The first steps looking into fashion photography I will be researching my own fashion photography timeline. This will allow me to look at the different styles, eras and techniques.
1830:(photography invented)
1830:(photography invented)
This was invented by Louis Daguerre with Joseph Nicéphore Niépce in 1839. He found that he was able to capture images with the camera obscura. Using asphaltum on a copper plate sensitised with lavender oil that required very long exposures. This process was unique and could not be reproduced. At the same time William Henry Fox Talbot was a British inventor and a pioneer of photography , he was in the process of making a calotype. The calotype created a negative image from which positives could be printed (onto silver chloride paper). This made the calotype superior in one aspect to the daguerreotype which only made one positive image (whereby it was difficult to get multiple copies). However it wasn’t till much later that fashion photography would take place.
1910: Baron de Meyer (1868 - 1946) was perhaps the first fashion photographer. He experimented with soft-focus lenses and back-lighting and his photographs have an overall grey key with the darker tones around the faces and arms. He was the first fashion photographer for vogue. Other magazines he photographed included Vanity Fair and Harper's Bazaar It is also thought that this style had an influence on early cinema.
1911: Edward Jean Steichen (1879-1973) founded the photo-secession group with Alfred Stieglitz In 1902. The group was dedicated to promoting photography as a fine art. His early photographs were influenced by his training as a painter. He first photographedfashion models in 1911 for the magazine "Art and Decoration" and worked with
Conde Nast during the twenties. He is considered the first modern fashion photographer. Was chief fashion photographer for vogue and Vanity Fair.
His style started with applying soft focus photography which helped to create fashion photography. However he soon revolutionized the field, banishing the gauzy light of the Pictorialist era and replacing it with the clean, crisp lines of Modernism. Steichen then took photos of gowns designed by couturier Paul Poiret.
He worked primarily with model Marian Moorehouse, wife of the poet E.E. Cummings, on several occasions. Steichen established the glamour of fashion photography. He delivered drama and sought out celebrities for portraits. He also developed studio lighting by adding side lights to a central key light. He uses simple props to create a stylish arrangement of forms, modernist in flavour, but classical in order and arrangement
Edward Jean Steichen also experimented with colour photography in 1904 and was one of the first people in the United States to use the Lumiere Aut ochrome process.
1920: Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) is one of the most celebrated British Portrait and fashion Photographers of the Twentieth Century and is renowned for his images of elegance, glamour and style. He was a photographer for the British edition of Vogue in 1931. Beaton is best known for his fashion photographs and society portraits.( Nancy Beaton as a shooting star for the Galaxy Ball 1929)
Cecil Beaton is one of the most influential fashion and portrait photographers and lives on today within the work of many contemporary photographers including David Bailey and Mario Testino.
(Baba Beaton: A Symphony in Silver, 1925)
1925: George Hoyningen-Huene (1900 - 1968) practitioner of early fashion photography, he did most of his most memorable work between the mid-twenties to the end of World War 2. He moved to New York in 1935, and worked mainly for Harper's Bazaar.
Swimwear ad by George Hoyningen-Huene this type of advert can be seen in advertisements today. He pays atttention to detail carefully composes the models creating a strong contrast between the light and shadows. He uses negative space to his advantage to form a U shape. On researching this image I found that this photograph is an illusion. It looks like it was shot outside however like most fashion shots of this era were in fact taken in the studio. The “sea” which is the light grey area of light and the sky is slightly painted with clouds. The realistic effect of daylight is achieved by a strong, single light placed to the above left of the subjects. The contrast between the grey “seas” is what makes the models stand out.
1930s: Horst P Horst (born 1906, lives in New York) is one of the most important of the 1930s and 1940s. He made a detailed study of classical poses, using Greek sculpture and classical paintings. He paid special attention to the positioning of hands. He used all manner of props, such as plaster statues, mirrors, crumpled paper, using them to both neoclassical and surrealist effect. Influence by George Hoyningen-Huene. Horst became his friend, model, and assistant, began contributing to Vogue in 1931, and in 1935 took up Hoyningen-Huene's former post there. His method was to use minimum props and backgrounds. He carefully composes his images with careful arrangements of light and shadows. Inspired by Greek sculpture and classical paintings. His positioning of his models looks statuesque and this frequently reflects his interest in surrealism and his passion for the ancient Greek ideal of physical beauty
1940s: Norman Parkinson (21 April 1913 – 15 February 1990) revolutionised the world of British fashion photography in the '40s by bringing his models from the rigid studio environment into a far more dynamic outdoor setting. Humour played a central role in many of his photographs which often included himself. He worked for the British edition of Harper's Bazaar and throughout his long career he contributed to many publications, including Vogue, Queen, and Town and Country.
1950s:
Richard Avedon began working with Harper’s Bazaar in 1944 at the age of 21, and went on to change the perception of fashion photography. His images expressed the idea that models should be full of character and spirit, bringing their own personalities to life in the photo. 
Dovima with Elephants is one of his most celebrated pictures. The image is well-crafted, but its main appeal seems to be that it was the first time anyone had taken a high fashion model together with elephants added a shock value.
David Bailey is one of the most famous fashion photographers of this era. He worked for British vogue and became one of the best known celebrity photographers. His work reflects the 1960s British cultural trend of breaking down old- fashioned antiquated and rigid class barriers by injecting a working-class or “punk” look into both clothing and artistic This era became known as Swinging London. This was a phrase used to describe the fashion and culture.
1970s:
Fashion photography changed again. One of the most controversial photographers of this era was Helmut Newton.
