Milo Quigley Unit 57 Photography and Photographic Practices

Understand different applications of photography

In this assignment, I will investigate and describe the various existing applications of photography, including advertising, fashion and photojournalism, and the contexts they are found in, including in magazines and galleries. I will provide relevant examples of each as I discuss them.

Advertising and promotional

These two applications are closely linked due to the fact that advertising campaigns are most commonly used to promote a particular brand, product or idea to members of the public. Celebrities and/or models tend to be used by campaigns to promote their products and as a way of attracting the target audience. An example of this is found on the Pepsi advertisement, which uses the popular singer, Beyoncé Knowles, who has a massive fan base to promote their product, which is an effective marketing strategy as a lot of people will be likely to buy the product because of the simple fact that Beyoncé is displayed on the campaign wearing lipstick of the blue, white and red Pepsi colour scheme. Aside from this, advertising and promotional photography could also be used to promote or raise awareness of a particular cause or organisation. An example of this is the anti drink driving campaigns which makes use of effective and powerful images to attract the viewers and persuade them to deeply consider the dangers of driving whilst under the influence of alcohol. The contexts that advertising and promotional photography are usually found in include on billboards, posters and in-store displays and also in magazines and newspapers.

Milo Quigley Unit 57 Photography and Photographic Practices

Fashion

Photography is also widely used in fashion as a method of advertising clothing. It is the role of the photographer to ensure the captured photos are as attention-grabbing and eye-catching as possible, usually done by focusing only on the items of clothing and including little or no text. The location in which fashion photography is usually taken ranges from studios to grand, popular sets or locations and are usually taken with the main aim of expressing or promoting a particular story, season, brand or fashion designer. Fashion photography can usually be found mainly inside fashion magazines such as Elle, Vogue or Glamour. An example of a fashion photographer is Mario Testino who has become one of the most famous and commercially respected fashion photographers. He uses beautiful people, exotic locations and displays of wealth to promote brands of fashion. He is popular for taking photos of luxury products for designers such as Gucci and Ralph Lauren.

Milo Quigley Unit 57 Photography and Photographic Practices

From the research that has been implemented by myself, I have a further awareness that varied, different types of fashion photography make use of distinctive settings. Vintage fashion photography mostly utilises a studio environment, whereas more modern fashion photography utilises a range of settings, mostly those which help tell a story or are able to enhance the photo to a higher clarity. Photoshop, within the time of its introduction became a massive part of photography as manipulation could become common place, giving camera operators the chance to possibly put people who may no longer be alive into a photo together for example, a photo of all the Beatles together with the current members of the band. The Photoshop software also allows the photographer to alter the photograph in accordance with what they want to photo to look like aesthetically with examples including blemish removals, skin smoothing, air brushing and just general enhancements.

Photojournalism

Photojournalism is used as a way of delivering news and/or current affairs stories to the public by capturing photographs with a certain meaning to them. Newspaper companies would usually hire a photographer to go various locations and take photographs of what exactly is happening there with the aim of showing a realistic image of what life is like. Those photographers associated with local newspapers will capture local events whereas national photographers would be more focused on capturing stories of a global interest, including war, in more remote locations, occurrences.

Over time, photojournalism becomes quite similar to a documentary and can usually be displayed to the public in a book or gallery. An example of a photojournalist is David Burnett, a magazine journalist who travels to various locations to capture photographs relating to, for example, war, sport and politics. Examples of his work include “Napalm Girl” which shows the aftermath of a napalm attack in Vietnam in 1972 and the iconic photo of George W. Bush and Barack Obama inside the White House. The contexts that photojournalism are usually found in are in magazines, newspapers or on Internet websites.

