Task One - Analysis

Peter Lindbergh, Kate Moss, Harper's Bazaar US, Long Island, NY, 1994

Our first task was to choose an iconic fashion image and analyse it through back research to gain a clear understanding of the narrative of the piece.

As I am not too familiar with fashion photography I first set out to research some notable photographers in the fashion field. I looked into Terence Donovan's work and his mixture of fashion and seemingly documentary photography. I also explored John French's style of reflecting natural light and using low contrast in his work along with his initial work with the Daily Express. 

Finally I came across the German photographer Peter Lindbergh. He intrigued me and with further research I discovered that he had done extensive work internationally for Vogue, starting in Italy, then England, France, Germany and, finally, America. He has also worked for The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Allure, and Rolling Stone. 

Lindbergh is considered as the founder of the supermodel boom that characterized the 1980s and 1990s. His work went against the usual lavishness that typified the era as he avoided the heavy styling and excessive visual elements. 

The image I have chosen is his photograph of Kate Moss from Harper's Bazaar US in 1994. In this photograph Moss was only 20 years of age at still in the first stages of her modelling career. Lindbergh has portrayed Moss as candid and relaxed with an absence of striking, contorted poses or extravagant, dramatic expressions or costume which allows the appearance of the seemingly 'everyday woman' to show through. I feel that this image lets the natural beauty of a woman show through as there are no 'distractions' of makeup or copious costumes of props. 

So far I prefer this style of fashion photography as it does not divert from the real and it attempts to show the subject in a more natural, beautiful way.