Elle Spangler
Photography: Backdrop Design
Project
Presentation
Capstone Essay
Elle Spangler
Mr. Caballero
English 8
21 April 2020
Fashion and Photography
Fashion and photography are very significant in our daily lives. Over the last year, I have become more interested in both. Which is why I decided to do my capstone on these topics. Fashion has surrounded me my whole life; over the last year I have discovered what it means to have good style. I have expressed myself through clothing and it has been a great outlet. I have always been interested in photography and have been snapping photos for as long as I can remember. Both of these topics are very different and require a variety of skills. Photography needs a lot of technique and practice with lighting, shutter speed, good angles, and many more. Fashion requires a certain eye and training that is hard to acquire, because putting together a fantastic outfit that pushes boundaries is very challenging. I wanted to expand my knowledge on these topics. In this research, I hope to gain more knowledge about both of these topics and to learn more about the technical part of photography and to learn about different styles in fashion.
The camera is a very intricate machine with many parts that work together to make a photo. It is important to understand how the camera works before starting to take photos, so people have a better understanding of how to make a good photo great. The viewfinder is the area where the camera shows what kind of image is being taken. The shutter on a camera lets the photographer take photos for as long as they would like the longer the more motion blur. Lenses are essential for any photo. Lenses help to focus on the subjects in the photo and help the photo to get the perfect amount of light (Sharma). When taking a photo it requires a lot of patience and thought because it is essential to think about what the viewer will see (Quinn). Photography takes a lot of thinking before capturing the photos, thinking about what the viewer will feel or think when looking at the photo will help to create more quality photos (Campany). It only takes a split second to take a photo and if people miss that opportunity it will be gone forever so think about what opportunities each photo will provide and take advantage of these opportunities (Quinn). Before taking the photo take into consideration perspective and how the photo as a whole looks. Think about being creative and doing something others have never seen before (Campany). Photography has many little things that contribute to the actual photo.
Fashion has gone through many phases in which we now have developed many different styles that can be put into different groups some are broader than others. The fashion industry goes through cycles where trends recycle and become the next generation's big bang. There are many different types of styles today including, street fashion, skater style, and 80s fashion which has had a comeback over the last couple of years. Street fashion has become more popular over the last few decades. Street fashion is not any specific style, it is almost anything anyone would wear walking around. In the beginning, street fashion only included men but the designers of the clothes made them towards women and over time the designers started to exclude men more and more. Nowadays we can not go anywhere without people wearing these clothes. What makes street fashion so popular is it is broad and anyone can do anything with it and it works. This style, like many others, helps people to express themselves in many different ways (Polhemus).
Next is the Skater style, this involves the skating community and in its beginning stages like many other styles, it was not very popular. Many professional skaters became more fashionable which influenced the whole community. This style usually includes baggy clothes with thick fabric to help with comfort while skating and protecting skin that may be exposed to regular clothing. Shoes with a hard bottom like Vans and Converse are essential for many people (Rahman).
Many fashion trends from the 80s have come back into style. This happens often because styling trends come and go very fast and many repeat themselves. Trends including band t-shirts and high waisted paints have all come back into style (DeLeon). Many of these trends all mix into one another. For instance, skater style could be street fashion and many skating trends are from the 80s. Everything is being recycled, and it is a waiting game to see what the next big trend will be. Fashion and photography go hand in hand to spread these trends.
Fashion and photography work together to show different trends, outfits, or maybe to spread the word of a designer’s newest creation. These photos can have people see fashion shows without being there and the ability to see the outfits in more detail. Photography can also help to spread the word of new trends or creations. Photography helps the designers(Savage) to get creative with experimenting and creating with new materials (Hull). Fashion and photography work cohesively and benefit one another in more ways than one.
Fashion and photography are very intricate topics which can be seen in many different ways. I now have a better understanding of the camera and many of its functions. This research has taught me how to take a good photo with a professional camera. I also know more about different fashion styles and how each one overlaps even though they are different. For my project, I hope to take photos of clothing using what I have learned from my research on both topics. My topic is important because I believe clothing tells a story looking through history. Clothing makes everything more interesting, and it is a way many people express themselves. Before anyone says anything to anyone people look at what they are wearing and it says a lot about a person. Learning about different styles and how everything is so widespread through photography and fashion when they come together.
Works Cited:
David Campany. “Looking for Transcendence” Aperture, Spirituality, 39-42
DeLeon, Jian. “The Greatest 80s Fashion Trends” Complex, January 1, 2018,
https://www.complex.com/style/the-greatest-80s-fashion-trends/ . Accessed April 14 2020.
Graves, Carson. “The Zone System, for 35mm Photography”. Focal Press
1997, pages 101-107
Guinn, Dan “10 Street Photography Tips and Tricks To Help You Capture
The Decisive Moment.” Digital Trends. August 22 2019, https://www.digitaltrends.com/photography/street-photography-tips-tricks/ Accessed April 7 2020
Hull, Craig. “The Complete Guide to Fashion Photography : 114 Tips” Expert
Photography, n.d, https://expertphotography.com/the-complete-guide-to-fashion-photography-tips/ Accessed April 19, 2020
Lin, Christopher. “Techniques - 10 Characteristics of Great Photos (2019 Update)”
SLRLounge, n.d., https://www.slrlounge.com/techniques-10-characteristic-of-great-photos/. Accessed April 14 2020.
Polhemus, Ted. “Street Style” lovetoknow, n.d.,
https://fashion-history.lovetoknow.com/clothing-types-styles/street-style. Accessed April 14 2020.
Rahman, Nirjon. “How to Get the Skater Style” Medium,
August 12 2019, https://medium.com/fadedmix-magazine/how-to-get-the-skater-style-b8025e565c3e . Accessed April 14 2020
Savage, Kristen. “The Impact of Photography on the Fashion
Industry.”Contrastly, n.d, https://contrastly.com/the-impact-of-photography-on-the-fashion-industry/ Accessed April 19 2020.
Sharma, Shivanand. “Camera Mechanics - How Does the Camera Work?” APN
Photography, April 12, 2011, https://www.apnphotographyschool.com/equipment/camera-mechanics-how-does-the-camera-work/ . Accessed April 14 2020.