Here is the final product of my photo-book ,I believe that this turned out quite nicely and even though it wasn’t what I had originally planned it have some better features added. Originally I wanted to make this photo book look more like a magazine with boxes of writing and the. Pictures next to it, however it was quite difficult to figure out what to write in those boxes, therefore I replaced those pages either a blank page filled either one single word or a quote from a famous individual known in the fashion industry. I also changed the colour of the background to make it less boring and more different, I did get his inspiration from previous fashion magazines found online.As you can see I changed the background colour from white to black on some of the pages and this was so that I could add the light drawings in and make them look like they are floating and blending in, it helps to make the magazine less tacky. I really like the idea of putting quotes in the magazine as it does help to add a narrative and a perspective to the magazine. It almost adds a character and should be seen as an inspiration to others who read it . One thing I did struggle with was the front cover as I had edited it in photoshop adding a vogue sign in it to help make the magazine and then the whole edited picture didn’t fit in the book layout ,so I had to re edit it and move it around to make it look right. I also added my essay in my final book layout as it helped to add a magazine look, most magazines have pages of writing written in columns and I thought it would look better with the essay added at the end . Overall, I do feel like if I had captured few more pictures, it even some candid pictures it would have looked a little bit better and more interesting, thought I am quite pleased with the outcome even if there is room to improve.

How has the evolution of fashion photography, from controlled studio setting to dynamic street environments, reflected a shift towards the aesthetic and principle of documentary photography? 

“To collect photographs is to collect the world”, said critic and writer Susan Sontag in her influential book, On Photography. The main question is; which world do you want to capture. My main focus is to explore why photographers use a type of documentary photograph to express themselves, and why the documentary photography style has become more popular over the years. Each photographer has a different desire to capture different images, whether it’s to tell the truth or portray a lie. Looking at the influential photographer William Klein, a photographer, film maker, painter, writer, graphic designer and a maker of books. William Klein turned fashion photography into something much bigger than it was worshipped as, he took his ideas and made them alive, more vigorous. Fashion photography has always reflected social and artistic trends, creating an idealised, unblemished photograph, it was a way of expressing the ‘perfect’ truth. Fashion photography was out there to capture something beautiful but after the growth of street photography, the truth began to shift, and the crudeness of the world was starting to show. William Klein combined the two elements of fashion and street photography together to stay away from the controlled studio and conventional poses used by his models, he liked the idea of a chaotic environment interrupting his photographs. While looking at another photographer, Vivian Maier, she took candid images of people on the streets, no matter the circumstance. Maier was known to be very secretive and private and didn’t actually publish her photographs herself. Maier took her opportunity in life and made the most of it by capturing the world around her. ‘Well, I suppose nothing is meant to last forever. We have to make room for other people. It’s a wheel. You get on, you have to go to the end. And then somebody has the same opportunity to go to the end and so on.’ ( Vivian Maier), presenting herself as a selfless individual. Maier shows that she has a good eye on the essence of people’s everyday lives. Her photographs were more based on documenting social life rather than creating a fashion narrative. The evolution of fashion photography, from controlled studio settings to dynamic street environments, reflected a shift towards the aesthetic and principle of documentary photography through a cultural shift towards the real state of the world. Artists like Klein and Maier clasp the documentary aesthetic, challenging the norms of the world and making it bigger and more diverse for a wider community to use and understand . 

Documentary Photography:

‘Documentary photography is a style of photography that provides a straightforward and accurate representation of people, places, objects and events’ (Tate, 2017)

A documentary is meant to tell a story, show a narrative or a certain point of view. Documentary photography is almost a type of proof or sign that something happened, it’s a guidance to evidence. ‘The simultaneous “it was there’ (the pro-photographic event) and ‘I was there (the photographer) effect of the photographic record of people and circumstances contributes to the authority of the photographic image.’ (Wells 1998) This was stated by Liz Wells in her third edition book ‘Photography: The critical introduction’, Liz Wells explains in very great detail the importance of documentary photograph as it tells a deeper story than a painting, it hold more information and more detail, its seen as a bigger deal and provides a higher deal of accuracy.

Danielle Macinnes, 2024

While searching for a definition of documentary photography I came across a short power point called Documentary photography, visual storytelling, one quote that I saw was ‘documentary photography gave the idea a new life and social function. Neither art nor advertising, documentary drew on the idea of information as a creative education about actuality, life itself’, this is a perfect definition of what documentary photography is, it’s telling a story without words, just by looking at one image, you can see a whole story. I was also able to acquire some cultural and historical facts on documentary photography thanks to this power point, for example the reason for the documentary photography to been develop was thanks to the development of print technology, it also started in 1920-30s when magazines and publications such as Life Magazine in the USA, Picture Post in Britain, Vu in France, and many others, these magazines used photos to tell story and help grow markets. Researching on documentary photography, the ‘Photography: A critical Introduction by Liz Wells book was very influential and helped me understand the motive of documentary photography. ‘Photography is not so much concerned with the development of a new aesthetic as with the construction of new kinds of knowledge as the ‘carrier’ of facts.’ (Wells 1998) A documentary photograph is not always meant to look aesthetically pleasing, it can look more like an urgent cry, it’s a way of spreading information fast, however it doesn’t always tell the truth. Some people can exaggerate the truth and make it look worse than it is. thought documentary images can inform an audience about the hidden corners of contemporary life and even become part of the historical record. That is why it is cherished upon; it holds a great amount of value. 

