The Art Of The Self Shot
Browse the web long enough – about six minutes should do the job – and you’ll stumble upon a self-photograph taken by a partially-dressed, young girl in a room in her house. Well, you do if you browse the sites I browse. I don’t know why young girls feel the need to strip naked or as near-nude as makes no difference but it’s clear that there’s either peer pressure or herd instinct at play here. As somewhat of a keen photographer I find the pictorial style represented by these undressed girls fascinating on many levels. Do they obey the rule of thirds or do they flaunt it? Are level shots the norm or is a jaunty angle considered de rigeur when snapping oneself in the nip? Actually, none of these questions can be answered as intense investigation has determined that there is only one rule when taking a self shot: include the counterpoint of interest. Self shots need a counterpoint of interest; something which draws the eye from the girl and then to the counterpoint, then back to the girl with a puzzled look on the face, back to the counterpoint, then to the girl in shock. It’s this interactive element that makes the self shot so absorbing and the photographic style such an engrossing art form. In very short order I’ve become something of a expert in the style. Let’s take a look at some examples: A brunette girl with an enigmatic smile stands in a bathroom, framed by towels. It couldn’t be a more normal scene played out in many bathrooms the world over. But then you see the sock. Why is there just one? Where is the other sock? There’s wonderful symbolism of loss here, something we’ve all experienced as we hunt through the tumble dryer and then run a hand around the still-damp inside of the washing machine drum wondering where it is. A wall covering hides a piece of conventional artwork in the background making certain that we’re not distracted from the art filling up the rest of the volume. So we can let our eyes fall on the scene: a girl with blonde hair and white knickers stands serenely in the middle of chaos. This is the eye of the storm and a clear reference to the camera with its picture-taking eye that casually freezes moments of continual motion every day in a way that should seem like magic to us but yet we take for granted. Beautifully-crafted. Another shot of a girl in chaotic surroundings but this is decidedly different. Here we see a short-haired girl trapped by the mess; it’s a...
Fashion Faves – Miscellaneous
A bit of a change in the occasional series of “fashion favourites” posts I do where I’m going to select a miscellaneous set of photos showcasing style instead of a series from a single shoot or model as I’ve done in the past. Why’s that? you ask. None of your damned business! No, sorry, that’s rude of me. The real answer is that this is my site and I’ll do what I like. Admittedly, that’s only marginally less rude. And now, of course, I’ve mentioned the words rude and fashion in the same paragraph which means I’ll get occasional searches from perverts the world over looking for naughty pictures of models in skimpy outfits and poses no normal person would ever adopt. Oh, woe is me! How will I cope? That answer – in case you didn’t take it for the rhetorical question it was – is: with indifference. Enough waffle? I think so. Let’s take a look at and critique some photos from the world of fashion, all of which were recently spotted by me on the excellent Fashion:::Victims site: For Harper’s Bazaar Brazil February 2013 issue is Cindy Crawford – yep, she’s still modelling! – shot by Nagi Sakai. Lovely warm colours in this pushing the whites towards yellow and great tonal match between the simple and elegant dress with that of the surroundings; the little bit of swimming pool provides a nice contrast lacking in the picture elsewhere. Criticism? Oh yes. I don’t like the hose pipe in the background – if there was need for something else to break up the picture then a potted plant would have been far better – and I find the chopping off of Cindy’s foot distracting too. I wonder how long it will be until someone searches for Cindy Crawford having her foot chopped off now. If I know the internet like I think I know the internet… There’s a lot to love in this photo of Anja Rubik taken by Mario Sorrenti for Vogue Spain. In fact, the whole series is wonderful but I’ve picked this one out for a number of reasons: firstly, there are the colours. Look at the colours man! Both in the wonderful dress and those horrifically wonderful bathroom tiles. Great contrasts that just make the style pop out. Secondly, there’s the PVC cape. If ever there was a piece of fashion designed to be worn while cleaning your teeth before heading out for the evening then this right here is it! Thirdly, Anja’s pose is great; lovely curves that take the eye from the backside right up the neck to the top of...
