Photographer Research - Steven Meisel

Steven Meisel

Why I've chosen him

I've chosen Steven Meisel as my fifth photographer because his photographs range from unique and fancy to simplistic and stunning. His composition is always accurate as there's never any wasted space in his pictures. He also uses a variety of different formal elements such as colour, form, tone, pattern and texture etc. He's an adventurous photographer and isn't afraid to try new things for different pictures. His photographs always consist of gorgeous models dressed in either wacky or elegant clothing along with bold or subtle make up. Steven doesn't just stick to one type of photograph, he experiments with all kinds of different compositions, layouts and techniques.

Biography

Steven Meisel (born 1954) is an American fashion photographer, who obtained popularity and critical acclaim with his work in US and Italian Vogue and his photographs of friend Madonna in her 1992 book Sex. He is now considered one of the most successful fashion photographers in the industry, shooting regularly for both US and Italian Vogue, and lately W. His fascination for beauty and models started at a young age. At that time Meisel would not play with toys, but would instead draw women all the time. He used to turn to magazines like Vogue and Harper's Bazaar as sources of inspiration for his drawings. One of Meisel's first jobs was to work for fashion designer Halston as an illustrator. He also taught illustration part-time at Parsons. Meisel never thought he could become a photographer. He felt that illustration was a thing of the past and found photography as a lasting medium. 

This would have to be one of Steven's more intriguing photographs. The colours do not match in the slightest in this picture however it's these that enhance the uniqueness of the overall outcome. It is evident that this model has her own complete style, and the materials of her collar and pillow looks extremely inviting. The fluff could suggest that she is rich as her overall outfit looks quite pricey. The shade of her face in general demonstrates that this is not a normal photograph because no one naturally has a face that white and icy. This picture could maybe be used as an advertisement for a new clothing range in winter as the fur clothing compliments her cold looking face.

This photograph is quite deep and intense. The make up that the model is wearing is harsh, bold and slightly intimidating. Her head's positioned in a way that she ends up looking directly into your eyes with also a slight grin on her face which completes the intimidating look that she's providing. Also, the way her chin is resting in her hands suggests that she is thinking about something which leaves suspicion amongst the viewers. The dark clothing she's dressed in looks fancy and elegant. The pattern in the clothing is something that effortlessly stands out against the white backdrop which was a good match.

This is one of Steven's more simple pieces of work. The black and white effect creates a relaxed feel to the picture which suits the body language of the model. She's casually sat down on a floor at ease looking into the camera, with no expression on her face yet she looks comfortable. The fact that she's dressed in nothing but jeans and a hat could perhaps come across as a tease. The main formal element that this picture consists of is tone and form, which most black and white images contain.

This is one of my favourite pictures of Steven's. First of all, I like how the backdrop isn't one block of colour, it looks as though it's been slightly crumpled and therefore creating more of an edgey touch to this image. The fruit in her hand is the only addition to this picture that includes colour; this makes it stand out against the rest of the photograph. The model's wearing some sort of black item on her head which looks abnormal and different. This links to the usual odd looking vouge front covers. Most of them include a model who's had an extremely over the top make up that he or she would never actually go out in.

How he's influenced me

Steven has influenced me to definitely focus on the make up of models. He encourages me to construct a whole shoot with only one model, making them pose in a variety of ways and adding my own accessories to the picture as a whole. I'd like to attempt my own picture for a Vogue magazine and Steven has influenced me with wanting to do this, so perhaps I will get a better chance of this in a future project.

Summary

Overall this amazing fashion photographer is an extremely successful man with a collection of amazing photographs. He pushed himself to achieve what he set out for himself and reached those goals by becoming one of the most successful fashion photographers in the industry. His work is eye catching along with attractive, intriguing and well constructed.

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. 

Photographer Research - Miles Aldridge

Miles Aldridge

Why I chose him

The reason that I decided to study Miles Aldridge as one of my photographer's is because his work is extremely unique. His photographs are overflowing with crazy amounts of colour and they all have a story behind them. He's a successful photographer and perfects every last detail in his pictures. He's one of my most favourite photographers as I was able to analyse and evaluate his pictures in a lot of detail. His pictures made me think and feel a lot of different emotions and they all have such a meaningful interpretation. Unlike Solve's photographs, Miles uses his whole frame and doesn't shoot in a studio with a plain backdrop. He sets up a scene and shoots from there; this is what I inspire to do in the future, but for this project I have applied little techniques from his images into my own.

