Assignment 5 - Tutor Feedback

I felt that overall the assignment went well but I felt that I could have improved on my skills. My tutor agreed and said that while my submission was quite good; some compositional and technical skills could be improved on. He believes that my strengths are my visual awareness and reflective commentary and I would have to agree with that. I think that I am good at reviewing what I have done and how I can improve next time.

My tutor felt that some of the images were a little dark/underexposed so I have taken a look at one of them in particular to see if I can improve.

Before.

After.

 

I definitely prefer the after image as I think that it has a better quality to it. I have altered the exposure slightly.

Another point made was that the image I shot of the model sleeping could benefit from a slight crop.

Before.

 

 

After.

 

 



 

 

 

I have cropped this image to just above the handle of the suitcase as my tutor suggested and I think that it is a definite improvement on the composition. I think that I tend to focus on the subject I am shooting rather than considering the frame as a whole. I must remember to do this.

 

Overall I am happy with my tutors feedback and agree with the points he has made. I really need to improve on my technical skills now as I feel that my written observation is good.

 

 

This was the final assignment to the Digital Photographic Practice course, now on to People and Place!

 

 

Assignment 5

The object of this final assignment is to apply all we have learned throughout the course to build a collection of 10-12 images on a theme of our choice.

 

Throughout this course I have had this final assignment at the back of my mind, contemplating potential topics that will show a bit more of my own style and personality through photography. I had a choice to make between two subjects which were street photography and fashion photography.

 

I felt that street photography would work as I have an interest in architecture and the combining of traditional and modern buildings. What mainly concerned me was that would I just be photography essentially what someone else had designed. I was unsure how I could make it more my own. Alternatively I could have approached street photography more as the people who are on the streets but I could run into problems with seeking permission to shoot in various places.

 

I started to give fashion photography more consideration as fashion is a big passion of mine. I write for fashion magazines interviewing designers as well as writing reviews on trends. I also have my own fashion blog which I regularly update. On top of this I work with Cambridge Style Week (CSW) which runs for five days at the end of March, so I didn’t have long to make my mind up. I felt that fashion was the topic I was strongly leaning towards but wanted to approach it from a different angle.

 

Research.

 

I began quite broadly by going through the course material from start to finish refreshing my memory on what had been covered so that I produce a thorough final assignment. I also re read my own assignment submissions as well as my tutor feedback so that I can improve on my previous work. I also like to take a look at what other students have submitted as I think it is good to see how others approach the same assignments. For further inspiration I watched a programme on Rankin where he recreated seven iconic fashion photography images through history, looked at the style of Kirsty Mitchell who has a brilliant imagination and creates some inspiring images, as well as reading a Fashion Photography book.

 

I have come to realise through my work with CSW that when it comes to fashion and fashion photography a lot of people just think about the models on the catwalk and not about the amount of work and the variety of people involved in putting a show together, let alone a week of shows! So my idea is that I shall be photographing behind the scenes as the shows are being put together, the lighting and the stage being put up and of  course the makeup artists and hairdressers working on the models. I spoke to my tutor who provided me with some links to work that I may find of interest and also mentioned that there may be scope for some interesting monochromatic studies. I have never tried anything like that before so I am really keen to experiment a bit.

 

Firstly I am looking at work by Roger Hutchings who is an award winning documentary photographer. I really like the mix of colour and black and white images in his fashion series and had never considered mixing them but I think that it works really well. All the images that I was drawn to actually happened to be in monochrome.

 

 

This shot is my favourite. I love the detail and how the different textures have been highlighted here. I think the presence of the hand is very important as without it the image would lose some meaning.

 

Time Photogallery also have some great backstage images which are a little more stereotypical of what you would expect behind the scenes.

 

 

 

 I don’t think that this image would convert well to monochrome as I feel like there is not as much contrast through the shot and you could lose detail.

 

Planning.

 

I thought that the planning would be easier than it actually was as all I had originally thought that I would need to do would be to seek permission from the director of CSW. I was due to be present at all of the catwalks shows and would of course be there early helping set up but it then dawned on me that I would need permission from the companies involved. The first show was to start on the Wednesday night so during the day a lot of the setting up would be taking place. Lighting and the stage were being put up on the Tuesday and we had been told that no one would be allowed in due to health and safety reasons as the truss needed to go up. I had to seek special permission to be in the room which was thankfully granted and I have promised to give the company any of the images that I take of them.