William Klein:

Dorothy and Light Face, by William Klein, 1962

William Klein is a fashion photographer who exceeds with real talent, he is an American-born French photography who has an approach to both media and an extensive use of unusual photographic techniques in the context of photojournalism and fashion photography. William Klein’s techniques reach out to different surroundings, he doesn’t tend to stay in the studio while doing photoshoots, he explores the world, he has already been to New York, Tokyo, Paris and Rome, as he documented his surroundings, he has collected a range of images and has shown the cultural shift of the world. For example, how fashion has changed, it’s degraded, fashion is seen as a trend whereas Klein made it more of a desire. Although Klein’s photographs were staged, they still had factors of the environment and how it affected each country differently. Most of his fashion photoshoots used female models which could be part of the photographic gaze. Liz Wells, it describes the idea that women are put on show for male validation and enjoyment. ‘Images of women on screen are constructed for gratification for the male spectator’ (Wells 1998), it’s the idea of women being referred to as the pray, people admired women more on Vogue magazines and on display, they were the primary attention. This may be a reason William Klein used women in his fashion photography. Wells also states, ‘in patriarchal cultures the male I/eye is central within discourse and women is ‘other’; in psychoanalytic terms she is complexly constructed simultaneously the object of desire and a source of fears and insecurities’ (Wells 1998), women were more socially accepted as the cover of vogue, they represented the eye of fashion. It’s proven that women have historically made up the majority of the front-facing workforce at Vogue. Although they were never at the top of the market despite their efforts, they were always behind men. I don’t personally believe that William Klein meant to objectify women, but it could be seen as that problem. While looking more closely at Klein’s work I noticed that his work is very well linked with Henri Cartier Bresson theory of the decisive moment. Henri Cartier Bresson was known to be a humanist photographer, he more or less invented street photography and believes that there is a thing such as ‘decisive moment’, the perfect time to capture an image. Cartier Bresson described photography as a sense of hunting without killing, he is seeking to find the right people, place or time to capture an image that holds power. ‘His photographs may be summed up through a phrase of his own: “the decisive moment,’ the magical instant when the world falls into apparent order and meaning, and may be apprehended by a gifted photographer’ (reference source), while reading his bibliography, he stated that the world will fall into place to create an image that makes sense almost like putting all the pieces together to generate a meaning. Though some would say that these two artists are quite homogeneous, William Klein’s photographs are staged and don’t necessarily use the theory of the ‘decisive moment’. William tends to direct his own photos and knows what he is hunting for whereas Henri Cartier Bresson is hunting for whatever he is able to reach. William Klein does tend to use the streets when doing a documentary on fashion and achieves a great aesthetic of the dynamic street environment compared to the controlled studio settings. Klein showed to have an abstract background in art which helped to influence his fashion photography for vogue, he would experiment with light exposure, firstly he would capture photos of the model while the model holds a pose, then they would turn the lights off in the studio and someone would use flashlights to draw shapes in the air around the models body William Klein himself stated, ‘the result was terrific—it brought my early abstract experiments into my fashion work.’ (Klein) Overall, William Klein’s work was very successful and influenced a lot of people, he managed to collect raw, gritty, blurred, intensely emotional portraits of humanity that portrayed a side of America never seen on film and therefore became very important due to the documentary’s he had produced. 

my examples:

Vivian Maier:

Vivian Maier was known as a street photographer but sadly was only discovered after her death. A Chicago collector, John Maloof oversaw Vivian’s photos, and his mission was to promote the work of Vivian Maier, and to safeguard the archive for the benefit of future generations. Maier also kept every negative she had ever shot; she believed that they were important and could be useful in the future. As Maier had passed away, her photographs were later published, her images were found at a local thrift auction house on Chicago’s Northwest side in 2007, where John Maloof had visited and found a box of negatives depicting Chicago on the 60’s. Maier’s tended to go out in big cities and capture random people in the streets, it was stated by Maloof that, ‘from what I know, she never had a love life. Photography was the only thing she had. And if you expose your only emotional outlet, it’s vulnerable’ (Maloof), which suggests that Maier wasn’t taking these photographs for fame, she has a passion for street photography and discovering the truth behind the world, she seemed to have a real big belief on sonder, that everyone has a different life and is going through something, everyone is different. Vivian Maier’s photographs have included the theory of Henri Cartier-Bresson as she tends to take photos of the moment. She creates these images to have a strong significant meaning without using any words, it’s like a story but only through the use of photos, which can be quite hard to narrate. Vivian Maier also used the black and white effect to her images that exhibit a rich tonal range and a strong sense of contrast. The monochromatic approach lends a timeless quality to her photographs, allowing the viewers to focus on the subject matter and composition. While learning about documentary photography I came across a book called ‘Photography’ by Stephen Bull which stated, ‘in 1861 the British critic Jabez Hughes noticed that photography was generally used as a document, asking ‘may it not aspire to delineate beauty too?’ (Bull) Documentary photography is generally used to capture a certain idea, something that can represent itself as history, not something we see every day, which is like what Maier did, she took quite basic pictures of people’s everyday life, but these people aren’t necessarily going to be see again, they are people who pass you and don’t tend to come back, it’s a sign of history. I like the way Maier took her photos, she used a Rolleiflix twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera which was very small and always held by Maier’s waist, this helped to make Maier’s photos more candid as nobody was paying attention to the camera and forcing a smile or pose, everyone was natural. Maier never got rid of her images and saw potential in every single one, her photos expressed things that she couldn’t do, the camera is almost like a mask, it covers her identity and only reveals what she wants herself to be revealed as. Maier quoted, ‘if you really have something to say better to be behind the camera than in front of it.’ (Maier) It helps to show that Vivian Maier was very curious, she wanted to know the world. She also described herself as a spy, which is quite true due to the fact that she hides behind a camera, observing people not wanting anything from them, this is very relevant to Henri Cartier-Bresson work, he didn’t go out to capture anything specific but he sue did want to find an answer to his questions and that is why a camera is great for documenting, Vivian’s photos evaluate how differently everyone dresses and how it has changed since then, how the ‘snowflake’ generation is changing and criticising the old fashion, it’s almost like the world is put in the wrong hands and everything is decaying. Maier managed to influence many people with the way she displayed her images, Maier used reflections, layering, and sophisticated composition in her images which lead to you discovering new layers of characters and emotions. Overall, I really like Vivian’s concept of street photography and how her work has influenced documentary photography. 

