American Apparel

A recent American Apparel billboard

American Apparel is a clothing manufactuter in the United states. They do all the design, marketing, and advertsing themselves and have built up a repuation of being one of the "coolest" brands among teens. They are best known for their use of block colour in their clothing which has expanded from just T-shirts to   full male and female ranges and even down to clothes for dogs. Aside from their clothes the biggest thing they are known for is their adverts.

They are known for producting provocative and controversial ads featuring models who are their own employees, people who have sent their won images directly to the company or even recruited on the street by Dov Charney, the company's President and CEO. Their style is instantly regoniseable and this has been a big part to who the company has gain such a following. Their adverts have been described as "sexually charged" and feature the models in a very honest way. They show all their natural blemishes and imperfections in natural states, as if they have been caught just wearing the clothes themselves casually.

Although they have received a fair amount of critisism for their ads, they have also recived praise for their honest portrayl of woman and the fact no editing is done before publication. They have also won awards for these ads for the way such a simple advert has almost instant brand regonition.

This is my favourite type of fashion photography. When comparing these images to the black and white studio one I posted earlier you can see what I mean when I say these feel so much more "real". This is probably because to an extent they are. As I said before, most of the time the models are just normal women in settings they are comfortable in. I think this style embodies the way I feel about people photography and fashion photography in one and I am always greatly inspired by them.

This is my favourite image I haev found. The powerful composition matched with the simple and unobtrusive branding is what I love. 

Narrowing myself down

I have never been able to label myself as a photographer or the style I like the best. I like to use film the majority of the time and photograph anything and everything that I see and like. Unfortunately I don't think that will make me much money in life so I need to narrow myself down and bit and get a clearer picture of myself as a photographer. 

I know I like film over digital which is a big point. Thats not to say I can't use or appreciate digital. There are obviously times where it is much better suited for the job. Also the convenicene of it is a massive advantage over film in industries which require quick turnarounds and need to make sure they have the shots they require. 

I now need to work out what I enjoy shooting the most and where my strengths lie and how I can translate them into business. I think I am good a photographing people but in more of a casual way rather than in more of a seriously model way. I strongly dislike images like the one below. 

Ignoring this particular photo, it is just an example.

I don't like how fake it feels for one. Nothing about the image is real, the pose, the models skin and the setting. Everything is controlled and I personally find this boring. There is no excitement in this for me. I find it dull and uninspiring. I know I am perfectly capable with producing an image like this, and if I had to or was asked to I would have no problem with it. I just don't want to go out of my way to do things like this.

Fashion images like this I find much more interesting. When they are set in real world places and set up to acheive a particular look and overall mood. Images like these say so much more than ones like above even if they are also sometimes shot in studios with built sets. Although I like them I know I am not great at thinking up the overall look from nothing. I find it hard to think of ideas for fashion shoots like this which is why I usually shy away from it as a style. But if I come across somewhere that I feel could work, suddenly ideas come flowing. This is something I need to work on. 

For example I would probably find it hard to think of an idea like this but I do really like it and would love to try something like this. I suppose this may not be a huge problem for me if I was to get into this field as their are usually Artistic directors on shoots like this who would be in charge and aid the photographer with generating basic ideas. 

Promotion

I have been in contact with a few people recently about featuring me on their websites. This is what I need to to get my name out there as wella s my photos. The more people who have seen my work the better. 

Screenshot of the Hatch'd website.

The first is Hatch'd magazine. They are a non profit online magazine and network who promote creative arts in Derby. I recently exhibited some work at one of their events at Quad in Derby. The night is run every month and a wide selection of artists are chosen each time. The night I had work up there was a few other photographers who mainly did fashion/studio shoots so my work was a little different to others. There was also some graphic designers and sculptures showing pieces. 

Photo from the night. I'm on the right hand side "networking"!

I was very happy with the night as I talked to a lot of important and interesting people in the area which I otherwise probably wouldn't of had a chance to meet. I gave out plenty of business cards which I had printed so hopefully something will come from one of them.

They contacted me a few weeks after asking if I would like a feature on their website which I accepted. I am currently writing up the required text and am looking forward to the publicity I will gain from it. I am very hopeful with this avenue because the main traffic on the site will come from people who work in the Derbyshire area and usually are a little bit older than me with more professional experience. 

Their intro page.

The second is a online Blog called ill Sessions. They describe themselves as a lifestyle blog which basically means they post and promote things the contributors think will appeal to their audience. Their target market is a much younger and less serious market than Hatch'd but equally important. Most of their traffic will come from people who have an interest in things like video/photography, music and clothing but not necessarily involved professionally in them. 

Example of a feature on ill sessions

This however is where word of mouth can spread very quickly. As the audience id much younger they are more connected to the internet and technology than older generations and word of something that is "cool" can spread very quickly. If I can get noticed and gain some traction it could open a lot of doors as in communities like this  it may only take one or two people talking to be asked to do some photos of their interest (Such as Sports/live music/clothing lines).

I will post again when both of these are completed and hopefully something will come of them. Whatever happens though, free publicity can't hurt. 

Recent work

This is a selection of my personal work over the past few months leading up to this course to see where I am now.

Nikomat/35mm/HP5

Nikomat/35mm/Damaged XP2

Nikomat/35mm/Fuji colour film

Mamiya/Medium format/HP5 120 film.

Nikomat/35mm/Damaged Kodak colour film.

Nikomat/35mm/Fuji colour film.

Nikon D3X DSLR

Start.

Today is Saturday the 17th of September 2011 and it is the first day of this City and Guildscourse.

This is a two year course and by the end of it I hope to be in a much stronger position

professionally as I am now. I want to explore sides of photography I may not have given enough time over. I want to challenge myself to do more studio based work. Things like working with

built sets and with real models are just two things I think I should explore during this time.

I feel I haven't given things like that enough time. Also, although I have used the studio a few times by myself and with a group I would like to become much more confident with the lighting etc. I want to be able to feel I can lead a shoot from start to finish without any outside help.

My current crop of cameras are as follows. For any serious work which requires digital I use my Nikon D200. My everyday camera is a Nikon FTN which is a 35mm film camera from around the 1970's. With this I either use a 50mm/28mm or 105mm.

For my casual digital photography I use a Lumix TZ5 which I am looking to replace fairly soon with a Fuji X100.

On occasion I also use my Mamiya 645 which is a medium format camera. Due to the expense of buying and printing the 120 I rarely use that but with the darkroom here at Burton now being available to me I may have more chance to use it more. I would especially like to use it

in the studio in controlled circumstances.

Mamiya 645

Lumix TZ5

Nikon D200

Nikon FTN.