 

Giving equipment consideration I chose my 18-105mm lens and would also take my tripod so that I would have it handy if required. Before setting out I reset my camera settings. I have started shooting in RAW and JPEG fine so my camera makes two copies. I also wiped my memory card so that I would not run out of space, made sure my camera lens was clean, checked the memory space on my laptop so that I would have room to transfer the images over and charged the cameras battery. I also made sure that I had another charged battery as a spare just in case.

 

 

 

The Shoot.

Shooting generally took place over the course of the five days as I was also working managing all of the social media platforms, promoting the shows and live tweeting throughout them.

I first photographed on the Tuesday (before the shows began on the Wednesday) to see the truss and stage being put together. It turned out that progress was slower than I expected and I could only dart in and out of the room rather than stay for the whole duration. This meant that I was only able to take 11 shots which I am really disappointed with, but it made me more determined to get a better selection during the week.

Lighting was an issue for shooting as the hotel was rather old with many period features, including the original windows which did not let in much natural light. I am not a great fan of artificial light which was also quite dim. When backstage while the models were being prepared for the shows I was unable to use the flash on my camera so I had to compensate quite a lot – using a slower shutter speed etc.

Downloading the images.

I downloaded all of the images onto my laptop in the pictures folder and then imported them all into Lightroom 4. I have had Lightroom for quite a while now but I had never really got on well with it but just recently I have been back out with my camera a lot more and was able to make the time to sit down and properly test it out. I am carrying on with my computer filing system and can easily locate any images that I require.

Pictures> Digital Photographic Practice> DPP Assignment5

Technical Edit.

I managed to take 91 images which is actually a lot more than I thought I had. My next step was to edit out any of the photos that were unusable due to blurring or not being in focus etc. I know when I was shooting I was intermittently checking the LCD screen on my camera and some were immediately deleted if I felt they were completely wrong. I deleted 11 images during this editing process which is probably more than I would have liked.

The Selects.

With the 80 images I had left I went through and removed any duplicate shots. I had taken quite a lot of the same image but they had slight variations in the settings that I had used, such as aperture or shutter speed. I also removed any images that I felt would not work in the series.

First Selects.

From the previous edit I was left with 32 photos. I went through these images again, keeping in the back of my mind that I could only submit between 10-12 images. Bearing in mind that I could only select up to 12 images to submit. I was quite harsh and edited down to 15 photos which I then put into a separate folder so that when it came to review them I was only evaluating the images I felt strongly about rather than all of the shots I had taken.

Group and Review.

I left it several days before reviewing which images would make it into the final series. I quite often make snap judgments and will delete an image and then regret doing so. I find that leaving a gap of a couple of days during editing allows me to review the series with a fresh pair of eyes. It was important to me that I showed variety through the images I had taken making sure that a range of team members were photographed. When I came to review the images I had previously chosen, I was happy with my decision. I do think that it is important to consider that in some instances it is not possible to leave editing for a period of days, some professionals only have a couple of hours. With this in mind when I next photograph I shall create my own mini project to see if the outcome would be the same with the images I select.

A Final Choice.

I went through my final 15 and decided that I needed to be harsh with myself and only submit the images that I really liked. I had put my first selects in a separate folder so they were easier to review again and edit down. In the end I found that I had 12 images that I particularly liked but two showed similar scenes with the same team members so I immediately removed which shots I felt weren’t as strong. This resulted in 10 images to be submitted.

 

1/80 f5.3 ISO 1250 80mm WB Auto

With this photo I was really trying to focus on the repetition of line and the contrast between the period panelling that covered the walls and the modern steel frame that formed the truss-you could also include the lines of the radiator. I really like the shadow in the panelling and also how the diagonal lines in the truss are mirror with the ladder. When it came to shooting the room was very dark and rather than just compensating with a slower shutter speed and higher ISO I should have also had a wider aperture. Even though everything else was dark I still ended up with a bit of highlight clipping in the lights behind the gentleman on the ladder, which I removed post production.

 

 

1/100 f5.6 ISO 800 98mm WB Auto

The dedicated hair team spent hours working in the models all week. I wanted to show the bored, almost vacant expression on the models faces, they aren’t even speaking to each other while the hairdressers beaver away behind them. This shot has been cropped slightly on the right hand side as I felt it was slightly unbalanced and there was an unsightly clothes steamer which detracted from the shot. Post production I also lightened the image slightly as it was a little underexposed and removed any shadow/highlight clipping before converting to black and white.

