The image Maker, was an amazing exhibition at Somerset house featuring over 100's of works previously unseen images by the influential and enigmatic fashion photographer Guy Bourdin. Bourdin's editorial and advertising imagery, took the basic function of the fashion photograph -to sell clothing, beauty and accessories- and made it into something rich and strange. Bourdin established the idea that the product is secondary to the image, he developed a distinctive style of visual storytelling which continues to serve as a source of inspiration to contemporary fashion photographers from Tim Walker to Nick Knight. He pushed the boundaries of what we consider beautiful and desirable creating a provocative and surreal approach to fashion imagery. Bourdin plays around with the concepts of repetition, scale and proportion. For a New york shoot he demanded giant shoes , not theatrical props but meticulous oversized replicas.
The manipulation of repetition, scale and proportion can dramatically change the mood and meaning of a composition, it emphasises the importance (or un-importance) of an object or area. Often the focal point is emphasised by making an object larger in proportion to the rest of the elements of the artwork, or by simply repeating it. Elements that are large in comparison with the background or that fill the picture and bleed off the edge will give the impression of drama, importance, intensity or happiness. Without the limitation of just a single point of interest, repetition helps the eye dance from point to point. I would like to incorporate similar elements into my work and experiment with repetition to elude the 'regular' fashion shoot.
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