Vivian Maier’s examples:

Conclusion:

Overall, both artists use a different approach to examine fashion photography and how it can be transformed into a documentary. Both artists have presented fashion photography as a well-known and successful theme used by Vogue and many other well-known companies. It could be quite hard for people to publish certain fashion categories as everyone has different taste in fashion and certain people may react differently if they see something that is not considered the norm but the way William Klein has presented his work shows that he isn’t bothered by how people present him to be. Whereas Vivian seems to be more hidden and doesn’t seem to be a fan of public appearances, she had never published her own work and if it wasn’t for Maloof, Vivian wouldn’t be a well-known photographer. I really like how fashion photography has been mixed with documentary photography as it really shows how fashion has evolved over the years and how the background of each photoshoot has changed. The background of each photoshoot has widened, a busy background is seen more and more in fashion photographs and a plain background could be considered boring. Willian Klein’s photographs portray the banality of everyday life and the mundane actions undertaken by the people walking in the streets around the world, he tries to be a participant of the photo. Vivian Maier’s photos portrayed marginalised people, including racial minorities and the socially deprived, showing that everyone is different and they shouldn’t be judged for it, both artists took a very different approach towards fashion photography as Vivian is embracing people that are considered as ‘different’ in today’s society whereas William Klein is searching to find something’ perfect’ an idealised representation that the world admires. Klein took photos for vogue which only wants to display something that is exquisite. While doing my photoshoots inspired by Willian Klein, I realised that the photos I was capturing weren’t normal photographs, they had elements of fashion, with the clothes my model was wearing and is showed a side of documentary photography with the people in the background, what I found difficult was when I was capturing these images in the streets most people would avoid going past the camera as they thought they would be disturbing the photograph, that has changed through generation as in William Klein’s and Vivian Maier’s photos most people wouldn’t be bothered by the camera and would carry on with their normal lives. 

Bibliography:

Sontag, S. (1977). In Plato’s Cave. [online] Available at: https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/chengphotoarth1100f2019/files/2018/02/Susan-Sontag-In-Platos-Cave.pdf.

Victoria and Albert Museum. (2021). 100 years of fashion photography · V&A. [online] Available at: https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/100-years-of-fashion-photography?

Miralles, N.-S. (2021). Inside Vogue, where women have the top jobs but men still rule. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2021/mar/21/inside-vogue-where-women-have-the-top-jobs-but-men-still-rule

Hackelbury Fine Art. (2025). William Klein – Works. [online] Available at: https://hackelbury.co.uk/artists/35-william-klein/works/18-fashion-light/

Wells L. (1998). ‘The Photographic Gaze’ in Photography: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge.

Soccio, L. (2020). Henri Cartier-Bresson. [online] International Center of Photography. Available at: https://www.icp.org/browse/archive/constituents/henri-cartier-bresson?all/all/all/all/0.

A short PPT on Documentary Photography

Wells L. (1998). ‘The Photograph as Document’ in Photography: A Critical Introduction. London: Routledge.

Vivian Maier Photographer. (n.d.). About Vivian Maier. [online] Available at: https://www.vivianmaier.com/about-vivian-maier/.

Bull, S. (2009), ‘The Photograph as Art’ in Photography. London: Routledge.

Matt, W. (2022). Influences of Vivian Maier – Wendi Matt. [online] Wendi Matt. Available at: https://wendimatt.com/influences-of-vivian-maier/.

