Photography

1. Megan Campbell
FashionPortraiture from the 1920’s
Throughouthistory,fashionhasbecome afundamentalpartof society,allowing bothwomenand
mento expressthemselvesandbuild theirownpersonal imagethroughwhattheywear.Fashion
photography became popularduringthe earliestdays of photographybutisa style thatgreatly
developed inthe early1900’s. Althoughphotographybecamepopularinthe mid1800’s, it wasn’t
until the beginningof the 20th
century thatfashionphotographsbegantobe printedinwomen’s
magazinesandthroughoutthe 1920’s and 30’s popularmagazinessuchas ‘Vogue’allowed
photographersto publishtheirbestwork. Beforethistime,magazinesusedhand-drawn,coloured
illustrationstopromote newfashions andshow whatwasbeingwornbyiconsall overthe world.In
the 1920’s, photographersusedfilmcamerasandbasiclightingtotake theirphotographs.All images
were takeninblackand white ascolourphotographydidn’tdevelopproperlyuntilthe middleof the
1930’s. Many fashionphotographersbecame famousinthiserabyhavingtheirphotographs
publishedinfashionmagazinesandthroughphotographingfamousiconsof the era.
The firsteditionof Vogue featuredahanddrawnillustrationonthe front
covershowingthree puppets positionedonastage wearingdressesof
differentcoloursandpatterns. The coverseemstolargelyfocusonFrench
fashion,withaFrenchwordbeingwrittenatthe top of the illustration.
Althoughthe drawingisindetail andshowsupthe patterns on eachdress,
the cover isverysimplisticcomparedto those of laterissues,withthe image
justfillingasmall space inthe centre of the page.
The firstcover that featuredafull colourphotograph
on the frontwas publishedin1932. The covertotally
contrastswiththe earliercoversas the image seemstofill the whole page,
withthe name of the magazine writtenoverthe top. The lightingusedto
take the image doesn’tactuallyhighlightthe modelsoutfitthatwell
comparedto the brighterimagesusedonthe coversinthe modernday. The
image onthe frontcoverwas takenbyfashionphotographerEdward
Steichenwhobecame aphotographerfortopfashionmagazines ‘Vogue’and‘VanityFair’ in1923
and tookthe first portrait imagesthatwere properly considered tobe ‘fashionphotographs’.
AlthoughVogue didn’tuse photographsfortheirfrontcover
until 1932, Steichen’simageswere oftenfeaturedinblack
and white throughoutthe magazine. ‘VanityFair’had
describedhimas“The greatestof all portrait
photographers”,inspiringme tolookintohiswork and
allowingme todiscoverhisfamousportraitphotographof
1920’s actress GloriaSwanson. AlthoughSteichenwas
knownbefore thistime,hisworkfor‘Vogue’made him
more creditedwithinthe industry. The uniquenessof the
photographenhancedmyinterestinusingelementssuchas
lace to add a certainfeel toa photograph;inthiscase it has
addedclassand elegance,addingtothe personalityof the
actress. I feel thatthe portrait represents the eraclearly
and emphasisesthe importance of fashionandbeautyfor

2. Megan Campbell
womenof the period.He appliedasoftfocusto the image to enhance the actress’features.The
image isveryiconicand the dark and moodyfeel toitcontrastswithwhatwas typical withinthe era.
The photographerhasportrayedthe actressas romanticandattractive eventhoughshe ispartly
coveredup. Thisis somethingIfeel Icouldtake intoconsiderationwhentakingmyphotographsasa
wayof representingthe eraandexperimentingwiththe way thisparticularphotographerworked.
The lace that the photographerhasusedmakesthe photographmuchmore unique andallowsitto
standout fromother typical fashionportraits,almostcreatingaveil overthe modelsface which
separates herfromthe camera. The blackand white of the image makesitverysimplisticand
althoughthisisbecause of the era,I feel asthoughit addsto the ideaof herwantingto lookrefined
and elegant.Italsogivesthe photographsubtletyandhighlightsthe actress’delicate features. The
wayshe isdirectlyfacingthe camerasuggeststhatthe photographerhasdirectedhertodo thisas a
wayof drawingattentionpastthe lace and emphasizingherbeauty.
As the decadesprogressedfashionphotographygrew andphotographersbegantoexperimentwith
usingbackgroundsandpropswithintheirimages. CecilBeatonwasanEnglishfashionandportrait
photographer.Vogue regularlyaskedhimtotake fashionphotographsfortheirmagazine since the
beginningof the 1920’s and by the 1950’s he hadbecome bestknownfortaking photographsof
iconssuch as MarilynMonroe and ElizabethTaylor.
In 1956, BeatonphotographedMarilynina waythat
she wantedto appear,classyandsophisticated.This
particularphotographshowsMarilynina different
wayto how she has previouslybeenshown,Beaton
has positionedherina waythat coversthe majority
of herbodybut still looksattractive,whereasmany
othersdressedherprovocatively.Thiswasbecause
for once,MarilynMonroe wantedto feel respected
and didn’twantto be knownforher sexual appeal,
but forher talent. The photographerhasusedprops
withinthe photographwhichdiffersfromthe way
previousportraitphotographershave takentheir
images.Theywaythat Monroe isholdinga rose
drawsevenmore attentiontoheralongwiththe way
herface iscentral in the photograph.He has also
directedhertolookdirectlyintothe cameralens, takingthe attentionoff hersurroundings,and
makingherface the mainsubjectin the image.Althoughcolourphotographyhadbecome popularin
the 50’s the blackand white image addssophisticationandgrace to the photographanddefines
Marilyninthe waythat she preferred.The flowersonthe curtainbehindherare the only detail in
the image and the material usedtocoverher isplainandpale,makingherthe mainsubjectof the
image. Withwhite beingthe mostdominatingcolourinthe photograph,connotationsof purityand
cleanlinessare portrayed,allowingpeople toview Marilyninadifferentlight. Cecil Beaton’s1950’s
portraitcontrasts entirelywiththe 1920’s photograph of Gloria Swanson.Althoughtheyare bothin
blackand white,the style of photographyisdifferent.The portraittakenby EdwardSteichenhas
beendeveloped usinglace whichalthoughfitsinwiththe erawell,contrastswiththe wayBeaton
has createdan elegantfeelwithinhiswork.

