Corinne Day: My Critical Studies

My research pages displayed in my sketchbook along with
my critical studies and experimentation.

For another page for my secondary research I decided to find well known photographers from the time (nineties) and who's work I can connect with and be influenced by. From this I was able to discover a photographer known as "Corinne Day", specifically at the Kate Moss exhibition. From this research I have focused on different elements of Days work including the relationship between both her and the nineties iconic model Kate moss, the poses used when positioning the model and the style of photography. From this research I have experimented in the photography studio recreating the original photographs from Day's exhibition of Moss. I did this by using a white back drop along with two soft boxes set to the highest voltage to create an over exposed look. However, when working on my critical studies I noticed that the photographs didn't have the same look as the originals but one. I believe that this is because I used the studio rather than going on location and using ambient light as my light source rather than lighting equipment  in the studio environment. Comparison to using the studio lighting and ambient lighting I believe that ambient produces not only better light but better quality of the photograph, as well as giving the image a more realistic look. For this exhibition Day uses black and white effect, my own opinion on the subject is that I don't usually like it when in a studio as I feel the photograph looses the true effect and meaning behind it. Furthermore, I am influenced by this exhibition of work as she has captured the beauty of black and white photography and has pushed the boundaries of any stereotypical black and white images. One of the most common reasons people want to shoot in black and white today is because it lends a certain timeless quality to the images. This is because we still think of black and white as being a throwback to the photographic past.

One of the other things I'm trying to establish is what equipment Day uses. From researching over the internet, I have this vague recollection of some information that she used compact cameras for some of her shots, but as yet I can't quantify this. I have established from reading multiple article's about her online that she has used equipment such as Hasselblad's camera's and for a lot of the documentary work she used a Pentax 35mm camera.

In an interview I have read she stated " I didn’t like Eighties fashion because it was all so fake—shoulder pads and makeup. I’d worked as a model in Italy and I always thought the models looked so much more beautiful in everyday life than in the magazines. I liked it when they were being themselves; they looked so much more relaxed and natural." This portrays specific reasons to why she photographs the way that she does. For instance, the exhibition I have displayed in my sketchbook shows edgy and quite distracting poses contrasting with other fashion photographs work such as the well known Annie Leibovitz. Comparison to Leibovitz work I feel that she creates more stereotypical pieces of fashion photography, more dramatic and posy. Whereas Corinne Day portrays the beauty of the model is different ways, more natural and realistic.

Corinne Day once said "It's easier to shoot if you know the model well because they relax and you get more from them. You dont have to tell them what to do-it's hard to explain. Kate and I were very close friends and I could just photograph her and not even talk to her. My fashion photographs of her were really portraits." I strongly believe that Day is right! When I photograph my friend Eve, who is my main model when it comes to shoots, I feel extremely comfortable around her and able to explain to her what i'm looking for within a shoot and she naturally pulls out the poses one of the many reasons I use her when it comes to my photo shoots. She is also one of my close friends and when photographing her I see her beauty shine within the photographs however she does not see that, with or without make up I find that it is naturally beautiful if the model isn't as confident, it comes more natural to take photographs.

My critical study of the close up of Kate Moss.
To create this photograph I used a Cannon 750D
 with a 55mm lens. I used a beauty dish to
capture a shadow creating butterfly lighting, a
 lighting technique used for portraits. I thought
because the technique used shadow it would
create the perfect image. However, when
viewing the photograph on a mac the outcome
was darker than expected. I think this is
because the voltage of the light source was too
high.

Corinne Days close up of Kate Moss.
I in particularly like as it is well lit using ambient light,
 the light is neither to harsh or too soft. I believe that when creating
 black and white photo-
graphs they are usually better to produce when using ambient
light. This photograph has a lovely focal point leading to the eyes. I
can also tell that the light used for this image is coming from the right
side as the face is has a lighter shade on the right than the left side.