When researching photographers, one photographer who i really liked was David La Chapelle. I liked how he used surrealism in his photographs, how his photo told a story. I liked the bright colours, unsual location and props. I wanted to bring this into my own fashion shoot, when planning i didn't want to stick to normality. I began researching different face paints used in fashion photography, I was drawn towards the striking patterns and the effect that the face paint had to the photograph. I think it worked well as i wanted to create a surrealism effect, i feel the facepaint made the model look more intense and unsual. My final decision was the idea of black and white, I felt having the face white with black patterns on made a statement and was very striking to the eye. To the left is the final face paint that was the chosen design for the model to have.

 My fashion students initial idea was to have the models standing in a busy town, after discussion she said she wanted a simple background but also location shots. She wanted all the attention to be on the model, which after a discussion we both agreed on the simple but effective approach. One of our initial ideas was to take the model and place them in a normal situation, like a kitchen, shower and other settings around the house. Of course, this sounds a tad simple but with the models face paint and behaviour the photograph would of seemed more interesting than just someone taking a shower or making a cup of tea. The final choice was to have the model in front of a white background and also shots of the model up a tree. 


Choosing the colouring for the photographs, i experimented with different lighting and when editing; different colouring. Some photographs like the one presented to the left is dark and mysterious. The eyes in particular create a sense of uneasiness and mystery. I feel this worked well especially with the blank expression on the models face. The student wanted the model to have a sense of sexual element to him, so we decided he would model one piece of item at a time showing his chest. For the brighter photographs also displayed on the right i used bright lighting and minimal editing, addin a soft colouring to the photograph. 

When planning the photographs of the model up a tree, i decided i wanted to experiment with these photographs different to the ones taken against the white background. I wanted to use more colour and different angles than the basic portrait approach. After searching for the right tree, we found a forest and i attempted to prompt the model how to sit and behave. I feel the location shots turnt out well and i especially like the bright colours and position of the model sitting on a high branch.

Overall i am happy how the photographs turnt out and i feel my fashion student was happy with the out come too. The model looks intense and mysterious which was what we set out to do. If i was to do this fashion shoot again, i would take the photographs against the white back in a studio. I feel in a studio, different and better techniques of lighting could of been used making the photograph even more interesting. 

Layouts

Looking through several fashion magazines and fashion layouts, i noticed that most spreads have an introduction page. To say who the designer of the clothes is, and a little about themselves if not about them but a small piece on the spread. I then began looking at several introduction pages to spreads and especially liked these:

 

I liked this one as it was plain and simple, bringing the reader straight to the point. I liked the big bold photographs, and the small elegant font used for the writing. The writing does not get in the way of the photograph but gives the reader enough information. 

 

Second was this layout, i liked the designer being on left and the writing on the right. I liked the black and white colouring used. I also liked how the header and sub titles was placed underneath the text, as headers are usually on top.

 

Coming away from the black and white, i liked the bright colours and layout of this magazine. The headers are bold and i especially like the font used. The photographs are placed in the middle of the page giving it that thick white border. I like the small text placed on the left, it is not interferring with the photograph. 

 

Again i liked the bright colours used in this layout. The photograph takes the readers main attention and is spread across nearly both two pages but the text still stands out. I like the font used and how the text is placed to the right hand side of the photograph.

 

I liked this layout because of its simplicity. The photograph takes up the left hand page, no border is used at all and on the right hand side there is minimal writing. 

Studio Test Shots

Rankin

John Rankin Waddell, working name Rankin, born 1966, is a British portrait and fashion photographer. Rankin first came known when he co-founded Dazed & Confused with Jefferson Hack. One of the most important magazines of the 90’s, it established its stylists in the fashion elite, broke some of today’s top designers and nurtured the budding careers of a generation of creative photographers. 

Earning a reputation for creative portraiture and a talent for capturing the character and spirit of his subjects, Rankin quickly became a formidable force in photography, shooting Brit-pop bands including Pulp and Blur and darlings of pop such as Kylie and Madonna. Rankin’s career continued to blossom and covers for German Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Arena and GQ quickly followed.

His body of work includes some of the most influential politicians, popular musicians, revered artists and celebrated models since the early 90’s. However, Rankin also continued to take on projects that featured ordinary people, often questioning established notions of beauty and causing controversy and igniting debates along the way. Most recently he travelled to Johannesburg with the BBC to film South Africa in Pictures, a documentary in which he traces the country’s photographic history.

David La Chapelle

David  La Chapelle was born on March 11th, 1963 in Fairfield, Connecticut. He is a photographer and director who works in fashion, advertising and fine art photographer. David LaChapelle’s photography career began in the 1980’s in New York City galleries. After attending the North Carolina School of Arts, he moved to New York where he enrolled at both the Art Students League and the School of Visual Arts. With shows at 303 Gallery, Trabia McAffee and others, his work caught the eye of his hero Andy Warhol and the editors of Interview Magazine, who offered him his first professional photography job.

His striking images have appeared on and in between the covers of magazines such as Italian Vogue, French Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Rolling Stone and i-D. In his twenty-year career in publishing, he has photographed Tupac Shakur, Madonna, Eminem, Lance Armstrong, Pamela Anderson, Elizabeth Taylor, David Beckham, Paris Hilton, Jeff Koons, Leonardo DiCaprio, Hillary Clinton, Muhammad Ali, and Britney Spears.

His ability to create scenes of extreme reality using rich and vibrant colours makes his work instantly recognizable and often imitated. He continues to be inspired by everything from art history and street culture, to the Hawaiian jungle in where he lives, creating both a record and mirror of all popular culture today.