Is Fashion Photography Losing Its Artistic Essence in the Digital Age?

[WinstonH20]

Looking at the dire state of the 'big 4' Vogues got me wondering whether we are witnessing an era in which the art of fashion photography is in decline? Despite what many think, fashion photography is a skill that not everyone has and an art only in the hands of the greatest image makers of the medium. From Steichen to Man Ray, to Avedon Penn, Meisel, Weber and Lindbergh; all understood the importance of not only documenting the formal elements of garments, but the importance of imbuing said garments with a sense of fantasy in order to sell them to the women (and men) who could afford them. Not only did they have a superior grasp of the formal elements of image-making like lighting and composition, but each had a singular vision of women, beauty and the human form, which was difficult to imitate.

By contrast, the newer guard of photographers emerging in fashion seem less concerned with the documenting and selling of clothes, and more concerned with their own 'aesthetic' and the images will garner them the most likes, reblogs, shares, etc. on social media. They are a generation that has come of age on social media, keenly aware of the formulaic approach to imagery that will resonate most with the masses. At best, these are desktop wallpaper kinds of images...pretty and inoffensive, but devoid of any real emotion or feeling. Technically sound fashion imagery is a feat in and of itself in today's lesser times and there are those who try in this regards, but I have yet to see a truly visionary fashion photographer emerge in the last decade, one whose work cannot easily be copied because it is not simply an aesthetic. That said, who can blame these young photographers when they are working in an era where brands, designers, art directors and magazines are more interested in endless streams of disposable 'content' to be shared across web and social media channels than in truly visionary, inventive fashion photography? The latter takes time and effort to cultivate, the former is easy and allows them to pat themselves on the back for discovering an unending parade of 'new talent'. A Vogue cover used to be a big deal to young photographers, one that took years of work to achieve. Today, it feels like any 'cool' young photographer can and will get the chance to shoot their own cover of Vogue (at least for VI and Vogue France), despite their lack of experience and clear understanding of the art of fashion photography. Of course, this goes beyond any single magazine and is evident in editorial and advertising imagery across the industry.

Am I being too nostalgic and harsh in my assessment of contemporary fashion photography? Is it just that the nature of fashion photography has changed in the 21st century? Is the fantasy, glamour and skill in the depiction of fashion a relic of an era of print magazines and advertising, to be replaced by an endless stream of dull, disposable and forgettable imagery of clothes in the digital era? Will E-commerce type imagery slowly become the norm?...effective and to-the-point.

Let me know your thoughts on the subject

 

[Phuel]

Not harsh enough. Just means you’re not a sheep accepting mediocrity as the new black LOL That’s the state of fashion photography in 2023: It's just catalogue/product/content to appease the masses that won’t be remembered after a week it’s come out— like everything else in fashion nowadays.

There are oases exceptions if you look long enough: quiet and still radiant new talents like Annemarieke van Drimmelen and Alique; older but still contributing talents like Kodo Bolofo and Norman Jean Roy; many of the Chinese photographers that shoot for GQ China— but strangely, not for Vogue China; even the occasional Western publication, like the current issue of W Magazine with Tim Walker’s gorgeous shoot… And these occasional, quiet peeks of lightning piercing high standards gives that small glimmer of hope that the brand of masterclass sensibility that those of us were so fortunate, so privileged to have experienced as the standard, are still a standard to some still contributing to the industry in 2023. And that’s a hopeful sign that these basic, bland banal fashion days will pass— along with Vogue.

 

[NYLA22]

Looking at the dire state of the 'big 4' Vogues got me wondering whether we are witnessing an era in which the art of fashion photography is in decline? Despite what many think, fashion photography is a skill that not everyone has and an art only in the hands of the greatest image makers of the medium. From Steichen to Man Ray, to Avedon Penn, Meisel, Weber and Lindbergh; all understood the importance of not only documenting the formal elements of garments, but the importance of imbuing said garments with a sense of fantasy in order to sell them to the women (and men) who could afford them. Not only did they have a superior grasp of the formal elements of image-making like lighting and composition, but each had a singular vision of women, beauty and the human form, which was difficult to imitate.

