With the exception of Roxanne Lowit, our last list of female fashion photographers featured artists who are unfortunately deceased. As mentioned last time, the number of female photographers in fashion is growing. Here are just five women who are currently big players in the editorial game:
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Emma Summerton
For over a decade, Summerton has been shooting for many of the worlds leading fashion magazines. Her pictures often feature the presence of the Uncanny – everything appears normal (a model lounging on a chair, or in a house), but something about the image is off. There is more to the image than what is presented; an eerie undertone with a bit of detachment, but also a bit of humor. Her level of modern surrealism is Lynch-ian. Summerton also creates vignettes to accompany her photoshoots, adding music and motion to the moods she has evoked so nicely in still. While the easiest way to find examples of her work is on her personal website (www.emmasummerton.com), her personal Tumblr page is a delightful mix of behind-the-scenes pics as well as the final product.
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Cass Bird
Photography has given us the ability to capture a moment and preserve it forever. Fashion photography is, for the most part, staged and planned. Cass Bird, however, shoots with a realism and energy in her work that brings the viewer in. A connection can be made to the model staring back at you. It is almost as if Bird is simply shooting her friends, with a level of casualness and intimacy that usually is only found in home photos – moments in life in which we pass time amusing each other, trying to see what we can catch in the shutter. Bird has shot for a multitude of magazines and brands (most notably American Vogue), and has also published a book entitled Rewilding. More photos and information on Rewilding can be found on her personal website: www.cassbird.com
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Yelena Yemchuk
Yelena Yemchuk’s work is incredibly cinematic (especially her work for Vogue Italia). She has a fantastic ability to capture the setting of her images, whether that be a lavishly decorated interior, or a street scene. There is more to the models in her images than a girl in clothing – they are characters moving about a story. Exhibiting her artistic sensibilities outside the fashion realm, Yemchuk is also a painter, and has published a photography book titled Gidropark, which documents a park and its patrons in Kiev. For more of Yelena’s work, including her paintings and her collaborations with Antonio Marras and Dries van Noten, check out her website: www.yelenayemchuk.com
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Julia Noni
Noni’s images are as much photographed as they are designed, in that there are qualities in her work that are similar to a graphic designer or an illustrator. Her use of lines, color, and negative space add a sense of dynamism to still images. Her color images are vivid, her black and white work is stark in contrast, and her creative knack for inserting still-life images into editorials gets the viewer to consider the qualities (and form) of both the models and the clothing. In addition to shooting fashion (her clients include multiple international editions of Vogue, as well as Nike), Noni is also a landscape photographer. Her personal website is www.julianoni.com
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Emma Tempest
Here’s a novel idea: stop worrying so much about thinking outside the box. Go back to basics, but do it really, really, really well. Sticking to classic fashion photography themes, Emma Tempest succeeds because she excels in execution. From lighting to lines and angles, Tempest is able to show off both the model and the clothing in the simplest way, while still retaining an artistic eye for the editorial. In this regard, her work is reminiscent of fashion photography of the 40’s and 50’s. Tempest has shot for a multitude of magazines, as well as Net-A-Porter and Mulberry, to name a few. More examples of her work can be found here: www.emmatempest.com, or on her Instagram.
