Essay

Introduction

Media make up and face paint is very difficult to research as a project brief, however, fashion photography explores the use of make up, and more than often it is in an extreme manner. The use of cosmetics and prosthetics is important to study because it allows a person to explore different identities, or concerning the use of make up throughout film and television, it can create character. Make up can be formed in various different ways, for example, it can be outlandish or subtle, both creating a different vibe from the other. Thus, this meaning make up can create and develop a personality. However with more research I have found that there is such thing as beauty photography and this seems to fit more in the field of my project. I have found that female portraiture is often used within beauty photography however other shots are ventured into. The use of female portraiture however shows the use of make up, which is important as a lot of professional beauty photography is commercial photography for makeup brands.

History

Photography was invented in the 1800's and the first to attempt at it was Thomas Wedgwood, his attempt was unsuccessful however ha achieved his photograph by using a camera obscura to alter the exposure of light when taking a picture. Despite this, the actual start date of photography is considered as 1839 due to the daguerreotype process, which meant only a few minutes, were needed for exposure and then pictures that would follow would be clear and well detailed, showing the subject as it appeared to be in real life. Fashion photography is considered to be one of the topics in photography, which have been around from the earliest days, starting with Adolphe Braun in 1856. Braun published a book containing 288 photographs of 2 women, however the first fashion model being seen as Countess di Castiglione. From the picture to left, it is noted that the picture is of sepia colour and it isn't completely clear. The first ever colour photograph was published in 1861, it was created by James Maxwell, a physicist who was interested in the field of colour.  In 1888, Kodak was invented, one of the leading camera suppliers. Kodak used flexible film roll within their cameras, meaning that their cameras were very light, meaning that they were easy to hold and could be taken out on a location to complete shoots, meaning new settings within photography. Advances were made in fashion photography in the 20th century when halftone printing (a mixture of greys to form a picture) was permitted in magazines. A common big named magazine between the early ages of 1911 and now was Vogue, it was as prestige then as it was now. Oskar Barnack invented the 35 mm film, also known as the Leica or Barnack format in 1913, only being released and tested by the public in 1923. Cameras that use this format are Leica, Kodak, Nikon, Canon, Minolta, Olympus, Contax, Pentax, Carl Zeiss, Fujifilm, etc. A 35mm lens enables a photographer to look through a end to see exactly what he will capture due to the fact that the viewfinder shows what the the image looks like through the lens, this is done through a prismatic effect. This was very beneficial as it was a lot less time consuming to see what an image would like exactly, they knew when taking the picture what the image would look like. 

 Colour photography was introduced in 1907 however was not introduced properly unitl the 1930’s when Kodak made the Kodachrome. The Kodachrome firstly was only released on to 16mm film, however it soon came out on a bigger film of 35mm in 1936. In 1948, Edwin H.Land introduced the instant polaroid camera, meaning pictures could be taken and would come out of the camera instantly, this being effective because a photographer could see if he like a shot or not instantly, without having to wait for the prints to develop. This had a big impact on the beauty sector of photograph because the colour now allowed the audience to see the different kind of colours which were being used, for example, with shoots to display make up, the audience could see the bright colours that the photographers would use on their models.In 1951, Richard Avdeon was considered the game changer for all fashion photographers as post world war two he begun to show women in fashion photography in the imaginative way we see them today. In this image halftone has been used, but also other aspects have been used. For example, Avdeon has used form in this picture and he has used portraiture to capture the essence of her hair and make up. Richard Avdeon shot many famous people within his work meaning that with the celebrity content his work became more known, making him a very well known photographer for his field of work, fashion.

2 Current Practitioners

Currently Iain Crawford is a very well known practitioner of beauty photographer, capturing both natural beauty and constructed beauty on females. Crawford is based in London however as born and raised in Africa and Malaysia, before taking off in London he moved and worked in New York, before making the ultimate decision of continuing his career in London. Crawford shoots for various well known brands and magazines as not only does he work within the field of beauty, however his career branches into the photography of advertising, lingerie, film, hair and sport. Crawford has experimented with different textures in order to open the field of beauty, which is his trademark, in various shoots he is seen to use models with powder paint, glitter, goo, water and his personal favorite of paint. Iain Crawford commented on his shoot with paint that he loved the way the paint and model fused into each other to create various shapes. He also uses make up in a way that makes the cosmetics seem quite outlandish, for example the use of fake eyelashes. I have also noticed in his work that as a beauty photographer he mainly takes pictures of the models face, whereas I have noticed many beauty photographers focus on the entire body, personally I prefer Crawford’s way.