 

 

1/100 f5 ISO 1600 52mm WB Auto

I included this image for personal interest as I used it to see how I could vary the tone of a wide range of colours. I have included a screen shot below that was taken straight after the conversion to black and white. As you can see the tone of each colour within the palettes is quite similar and I wanted to emphasize the difference a bit more. This involved increasing a decreasing the different colour sliders in the black and white mix to create the look I was going for.

 

 

 

1/60 f5 ISO1250 38mm WB Auto

Due to them being so busy, this is the only shot I could get of the backstage team all together. I wanted the viewer to be able to read the writing on the back of the t-shirts as I think that provides some context. Backstage Manager Kim is explaining how things will run for that evenings show and everyone is listening intently. I do like this shot and I am glad that I managed to capture Kim gesturing. I also like the repetition on the pattern on the carpet. Again due to the poor lighting and being unable to use the flash, I have used a high ISO and a slower shutter speed than normal.

 

1/100 f4.2 ISO 1600 34mm WB Auto

Again a bit of experimentation here seeing how I can bring out different tones, I really do want the assignments to be an extension of learning. Looking back now I think that it would benefit from having the Backstage Manager in the shot checking the outfits. I noticed that the light was forever changing in the room so I was continuously changing the settings that I needed to use to try and get the best shot. I would take several shots of the same scene and vary the settings slightly, editing out images post production.

 

 

1/100 f5.3 ISO 1600 62mm WB Auto

Overall I am happy with this image but maybe a different idea would have been to shoot so that it was obvious make up was being applied to the model but position myself so that it was the makeup artists face in the frame, making her more of the focus. I think that I may have drifted slightly off my main aim. I am still happy with the image, I like how the background is slightly blurred, and I find that my attention is drawn straight from the stripes on the jacket to the hand applying the makeup, possibly as the angle of the arm is almost parallel to the stripes. In Lightroom I decided to crop the image as there was an unsightly carrier bag in the frame which for some reason I didn’t notice at the time of shooting.

 

 

1/100 f5 ISO1250 50mm WB Auto

I think that as I am closely linked to the fashion shows I forget that an outsider may not instantly know what is going on in the frame. I wanted to show the repetition of outfit after outfit. Only two of the names are clearly visible and this is intentional. If you think about it, it doesn’t matter what the models names are, when they are going down the catwalk it is as though they are no longer a person, they are just a hanger for the clothes. It is the outfits which are the main focus. I was able to use a slightly lower ISO as quite a bit of light reflected off the white paper. I was trying to bring out some of the tone in the shadows, which looking back I think I could have done a little more.

 

 

1/100 f4 ISO1250 26mm WB Auto

Who says modelling is glamorous. I really like this image; it is one of my favourite in the set. I know I said that I wanted to shoot the team that work behind the scenes but the assignment has developed into showing what happens backstage. I think this shot illustrates well the chaos of backstage with bags and boxes everywhere so that the viewer doesn’t know where to look. It almost looks as though clothes have been left in a pile and then you realise that someone is actually asleep. A huge amount of waiting around involved and this model has decided to spend that time having a nap. There was some highlight clipping present on the dressing gown which has been removed in Lightroom and I have also tried to create a bit more contrast after the image was converted to black and white.

 

1/100 f5 ISO1000 30mm WB Auto

With this photo I wanted to show the contrast between old and new with the ceiling and metal truss. I originally shot this with no model but I felt that the frame was unbalanced. I am happy with this shot but I think that it could be improved by the model being slightly nearer the centre. It would have also been good to have had the Cambridge Style Week banner more readable at the back of the stage.

 

1/100 f5 ISO 1000 52mm WB Auto

Everyone is a photographer! This is my favourite photo in the whole series, I am really happy with it. The model is obviously important in the shot but by only having her body in the frame she has lost any identity. The audience are the focus as they watch her, trying to get a photo on their camera, ipad or Smartphone. I think this highlights how much photography has changed as the majority use other devices to capture images, and with a variety of apps they can easily alter them or apply filters. I was inspired by an image taken by Roger Hutchings but I have shot it in my own style. I have not done much to this shot post production as I was happy with it at the time of shooting; I just removed some of the highlight clipping.

 

 

Reflective Account.

