Photographer Research - Solve Sundsbo

Solve Sundsbo

Why I've chosen him 

The reason that I have chosen Solve to be a member of my photographer research is because his pictures focus on a single model with a key feature for example, the yellow and orange dresses below, and the red afro. These are pictures that inspire me for my future photographs because I want to capture pictures of fancy elegant characters in crazy outfits or just one colour outfit. Moreover, colour is my favourite formal element and a lot of it is used in Solve's photography. 

Biography

His bizarre, cleverly manipulated images have made him fashion photography's hottest new star. When fashion photographer Solve Sundsbo started his career, for a while it seemed as though he would get no further than the dole queue. "People would say to me, 'I'm not sure I can hire you, I'm not sure what you're doing. What is your style?' I was mortified and thought I was never going to make a living as a photographer." Norwegian fashion photographer and filmmaker Solve Sundsbo infuses his imagery with sharp, otherworldly concepts and experimental techniques, including x-rays, 3-D printing and pyrotechnic and smoke effects. He arrived in London in 1995 to pursue a short course in photography at the London College of Printing and became a photography assistant for acclaimed experimental image-maker Nick Knight. That pivotal role and Knight's mentorship, which spanned four years, helped Sundsbo become a highly decorated fashion photographer in his own right. Voted best newcomer at the International Festival of Fashion in Hyeres, France, in 1999, his editorials have also featured in publications like Love magazine, i-D Vogue China, Interview, Numero, and Dazed and Confused. His advertising campaign clients include Gucci, Chanel, Hermes, H&M, and Yves Saint Laurent.

This photograph could perhaps represent nature and the simple beauty that it brings. This woman looks as though she's dressed as a human yellow flower with petals blowing in the wind. Her large dark afro could represent the pollen section of the flower. Costume has been used in this picture to allow me to gather this assumption. The white background contributes to the natural effect that this photo has rather than a black background which would create a bold feel. This photo inspires me to dress any future models in just one colour with a plain background so that the viewer doesn't get too distracted when looking at the photograph.

Here in this photograph it may look like the woman's orange dress is the only form of colour in this picture, but this is not the case. It brings a pop of life to the picture and would perhaps look more effective if everything else was in black and white. Nevertheless, the models slim figure compliments the tall heels and neon orange attire which creates an interesting piece of photography. Her pose looks almost intimidating as it's evident that she is a confident individual rather than a shy timid one. The accessory on her head is extremely bizarre, but this is a key feature of Solve's photographs. It's similar to an Elizabethan Collar that some dogs are required to wear.

I like the concept of this photo. A lot of light tones have been included in this picture along with one section of colour. The girls afro is clearly the main attraction and subject in this picture because it's the only thing that has a bright colour. This photograph could perhaps be used to advertise a hair colouring product. The fact that she is leaning across a table demonstrates her vulnerability and weakness. If she was to be seen as a confident individual like the woman in the picture above, she'd have been standing in a confident independent pose.

This photograph is different to the others. It does't involve a light backdrop with a sophisticated woman dressed in glamorous and fancy attire. This picture instead involves an open mouth breathing a fog of smoke which will give the viewer the impression that the model is a smoker or simply a woman who enjoys taking drugs, which isn't a positive message to give through photographs in my opinion. Even though the message of this picture may not be so clear, it doesn't change the fact that I admire the rosy red lips as being a focal point. This inspires me to (if I were going to photograph mouths) focus on different expression through the mouth; a smile, an angry expression, a moody expression or an upset one. There's all sorts of reactions that could be portrayed through a mouth and this picture inspires me to attempt that, perhaps in a multiple imagery.

How he's influenced me

Solve Sundsbo is extremely influential to me because his pictures don't actually look as though they take too long to create. He doesn't have a set up, all he focuses on is a model as the subject of the photograph. Most of his photography consists of models only with a key aspect of the picture e.g. the third picture I've selected includes the colour white, and only her hair is the colourful feature. This emphasises the colour which is what I like. If I were to use Solve as an inspiration for my project then I'd aspire to cover one of my photographs in just one colour to stick to a theme, and have another colour stand out amongst the photograph. Costume is used in the 1st picture that I've selected to produce a picture that looks like a human coming out of a bright yellow fluttery flower. His photography could be classed as simplistic, which inspires me to create my own simplistic pictures. However, after studying 5 photographers from my research log, I have to admit that Solve's photography is my least favourite when compared to the other four because his work is less creative.

This was a computer experiment/print technique of mine that I edited in a way that I was influenced by Solve Sundsbo. His third image I included in my photographer research was all in white except for the hair. In my picture I have left Rosie's lips red, but discretely. It's a subtle colour and I think worked slightly well, however I am going to retake this kind of image to attempt an improvement.

This is the example of my improvement. I took this image for one of my multiple imageries along with my Mapplethorpe improvements. I told the model to wear something white of light grey so that it would blend in with the background and her long dark hair would be the focal point. Solve influenced this portrait picture of mine because I wanted there to be a main colour of my photo, and in this case that is Anika's hair. 

Solve has definitely been my main inspiration for this project. His photograph of the plump dark red lips with the smoke influenced me to focus one of my multiple imageries on lips. I told Danielle to wear red lipstick and asked her to model every action in this multiple imagery. This was my favourite multiple imagery and it was one inspired by this photographer.

Summary

Solve Sundsbo strived to achieve his career in the fashion photography industry, and with help from a fellow photographer he captured this dream of his. His photography is unique and most definitely creative, but comes across as though it contains less effort than other photographers that I have included in my research. His photography contains mostly one subject in nearly all of his pictures with something that tends to stand out in all of them. This is exaggerated by a different colour or different shade.