In this photograph Crawford has provided a contrast of beauty, showing what 2 women opposite each other, however 1 being quite old and the other being young. They both are portrayed to be quite beautiful as both of them are wearing naturalistic make up, its almost as if Crawford has produced a mirror image with this photograph as it shows how a woman looks and used to look/ will look. This photo provides a train of thought which involves the audience and makes them want to look at the image for longer. In this photo, like I mentioned before, he has seemed to focus on the facial area, which in this case works very well because by making it focused mainly on the facial area you can see how skin and details change over time. In this image you can see a fresh face vs a wrinkled face, which works very well next to each other, almost like a juxtaposition.To me this image screams 'ageing gracefully' as both women almost look the same also. I really like this image, in fact it has inspired me to consider contrasting more as a photography tool because it creates a picture which causes an audience to think. 

In this image Crawford seems to have combined naturalness by the use of a model with no make up on and the use of a leaf, the leaf is almost emphasising the fact that this image is meant to be natural. In this image Crawford has a bit of the woman's body showing which allows us to see that the woman is not wearing clothes which enforces the idea of being natural as she is completely bare. Also I find this picture quite calming because of the naturalness, the way the woman has her eyes closed reminds me of serenity and peace, this is pushed forward more so with the use of the oil on the woman's back which makes her skin shiny, which reminds me of massages which is meant to be held in a peaceful environment. The grey background gradually turns grey as it reaches her face which to me opposes the idea of being calm or full of positive thoughts as she naturally becomes calmer, like yoga. I like how this picture has been kept in natural colour, something Crawford does in most of his photographs as it allows the audience to see the colour of the make up he usually uses, however in this context the use of the colour makes the picture seem as if it hasn't been photoshopped which enforces the idea of naturalness.

Another current practitioner is Claire Harrison who not only practices beauty photographer but also broadens her work by covering hair, nails, fashion, advertising, swimwear, lingerie, editorial and moving image photography. This removes her from limiting herself to just one work field as she has developed her work into a wide range. Harrison is based in London however works as an international photographer, meaning she travels all around the world to photograph for prestige companies. Harrison's beauty photography work is very interesting as she seems to have colour as a main element, she generally uses colours against other colours which she knows will stand out against another which produces quite an eye-catching image as a contrast. In a lot of the portraits from Harrisons beauty portfolio, the models are naked, this draws the attention to the detail of their face. Harrison also experimented with beauty photography as a fusion by also doing the photographs with paint hitting the models skin, in fact the images are very much similar to those of Crawfords.

In this image Harrison has used a contrast of colour to demonstrate beauty. She has made the white person within this image actually white by powdering their skin so it is a bring eye catching white. Adding to this to make it stand out more and to create the contrast, Harrison has used the black hand around the face, I think this works very well as the colours become very bold against each other. Harrison was very clever with the backdrop and made it a neutral colour which means it does not steal attention from the people and their contrasting colour. I like the composition of this image, however I would prefer if the black hand would have gone further down, perhaps just past the shoulder because it would have provided more of a contrast and a much bolder one as that. Personally I cannot think of any deep meaning behind this photo, I personally think this image has been purposefully made to show the difference in scale on the colour wheel, and how well they can work together, even when simply placed side by side with one another.

In this image Claire Harrison has created a photograph of fusion within beauty by showing water hitting against a models skin. Crawford has created an image like this with paint, however I prefer the use of the water as it is clear and allows you to still see the make up and beauty of the model. In this image, because the audience is able to see each drip of water in clarity, it suggests that freezing motion technique has been impose which I really enjoy as I think it works well in the creation of this image. I think the use of  a black backdrop was a wise move because the bright, clear drops of water are very easy to see and stand out. Also the model stands out well against the backdrop as she is considerably lighter than the jet black background. I feel like in this image the use of make up and outer beauty is a metaphor for her inner beauty, the water hitting against the skin (and the lack of it being ruined) suggest how beauty cannot just be diminished. I really like the idea of this image. This image comes across very bright because of the fusion of the clear water and her white skin, and both of these against the black backdrop, which makes it come across as a positive photo. Also in this image her physical make up stands out ad it is a deep purple against her white skin, this image seems to be colour against colour against colour, which I think is a really nice theme to have within a picture.