Aesthetica Magazine. (2020). Aesthetica Magazine – Aesthetica Archives:Documentary Photography. [online] Available at: https://aestheticamagazine.com/aesthetica-archivesdocumentary-photography/ 

This photoshoot was inspired by William Klein, William Klein is one of the artists i’m inspired by. He does a light drawing photoshoot that is also inspired by fashion, which I thought would be a good experiment to try. This photoshoot was very difficult to do as I had to change the camera to a a low ISO of 100- 200 and change the shutter speed between 10-30 seconds to give me enough time to do some patterns with the light. I used a flashlight as the source of light, and it worked very well. However, it was more difficult to make patterns with the light as there were times when the light would be blurry or overpowered and took control of the whole photograph. I took some basic portraits of the model to be able to achieve the same work as Klein. I not too sure on the way Klein managed to succeed in this photoshoot as it was very challenging, the way I was able to make my photoshoot work as by photoshopping the images together. I had to edit the photos of the light with a very high contrast to be able to have the same look as Klein had achieved. I did try to create the same shapes as Klein did, but it didn’t work as I had planned therefore; I created my own shapes, and I believe it did work quite well. I used my school studio to create these images and didn’t exactly have this photoshoot in mind but thought it would be to try. The last photograph has a shape inspired by William Klein; however, the model isn’t doing the same pose as I wanted to try and make my images more unique. I went on photoshop to edit my photos, I firstly blended merged the images together and make sure the background colour and shade matched. I had to darken the background to make the light stand out more which as a slight shadow to the background, I used the brush tool to erase the light patches in the background. In some of the photos i kept the light shadow as it was harder to remove but it still had a cool effect on the photo. In one of the final pieces, I edited two different shaped lights into one photo which helped to make the image look more detailed and fuller. When doing research on William Kleins light drawing i came across some information ” Klein’s early paintings hints at an influence of the abstracted figural and still life works of Picasso, and by the graphics and designs of Bauhaus and Mondrian that later led to his mural paintings; while his fashion photography encapsulates the raw energy exuded by the streets of Paris.”, it is said that Klein did some fashion photography in the streets of Paris and didn’t really tend to make his light drawing images fashionable, instead it’s meant to capture more of an aesthetic. His work is very unique and has a different effect to his other work, he tends to make his images stand out by making them different to everyone else, for example instead of doing a normal fashion photoshoot in the studios he incorporates the streets instead which adds a minimalistic look. 

Final Pieces:

I would say that this photoshoot went quite well as I was able to capture some good images inspired by William Klein. I went around town with my model and tried to get some decent looking background, just like William did in New York, although jersey is a lot smaller and isn’t as posh as New York, I did manage to get a good set of images. My main goal was to try and find a wide cross walk so that I could recreate on of his famous photos, but I found it difficult and was only able to capture small cross walks, which isn’t bad but made it very difficult to make this photoshoot link in with my artist. I asked the model to pose for me in numerous places and even tried to get similar pictures to Klein’s, although it was difficult to get the model to wear a set of outstanding and bold clothes, I would say I still managed to get a similar aesthetic as I had planned to get. Most of the places in Jersey has scaffolding which doesn’t help and tends to make the image look very tacky, but that could a representation of what jersey is and how it is different to New York, jersey is a lot less busier and smaller, the population is lower and there are barely any shops left. This is what my hometown looks like and that is how it’s meaningful to me. After collecting these photo’s I then implanted them onto photoshop to edit the black and white effect just like Klein did to his. Though when I was editing, I realised that I was able to make my images different shades of black and white and add a tint of yellow to it, which made it look more unique and original. I will also be editing some other things on these images, to help present it better when constructing it into a book. For example, my plan is to make it look like a vogue magazine, so I will be implanting the vogue sign on the top and adding more detail to the bottom describing what my book is about. overall, this photoshoot went quite well and helped my get an understanding on the way William Klein photographed and how difficult it is to get decent images when in the middle of town, I did have certain goals when capturing my photographs and didn’t exactly manage to capture all of them but I did recreate one of William Klein’s photo with the model on the stairs walking it, but I did realise when I was photogating I wasn’t able to see the stairs so it didn’t really go as plan, so next time I do a photoshoot I will make sure to have a certain inspiration photograph to recreate and focus on one photograph at a time. I would also like to try and control my lighting a bit better as in some of the photographs they are darker and in others they are lighter, which doesn’t really help to balance the set of photographs I want to put together when contracting my Photobook/ magazine. I did find that when the model wasn’t looking directly at the camera it made the photograph look better, it added a sense of mystery and was overall just different from regular photographs of fashion photography, it almost added a style like Vivian Maier had in her candid photographs, I did also try and add different levelling when taking the photo just like Willian did, he tended to be higher up taking his models from above whereas I did the opposite and tried to get a shot of the models form below. I would definitely like to go back to town and get some more images with the same model wearing different clothing and try to find different surroundings, possibly when its busier as in Williams Klein’s images he always had people in background of his photographs. 

UNDERSTANDING PHOTOBOOKS:
NARRATIVE, EDITING, SEQUENCING, DESIGN, FORM, FUNCTION 

1. Research a photo-book and describe the story it is communicating  with reference to subject-matter, genre and approach to image-making.

2. Who is the photographer? Why did he/she make it? (intentions/ reasons) Who is it for? (audience) How was it received? (any press, reviews, awards, legacy etc.)

3. Deconstruct the narrative, concept and design of the book and apply theory above when considering:

• Book in hand: how does it feel? Smell, sniff the paper.
• Paper and ink: use of different paper/ textures/ colour or B&W or both.
• Format, size and orientation: portraiture/ landscape/ square/ A5, A4, A3 / number of pages.
• Binding, soft/hard cover. image wrap/dust jacket. saddle stitch/swiss binding/ Japanese stab-binding/ leperello
• Cover: linen/ card. graphic/ printed image. embossed/ debossed. letterpress/ silkscreen/hot-stamping.
• Title: literal or poetic / relevant or intriguing.
• Narrative: what is the story/ subject-matter. How is it told?
• Structure and architecture: how design/ repeating motifs/ or specific features develops a concept or construct a narrative.
• Design and layout: image size on pages/ single page, double-spread/ images/ grid, fold- outs/ inserts.
• Editing and sequencing: selection of images/ juxtaposition of photographs/ editing process.
• Images and text: are they linked? Introduction/ essay/ statement by artists or others.  Use of captions (if any.)

