Annie Leibovitz

Probably one of the best (if not the best) fashion photographer of the world. As a child, she travelled a lot along with her parents (her father was in the army) and her large family. She explains her vocation for photography by all these journeys she went through in the family car, she used to see everything through the frame of the car glass. According to her, photography is "life through a lens". I warmly recommand you to see the documentary about her life untitled "Life through a lens" made by her sister and featuring Mick Jagger, Patti Smith, Yoko Ono, Hilary Clinton, Kirsten Dunst during Marie-Antoinette shooting(sooo beautiful), Anna Wintour (the one who inspired the Devil Wears Prada, praising someone, unique) and many other celebrities photographed by Leibovitz.

The first fashion photographer

Though we have seen the first fashion photography, it was not taken by a photographer whose career was entirely dedicated to this. Though the photo could match a basic definition of fashion photography, it was never shown in a magazine or in a specific place.

Quickly at the beginning of the XXth century, Vogue and Vanity Fair were created by Conde Nast who decided to commission photographers. Among them was Adolf de Meyer. His title, his social connections, his manners, and his taste made him an instant sensation in New York, Newport, and Boston. In De Meyer's images artistry and commerce joined, refuting the Secessionist doctrine that only amateurism insured visual sensitivity and liberty of expression.

http://broadway.cas.sc.edu/broadwayPhotographs/DeMeyerVogueIllustrations.jpg

Perception of beauty

The spot, a time-lapsed look at a woman being made up and then Photoshopped for a billboard, illustrates how our perceptions of beauty are manipulated and distorted. We will show this evolution of the perception of beauty on this blog.

The firt fashion photography

Is this the first fashion photography ? It seems so ! According to Wikipedia, fashion photography can be defined as a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. And it is precisely the case on this photo showing Virginia Oldoini in the traditional clothes of Napoleon III's court.

However, it is not fashion photography as we conceive it today. This photo could not appear in a magazine or in a newspaper because of the technique of the time...

Welcome !

Welcome on Fashion Photographers !

Wherever you are in the world, open your eyes, open a magazine and you'll see that their photos are there... They cost a lot of money, they illustrate an article, an ad, a cause, a person. They are made by photographers most of the time doing nothing else than this, they are part of a small world, travelling all over the world to find the best spots, the best light, to meet the right person, making other famous...

Though their job seems futile and superficial, they influence our tastes, they are trend setters and active contributors to an image based global culture.

Let's meet them !