3. Megan Campbell
A decade later,fashionhadbecome abigpart of women’s
livesandduringthe 60’s fashionandmake-upbecame away
for womentoexpressthemselvesandemphasisetheir
beauty. Itwas an era of diverse trends,allowingwomentogo
againstthe typical fashiontraditionsof the previous decades.
It became apparentthatwomenwere copyingthe trendsof
style iconsandsupermodelssuchasAudreyHepburnand
Twiggy. Thisisa headshotportraitof Twiggy,takenby Barry
Lategan,bestknownforhisphotographsof some of Britain’s
mostinfluential people.Thisparticularphotographwastaken
as part of a photo shootin 1966 whenshe wasjusta teenager
and thiswasthe image thatled herto become the “The Face
of ‘66” andthe wayshe appearedinthese imagesgave her
the iconiclookthat made herfamous,withhershort hairand
definedeyebrows.The photographhasaverymoodyfeel consideringherfacial expressionandthe
waythe photographerhaspositionedher.Thiscontrastswiththe waywe typicallytake self-portraits
inthe moderndaywithyounggirlsoftentaking‘selfies’showingthemsmiling,whethertheyare
withtheirfriendsorontheirown. The way she islookingdirectlyintothe camera gainsourfull
attentionandthe waythe photographerhaspositionedthe lightingreallydefinesherfacial features
and cheekbones.Hermake uptypicallyrepresentsthe waywomenlikedtoappearduringthisera
and the blackand white effectof the image reallydefinesherdarkmake-up, longeyelashes and
short hair.Thisimage takenbyLategan contrastswiththe way manyfashionphotographersworked
inearlierdecades,includingthe 1920’s portrait of GloriaSwanson.Althoughbothmodelshave been
carefullypositionedforthe camera,the 1920’s model hasbeenportrayed tobe much more
glamorousandelegantcomparedwiththe wayTwiggy hasbeenshown.Onthe otherhand,both
imagesare fairlysimplisticcomparedtothe photographtakenof MarilynMonroe inthe 50’s. Other
than the lace usedinin the photographof Swanson,neitherimage takenbyEdwardSteichenor
Barry Lategan hasa backgroundor showsthe model ina specific setting. Bothphotographershave
alsoplacedtheirmodel inthe centre of the image,makingthemthe dominantfeature inthe
photograph,reallyfocusingontheirbeautyandhighlightingtheirmake-up.
Craig McDean isa current, Britishfashionphotographerknownforhis
brightand colourful photographs.Hisimagesare regularlyfeaturedin
majorfashionmagazinesincluding‘Vogue’.Thisimage wastakento
feature inthe February2012 issue of Vogue.The style of the image
reallycontrastswiththe style of the imagestakeninprevious
decades.The factthat the photographerhaschosentotake the
photographincolour,makingheroutfitandmake-upstandout,is
totallydifferenttothe way that the modelswere shownin
photographsinpreviousfashionphotography.The use of the bright
coloursaddsa more excitingvibe tothe photographandthe waythat
the coloursof herclothesandaccessoriescontrastreallydrawsour

4. Megan Campbell
attentiontoheroutfitand style. Althoughthe blockcolourswithinthe image maybe linkedwiththe
style of fashioninthe 1980’s, itsuggeststhatearlierfashionsare still popularinthe modernday,
especiallyif itisfeaturedin topfashionmagazines. The waythatthe photographhas beentakenina
settingdiffersfromthe wayearlierphotographersworked,manyof themusingplainbackgrounds
and focusingpurelyonthe modelsface.The waythe model ispositionedin the image allowsher
eyestofall directlyatthe viewer,highlightingherfluorescentmake-up.Itisclearevensince the
1920’s, the modelshave portrayedthemselvesprovocatively,addingtothe ideathatfashionisan
importantpart of women’slives,allowingthemtolookandfeel attractive.