Steven Meisel is an American fashion photographer who's images reference history of photography and style. I have decided to study this photographer because I think that his work is very different to other fashion photographers in his terms of setting and then the representation of his female models with the use of setting and situation.
Examples of work
This photo shows a woman in an extreme situation, which and therefore which presents woman as bad and therefore interesting. Within this image shape has been used due to all the outlines of everything surrounding them. There is also a visible difference of light and dark, purposely the woman is placed on the side that is dark. I like this photo, especially for fashion as it is more interesting to look at rather than a woman just standing there modelling, this is also interesting because the use of an extraordinary situation makes you wonder what has happened for her to be getting arrested.
This photo has influenced me to use extreme situations and therefore think out of the box to achieve pictures which are more interesting to look at. Also by using extreme situations is involves the audience more and therefore them being lead into thinking about my photography at a deeper level.
This image uses the formal element of movement as you can see the water blurring as she flicks it off her hair. I like this images as it is very simplistic and not an obvious use of the formal element of blurring which to me, makes it a better picture as I personally am not a fan of when the blurring in a picture is too excessive. It is evident that Meisel has took care when taking this picture as he has caught her hair at a perfect moment. This image makes me want to know where she is, and see what she is wearing as you can only see a part of it.
This photo influences me to use slight blurring in future photos and has taught me that when using blurring it doesn't actually have to be excessive and it can be just used to a certain extent. Within a project I will use this. It has also influence me to not always make the models face a main focus and perhaps make another body part a main focus.
In this photo Meisel has used the formal element of form as the models face shadow reflected on her arm,showing she is 3 dimensional. You can also see shape as the models body curve is reflected in the shadow against the light background. The model is in what seems to be quite provocative wear and she seems to be in a forest area, which leads us to the idea she is on a get away, which leads to questions of the narrative of the photograph like who she is with, is it approved of? I really like this photograph.
This photo has influenced me to allow shadows to take place in normal places, such as plain walls and not just on the street or for the use of form, I like how the shadow actual constructs the formal element of shape. I intend to use this in my future photography work.
This photo is of Madonna, Meisel often photographed Madonna and she was is one of the many reasons for his success. This picture has used the print technique of black and white, which for me is a technique used specifically for reflection or potential nakedness to a picture which shows things for how they truly they are. If you look close enough in the picture you can see Madonna kissing another woman and there are drinks on the table, leading to the connotation of a drunken moment. I like this as it allows you to make up your own mind if they were drunk or not. In this image the formal element of reflection is used as within the image you can see the mirror and within the mirror you can see the lights in a line. This doesn't really demonstrate anything for me.
This photo has influenced me to narrow down the use of black and white and use it on specific photo's for reflection or for when there is absolute honesty or nakedness of a persons emotions to a picture.
Overall
Overall, after having studied Meisels work and explaining them in thorough detail, I have decided that I am actually very fond of his work and I find him a very good photographer and actually he has influenced me quite a bit. The two main points influences I will take a board is to not over use black and white so much on my pictures anymore as he has shown in the final picture that it actually creates a certain feeling for a photo of recognition and secondly, use extreme situations and think outside the box as your work wills come out better and more interesting to look at and hold a higher meaning to it and create a narrative. After looking at his work I am more interested in him now than I was at the beginning.
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