I felt that in many ways this assignment was quite a challenge. Due to falling ill last year and then my mother sadly passing away I had not done any photography for about six months. This meant that when I felt able to pick up where I left off I felt as though I was starting from scratch all over again. When it came to picking up my camera it almost felt alien and I am sad to admit that I have lost confidence in my ability in some ways. However, I could not have picked a better subject for my final assignment, fashion is what I know and I was surrounded by people I had been working with for a year, which put me more at ease. I also needed to remember to treat the final assignment just like any of the other assignments; as a tool for learning.

I think that I branched out a little from what I originally set out to do, but I am happy with how the project naturally progressed. I don’t think you should fight to stay set on your plan, you should allow it to naturally develop and you may find that you are happier with your results that way. I really wanted action shots of the people involved behind the scenes, and was not keen on showing the models but I think they are necessary to provide context to the images. At the start I did not think that I would have any shots of the catwalk in there but again it was nice to include a few, but without the models being the main focus.

If I was to do the same exercise again I think I would alter the composition of some of the images and maybe not have the makeup table in there. The clothes rail would also benefit from having the backstage manager in the shot either checking a list of outfits or labelling who is to wear each one.

Using Lightroom for the first time was good and in some ways I prefer it to Photoshop, once I could work out how to import the images. With anything practice makes perfect and I think that watching tutorials online really helped me to get a basic understanding of what can be achieved. I shall continue to use Lightroom and of course perfect my technique, I have a long way to go with it but I think that I have made a good start. It also made a change for me to focus on tone and the different effects you can create when an image is in black and white.

As usual I enjoyed researching for this assignment; I always think that when you have a keen interest in something it makes it all the more pleasing. Looking at other students work is of interest to me too as I think that we can learn a lot from our peers and if we were in a standard university environment we would be continuously doing just that.

 

Reflection

I have taken another look at the assignment criteria and have tried to assess how well I have done.

Demonstration of Technical and Visual Skills – Due to a lack of confidence and a big gap in learning and vital practice, my technical ability could be improved on. Research, particularly with editing in Lightroom, has helped me a lot and I feel that I have become competent, although there is always room for improvement. I accept that I am still learning and I do always aim to apply any new skills I have learnt where ever possible. I think that my visual skills are good generally and that I need to have more confidence in my ability as doubting myself is often what holds me back.

Quality of Outcome – I think that this is where my ability is strongest as I have improved on showing my workflow and feel that my notes are generally well written. Combining the fact that I like to work neatly, with my research, I think makes for a well rounded assignment.

Demonstration of Creativity – While I do aim to be creative with the images I take, I do feel that I could have shown creativity a bit more in a couple of my shots. I have tried to work on how I can demonstrate this but I think that in this instance my lack of confidence may have hindered me slightly.

Context – I have been researching other photographers work as well as reviewing that of my peers, I always carry out further reading and visit gallery exhibitions whenever possible. I can be my own worst critic and will always find ways in which I can better my work, but this is how we improve.

References.

http://www.rogerhutchings.com/222494/fashion/

http://sonnyphotos.com

http://content.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,1840088_1762699,00.html

http://tv.adobe.com/watch/the-complete-picture-with-julieanne-kost/converting-images-to-black-and-white-in-lightroom-4/

http://digphopra.wordpress.com/2013/05/06/assignment-5-the-office/

http://annagoodchild.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/dpp-part-5-assignment-5-personal-project.html

Learning log: http://gemmadorlingphotography.blogspot.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jason Oddy: Concrete Spring.

I have really been trying to get back into the swing of things after everything that happened last year. I have carried on trying to develop my writing business and for the last 5 weeks I have worked 7 days a week....this is not conducive to getting any degree work done however.

I went to see my first exhibition in ages! I went over to one of my local galleries in Bury St Edmunds called Smiths Row. They have an exhibition on Jason Oddy whose photographs in his latest series 'Concrete Spring' explore the work of the Brazilian Architect Oscar Niemeyer.

The images were shot in June 2013 over a period of three weeks with a 5x4 field camera. The aim of his photographs was to " spotlight these forgotten or, at least, hard to access masterpieces of twentieth-century architecture."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I do have an interest in architecture and I love the repetition of pattern in these works. I noticed that all of the shots were bright, airy and very crisp. They each gave a sense of space and achieved their goal of showcasing their subject well. My only 'negative' comment would be something that was brought to my attention while I was studying The Art of Photography.....do not photograph something for the sake of photographing it. I can't help but feel that in some ways if I had been presented with these images without the accompanying explanation of what the photographer was trying to do, then I may well have felt that they were just a series of shots of someone else's successes. Should we not be trying to create our own art.

