Strike a Pose

In this week's brief, we got put into groups to analyse a Vogue Photo shoot we were given and explore a little on the photographer itself. My group got Juergen Teller's "New Nomad" shoot that was made for the Vogue 2015 March issue.

In our groups we brainstormed words and concepts that fit the photo shoot and tried to dig deeper into what kind of story the shoot might tell. Some of the key concepts my group came up with were natural surrealism, vibrant juxtaposition, exposure of elements, unexpectedly arabesque, and weathered texture. My first impression of this shoot was that it shows a lot of primary colours and contrasts within the garments and the neutral backgrounds. I also noticed the play with colour opposites such as the purple dress with the green background which are exact opposites on the colour wheel. (See Fig. 1).

Fig. 1, Colour wheel. Dulux

As I wanted to dig deeper into the possible concept of the shoot I researched on the photographer Juergen Teller himself to get a broader idea of his type of photography work he has already done and a little bit of information on himself as well. I was lucky to find a few books of him in the library which showed some of his photographs to give me a better idea on his photography style. In an interview which was conducted in the book " Do You Know What I Mean" ( See Fig.2) he told a little bit about his early career and what style of photography he developed over the years.

Fig. 2, "Do You Know What I Mean", 1996, Juergen Teller.

He said in the interview how he started with fashion photography in London and questioned the concept of stylised glamour photography in fashion. In his early career, he met Nick Knight who he admired as his style of photography stood out from others during that time. Another thing that he said was that a key feature of his style of photography is that he shoots images constantly. He wants the image to be caught in the moment to get the models real reaction and facial features into the photograph. This creates an emotional connection within the photograph which I thought can be seen very well in these images I found in his book ( See Fig. 2,3).

Fig.3, Kate Moss, 1990s, Juergen Teller

Fig.2, Model, 1990s, Juergen Teller

Another key element of his photography is using nudity. He explains in the book how he is fascinated by the human body and how it is built as well as the implications of physicality. I could recognise in his photography how he repeatedly uses nudity but still keeps it professional and how the model seems comfortable yet natural (See Fig. 3,4).

Fig. 4, Model, 1990s, Juergen Teller

Fig. 3, Venetia Scott, 1990s, Juergen Teller

Overall I really admire Juergen Teller's photography as he does not let himself get influenced by this highly glamorised, flashy unnatural type of fashion photography. I like that he keeps authenticity and you can see real emotions and expressions from the people in front of the camera.