Helmut Newton used themes for his subjects and brought a unique mixture of style, sex, and theatre to fashion photography. He created narratives that frequently centred on themes of eroticism and power, which he recorded with a detached sense of amusement or irony.
In 1966, Yves saint laurent sent out a model in a man's suit,
with the aim of freeing women from the trappings of feminine,
frilly dresses, this caused a huge scandal.
1980s: fashion photography lacked any clear direction Europeans had grown tired of hard-core fashion pornography, and the erotic images of the 1970s had faded. Photographers were creating images of women reflected changing social attitudes and editorial-like ad campaigns
Herb Ritts was an American fashion photographer who shot many of the now-iconic portraits of 1980s and 90s supermodels and celebrities that were originally published in Vogue and Vanity Fair. He focused on black-and-white photography and portraits in the style of classical Greek sculpture. With his images he creates perfect symmetry with the shapes he forms in his photographs.
Mario Testino is a well known celebrity and fashion photographer. He is best known for his Vogue covers and editorials. Since the 1990's, he has had a clean, consistent, corporate style evident in the Gucci and Kors campaigns for over 10 years.
1925: George Hoyningen-Huene (1900 - 1968) practitioner of early fashion photography, he did most of his most memorable work between the mid-twenties to the end of World War 2. He moved to New York in 1935, and worked mainly for Harper's Bazaar.
Model is wearing pale crepe romaine pyjamas by Vionnet and holding a long flowing scarf, in Grecian-style pose 1931.
The approach to draping and cutting fabric to encircle the figure challenged the way fashion is designed and suggested new ways to define and enhance the female body.
1930s: Horst P Horst (born 1906, lives in New York) is one of the most important of the 1930s and 1940s. He made a detailed study of classical poses, using Greek sculpture and classical paintings. He paid special attention to the positioning of hands. He used all manner of props, such as plaster statues, mirrors, crumpled paper, using them to both neoclassical and surrealist effect. Influence by George Hoyningen-Huene. Horst became his friend, model, and assistant, began contributing to Vogue in 1931, and in 1935 took up Hoyningen-Huene's former post there. His method was to use minimum props and backgrounds. He carefully composes his images with careful arrangements of light and shadows. Inspired by Greek sculpture and classical paintings. His positioning of his models looks statuesque and this frequently reflects his interest in surrealism and his passion for the ancient Greek ideal of physical beauty
1940s: Norman Parkinson (21 April 1913 – 15 February 1990) revolutionised the world of British fashion photography in the '40s by bringing his models from the rigid studio environment into a far more dynamic outdoor setting. Humour played a central role in many of his photographs which often included himself. He worked for the British edition of Harper's Bazaar and throughout his long career he contributed to many publications, including Vogue, Queen, and Town and Country.
1950s:
After the Second World War fashion took on a new direction. Stylish clothing which was once for the rich was now available for the middle class and more affordable.
Avedon wasn’t the traditional photographer who used a standard technique; he would normally have the models full of emotion and smiles, sometimes in action. He also used an ‘in-and-out-of-focus' style of his photographs. He started his career as a photographer for the Merchant Marines that involved taking identity pictures of the crew, in which he used his Rolleiflex.
1960s: fashion photography started to get more interesting themes. This was due to fashion becoming influenced by many different factors for instance street styles, women’s liberation movement and pop art.
David Bailey is one of the most famous fashion photographers of this era. He worked for British vogue and became one of the best known celebrity photographers. His work reflects the 1960s British cultural trend of breaking down old- fashioned antiquated and rigid class barriers by injecting a working-class or “punk” look into both clothing and artistic This era became known as Swinging London. This was a phrase used to describe the fashion and culture.
1970s:
Fashion photography changed again. One of the most controversial photographers of this era was Helmut Newton.
Helmut Newton used themes for his subjects and brought a unique mixture of style, sex, and theatre to fashion photography. He created narratives that frequently centred on themes of eroticism and power, which he recorded with a detached sense of amusement or irony.
(rue aubriot, for french vogue, paris, 1975)
In 1966, Yves saint laurent sent out a model in a man's suit,with the aim of freeing women from the trappings of feminine,
frilly dresses, this caused a huge scandal.
1980s: fashion photography lacked any clear direction Europeans had grown tired of hard-core fashion pornography, and the erotic images of the 1970s had faded. Photographers were creating images of women reflected changing social attitudes and editorial-like ad campaigns
Herb Ritts was an American fashion photographer who shot many of the now-iconic portraits of 1980s and 90s supermodels and celebrities that were originally published in Vogue and Vanity Fair. He focused on black-and-white photography and portraits in the style of classical Greek sculpture. With his images he creates perfect symmetry with the shapes he forms in his photographs.
In the 1980s he worked with magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, and Rolling Stone and fashion houses like Armani and Versace. He became famous for his ultra-stylish black-and-white portraits, and directed music videos with superstars like Madonna and Michael Jackson.
1990s: Two prominent photographers of this era are Patrick Demarchelier and Mario Testino.
Patrick Demarchelier is a French photographer who has worked in New York since the 1970’s. He rose to prominence with Harper's Bazaar in the late 1980's and early 90's. He has created historic campaigns for Louis Vuitton to Ralph Lauren. He is known for mixing black and white and colour.
Mario Testino is a well known celebrity and fashion photographer. He is best known for his Vogue covers and editorials. Since the 1990's, he has had a clean, consistent, corporate style evident in the Gucci and Kors campaigns for over 10 years.
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