Use of photography within the media industry

Use of photography within the media industry

There are six different areas/types of photography; these are fashion, advertising, portrait, photojournalism, macro, and landscape.

FASHION

This photo was taken by a fashion photographer in the 1950s named Henry Clarke. Fashion photography is very different nowadays. During the 1950s, fashion photography was a lot more elegant and was also in a black and white contrast. The photo is a lot simpler than it would be in the 2000s, this is because the older fashion photos are simple yet affective and the photos nowadays have a lot more graphics, detail, colour, and are edited.

In this photo it is noticeable how fashion photography has changed over the years. There are bright colour and lots of text. The lighting has been edited to make her features stand out and have the ‘perfect’ look that most young girls will desire after looking at fashion photos like these. The colour has been enhanced to stand out more and attract the public eye. The model is also wearing a lot more makeup which would have also been edited on the computer. Her skin has been airbrushed which gives it a glowing, flawless affect which the fashion industry will be aiming for. Whereas in the 1950s they wouldn’t have had the technology to edit photos the way we do now, therefore the 1950s fashion photographs look a lot more natural.

This image shows how acceptable photography can be nowadays.

In conclusion, fashion photography has changed from being very formal to being very experimental.

ADVERTISING

Advertising photography is used to sell products. Adverts need to stand out, be memorable, intriguing, possibly unusual and most importantly they have to make you want to buy the product.

Here are two examples of one advert from then and now.

This photo is from the Ford advert during the 1970’s. There’s nothing very exciting about it; there’s no colour, no model, no bright contrast. It’s not very memorable which doesn’t make it a very good advert.

However, the Ford advert from today shows the complete opposite features. It has bright colours and even a model dressed in the colour of the car. The angel of the photo is also much better because having the camera closer to the ground and pointing at an angle towards the front of the Ford makes the car look bigger and closer. Also, the brightness coming from behind the model and the car make them both stand out with sharpness and a glow.

PORTRAIT

Portraits capture a person’s likeness and are usually in groups or of individuals. The main focus of a portrait picture is the face (expressions) and eyes. The people’s eyes are often looking directly into the camera. A portrait photograph displays the personality and the mood of the subject itself.

This portrait was taken by a well-known photographer Yousuf Karsh. The portraits are all black and white because it gives it a formal look and shows more emotion because there are no distracting bright colours. It’s just the facial features and expressions.