Vivian Maier: Street Photography

This photobook is not very colourful but still has a way of standing out, the front cover is a picture of Vivian Maier herself, in a black and white effect, her photograph exhibit a rich tonal range and a strong sense of contrast. This monochromatic approach lends a timeless quality to her photographs, allowing the viewer to focus on the subject matter and composition. Maier’s aim was to take pictures to show that the world keeps spinning no matter what happens, its a moment in time.  “She had a tentacular way of embracing the world, picking up little narratives she found just in the street or wherever—little things.” she liked making small things into something important, as all her photographs have a strong meaning to them.

This book has a dust jacket, with all the details attached. The actual book itself has a grey hard cover and is quite plain, the dusk jacket provides the information needed for the viewers, with the author, the book name and what the book is about, this would also be called an image wrap due to the image of Vivian taking up the whole page. The format of this is book shows an A3 portrait book with the length of 10.125 x 11.25 inches, 136 pages included, the title is relevant to the book but it is quite basic but literal, its an open title, stays original. The book was published on November 16, 2011. The editing of this photobook was very put together, they made sure to put photos that link together to make the book more powerful. for example, they had put an photograph of a man on a horse walking through New York next to a man wearing a cowboy costume, they link and make the book relevant. The photograph are also put on with a white border leaving space around the photograph.

The Book does have an introduction written by John Maloof who had found Maier’s photos, he describes how he had stumbled onto Maier’s work and what they had done to him. He also implied how Maier’s photos had a sense of hunger. They showed how curious Vivian was and exactly what she had found. He states how grateful he is to have an opportunity to find these photographs and is happy to share them to the world he describes it as “a simultaneously a very humbling and extremely surreal experience”. Geoff Dyer, also created a piece of writing based on Maier stating that Maier represents an extreme instance of posthumous discovery. At the end of the book there is a page dedicated to acknowledgments thanking the many other people who helped with the findings and history of Vivian Maier, with the last pictures being pictures Vivian taken by herself through the use of a Mirror or a window. Vivian would tend to find multiple mirrors around her and wouldn’t hesitate to snap an image of herself, this becomes very useful for John Maloof to get an idea on who Vivian Maier really was. Most of the paper was white but at the end of the book the paper become black, attached with the photograph of Maier. This could be a sign of dedication towards Vivian and all her work and how it has changed street photography and how people have a different perspective of the world.

Vivian Maier’s, street photography photobook, edited by John Maloof, in 2007 Maloof discovered Maier’s negatives, Maier was deeply interested in the world around her. She started photography in 1950s until the late 1990s where she started to photograph everything around her, she took over 100,000 photographs worldwide— from France to New York City to Chicago and dozens of other countries, she didn’t seem to get rid of any of her photographs either almost as it was a sign of the past, the past that you cant get back. It was said that Maier had lost her possession of her art when her storage locker was sold off for non-payment. she had later passed away in 2009 at the age of 83. One quote that Maier used that influenced many people including Maloof was ” we have to make room for other people. it’s a wheel- you get on, you go to the end, and someone else has the same opportunity to go to the end, and so on, and somebody else takes their place. There’s nothing new under the sun.” it’s representation of life and death, everyone should get the same opportunities

MORE ABOUT VIVIAN MAIER:

Vivian Maier was seen as a person who fit the stereotypical European sensibilities of an independent liberated woman, accent and all, yet born in New York City. she was seen as very  guarded and private and didn’t seem to share anything with the world, Vivian would go to amass a group of storage lockers stuffed to the brim with found items, art books, newspaper clippings, home films, as well as political tchotchkes and knick-knacks. Vivian was firstly known as a nanny, by only a certain amount of people then become recognised thanks to he incidentally recorded marvels and peculiarities of Urban America in the second half of the twentieth century. Her images become very famous due to the unknown and sense of mystery that was added, every person she photographed was natural and didn’t react to her photographing them, mostly as her images were candid and she was hidden from the world.  Vivian bounced between Europe and the United States before coming back to New York City in 1951. By 1956 Vivian left the East Coast for Chicago, where she’d spend most of the rest of her life working as a caregiver. Vivian had unfortunately became poor and was saved by three of the children she had nannied earlier on in her life. They had remembered Maier as a second mother, they had assembled together to pay for an apartment and took the best of care for her. However, one of Vivian’s storage lockers was auctioned off due to the delay of payments. In those storage lockers lay the massive hoard of negatives Maier secretly stashed throughout her lifetime. Later on in 2007, John Maloof had discovered most of Maier’s negatives and had later published her photos for the world to see. Now, with roughly 90% of her archive reconstructed, Vivian’s work is part of a renaissance in interest in the art of Street Photography.

Shoot 2: arrange for a few friends to act as models and produce a fashion shoot using an urban/ street setting. (choose right time of the day), select appropriate location/ environment, models clothes, hair, make-up, poses and expressions.