Your Work

For my own photography work I have used the theme of beauty however in some ways I have used it in a different context to the photographers that I have researched. In my beauty photography I have shown things in everyday life which are considered to be beautiful, for example, love. I showed this in a video which comes across very natural, home made and make shift, showing everyday things which demonstrate love. I also shot the outside world which shows natural beauty and how not all things need to be physically constructed to be beautiful. Despite this I have also shot portraits of people, showing their beauty whether it is natural or not. I have very much enjoyed shooting this topic as it has gave me a lot of freedom to do whatever I like as I could shoot what I consider beautiful, what society considers beautiful, a juxtaposition of beauty. Within my work I have been able to experiment with various different techniques to make my photography more interesting and to sometimes enforce my brief within a shoot, for example, the use of gifs and selective colour to highlight a certain part of an image or to show a transition.

In this image I decided to show beauty as a natural element within a self portrait. I took a picture of myself without any make up on and my natural hair. I composed myself to have my back to the camera and to be looking away, almost as if I am shying away, as natural beauty is not considered as stereotypical beauty within this generation. I used black and white within this image to create a natural effect to enforce the natural beauty, I think this works quite well as it shows simplicity and no colour distracts the focal point of the image, which is me as the only person within this shot. I used a black backdrop within this image which I think has worked well because alongside the black and white layer, the backdrop has became grey which works well alongside the other fusions of grey within this image.

In this image I have used multiple imagery to demonstrate beauty. The message within this image is that everyone is beautiful and in their own way. In this image I took a picture of 9 different girls (none of  whom look similar and none of whom are pulling the exact same pose) and put them all together. I think this worked very well as due to the images being portraits, when blown up, you can see each girls differences very clearly and this shows their individual beauty. The use of the black backdrop allows the girls to stand out and make them the focal point of each individual picture.

Future

In the future I think beauty photography will become more advanced, for example, today we see beauty photography where prosthetic's can cover a persons face, I think concerning this the options available in the future will become more outlandish. I also think beauty photography will develop with technique, personally I have found a lot of beauty photography using freezing motion, a technique which is available on a camera with the right settings. I believe cameras will become a higher version of technology with more options available on them, and a photographer will be able to take a contorted image which can be considered as art and beautiful. I think in the future colour will continue to be a big element of beauty photography, especially beauty photography that specializes in make up. I think the colour that is used in beauty photography will be used in a more extravagant way, by this I mean it will be used more extensively.  Concerning colour, I also think backdrops will become a lot more exciting and perhaps they may become patterned, which could coincide with a patterned object on a models face, I think this would be very interesting to look at and would brig more depth into an image.

Conclusion

Overall I think that beauty photography can be very widespread however many focus on the beauty of a person, however some choose to expand from just make up, some shoot those with a bare face, like I have myself, and I like how beauty can be expanded to this. I think with the use of colour beauty photography has come across in leaps and bounds as by the use of colour, the use of extravagant make up can be used and the audience can see it through what it looks like in person. I also think beauty photography has came along in terms of different materials being used, many use materials across the face, or some use leaves to envision beauty with a model and some even go as far as pouring paint over models. I think beauty photography can be quite outlandish however I think that being outlandish and loud can be quite beautiful itself. Concerning my own journey with beauty photography I have found it to be very open and therefore a very enjoyable experience as I could go where i want with it as I have made my own spin on beauty photography to what is considered beautiful or what I myself find beautiful, or different versions of beautiful. Through this essay and through looking through the history of beauty photography I have found the progression to be quite detailed, this therefore making it interesting to research to see where beauty photography has came from to where it is now.

Bibliography

wikipedia.org
nationalgeographic.com
sianyy27fashion.blogspot.co.uk
iaincrawford.com
claireharrisonphotography.com