Nigel Barker is one of the most famous recognizable names in fashion photography. He studied medicine and was entered into a modeling competition by his mother which led to his career as a fashion photographer. While thinking of my work "Consumerism" and thinking of the fashion industry and what led my to art the category "fashion photography" came into mind. I then was led to look up fashion photographers where Nigel Barker's name popped up. In which I am very familiar with from watching America's Next Top Model. I wondered what makes fashion photography not apart of fine art. Beyond the commercialism and advertisements why is fashion photography not viewed as fine art. I have never particularly been drawn to a fashion forward photograph except for the study of the model's poses ie angles/ lines in the photograph and facial expressions. Once I began thinking of this I looked at Nigel Barker's photos with that criticism in mind. I recalled a few images from America's Next Top Model that really struck me when I watched the show. There were concepts projected in these specific images. Much how we as students get a project assigned and we have to produce images within the parameters of the project is how these concepts were delivered. The models are given a specific set/ scene and they have to work with whatever is in the set to produce a good photograph. Then I thought how does the photographer work. Well I remember Nigel had to work with these not so experienced models mixed with the scene given to produce a good photograph. All in which lighting had to be controlled and many of the other elements that we as fine art photographers have to control. He pays attention to reflections, linear perspective, contrast etc. Whether or not these images read as good photographs as interesting as fine art is still a mystery and matter of opinion. I can see the correlations in how a fashion photographer despite what he is shooting still needs to be a skilled photographer possibly making him an artist worthy of fine art applause in his/ her own right.
http://www.studionb.com/
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