Rhetorical Analysis: Fashion Photography
Photography precisely means writing or drawing with light. It, therefore, means that like any written work, photographs can be read, and information is taken home. In fashion photography, the work of art mainly involves marketing fashion using pictures. Therefore, when writing down the art, one should ensure it carries the intended meaning, which will attract and not repel the customers. Remember, according to Barthes, a photograph can either repel the audience or call them to buy the idea. In this rhetorical analysis, we are going to see how photography is used in fashion to attract potential buyers. Remember, fashion photography is devoted to displaying clothes as well as other fashion items. There are four main types of fashion photography, which include editorial fashion photography, high fashion photography, catalog photography, and street fashion photography.
- Editorial Fashion Photography
This type of photography refers to static pictures in magazines that are not advertisements. Usually, fashion editorials cover the whole page of a magazine covering a given specific topic or concept. Looking at the general photos of editorial fashion, they typically use the best models they can to display their fashion, in cases of outfits. According to Walter Benjamin, the work of art is supposed to be more appealing than the original or the actual object.
For this reason, editorial fashion covers a whole page of a magazine to have the largest display, and become appealing. Remember, if the art itself is not as enjoyable, then no one will expect that on the ground, the displayed object may also not be appealing. In some cases, editorial photography also allows for testimonials, which accompany the photograph in writing to at least be an accompaniment to add meaning to what the photo communicates. Remember, the totality of information in a picture is carried in two structures, one which is linguistic structure and the other one is, of course, the photograph (Barthes, 2000: 192) Either, “The authenticity of a thing: is the importance of all that is transmissible from when it begins, ranging from its substantive duration to its testimony to the story which it has experienced” (Benjamin, 1935: 221).
- High fashion Photography
High fashion photography is a type of photography closely related to glamour photography. However, there is a slight line of difference in the sense that high fashion photography involves using people who are professional models. In this, companies or individuals even go ahead to pay models. What is the essence of models in high fashion photography? First of all, high fashion photography deals with the best in different styles of fashion. The rationale of using these models is to blend the best bodies with the best outfits that suit them so that they show the best possible. Either, considering the fact that a work of art should be easy to understand, then high points photos carry all the information with them. For this reason, creativity to bring out all the information by a glance at the photo is required. For this reason, models become part of the creativity employed to bring out the elegance, the lifestyle, and also be persuading for the consumer to buy. Mostly in fashion, photography is done as a marketing strategy and has to be convincing to the customers. In order to raise the persuasive power; therefore, high fashion photography seeks to invest in models, scenes, and quality photographs. This is because, for a picture or rather any work of art to persuade, it has to be either by evoking feelings or emotions or both since the emotional effect that art can communicate the same way as spoken ideas. Just as Martin Redish says, “an individual’s “mental’ processes cannot be limited to the receipt and digestion of cold, hard theories and facts, for there is also an emotional element that is uniquely human, and that can be ‘developed’ by ’non-rational’ forms of communication.” (page 591-645).
- Catalog Fashion Photography
This is a type of photography that is used to come up with a catalog of well-styled images. It acts as a creative display that helps to talk more about a brand. Unlike other fashion photography arts, this one major on a specific brand. However, there exists a lot of similarities as it borrows the same general concept of photography. It is aimed at conveying the best information about a brand. One thing about photographs of this category is that they create a good mood for the artwork consumer so that you can take more time looking through what the brand has done. Remember, the feeling the consumer gets from the photographs in the catalog greatly determines the time they will be willing to spend on your list. This, probably, is the rationale behind why one is not likely to find shock photos in a fashion catalog display. Usually, pictures with happy faces are used to send the same ecstasy to the consumer. This will help them relate the product with maybe happiness or with things that come along with joy.
- Street fashion photography
Street fashion photography is usually associated with the culture of the youths. Mainly, it is seen in major urban centers, and hence, it is generally printed on famous youths magazines and newspapers. It targets the youths, and so in all cases, it features candid photographs of teenagers wearing urban styled outfits. Fashion photography targets emerging trends for teens to use in this type of art. Since it is done with a persuasive intention, the youths are used in street photography. After all, it may be void of information if it features the wrong people. This is because, in photography, the words used may be of less meaning if what is in the photograph does not add up. In other words, as much as the wholeness of the message is got from both the photograph part and the linguistic part of the picture, the picture always carries the better part of the meaning. Either street photography may be accompanied by trending things among the youths, not necessarily about fashion but it can even be a popular person among them and so on. This adds to the attractiveness.