Corrine Day

The fashion photographer I have chosen to do research on is Corrine Day. She is a self-taught fashion photographer who captured fashion imagery differently from other fashion photographers. I believe Day used a documentary approach when creating her works, which (to me) stands out amongst the usual high-key studio photographs in most magazine spreads. I was really impressed at how this particular approach to fashion photography was able to capture the essence of the brand even if it felt simple and casual. To me, she perfectly captured the intimate moments between herself (photographer) and the model, which is refreshing in some way as for once, the model isn’t just a mannequin to don clothing on, but a human like the rest of us. Day has also been known to have inaugurated a new era of “grunge” style to fashion photography, and she was one of the few photographers who refused to photoshop flaws and blemishes off the models’ bodies. It’s something I really admire about her, as she wanted to move away from the concept of perfection in fashion photography, but rather she preferred capturing the intimate moments of the model interacting with their environments.

Shooting candid with Emanuel Ungaro Couture

I’ve decided to focus on the Emanuel Ungaro Couture campaign for Vogue Italia 2000 as I’m just blown away by the images Day took. It felt like I was witnessing “A Day in the Life” (pun intended) documentary where I follow the model go about her day in the countryside (at least based on the elements presented in the images). I really appreciate photographers that humanise their subjects, as mentioned above, because most of the time, models are usually just taught to behave like an object of sorts; like a mannequin designed to don every clothing.

Yet, in this series, we see the model interact with the environment she’s in, and we see these moments captured almost candidly, all while still showcasing the pieces of clothing for the campaign. It’s a very refreshing take to fashion photography, and it really strips off that idea that a fashion editorial photograph has to be tip-top perfect, from the hair and makeup to the lighting. I want to explore how I can create fascinating images using Day’s documentary approach in fashion photography. I think it will be interesting to shift away from the idea of perfection, and focus on something that’s a bit more raw; that’s taken in the moment.