portray through photography, these images look like they have been done in a studio.

Photography by Nick Knight 


Opposites

Build - Destroy
Bound - Unbound
Before - After
Hot - Cold
Capture - Free
Cheerful - Discouraged
Dusk - Dawn
Gentle - Rough
Good - Bad - Evil
Happy - Sad
Hate - Love
Join - Separate
Laugh - Cry
Them - Us

All of these words are opposites to one another, these are examples of the types of words I will be using to create and develop my magazine. Each photo shoot will be based on two words that oppose to each other, this will be the base for my story telling throughout the magazine.

Pop of colour

After looking at Sass & Bides collection and their use of black and white with a pop of colour got me thinking about maybe having a hint of colour running through the magazine where appropriate. I found some photographs below that really enhance and bring to life the idea I have about adding a hint of colour to a pure black and white magazine, only to use where necessary to make the photographs stand out and be as effective as they can be.
Its an idea that I will explore to see whether or not this would be a good way to go with my magazine, as a fully black and white magazine maybe a bit much so it may need that hint of colour.

The use of the colour red in these photographs is very effective as red is a very diverse colour and can stand for many different emotions and feelings such as: passion, love, beauty and even death.   





Sass & Bide

Sass & Bide at London Fashion Week with their ss/14 collection.
I always love Sass & Bide's collections they use a lot of black and white and look very futuristic, with this collection I especially like that they have continued to use black and white but have added a pop of colour in this case yellow. The idea to use only monochrome outfits within my photo shoots could be an idea, this may enhance the quality of composition between the black and white. It is something I will explore later on and see if using only monochrome outfits will be beneficial to the overall look of the photographs or whether it will flatten and make the images less authentic.  


Inspiring Words


These are a handful of words I have picked out as inspirational words for the overall concept of my magazine, the idea of using opposite words in order to create photo shoots that inspire viewers and put across a story. Because I will be producing a black and white publication my initial idea was to relate words such as negative and positive space, shadow and reflection, light and dark, so from this my concept has adapted into being a photography based magazine which tells stories through photo shoots and the use of these opposite words. 

Fashion Advertisements

Lara Stone by Calvin Klein

This advertisement by Calvin Klein uses both lightening and dominance to capture audiences attention to their brand. The model is captured half clothed posing in a sensual way but looking vulnerable with a man standing almost over her as we can see from the shadow captured on the right hand side of her. It brings real controversy in the way they have stylised this photograph as it sexualises woman and makes them look weak due to the shadow of a man standing over her showing dominance. The way this image has been lit and shadows created really inspire me within my own work.

Although this image can be seen as not being a positive images of women the idea behind the shoot relates to some of the opposite words I will be exploring such as: vulnerable, dominance and weakness. Looking at fashion advertisements has been a good place to start with gathering ideas for photo shoots and concepts, seeing whats been done, what works and what doesn't work. 

Below are two Dolce & Gabbana advertisements that relate to this idea of woman being seen as sexualised and weak...



With these images I am focusing more on the way the photographs have been set up and stylised to capture these words that I will be exploring within my own work, the way these images have been constructed is my interest.
    

Horst P. Horst

Horst is another fashion photographer that worked specifically with black and white photography. He is best known for one of the great iconic photographs of the twentieth century 'The mainbocher corset', with its erotically charged mystery. Horst's work frequently reflects his interest in surrealism and his idea of the Greek ideal of physical beauty.  

I really like how in a lot of his photographs he only shoots half the body or part of the body, it creates a mystery and the opportunity for the viewer to use there imagination. I love this idea of creating photographs that create mystery and capture surrealism. This arrangement to use only parts of the body may be relevant within my work when thinking about concept and camera positioning. 







Helmut Newton

I started looking at photographers that specifically used black and white photography to capture their photographs, this is when I remembered the famous Helmut Newton know for his prolific, provocative and erotically-charged black and white photos. 
Newton transformed fashion photography in the way he documented lifestyle on pages of glossy magazines. Newton says...  

"His erotic and dreamlike images were like a peep through a keyhole, spied moments of a heightened reality."

The way he sets his scenes in his photographs are very stylised with a hint of fetish subtext underlying within the photographs. He explores the sexuality of woman through his provocative scenes where dominance is a key factor. 
This idea of showing woman as weak and vulnerable is an aspect that will play a roll within my photo shoots when exploring words of opposites. 







Anton Surkov

Through my first initial researching into black and white photography I came across this Ukrainian photographer that produces cutting edge fantastic photographs of motion using the human body. 




 


The models are seen mid-motion in a completely captivating light, the lines of the young models bodies carry across intense emotions through the clouds of powder that is exploding around them. each photograph captures the extreme lighting patterns that reveal the details of each powerful body as it is consumed by the bursts of chalky dust, the photographs also jump of the screen at you.

I love the detailing and the lighting these photographs have and the fact that they have been shot in black and white gives a real sense of rawness and emotion between these two people, the idea of motion and capturing movement is one I would be excited to explore and experiment with as an idea for a possible photo shoot within my magazine.  

Initial Ideas Mood-board


My initial idea for this project is to create a magazine that is produced as a black and white publication. 
I found a niche in the fashion magazine market which I will be expanding on, exploring black and white photography, layout and composition. 
These images are a hand full of photographs that have inspired me to progress with the idea of producing a black and white based magazine, they have inspired me in different ways with the techniques that have be used, the lighting, set up and shadow.