My most recent project…
At the start of my journey with this project, all I knew was that I was desperate to try filming out for the first time. From there, I shot roll after roll, figuring out where this project took me. Initially, I experimented with 35mm film on a Canon P, trying out many different shots. I took images of cars, landscapes, people in crowds and more. Originally, I thought of an idea surrounding the every day and capturing spatial yet mundane moments in the film. However, as my project grew, I couldn’t deny how badly I was being drawn towards trying out what my usual editorial fashion styles would look like on film. This was new territory and gave my project a spark of life it was missing before. The first time I ever tried medium format film, I shot a few images in an editorial fashion style in my backyard, and the results led to the rest of my project following this shoot. I fell in love with 120mm film and the un-matchable look and quality it gave. After experimenting a lot with 35mm film trying out different dresses, shoes, and models, I picked the perfect location and went for my final shots. I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
The best way to explain the message of my project is my artist statement -
My project is playing in the world of editorial fashion photography in an attempt to spark conversations about how women are portrayed throughout the fashion industry. Like many other female photographers, I feel that women are portrayed in an unsatisfying, unoriginal and repetitive way in popular magazines. What this project seeks to do is comment on these issues by veering away from the stereotypical, highly polished and airbrushed aesthetic. The focus here is on the concept of natural beauty. I have created these images using medium format film, slowing down my practice and allowing my passion for minimal intervention in the process between subject and audience. I have taken my time to frame the natural landscape with the inherent beauty of the subjects in the hope of bringing a balance of fashion within nature. I hope these images give a better sense of representation for women in fashion and go some small way to challenge the industry's current social norms and ideals, stripping back, keeping it simple and promoting honest imagery.
The way that I grew up seeing models in fashion magazines being very polished, clean and the models looked perfect. I hated feeling like this was what I needed to look like, what I needed to act like or what types of photographs I had to take if I wanted to photograph fashion. The way it felt to make fashion images that represented the way I thought of natural beauty and natural settings gave me the inspiration to create this project. I wanted to show how i felt about natural beauty and how much I think it needs to be represented in the fashion industry. The way I choose to take my imagery in the forest surrounded by the trees, soil and sky I feel gave my project some life into it. Combining the natural settings found around me to enhance my model not strip her back made my images stronger and helped bring the project together. This project is something I don’t think will ever end or come to any natural conclusion as there is no end to the beautiful natural surroundings and no end to fashion. I cant wait to see how this project will continue to grow.