Photojournalism can also come in the form of paparazzi-style photography which involves independent photographers who capture images of high-profile people or celebrities as they go about their daily life. It can also include sports photography which consists of capturing images of events related to all types of sports, and also travel photography which involves documenting a particular area’s landscape, people, cultures and history. The images which surfaced virally showing

Milo Quigley Unit 57 Photography and Photographic Practices

Britney Spear’s breakdown where she is attacking a paparazzi photographer’s car with an umbrella are branded as very iconic and scandalous examples of paparazzi-style photographs (see below)

Portraiture

This is considered one of the most common applications of photography and involves capturing facial features and expressions and the person’s natural personality and characteristics. The photographs are usually based on the photographer’s preferences and recommendations on how exactly they want the photo to turn out. Throughout the photo shoot, the photographer provides their model with directive verbal cues as photographer-to-model communication is vital to receiving successful results. Although these types of photographs can be taken anywhere, portraiture photographers usually prefer to utilise a studio as this would allow them to adjust the lighting and layout of the set if and when necessary. Portraiture photography has evolved greatly over time as classic portraiture was more rigid, ‘forced’ and posed whereas modern portraiture is a lot more open and relaxed. An example of a portraiture photographer is Annie Leibovitz, most commonly known for her portraits of celebrities, such as Leonardo DiCaprio, which can be seen in a range of magazines including Vanity Fair and the Rolling Stones magazine.

Portraiture photography has a range of different types such as candid portraiture whereby the subject may be aware or unaware of the photographer’s presence, posed portraiture whereby the subject is fully aware of the photographer’s presence and selects a preferred body posture or facial

Milo Quigley Unit 57 Photography and Photographic Practices

expression, formal portraiture which is taken for business or formal purposes and also, environmental portraiture which focuses on the subject and the interaction between or relation with

their surrounding environment (see below).

High street/studio work

This involves a photography company or individual photographer setting up a studio location in a densely populated high street area. The studio sessions will then be advertised to the public, mainly families, with set prices. Previous examples of the photographer’s work are usually displayed on the window of the studio as a way of advertising them and their company and attract customers. Within the studio, the photography will be able to make use of artificial lighting and high powered lamps in order to create a perfect ambiance for the photograph to be taken in. An example of a studio photographer is Paul Wilkinson who opens studio sessions to the public, capturing both wedding and portrait-style photographs.

Milo Quigley Unit 57 Photography and Photographic Practices

Architectural

Architectural photography involves capturing images of buildings and structures in a way that shows them to members of the public in a compelling and attractive way. These photographs are most commonly used for print and promotional purposes in various businesses and for tourism. In earlier times, architectural photography was used for practical reasons, for example as a way of recording a specific location’s architectural heritage, however in more modern society more focus is placed on the shape, design, look and purposes of the buildings themselves. A prime example of architectural photographers is the iconic duo, Hufton and Crow who are best known for capturing images of Pierres Vives and the Giants Causeway Visitor Centre in Bushmills, UK. They make use of a deep depth of field and big horizon lines in their images to provide a deeper insight for the viewers.

Medical

This application of photography involves documenting patients at various stages of an illness, injury or before and after surgical procedures. The work of healthcare professionals is usually recorded which helps with treatment plans and the education and awareness of both members of the public and other healthcare professionals. This type of photography requires a high level of technical skills so that the photographs are taken in a way that is not misleading or misinterpreted in any way. Consent must always be granted before taking medical photography and if given, the images can be used in various publications and for research and teaching purposes. Robin Williams is an example of a medical photographer who most commonly captures photographs of patients as they involve through stages of injury and of their surgical procedures. The contexts which medical photography is usually found in include on public displays or billboards, in leaflets, on television or on Internet websites for all members of the public to see.

Milo Quigley Unit 57 Photography and Photographic Practices

Medical photography can also be used for crime scenes and forensic purposes. Photographers responsible for capturing crime scene images must ensure all the important and relevant pieces of evidence, such as the photograph number, any applied filters, time, date and location are included in their photographs so that they are not considered misleading when used in court cases. Forensic photographers focus mainly on documenting the crime scene and make use of three main shots which are overviews, mid-range shots and close-ups. Peter Mac Diarmid from Getty Images captured a photograph of a forensic photographer taking a close-up image of a scene whereby police had just discovered millions of pounds stolen in a bank heist in Bexley England (see below).

