Creating the Editorial Story - White Lights And Dark Knights

I'm glad I keep a selection of images from photoshoots I like from over the years in a, Fashion, Editorial, Modelling all-in-one general folder on my computer, so that every now and again; I come across images that I know have never been made public. I also like that I have blog posts that were made at or near the time I did some of those photoshoots as they often contain snippets of information about the work that I have long since forgotten. And yet these details were an important part of why a final picture ended up looking the way it does today. The White Lights and Dark Knights editorial is a perfect example of this. I shot three fashion stories and several portraits for issue 3 of Le Magazine. One story was a collage collaboration with a photo artist. Then there was a more straight forward studio shoot; which regardless of how good it looked I ended up spending a lot of time in post finessing to bring out it's more ethereal qualities. Then there was this story White Light.. which; after we had shot the pictures, changed direction almost entirely!!! Now this is something that never usually happens.

We had worked quite intensively on all the shoot concepts and planning; the how, what, where, when. This one was initially conceived as a shoot that could use patterns either projected or dropped in using Photoshop. We decided Photoshopping the pattern in after would be the simplest approach but; for reasons I can no longer recall the pattern concept went right out the window. (Was it a Florence Broadhurst concept that ran into a rights issue?) Clearly there was something about what had been planned in the vintage aspect to the styling, that started me thinking about the Russian Constructivists. Their use of geometric shapes and primary colours as a possible alternative to the  type of pattern idea we had started with. So the concept that we ended up with started out with me proposing a series like the red square and oblique lines image that I prepared above. But this did not seem to hit the mark for the magazine so we moved on... continued below.

Whilst doing my research on the Constructivists I started falling in love with the period portraits of the artists that I was seeing (now there's a recurring theme in my photography..) Shots of the pavilions they had built for exhibitions and the posters they produced for their shows. By this time we had already shot the images with model Sammy Raine against a basic white background and, thinking Constructivistly I dug out some night shots of the super structure of the Sydney Harbour Bridge that I had taken years earlier with my trusty Canon Pro1 top of the line Point-and-Shoot.. back in 2006!

This concept was given the go ahead and then it was just down to me doing the most complex image compositing I had ever done. On the plus side, being inspired by Russian Constructivism collage works by El Lissitzky and ‎Alexander Rodchenko meant that the pictures should not be perfectly rendered into the background. The original opening page is above, below are the original images without magazine text along with some of the pictures as they were made before becoming part of the collage images.

Sammie and I having a Monroe Moment..

Outtake from original series.

My concept and working title for the opening of the story.

The vintage inspired garments from Mrs Press combined with the slightly crazy Vivien Westwood shoes, the old stole from Coco Collectables. It all works perfectly against Sydney’s largest Art Deco structure the Sydney Harbour Bridge! After lifting model Sammy off the white background (so to speak) and dropping her over the night bridge scenes , post processing was mostly about blending B&W layers to deliver our Constructivist; now a little bit Film Noir feeling final images. I'd like to think that all the artists from whom I found my inspiration would be happy with the way the final images turned out. Even lovely Florence the unseen idea that got us started; was known to like women and design a little on the edge.

Model, Sammy Raine
Styling, Rhiannon Bulley
Hair & Make Up, Lisa Sciberras

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Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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Photography - Fashion Campaigns and Look Books are Not the Same

I get the feeling that in 2019 a lot of fashion (& photography) is still going to be getting short shrift as energies continue to be channelled into eCommerce look books and IG-anything-goes pictures at the expense of strong and distinctive branding for fashion labels. When I was growing up, looking through the front section of a European or American edition of super fat copies of the VOGUEs of the world was where it was all at. The first chunk of the big magazines were packed solid with expensive and totally fabulous fashion campaigns. Then as now, fashion was an extremely competitive market and if you didn't have pictures to make your target audience - the people you wanted to be your customers swoon with desire - well the advertiser on the next page certainly would. These amazing campaigns (and they actually were amazing back when the word really meant... Amazing!) were not always so much centred on the fashion; as on the life and aspirations of that person the label was trying to seduce. And it was a seduction, no mistake about it. Astounding locations, impossibly beautiful models; clever studio sets and photography. Whatever it took to grab and HOLD your attention. That's what it was all about. And nothing about the art of seduction has changed!

This series of pictures were made for a client who was doing small ranges with small runs, and all made here in Australia. Which was very bold, expensive; and gave them a lot of control over the designs and manufacturing, and they were winning awards right from the start. Shardi the designer was also quite particular with her photography without having a large budget. So when we did finally shoot together it was exciting but also a little frustrating too. I have to say, that without a doubt; not only where her designs unique, her sense of styling and feel for the woman of her label were quite exceptional! As for myself; I can't help imagining just what we could have done with these images if the budget had been there. We had a united vision and I believe we really did have the shots. These pictures are all completely fresh edits, most of them never published before.

Fashion isn't selling clothes, it's selling a fantasy to sell the clothes, the make-up, the perfume. Maybe you can't have that million dollar life, but when you buy that dress, that outfit; you are transformed and you really do feel like a million dollars. I know I do! I think this is the true story of fashion. Not what the dress looks like in a scientific, perfect look book way. But the way the fashion makes you feel; which can't be told in a look book picture. Same with runway pictures from the fashion circus - these are still trade show events, the inspired idea yes - but not the wearing of the clothes, the real-unreal world of buying and wearing fashion. So my heart aches when I look online and don't see a life I want to live, nothing of a life I desire and aspire to. I just see clothes, not fashion. One rack one page, looking more or less - well almost exactly the same as the rest.. I no longer see any difference, or the glamour of fashion; but I haven't forgotten it and I certainly haven't forgotten how to photograph it. You don't necessarily need a huge budget.. the dream, my fashion dream is still alive.

Taking our time to create the mood.

Shardi styling Victoria - on location, Sydney, Australia.

Like what you see? Drop me a line to talk about your next fashion photography project - Call Kent on 0433 796 863 or Email kent@artcommunication.com.au

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Telling Stories in Pictures all over the world..

Kent Johnson, Sydney, Australia.

0433 796 863

kent@artcommunication.com.au

www.kentjohnsonphotography.com.au

www.fashionphotographysydney.blogspot.com/

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