By contrast, the newer guard of photographers emerging in fashion seem less concerned with the documenting and selling of clothes, and more concerned with their own 'aesthetic' and the images will garner them the most likes, reblogs, shares, etc. on social media. They are a generation that has come of age on social media, keenly aware of the formulaic approach to imagery that will resonate most with the masses. At best, these are desktop wallpaper kinds of images...pretty and inoffensive, but devoid of any real emotion or feeling. Technically sound fashion imagery is a feat in and of itself in today's lesser times and there are those who try in this regards, but I have yet to see a truly visionary fashion photographer emerge in the last decade, one whose work cannot easily be copied because it is not simply an aesthetic. That said, who can blame these young photographers when they are working in an era where brands, designers, art directors and magazines are more interested in endless streams of disposable 'content' to be shared across web and social media channels than in truly visionary, inventive fashion photography? The latter takes time and effort to cultivate, the former is easy and allows them to pat themselves on the back for discovering an unending parade of 'new talent'. A Vogue cover used to be a big deal to young photographers, one that took years of work to achieve. Today, it feels like any 'cool' young photographer can and will get the chance to shoot their own cover of Vogue (at least for VI and Vogue France), despite their lack of experience and clear understanding of the art of fashion photography. Of course, this goes beyond any single magazine and is evident in editorial and advertising imagery across the industry.

Am I being too nostalgic and harsh in my assessment of contemporary fashion photography? Is it just that the nature of fashion photography has changed in the 21st century? Is the fantasy, glamour and skill in the depiction of fashion a relic of an era of print magazines and advertising, to be replaced by an endless stream of dull, disposable and forgettable imagery of clothes in the digital era? Will E-commerce type imagery slowly become the norm?...effective and to-the-point.

Let me know your thoughts on the subject

You aren't being too nostalgic, you are entirely correct. Social media has destroyed and degraded so many things, including fashion photography. The work is no longer "the thing." What matters in our current environment is the identity of the photographer and how they can best serve their own interests (by getting the most likes, by showing off their cultural bona fides, by getting an editorial job simply in order to get a more lucrative commercial collaboration).

This will be a controversial statement, but my theory is this: the current aesthetic of Vogue and the mainstream high-end fashion world is to be purposefully ugly. Elegance, sophistication, beauty? These are now considered "elitist" (whatever the hell that means to the Instagram/TikTok generation), and so we now have to shun any traditional ideas of beauty to serve the social media masses. We have lost an entire generation of photographers at the level of Weber, Walker, Klein and Meisel to this sea of mediocrity that has been thrust upon us with the current group.

The only way to keep my sanity is to turn to the past (books/monographs, old issues of Vogue, Dennis Freedman-era W and Tilberis-era Harper's Bazaar), which is really sad. And I'm not even that old! I just can't stand this generation's aesthetic sensibilities and they're being so offended by everything that they can only produce neutered, mediocre, boring and predictable images. It doesn't help that Condé Nast and especially Anna Wintour have simply caved in to all of it. No standards, just pandering and living in fear of the social media mob.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ Not controversial at all. Just an unpopular truth. Although the deliberate move of these publications to cast and shoot individuals to represent the everyday people is more a result of laziness, inexperience and lack of creativity of their chosen representation tokens that’s very politically driven. That’s just the way it is now. because quick soundbites and tagged memes are what dominates socials and the masses’ impression of everything. No one wants to invest the time and hard work to research, produce their individual POV in anything anymore— let alone in the realm of fashion. The fashion industry knows this and these “ugly” imageries— which are just a quick and sloppy manner of which to pander and appease the masses but packaged as “representation", are the result. The days of Tim Walker and the W Magazine crew planning for over a year to shoot the magical “Far Far From Land” story; Vreeland and Avedon’s legendary million dollar Vogue story with Veruschka “The Great Fur Caravan; Liz's x Fabien’s Linda cover ushering in “Enter The Era of Elegance”— just to name a few, are of a bygone era. There will never be editors, creative directors, photographers, models and designers of their greatest calibre ever again because beauty of that calibre is no longer the goal— because it’s so very hard to achieve. At least not in our lifetime.