Biography

A fiercely original photographer, Miles Aldridge is best known for the technicolor dream-like worlds he creates and the glamorous, beautiful women who inhabit them. Aldridge's photographs often depict women in haute-Stepford mode splashed with lurid candy colors. He captures his subjects in a state of dramatic contemplation, making them more complicated and intriguing than simply beautiful. Born in London, Miles Aldridge studied illustration at Central St. Martins and worked as a music video director before officially starting his career as a fashion photographer in 1993. Miles Aldridge has worked with British Vogue, Paris Vogue, American Vogue, Vogue Italia, The Face, Numéro, The New York Times, The New Yorker, and Paradis, as well as advertising assignments for clients such as YSL, Armani, Longchamp, L’Oreal, Hugo Boss and Paul Smith. A selection of his portraits are in the permanent collections at The National Portrait Gallery and the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, and the International Center of Photography in New York.

Acclaimed fashion photographer Miles Aldridge applies a cinematic spin to his vivid, Pop-infused photographs. Here, a woman stares back at the viewer as she poses in a bright neon green dress. Amid candy-coloured tools and accessories, she attempts to fix a sink, under the humorous title 'I Only Want You To Love Me' which suggests that she's attempting to fulfil a stereotypical male task in order to grasp hold of a mans love. Her outfit is portrayed as also being quite humorous because fixing a sink is a dirty job, with no tinge of glamour. The woman in this photograph is dressed for a completely opposite occasion. The bright colours attract me in this picture, even though they do not match in the slightest. This combination of colours is inspirational even though they clash.

A photograph of a woman in the cinema is evident here as she's wearing 3D glasses as part of a trio with cocacola and popcorn. She's looking above the camera lens which demonstrates the height of the cinema screen, however there's no other characters surrounding her, when in a cinema there should be. Furthermore, this photograph only focuses on her character. Usually you'd go to the cinema with your friends, but she seems to be alone which creates a strange atmosphere as it's different. The only bright colours included in this photograph are the lenses on the 3D glasses and her bubblegum pink lipstick, which therefore causes these features to stand out. I like the use of a simple background and the mixed signals that this photograph provides the viewer with. The colours on the lady's lenses is what influenced me to edit in photoshop with one of my own photographs.

This photograph is a large contradiction; a beautiful young woman in a long, fitted, grey silky dress is leaning against a car that looks jam packed, out of date and scruffy. From my point of view, this female should be posing infront of a Rolls-Royce or a Jaguar as these cars would partner well with her formal and glamorous appearance. Humour has also been inserted into this picture as this car is filled to the brim with luggage and bags that it would be impossible for the woman to even squeeze into the car. The suitcases are the only item in this photograph that burst with colour, therefore making this the subject of the photograph. It's also typical that a woman takes more belongings than she needs when going out or travelling. This picture has exaggerated this view by the overloaded car. Miles' work has such a variety of interpretations that can be made from his photographs; it's extremely creative and inspiring. The reason that I find him inspiring is because it's made me want to create some photographs where a group of bright colours are placed somewhere amongst a bland coloured picture.

Another perculiar photograph would be this one above. First of all, the female having this hair colour is completely abnormal and something you'd see a person from the 1980's with. She's also holding a hairdryer as though it's a replacement for a gun which creates an eerie atmosphere as she could be classed as a rather unusual character. To her right there is a mirror. This would usually be where a woman would dry her hair and add the finishing touches to her 'getting ready' routine. This character seems to need no mirror at all and decides to stare at what the audience would assume is, a blank wall. She isn't looking into the camera, so the longer you look at this picture the more you get the impression she's going to snap her head towards your direction even though she obviously can't move in a photograph. This is a picture with a bizarre atmosphere but this is also quite intriguing. The main formal element in this image would be colour which has been paired with other colours that most certainly do not match, yet contribute to the odd set up.

How he's influenced me

Miles Aldridge is one of my favourite photographers that I have researched so far. His work is amazing and influences me in many ways. It makes me want to set up real life scenes in my shoots overflowing with crazy colours. This may be a challenge for this unit however could perhaps be an influence for future references. His work pops and definitely catches your eye. There are metaphorical meanings behind a few aswell, especially the last picture that I evaluated. Each picture of his tells a story and it does this through only one photograph which is something that I'd like to do. 

With this computer experiment of mine, I applied the technique of selective colour  to Katy's glasses. It was the second image of Miles' in this post that influenced me because the model in his cinematic image had glasses on that were filled with colour whilst her face and hair was light and had colour reduced from both features.

I then edited this image further and applied around about the same colours of the shades of the models in Nick's image and made Katy's lenses the same shade. I liked this effect and thought the influence behind it was creative. I was also inspired by the third image, where a dull looking image is brought to life by a touch of colour. This photo could also be interpreted as meaningful as the viewer will wonder why half of the girls' faces have been cut off, making them question just like they'd question some of Miles' photographs.