Fashion Faves – Cara Delevingne
Via Fashiontography is this somewhat eclectic shoot by Mikael Jansson of London-born model Cara Delevingne (no, I’ve no idea how you pronounce her surname either) for W magazine. Lovely understated elegance demonstrated here in this shot of Cara in a Bottega Venata dress; great tones and relatively low contrast in this image impart an old sense of warmth and style. More importantly, we also get a great demonstration on how not to stand up straight, an excellent skill to have that boils the blood of health and safety officials whenever they see it in the workplace. This photo is both wonderful and awful, which makes it even more wonderful. Great choice of fashion here: the Balenciaga by Nicolas Ghesquière embroidered silk top and skirt coupled with the fox-fur boa looks really good on Cara. With the hairstyle she’s sporting this has a science fiction feel to it that wouldn’t look out of place amongst some of Pierre Cardin’s weird and wonderful shoots in the 1960s. And the lighting is excellent too; that strip across her face in particular really draws the eye to to Cara’s sultry stare (not that I needed any help in that respect). The awful part of this picture, though, is the confusion it initially presents. The black and white treatment means that there’s a split second of hunting to pick out Cara’s legs against the stonework and next to the boa. I’ll be honest: when I first glanced at this photo I thought Cara was sitting with legs akimbo. Wonderful and awful. Also: handbags that look like buckets! No! See the full Heavenly Creature spread on W magazine’s site...
Dorothy Lamour
There’s something so very stylish about a lot of the stars of the screen from the 1920s upwards but one of the women who always makes me stop and stare whenever I see a picture of her is Dorothy Lamour. Dorothy was born in 1914 in New Orleans of French, Spanish, and Scots-Irish heritage. Fortunately, it was mostly the dark, sultry, Spanish blood that dominated her appearance; I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with curly ginger hair and freckles but let’s just agree that it’s unlikely we’d have heard the name Lamour being mentioned much if her genetic make-up had been jiggled around a bit. Lying to enter a Miss New Orleans contest (she was underage), she nevertheless won it and used this as a stepping stone in persuading her mother to take her first to Chicago and then New York. In both of those cities she sang in hotels and while singing in One Fifth Avenue she landed a radio contract with NBC. When NBC took the series “The Dreamer of Songs” to Los Angeles she followed and the proximity of Hollywood meant it wasn’t long before she’d auditioned, taken a screen test, and been signed up by Paramount. She was given star billing in her first movie, The Jungle Princess, and that started a long career in the film industry that saw her receive most fame for her appearances with Bob Hope and Bing Crosby in the Road to… movies. All of which is very nice but I’m mostly posting this so that I’ve got a good excuse to get some pictures of Dorothy Lamour up too. I’m so very, very shallow. Forgive me. Dorothy Lamour sitting atop a sign post pointing out all the destinations of the Road to… films. Her vertigo put an end to the proposed run of twenty movies, something for which Bob Hope never forgave her. I love the cut of the dress in this shot which almost makes it look like she’s got butterfly wings. She doesn’t have butterfly wings, of course. If she had then we’d have probably heard of Dorothy Lamour as the star of Freaks but nothing else. Sometimes a girl just can’t help laughing while brushing her hair. I don’t know why. Who can fathom the workings of a woman? Dorothy Lamour rubbing her hands on something hard and scaly. Well, if that doesn’t attract sexual weirdos to the site then nothing will. Lovely, classic glamour photo from the golden age of cinema stars’ photography. Depth of field, lighting, disinterested look: all perfect. What’s that? You want to know who’d win in a fight between Ms...
Fashion Faves: Nimue Smit
I like Koto Bolofo‘s shoot for Dior featuring Dutch model Nimue Smit – if I didn’t then I wouldn’t have posted this under the title of Fashion Faves after all – but I do have to wonder where the Alice in Wonderland theme really fits in with what the fashion house is trying to sell. May contain rabbits? You don’t have to be doing drugs to like our stuff but it might help? Who knows? Odd choice of theme aside, this is a lovely shoot. There’s obviously been a lot of thought put into the design elements; the scale of the set props and the surreal addition of swans or stacked chairs or butterflies massed on a tree fits with whatever it is that Dior is attempting to convey. Some great use of light and smoke effects – some in-shot, some clearly in post-processing – round off a great job by Koto Bolofo and Nimue...
Fashion Faves – Li Bingbing
Li Bingbing donning some rather lovely fashion here. If, like me, you were expecting to see a panda in clothes then I’m sorry. I was a little disappointed too but in this case it’s not so bad as Chen Man has managed to capture a lovely set of photos of the Chinese actress in various, stylish outfits. Good use of vibrant colour and I like the narrow range of tones with the bright blacks on show. In the photo I’ve selected from the series on Fashion Gone Rogue I also really like the texture of the outfit and its contrast against the soft backdrop. A panda would have been even more awesome...
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