art. The Power of Fashion Photography

Fashions Love Affair With The Camera

Browse through any glossy high fashion magazine. What do you see?

It is not the full pages of text that entice your interest. It is the variety of photographs, displaying fashion as a form of art. 

These images we admire in our magazines directly and indirectly impact our understanding of what is considered fashionable. Little realize the relationship between fashion and photography. This love affair has a monumental past.

In a quote by Edward Steichen, he said “The use of the term art medium is, to say the least, misleading, for it is the artist that creates a work of art not the medium. It is the artist in photography that gives form to content by a distillation of ideas, thought, experience, insight and understanding”. 

Steichen has been regarded as the first modern fashion photographer. He earned this title in 1911 when he photographed formal gowns designed by Couturier Paul Poiret for Art et Decoration, a magazine publication. He paved the way for emerging photographers through his knowledge and power to transform an image into a social statement.

Fashion may have many best friends, like celebrities, store buyers and individuals who love fashion as a way to express themselves or to serve as an extension of their personality. However, designers can greatly influence what direction fashion will go. Working five to six months ahead of the current season, designers create a collection of pieces through inspiration and trend forecasting.

Upon completion, their collections are presented at Fashion Week. With the press in attendance, the media gathers insight to provide editorial coverage of the trends. Fashion photographers may work with designers to help convey their reasoning behind their creation. As a talented photographer, you have the power to turn fashion into something that goes beyond the commercial means of promotion; further establishing fashion as artistic expression.