Summary

Overall, this photographer stands out among the rest. He controls what goes where in each frame, and sets up a whole set let alone the position of his model. He's a very successful photographer who has worked with a variety of different magazines doing all kinds of different photographical things. His work isn't plain, simple or boring but quite the opposite and that is why he's part of my photographer research.

Photographer Research - Nick Knight

Nick Knight

Why I've chosen him

Nick Knight's pictures are different to a lot of fashion photographers. He positions his models in funny angles rather than having them standing up straight and posing. In the pictures that I've included below, Nick has taken a photo of a woman sitting down and a woman leaning on her arms in front. He dresses his models in bizarre but funky outfits to portray them as  being unique and trendy. This encourages me to perhaps find some crazy outfits for my models to wear in the future, along with crazy make up and crazy hair. Crazy everything is a good way to describe Nick Knight's photography overall.

Biography

Nick Knight is a fashion photographer who inspires me when it comes to creating a lively atmosphere through a photograph. He covers many topics in his fahion photography career, such as racism, disability, ageism, and more recently fat-ism. He is a truly inspirational photographer because he continually challenges conventional ideals of beauty. His photographs are extremely powerful and definitely exhale a message to the audience. His work is intriguing because it is different to an everyday fashion magazine with fashion photographs included. Nick's photographs all have a meaning behind them and aren't just shot to photograph a beautiful looking model. Nick has made his own book, been commissioning picture editor for i-D, shot advertising campaigns, had his work exhibited in exhibitions, was awarded the prestigious Moet Chandon Fashion Tribute for 2006, received an OBE in recognition of the contribution he has made to the arts over his illustrious career and also turned his hand to directing music videos. You could say Nick Knight was more than successful. His work caught my attention because every photo was loud and colourful with pattern oozing from many of his pictures.

Take a model styled by Camille Bidault-Waddington with hair by Sam McKnight. Let a four year-old, a one year-old and two three year-olds do what ever they want with her make-up, and then ask them to draw on Nick Knight's prints. This exuberant exploration of innocence and childhood creativity through film and still takes fashion back to the dressing-up box. In this piece of work, the model is pulling a blank expression on her face. This lifeless look doesn't afefct the quality of the photo as it's the mixture of colours that bring this picture to life. It comes across as though the colours have been splatted on. I enjoy doing this in my art work and would love to include splats of colour in my physical experiments.

With this photograph it looks as though this female has arms for legs. The longer you look at it the more it comes across as her having a disability.The fashionable skirt that's in the formation of a tutu creates a circle behind her face and upper body. This could be interpreted as her being the centre in this photograph; she is the subject. The coral orange and light colours in this photograph are captivating, keeping the atmosphere cool and calm. I like that the background here is white so that the colours on the model are what stand out in this photograph. 

This is a photograph containing mainly dark shades with the model's face and hair being the lightest part in this image. The hairstyle is rather abnormal and something I'd love to attempt. This picture has been taken so it looks as though the woman has nothing but a neck and a head. Her body has been darkened along with the rest of the circle outline around her face. I quite like the firey make up in this photograph because her eyes look mysterious and haunting but the pop of colour makes them look less intimidating, along with the subtle shade painted on her lips.

This is more of a model shot where the woman typically poses on a chair and sits in a way she would never sit originally. She's looking directly at the camera with a blank expression; just like many other models. If I were to create some model shots I would like to include some reactions and facial expressions to make the photograph less intense and more uplifting. Her dress includes pattern and her whole outfit is definitely filled with colour.

How he's influenced me

Nick Knight's whacky designs are outstanding. His models are not styled in your everyday make up and outfits. They all have features about them that are enhanced with either crazy make up, crazy hair styling or crazy clothing etc. His photographs make me want to create my own bizarre piece of work, but not technically apply costume and make up to portray this. I also admire how Nick covers topics such as racism, ageism and disability etc in his photographs. This is extremely inspiring because it not only means he creates beautiful pictures, but also beautiful messages. When I take my photographs I'd like at least one of them to have some sort of meaning/whacky feel and Nick inspires me to do this.

This photo joiner of Josh that I created was inspired by Nick Knight. I wanted to do a photo joiner of a person because I knew that it would look bizarre compared to just a normal photo of someone standing and smiling. It's quite an abnormal photograph and it was this theme in Nick's pictures that influenced me for this photo joiner.

Summary

Overall, Nick Knight is more than just your average fashion photographer. He enjoys making his pictures stand out by prepping everything in shot along with his meanings behind every photo. There's not one picture of his that is boring and each one is bound to contain some form of colour which is an essential formal element when creating a loud and bold picture with perhaps a strong message.