Prompt style

William Klein’s visual style is bold and dynamic, capturing the energy and chaos of urban life. His high contrast black and white images are gritty and raw, often featuring unconventional compositions and close-up shots. Klein’s photographs are a visual assault on the senses, reflecting the vibrancy and intensity of the cities he captures.

Although these images are bot created, I do feel like I could recreate these, having some of my friends dress up and have quite bold makeup, not too much but enough to notice it. I could get them to look to at the camera or look away, i would only get their head and shoulders into the frame, and the background, I would need to town while it’s somewhat busy and have them stand still while I try and capture some good images. Although this is slightly different from William Klein’s images. It still has a small element of his work. The idea that they are dressed up all fancy and in the middle of the streets, almost as if the streets play a role as the studio where they are being photographed, which I quite like. It could be quite hard to capture as people in the background would be moving, therefore I would have to make sure my camera settings are right, I need to try and take the images during the day so that the models have more light on them. I do like how these images are in black and white as there isn’t anything in the background taking the attention away from the model. For example, the image on the top right has quite a few people in the background but there is something special about the model that stands out. It could be due to the fact that the model is in the centre of the image and most of her body is seen in the image or that her facial features tend to be the darkest and stand out the most. 

I would also like to try and get some staged images of the models in full, meaning having them stand in town and possibly pose for me or stand however they would like while they are dressed up. I would be using the town as my studio. Although the model is very important in my images but the people in the background hold a big importance as they are going to be in each image I take, the background will change every photo. I feel like when dong my photoshoot, the process of getting the model ready will take quite a long time as I need to make sure they stand out from the rest, they either have more dressed up clothing or more makeup than other, although in town I could come across other people dressed up, it could add to my image and make it look more mysterious. One thing William Klein kept in his images was the background focus, he didn’t blur the background which make everything important in the image, I feel like I would like to try and make the background blurry, this would make my images more original to me, it would also make the model in full focus, I don’t want to make the background too blurry that the background is unnoticeable . When dressing up my model I do need to be careful in the clothing that the model is wearing as my images will turn black and white. 

I would also like to try and get different poses where the model is looking at the camera and when the model is not looking to be able to see the difference, and spot which image holds more power. I believe that the model not focusing on the camera could make the image look better and more dynamic. William Klein has a mixture of images that I have taken inspiration from, and I believe his work will help me a lot during this project. I really like the bottom image on the left, where the model is walking across a zebra crossing as the model is wearing some stripes on her dress which blends well with the surroundings, this photo is obviously planned but that doesn’t take any of the meaning away from it. There is also another model in the background wearing a similar dress but in white. This makes the image look more detailed and it’s also showing me that no one else in the background is looking at the model in the black dress except the other model, even though they stand out they don’t catch other people’s attention, it’s almost a way of saying people can judge you but other people aren’t bothered about your presence so it doesn’t matter what your wearing, as long as your content.

Shoot 1. candid approach first applying Cartier-Bresson and his decisive moment.

The aim for this first photoshoot would be to take candid images, capture the moment as it is, most likely adding some of Henry Cartier-Bresson’s decisive moment to my images, the idea that each moment we are living can be capture at the right time, the idea of hunting for people without killing them, you are searching for a perfect place to capture the deal image. The aim is to avoid making your images staged, you just want to show up and take some photos, photos that aren’t planned and just captured on the spot. To try and recreate these images but in my own way, I’m going to go through town and observe people and see if any of them capture my eye, it may be more difficult to take some images of people in town as its quite small and people may spot me and look in direction of the camera which defeats the whole aim of the photos. I think something that might help me is instead of taking one photo of the scene in front of me, I should take multiple so that I have a selection of choice and then choose the best image for my project. When in town I could look for anything that is colourful that way my images aren’t just colourless and lifeless. I do like how many of Vivian Maier’s are in black and white, but her coloured images are powerful in showing meaning. The way that the people in the photo below are all wearing yellow, which doesn’t seem to be planned, it shows that everyone is different, but people do have similarities and similar interests. Town would be the best place for me to capture some images as its always quite busy and the is always something gong. I would need to try and go to town before it gets dark as none of Vivian’s images were taken at night time. town would also be busier during the day. 

This photo from Vivian Maier is in colour and follows a colour pattern, the main people in focus are wearing the same colour, yellow, this makes them stand out but it’s also quite unusual on how they are matching, this is most definitely staged but the way that the models aren’t paying attention to Maier camera makes it look a lot better. Each model is focused on something different which helps to see that they aren’t together, they are just minding their own business, although in this image the two males seem to be wearing the same trousers with the exact same socks which could indicate that they know each other but the idea of the image is for us to work out. It would be a really big coincidence if they didn’t know each other, however in this case I believe that they know each other but they are not bothered about how they are dressed, this seems to be normal to them, just walking round town not really bothered about the people around them, as you would do normally which shows us that what they are wearing isn’t what makes the image powerful it does help to make the image more vibrant and eye catching but that’s not the main idea of this image. It’s the idea that its a candid image, the models aren’t aware that they are being photographed therefore they are posing for an image, and if they were to pose it would change the whole idea and point of view on the image.

