Task One

Audrey Marnay, Suffolk, UK, 2011, Italian Vogue - Taken by TIM WALKER

The Image
After looking at Tim Walkers photography for my essay for this task i immediately had him in mind. This image is one i believe to be an iconic fashion image. Not only is the simplicity of the image immediately striking which captures the eye of the viewer but also the strangeness of the composition and character is creative in the fashion industry.
The image has been taken by Tim Walker in which he has used natural soft lighting to help capture a doll like impression of the model. The light being pale and soft also makes the surroundings and skin of the model work well with the paleness of her dress and tights.
Walker has attached fake arms to help represent that the doll like model comes across as fake and plastic. The arms also encourage the viewer to look twice at the image as at first glance they seem to crowd the models real arms forcing the viewer to question the story of the image.
 The clothes she is wearing are not perfectly worn, the skirt is folded and creased as if she has just been dropped or fallen to the slanted position she is in. The pale stockings and gloves also help give the impression of a doll like character making the additional props of the arms blend in well with the model. The puppet like figure also in focus behind the model seems to be representing the model herself as a puppet/dolly. It rein forces the theme of the image and gives the image an unnerving mood as the puppet/doll's facial impression is questioning and wooden twisting the mood of the image.
The composition of this image is unique as she has placed herself as if she is a broken or fallen doll on the stairs. Her having a straight back and locked arms create the tension of a doll but her legs opposite the camera help encourage her limpness.
Her facial expression finishes off the image, the bold make up helps encourage her features emphasising a dolly like character with the expression she is pulling.
The set also contributes greatly, her being on the stairs makes her the main focus of the image. The stairs look dusty and old giving the impression that the character the model is playing has been there a long time.
To produce such an image would have taken a lot of time to be able to get the lighting similar to the paleness of the model's dress and skin. The awkwardness, composition and narrative of this image has lead me to believe it is a iconic fashion image. This image is beautiful but in a way in which is a different kind of beauty. Its an imagined scenario, make up and props making the set come alive. The simplicity of the image is what drew me towards it, the simple context gives the clothes she is wearing character and portray an in depth narrative.

Tim Walker is known for his creative images, he has created some massive sets the models in the images being more of an extra rather than the main focus. He uses mostly natural lighting and works rarely in a studio, when doing so he gets his ideas for new photographs from the world we live in. He brings his daydreams to life through his photography, nothing is impossible which leads him to wild and creative images.
I first heard about this photographer in a lecture we had on Mythology. Since then i have been obsessed with his work, seeing his images has given me an insight of how fashion could be portrayed with variety and unlimited ideas. A lot of the time i associate fashion with pretty models looking stunning, however Walker has managed to open my eyes to fashion photography.