 

 

 

Event Photography.

My friend works for an insurance company in my home town and on the 11th January I went along to an awards evening and party they were holding to celebrate the new year. This was my first photography 'job' so to speak so I was understandably rather nervous. I wanted to be able to provide the company with professional images that reminded then of the great night they had.

I arrived an hour early to check out the venue take some test shots. The venue was rather dark with only minimal lighting which was a bit of a challenge. My friend required images of the venue set up ready as she had organised the event and wanted some shots for her portfolio.

The guests then arrived for their meal so had to wait about an hour before the main award ceremony started. I was photographing for a total of about 2 1/2 hours capturing the awards being announced and then the party after. Photos were posed for and people often asked for group shots, but I was also taking candid style images when the guests were relaxed and having a good time.

If I was to shoot an event again I hope that I would feel more confident in approaching people to take their photo and I would also like to have taken a larger number of images. I feel that I was quite restrained.

 

 

 

 

 

Here are a couple of the venue photos, I feel that I cannot upload images of the guests out of privacy.

 



Kirsty Mitchell Photography.

My tutor recommended that I take a look at work by Kirsty Mitchell. I took a look through all of her collections - 1,2,3 then Nocturne, My Angel and most recently Wonderland. I found it interesting to see how she has developed. It is Wonderland which appeals to me most. She started photography and Wonderland in memory of her mother who was an English teacher who inspired generations of children with stories and plays. The series has been running for 4.5 years now.

When I hear the word Wonderland I immediately think of Alice in Wonderland and I really get a sense of fairytales from Mitchell's photographs.

I have selected a few of my favourites.



The Lavender Princess.

What really amazed me was that Mitchell and her team (made up of friends) all make the costumes and props themselves - including the smoking umbrella! I love that so much thought and preparation has gone into the surroundings as well as the outfits mixing real life with fantasy.

The Candy Cane Witch,

There is something about this which reminds me of Tim Walker who I am a great fan of. He often uses oversized versions of regular items to create images which are almost surrealist.

Gaia's Spell

I love the bright yellow which mirrors the yellow of the field and how the model is even holding a tiny version of the ship. The majority of Mitchell's images all contain smoke, adding to the dreamlike feel?

The Ghost Swift.

Every time I look at this image I see something new. I really like the attention to detail and the depth that has been created within this shot.

An Ocean of Tales until the Shores of Home.

The pages of this book quite literally come alive in this image. The title makes me think that reading books is a journey that can take you all around the world, when you close that book you are home again.

I would love to be able to create images that are as creative as these for my final assignment, although Mitchell often waits a year to shoot an image so that the back drop is exactly as she wants it! I really need to start developing ideas of my own and viewing the Wonderland series has really inspired me to do that.



Getting a bit of practice and easing myself back to photographing.

Due to my work with Cambridge Style Week I spent the day at their Model Search. This gave me the perfect opportunity to get back into the swing of things, I cant remember the last time I picked up my camera before that as I have felt ill for so long.

The day consisted of models who had applied to walk in our week of shows basically auditioning in front of our celebrity judges. The best male and best female would also be selected to become our model ambassadors. I was given the job of shooting all of the head shots.

The model search took place in a college in Cambridge so understandably lighting was pretty poor! I tried using the built in flash as I did not think to take my external flash. I ran into problems straight away as the photos had to be taken in front of a rather reflective banner. In the end it was necessary to increase the ISO and use a smaller aperture. I had at least remembered my tripod which meant that once I was properly set up I didn't need to keep making adjustments while the models were waiting. The tripod of course also allowed for a much slower shutter speed to let in as much light as possible.

After this I also starting photographing the models while they were practising their walks in front of the judges. Again lighting was not great even though we had moved upstairs to where there were lots of windows, unfortunately it was such a dull day.

I am hoping I will be able to add a few of the images into this blog post once I have supplied the relevant people with copies.

I do think that the day boosted my confidence slightly and after a brief panic I was able to navigate my camera and start to get back in to photographing again. By the end of the day I can safely say that I was completely exhausted, a reminder that I still shouldn't be pushing myself too much.

Reading : Fashion Photography.