This image is quite powerful as it has two females staring at the camera, they are quite blurry and out of focus and the 5 men on the other side of the road are all wearing suits and look like businessmen, the lady on the right looks quite angry and judgemental whereas the other women on the left looks worried or scared, it could be a portray of events, men seem to be fearless standing on the pavement talking to each other while the ladies are looking worried and concerned or even just mad that they are in their view. “A photograph is a secret about a secret,” Diane Arbus said. In the case of Vivian Maier, the photographer was a secret, too. This could suggest that Maier’s images were quite secretive, their real meanings were never exposed, while doing some research I’ve noticed that Vivian Maier has been through some type of abuse and tends to keep very secretive and doesn’t really share anything about herself to anyone.

Plan:

Go into town and take pictures like Vivian Maier, waist level and catch people off guard, making sure they aren’t looking at the camera but at me or anywhere else. Although Vivian lives in a big city crowded with people and all these images were taken around 1949 which makes her images very old fashioned most people would wear different clothes now as generations change and people.

try not to look for things that stand out and just take photographs of things around you.

Although if colours are present they could make good images. (colours people are wearing, different types of clothes)

decisive moment (Henry Cartier-Bresson)

keep images in colour

Vivian Maier:

This image was taken by Vivian Maier, this is an example of candid photography. Where the people aren’t aware that they are being photographed. As you can see the little boy is looking at Maier and not the camera which shows that the camera is not distracting anyone from doing their everyday things. This image has a dynamic composition that draws the viewer’s eyes to the interaction between the two central figures. The diagonal in their posture adds visual energy. There is a strong tonal contrast between the light and dark areas, typical of black and white photographs. The lighter tones would be found on the central figures, their clothes contrast with the dark background details like the building and pedestrians. The juxtaposition of the man tying his sons shows on his knee creates a quirky and unexpected look. This photo has a very busy background which adds loads of details to the image, the fact that there are other people in the photo makes it look better, it helps to add more effect to the image. This image shows us a bond between what looks like to be son and father, this could be seen as a wholesome photo to some people, however others may think that this is a just an average image, many people can interpret different things to one image. I would say that this son and father have quite a good relationship, but it could be just for show, one image can’t tell you the whole story. It seems to be quite early, and the dad is bringing the son to school, they are dressed up in fancier clothes than everyday wear. Although this could be what they wear every day and they are just rich, back in the day and still now richer people tend to always be wearing suits rather than jeans and a top. The whole point of this image can show us that there is a lot more meaning behind an image that you may interpret. There is a lot of detail in this image that can lead to people thinking certain things about this image, really people are just guessing. This image is seen as quite modern due to the black and white effect given to the image. One thing that is controversial is the truth behind this image, different people have different views and spot different things first, it’s all about what Maier wants to represent that is important otherwise this image could mean anything. Vivian Maier states that the moment that she has photographed is forever gone, it will only happen once. This could make this photograph a lot more meaningful whether the two main people in this photograph as still alive or if they still have a close bond, there could be a plot twist where both the little boy and older man don’t know each other and its fully staged, although I do know that Maier’s images are not staged but they could still have a completely different interpretation that the viewers may perceive. Vivian states “I am a sort of spy” suggesting that she keeps an eye of her surroundings and tries to capture anything that is unusual. Things that stand out, any unspoken narratives that aren’t always visible to the naked eye. Sometimes the camera picks up things that we don’t, for example Maier’s focus would be the two boys/men in the image and not quite whets in the background, the fact that there are vans and cars help to make the image more alive and detailed. This image shows the history of what New York used to look like, things have changed such as the buildings, the roads, many plants in the surroundings and signs. It’s a captured image of the past. I do like how in the background it almost looks foggy which could be due to the black and white effect, but it almost adds its mysterious look to the photograph. It could also be the clouds as it doesn’t look like it would’ve been a good day. Overall, I do like this photo as it holds many different meanings to different people. 

Vivian Maier captures images of the street but also makes sure that there are people in the background, whether the people were aware they were being photographed or not. These images are quite like William Klein’s as they capture the natural beauty of the streets, not just what objects are seen but the people as well. Although William Klein’s photos are based on the way people are dressed and their style, he liked to use the streets as his studio. Whereas Vivian Maier is more observant on what people are doing, her images tend to be less staged where people are doing normal activities but notice the camera and stop what they are doing midway through. Her images tend to focus on one or two people and each image holds different emotions. Her images are black and white which helps to lend a timeless quality to her photographs, allowing the viewer to focus on the subject matter and composition. I feel that her images being in black and white makes the images stop in time, almost as if that moment is stuck forever, although all images are a representation of the past and can never be lived again, Maier photos make me believe that the moment she captured is forever gone, her images are quite nostalgic. The black and white effect usually makes the image hold emotions such as happiness, sadness or confusion. it also can depict the passage of time or the changing of seasons. Possibly a major event happened before or after these images were taken, which makes them look strange in way that there is something else happening in the image, but we don’t know, we can only see a small section of the image. Her images were taken in New York city and Chicago, which helps to make the image look very busy, she found a good surrounding to take her images with all the other citizens walking around minding their own business. Vivian Maier also used the Rolleiflex twin-lens reflex (TLR) camera which was quite discreet and not many people would notice it unless they paid specific attention to it. It was a waist-level camera, and most people would tend to look at Vivian and not notice the camera and that is ow she managed to capture her images. 