Illustrative

Illustrative photography involves using camera work and techniques in a way that illustrates something, conveys a hidden, unambiguous message or better attracts the attention of the viewer. Lighting is considered a vital aspect to creating a successful and effective illustrative photograph and to illustrating detail to the viewer. Reflectors and/or artificial lighting can be used to create a perfect atmosphere for the photographs to be taken in and illustrative photographers should always deeply consider the backdrop and how the photograph is going to be used, either with text or without, for example. Illustrative photography was first used in contexts such as magazines, newsletters and on television in order to show viewers what exact message an advertisement was attempting to portray. In more modern society, it is still used for these purposes, however it can also be seen on public service and health billboards and on Internet websites. Aaron Burgess is one of many

Milo Quigley Unit 57 Photography and Photographic Practices

examples of illustrative photographers who makes use of illustration as a way of advertising fashion, film and television, locations and people. In the pictures below you can see Aaron’s way of using the Photo Shop software to add illustrations and portray objects surrounding fashion models in an effective, ‘cool’ way.

Fine art

Fine art photography is taken with the main purpose of creating images for simply artistic reasons. Before capturing the photograph, the photographer would usually develop a vision of what exactly they want the end product to look like, find a subject for the photographs and create an ideal setting for the photographs to be taken in. Fine art photography can most commonly be found in a range of contexts including magazines, books, galleries and online. An example of fine art photography comes from Jane Fulton Alt who, in her ‘Water Works’ piece, captured water lilies from a range of different angles by going out on a boat with a hand-held camera and capturing images on the surface of the water.

Other examples of Jane Fulton Alt’s work include “Fire and Water” whereby she captures images of the pressures of climate change to the environment and “Katrina” which captures the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans (see below).

Milo Quigley Unit 57 Photography and Photographic Practices

Documentary

Documentary photography involves the photographer capturing images of a particular subject over a period of time in order to capture reality or tell a real life story of what is happening in the world to the viewers. These types of photographs are usually taken with the aim of recording historical events, sharing and expressing emotional truth and in some cases, inspiring change. In comparison with photojournalism which focuses on breaking news stories, documentary photography is more concerned about longer term projects with a more complex and detailed storyline. These types of photographs can usually be found online, in newspapers and across television screens. An example of a piece of documentary photography is “Tank Man” taken by Jeff Widener in 1989 which captures a single man standing in protest in front of government tanks, showing the viewers a high amount of courage and the fact that it can only take one man to make change (see below).

Milo Quigley Unit 57 Photography and Photographic Practices

Social documentary photography is another form of documentary photography which involves documenting images with a social and/or environmental purpose and with the aim of attracting the viewers’ attention to prevalent social issues. An example of a social documentary photographer is Lewis Hine who captured an image of a child labourer in the USA during the 1900s (see below).

Conclusion

In conclusion, after undertaking a vast amount of research, I am now fully aware that there are a wide range of existing applications of photography all with the same main aims, including educational purposes, raising awareness and for advertisement/promotion. Evidence of all types of photography is prevalent in society in a range of different contexts, including on public billboards, posters, online or on television. Although the work of photographers related to each photographic application dates back to many centuries ago, there is still accessibility to viewers of interest, focusing on those interested in photography and photographic practices as a whole. mmm

Sources

http://www.viralblog.com/lifestyle/how-to-rock-your-brand-with-celebrity-endorsements/

https://www.slideshare.net/smashingentertainment/applications-of-photography-17454186

http://www.designfloat.com/blog/2011/03/09/top-fashion-photographers-all-times/

https://www.highsnobiety.com/2016/08/11/mario-testino/

https://doculinks.wordpress.com/2012/07/06/david-burnett-napalm-girl/

http://www.davidburnett.com/gallery.html

https://filtergrade.com/best-portrait-photographers-to-inspire-you/

https://www.paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk/

https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/19-century-architectural-views-hans-kraus-photographs

http://www.complex.com/style/2013/02/the-25-greatest-architectural-photographers-right-now/hufton-crow

Milo Quigley Unit 57 Photography and Photographic Practices

http://www.robinwilliamsphotography.com/clinical_examples/

https://www.acs.edu.au/info/photography/photo-technique/illustrative-photos.aspx

http://www.aipa.org.nz/Portfolios/Aaron+Burgess

https://digital-photography-school.com/what-is-fine-art-photography-and-how-to-do-it/

http://learnmyshot.com/why-documentary-photography-is-important/