This week I have been spending my time reading and learning about various fashion photographers. This has lead on from watching the documentary last week. I had been given Fashion Photography: A brief history, list of publications, and most influential figures in fashion and editorial photography edited by Monica Millian.

The book is not quite what I had expected. For a start the information had been collated from a variety of 'high quality' Wikipedia articles. This meant that I then had to double check that all of the information was correct mainly for my own piece of mind - it was all accurate.

The book started with a brief overview of photography in general and then specifically talked about fashion photography. I am not sure that the section regarding advertising needed to be as long as it is. Information on fashion magazines such as Vogue and Harpers Bazaar was particularly interesting to me as I am also a fashion writer and am of course very familiar with these publications.

I think that the chapter on 'The Pioneers of Fashion Photography' was a long time coming - it starts at page 79 (of 129). Some of the photographers I had heard of such as Cecil Beaton, Irving Penn and Richard Avedon but others I had not like Louise Dahl-Wolfe so at least this proved to be a worthwhile exercise.

All of the 'Fashion and Portrait Photographers of Today' were known to me but it was nice to refresh my memory.

Generally the book was helpful in providing a basic overview, I think for more detailed info I will have to look elsewhere. This was a useful starting point.

Seven Photographs That Changed Fashion.

When I ran ideas past my tutor for the subject of the final assignment one of my topics was fashion. This is probably no shock given that I am a Fashion Writer and Fashion Blogger. My tutor suggested that I take a look at a program about Rankin in which he recreates seven iconic photographs that shaped fashion photography.

After much searching (it is no longer available on BBC iplayer) I eventually found it. You can view it here.

 

Cecil Beaton - Hat Box - Vogue - 1934.

 

 

I think that Sophie Ellis-Bexter was a great choice here as she naturally has a 1930s look about her. Rankin shot two versions of this image; the first he used a similar camera and light, the second he shot digitally. The authentic version actually captured the look much better because it was truer to the original.

 

 

 

Erwin Blumenfeld - Vogue Cover - 1950.

 

 

Rankin used Heidi Klum to recreate this Vogue cover. In the original Blumenfeld actually bleached out and added colour at the printing phase -I had not realised it was actually shot in black and white. After shooting, Rankin had the image manipulated using 21st century techniques. By Klum sticking her tongue out in Rankin's version they have created a cheeky update of a timeless classic.

 

 

 

 

Richard Avedon - Dovima with elephants - Harpers Bazaar 1955

 

This image saw Rankin take a trip to Whipsnade Zoo with Erin O'Connor. As Rankin himself says this is the "perfect photograph combining grace, beauty and creative inspiration", and I very much agree. 

 

 

 

David Bailey - Jean Shrimpton - Vogue 1963.

 

For his own take on this striking image by Bailey Rankin has chosen to shoot his own girlfriend who is a model. This is probably the only image in his series that I am unsure about. I would of expected him to select someone who looked like Shrimpton as he has with the majority of the other images. Aside from that he did initially keep to an authentic technique by using the same camera that Bailey himself used. Also instead of a wind machine a large piece of card was used to go get movement through the hair. The shot was then produced again digitally for comparison. I still remain unconvinced, yes the pose is nearly identical and I guess you could argue that Rankin has used someone he has a personal connection with which definitely puts his own mark on the photo.

 

 

 

Helmut Newton - Rue Aubriot - Vogue 1975.

 

Again the details are as accurate as possible with even the original street being used and Rankin receiving assistance from the model in the original shot. Jade Parfitt was used for the recreation an her position is almost spot on.

 

 

 

Guy Bourdin - Untitled Vogue 1970.

 

 

Again I was a little unsure about this photo. Rankin has used model and fashion designer Daphne Guinness for the recreation. Bourdin was well known for creating commercial images that have the feel of art, and I just don't think that Rankin's version has the same feel about it.

 

 

 

Herb Ritts - Fred with tyres - Per Lui 1984.

 

 

Rankin shot this photo of model David Gandy with the same camera Ritts used and then with a Polaroid. The background of the image has been digitally altered so that it appears darker like Ritts original so that Gandy stands out more.

 

 

I really enjoyed watching this program and found it particularly interesting. I think that it has successfully illustrated how fashion photography is constantly reinventing itself and how these original images helped to mould what we know as fashion photography today. Rankin has made me want to try something similar and select images I feel a connection to, to then recreate my own interpretations.