Vivian sadly passed away therefore doesn’t own her own images, A Chicago collector, John Maloof oversaw Vivian’s photos, and his mission was to promote the work of Vivian Maier, and to safeguard the archive for the benefit of future generations. Vivian also kept every negative she had ever shot; she believed that they were important and could be useful in the future. As Maier had passed away, her photos were published, her images were found at a local thrift auction house on Chicago’s Northwest side in 2007, where John had visited to find material for the book up for auction and instead, he found a box of negatives depicting Chicago on the 60’s. Although she wasn’t known when she was alive as she worked as a professional nanny for more than 40 years, during which she secretly took more than 150,000 photographs. her photographs were only revealed in July 2008 by Slattery; however, they don’t really get much notice until October 2009 when Maloof linked his blog to a selection of Maier’s photographs on the image-sharing website, that’s when her work became viral with thousands of people expressing interest. Although Maloof owns about 90% of Maier’s work another man named Jeffrey Goldstein a Chicago-based collector, also began to amass a collection of Maier’s works.  Maloof and Goldstein’s ownership was, however, legally limited. 

William Klein (1828-2023) was an American born French photographer, filmmaker and graphic designer, widely regarded as one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. He is known for his ground-breaking approach to both fashion and street photography, Klein revolutionised the visual language of photography with his unconventional style. Klein’s work would often break traditional rules, favouring spontaneity, high contrast, and bold composition. He is known for shooting with wide angle lenses, capturing dynamic and chaotic moments, often with blurred motion, grain, and stark contrast. His photos were raw, candid, and sometimes confrontational, focusing on the energy and diversity of urban life, particularly in New York, Paris and other major cities. One of his most iconic works would be “New York” (1956), a photo book that marked a major departure from traditional fashion and street photography. His images, often featuring stark juxtaposition and chaotic city scenes, helped redefine the concept of urban photography. Klein’s work also included fashion photography for vogue, when he introduced a more spontaneous and edgy style that contrasted with the highly polished approach typically associated with the magazine. 

Rejection of traditional fashion norms: Klein’s fashion photography was revolutionary because he rejected the idealised, glamorous aesthetic that dominated the industry at the time. He often shot in urban settings rather than controlled studio environments, preferring the grit and spontaneity of the streets. This made his images more alive and unique compared to polished, staged looks that were the norm. 

Dynamic, Candid shots: Instead of the carefully posed, idealised models typically seen in magazines, Klein’s photos captured models in motion, often blurred or interacting with their surroundings. This gave his images a sense of energy or urgency. He was also known for using wide- angle lenses to distort and exaggerate perspectives, which further intensified the impact on his upcoming photographs. 

Use of high contrasts and grain: Klein was known for his high contrasted black and white images that featured deep shadows and bright highlights. He also embraced grainy textures in his work, often resulting from shooting fast film in challenging lighting conditions. This gave his photos a gritty, almost rough aesthetic, in stark contrast to the soft-focus images commonly used in high- fashion magazines. 

Controversy and provocation: Klein’s approach to fashion photography often provoked controversy. For example, his photos sometimes depicted the models as “imperfect” with wrinkles, motion blur or awkward poses. He also frequently introduced elements of social critique, incorporating elements of the political and cultural landscapes into his work. Most of his images were positioned in working class environments. 

Klein’s initial interest in photography developed during his time in Paris in the early 1950s, It was there that he met the photographer and painter brassai, who had a significant influence on him. Brassai encouraged him to take up photography, Klein then began taking photos realising that paintings couldn’t capture moments and stories like a camera could. 

One of William Klein’s most famous work would be these photographs above referred to as Dorothy + Japanese lights or Dorothy juggling with light balls from his Paris + light series in 1962. Klein’s approach was revolutionary, blending high fashion with urban dynamism and experimentation. The image features a model, Dorothy, engaging with illuminated balls in theatrical, surreal composition, set against Klein’s distinctive use of emphasising energy and spontaneity. This work was created using the gelatine silver print process and reflects Klein’s signature avant-garde style that merged fine art with fashion and street photography. part of a limited-edition series, the print is valued not only for its aesthetic quantities but also as a cultural artefact that captures Klein’s innovative spirit and his influence on photography during the mid-20th century. 

His images are hugely different an unusual from the rest as some would say that they are not necessarily staged and that the model is just misplaced, it is a way of reflecting how one individual might feel, misplaced, they do not belong there because they are too different. All the other people in the image are unaware that they are in a photo which makes the image even more powerful, it could show that people are uncomfortable where they are, they don’t fit in in society and nobody around them is aware of that, they are clueless as they are focusing on their own lives, although many other people in this photograph may be feeling this, William has focused on the one wearing the “fashionable clothes”. Although that isn’t what William Klein is going for, it does show that not all images have intentional factors, Klein’s imagery was inspired by tabloid sensationalism, overturning established styles in street and fashion photography, Klein liked the idea of mixing the street background with the fashion photography, he didn’t like the basic studio that models would pose in so he tried to charge it and make it more personal. I really like how his images turned out as the mixture of the streets and fashion could be seen as opposites, the streets are normally dirty and full of people, but Klein made sure that the backgrounds in the images were all neutral, I also like that all his images are in black and white as that adds a modern look but also stops all the colourful items in the background taking the attention, the main focus would be the model that is in the middle of the street looking different from everyone else who looks “basic”.