Fashion photography

Abstract

Fashion is an extremely powerful medium and plays an important role in people's lives. Fashion is a form of communication and is an expression ofone's individual taste. The tvpe of clothes vou wear can define our age, status, social group and profession. The public generally wants to know and see what the latest styles are. People move in different social groups and dress accordingly to their social standards (Khomak 1989:8). The fashion photographer's job is to keep the public up to date with the latest fashion trends. The author, wants to create a need with the public to dress accordingly to their social needs and standards. The fashion photographer must be able to capture the moment and develop their own style. this would separate one fashion photographer from another. The fashion photographer should be able to take an ordinarv piece of clothing and tum it into something beautiful, making the model look breathtaking and elegant. The field offashion photography is very exciting and fast paced with beautiful models. money, etc.- it 's all part of being a successful fashion photographer. Fashion photograph v brought about many changes in the fashion industry. Thanks to magazines like Cosmopolitan, Ule. Vogue. etc. people could visualize themselves wea~ng the latest stvles. These days, not only women. but also men are aware of the importance of fashion (Van .laarsveld 1996: I ). The whole industry started to show enonnous growth as the first fashion photol,'Taphs were taken. It caused people to become more aware of ditferent styles, prices, etc. , causing competition between fashion houses. Fashion is a constant changing barometer, it reflects the social and political conditions of the world. Through fashion photography, we collect a unique and valuable record of the society of the time, it's moods and it's manners, and we perceive the current cultural pre-occupations, artistic intluences, theatrical styles, and the changing styles of salon and news photography (Devlin 1979 :11).