Photographer Research - Anne Geddes

Anne Geddes

Why I've chosen her

I really admire Anne Geddes work because it's different to what I've seen before. Firstly, she uses babies as her models and everyone knows that it's most likely a difficult task trying to maintain a child's behaviour. Secondly, Anne sticks to one theme in her pictures which avoids her from becoming side tracked with a photograph. Each feature in her picture has been placed there on purpose and everything contributes to the feel of one photograph. An example of this would be the butterfly photograph, the theme is nature and the colour is purple, therefore the costume and background are all different shades of purple to compliment the theme. She inspires me a lot and I can't wait to test photographs of mine that she's influenced. The main reason behind my choice for picking Anne Geddes as one of my photography inspirations is because her work is unique from my point of view. I admire the way she focuses every single one of her images on at least one colour of different shades. Along with this, her main focus in her pictures is also colour which is a formal element that has absorbed my love from the very beginning. Her photographs are bright, fun and full of life which is my focus for what I want my photographs to look like. She works with babies, I could work with older individuals in future perhaps.

Biography

Anne Geddes was born 13 September 1956 and is an Australian-born photographer, clothing designer and businesswoman who now lives and works in New Zealand. She is known for her stylised depictions of babies and motherhood. Typical images show babies or young children dressed as fairies and fairytale creatures, flowers, or small animals. She has described herself as "a baby freak". She is one of the world’s most respected and well-known photographers. She creates images that are iconic, award winning and beloved. Like no photographer before, her imagery singularly captures the beauty, purity and vulnerability of children embodying her deeply held belief that each and every child must be protected, nurtured and loved. 

This photograph reminds me of Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men, but instead there are three here. Bill and Ben are on a famous TV programme for children at a very young age, so this idea of that partners perfectly with the subject of the picture. Pattern is evident in this photo as there are three babies in a bucket each, lined up next to one another. This picture inspires me to make my photographs have a background that is a different shade to the colour that the subject in the picture is. So if I had models wearing one shade of clothing, I'd apply a backdrop of a different shade; this fills the frame of the picture more effectively.

This is a holiday photograph that represents the wonderful season Christmas. I like the idea of season photographs and it inspires me to maybe create my own; an easter or halloween theme etc. This photograph has been edited so that it looks as though the baby is all cosied up in a santa hat. Even though the two hats in this picture may not be identical to the original santa hats. the colours red and white are what porrtay this image to be a Christmas themed photograph. Lines and pattern are two formal elements that are demonstrated here.

This is an almighty cute photograph of a baby dressed as a bee. Anne has used costume in her photograph to create and extremely detailed and pretty pciture. The baby is sitting in a flower to indicate her love for pollen considering she's dressed as an insect who is adapted for feeding on nectar and pollen. Lines and pattern are again introduced in this photograph along with colour and form. The use of costume inspires me to perhaps include costume or precise outfits in my photography. Studying her pictures really excites me for when it comes to my own.

In this photograph, purple is the colour creating this whole composition. Different shades make it seem as though this picture includes a vast majority of colours when really it's just one with a range of different shades. You could say that reflection has been used here however no device like a mirror or water has been included, but the butterflies wings demonstrate symmetry along with pattern which forms a creative photograph. Butterflies are orginally light and beautiful and are to be treated with care. The baby being the body of the butterfly implies how she is too like a butterfly. 

How she's influenced me

Anne Geddes photographs have influenced me in many ways. I admire the way she focuses her pictures on a variety of different shades of just one colour. Some of her photographs portray vulnerability in a more physical sense aswell. If she'd be photographing a baby, she'd dress the baby and the overall picture in an innocent costume such as a butterfly. The butterfly would therefore be representing the baby's vulnerability as well as its own. She applies sensible themes to her pictures so that they're not all too overly wacky. Her photographs make amazing keep sakes for parents of the babies as they're not your typical photoshoot; it's not everyday you attend a photoshoot for your child that gets dressed up as a bumblebee and sits in a flower. Her photography is outgoing and has influenced me to apply one theme of colour to my future pictures. 

My intention with this picture that I took on the colour shoot was to look for something that contained one colour palette in a variety of shades. I found this in her work when I was studying Anne Geddes as a photographer and it reassured me of wanting to focus on this theme in future photographs. If in future I get the chance, I will be applying red shades to one image, yellow shades to one image etc. in a project.

This is a photograph that I captured that was inspired by Anne Geddes. The left model has black hair, so putting a black backdrop on this image would blend in, which is why Anne Geddes influenced me to put a block colour (teal) backdrop behind my models to allow the subject to stand out more. I thought this was successful and I was happy with the outcome.

Summary

Overall, Anne Geddes is a super successful female photographer who is individual and unique rather than your typical portrait photographer. She has her own signature style which is the main attraction of her work. Her photography catches your eye with it's colourful construction and makes wonderful framed pieces for parents and families.