S.O.T.W.
Anthony Luke
30, March 2009
Personal Information:
Name: Anthony Luke
Explanation: I love the way light reflects and raps around the subject in certain photographs in a almost ethereal in a way. I wanted to shoot an image where the light envelopes the model and draws one into the image.
Melissa Rodwell’s Critique: I love the way Anthony Luke used the lighting to bring about an ethereal mood. The model is nice! Very good make up and hair, and we definitely still see the detail on the garment’s neckline while using the strong back light. I think this is a very good fashion shot! Congrats, Anthony!
I wish to thank the talented crew and Lovely Model for there efforts.
Irina Funtikova – elite Models ~ Toronto
Michelle Paiano – Stylist – Artist Group ltd
Shawna Lee Bowen – Makeup & Hair – Judy inc
This is a great photo. Thanks for sharing it with all of us.
sorry for the typo folks lol. I meant “for THEIR efforts” dohh!
This is actually my FAVORITE photo of yours Anthony! Awesome!
This is incredibly beautiful – I’m a sucker for many things ethereal and a great flare! I have to admit, I barely noticed the clothes for her incredible eyes and the way the photographer captured them! I love it!
very cool shot! i’m getting so much inspiration from your blog, thank you
ah i like the lighting on this photo.
I really love how subtle the contrast between warm and cool colors is used and the overall coolness of the photograph.
Beautiful work!
I am not into fashion photography for a number of reasons, the main one being that I am not talented enough. That doesn’t mean that I don’t have an opinion though! This is my favourite pic out this bunch. Anthony has captured an innocence in the model which is quite haunting. Most of all I just love the high key approach and the blown out highlights.
Thank you for sharing Anthony.
And thanks to Melissa for providing this blog opportunity.
Cheers Chaps
Mark
Hi to all,
firstly thanks To Melissa Rodwell for sharing all this info.
i know this post is pretty old now but there s something that i am very curious about,
I am about to take this next step and try to do some agency test shoots soon and i was wondering if this kind of photo (beautiful by the way) was ok for an agency (or for any printed job) because of the high amount of highlight and detail loss in the background.
is there any particular rule like : as long as the model isn’t burnt out the rest doesn’t matter…or not?
sorry if it sounds like a silly question but i’ve been wondering for a while
thank you
regards
Jouwell
Answer to Jouwell….yes I’ve been shooting fashionphotography for years, with my share of exposure to Elle, Harpers and Vanity F. Quite frankly with the blown highlighs adn washed out garment, I think you’d be hard pressed to find an editor who doesn’t toss this photo out. I know Melissa thinks it retained enough detail, but I beg to differ. Fashion photography is about the clothes, NOT the model’s eyes. Yes, the eyes can be great, but not at the expense of taking away from drawing the eyes to the clothes.
Can’t say I’m too impressed with this photo, if I am to judge it as a true example of “fashion” editorial style. As a portrait, it’s great.
As per Bill Stuckey’s comments; I wouldn’t put to much stock into what he has to say. Fashion photography can be about the mood or feel. Mags like Elle etc are fairly safe and commercially driven.
I prefer the images in Italian Vogue or Zink etc. They are more about the art of the image. After all it is NOT a catalogue shoot where every detail of the garment must be seen. Plus Jouwell, the “detail loss in the background” is not important. Hell, there was no background… It was shot against a white seamless. I flared it out on purpose.
See links for editorial and cover with a similar feel to my image above:
http://coolechicstylefashion.blogspot.com/2010/02/vogue-italia-2008.html
or this one:
http://www.gotoglamourgirl.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/vogue_it_feb2005_thumb1.jpg
or the opposite end of the spectrum… A dark moody image by top fashion photographer Steven Klein which shows little to none of the garment details:
http://thefashionistoimages.com/2010/03/jonkforvogue6.jpg
here is another more extreme example by one of my fav fashion shooters Nick Knight. Almost no detail at all can be seen. But it is a stunning image that sells magazines!:
http://xaxor.com/images/6d6a6/raquel-zimmermann11.jpg
I hope this clears things up a little for you Jouwell. Follow your vision! Don’t let the naysayers keep you from pushing things creatively! Sure it’s important to know how to shoot a clean straight up commercial fashion image but to me that gets a little boring after a while. Hence why Steven Klien, Nick Knight, Steven Meisel do not shoot for Elle etc. Vanity fair has more edgy stuff from time to time.
p.s I had no luck finding anything with a google search for Bill Stuckey. Care to share B.S.?
Anthony….were you as confident in your work as you claim to be, you would not be so defensive at some constructive critiicism.
It should not matter who I am. My critique stands on it’s own, as I’m sure most here would agree.
The last thing that becomes a professional is to launch ad hominem attacks on people who offer honest critiques, just because it does not fit with your hubris.
Take the criticism and make yourself a better photographer.