Image Exposure: Charlotte Free by Terry Richardson

For one of my other modules on my photography course I was looking into fashion photography and style and thought of Terry's work. One of the images that caught my eye whilst looking through his wealth of images on Terry's Diary was one of model Charlotte Free.

Charlotte Free at my studio #9

December 29th, 2011

Image Source: http://www.terrysdiary.com/post/14977007565/charlotte-free-at-my-studio-9

This particular photograph stands out from his vast archive of images where he posts practically every day. It dates back to December 29th, 2011 with a caption of ‘Charlotte Free at my studio #9’. I like how simple the set-up is with a single flash attached to the camera body as the only source of light. This set-up is most common for his studio portraiture where he shoots many of his friends, acquaintances and models in his home studio. Usually he shoots black/white for this set up however there are examples of colour portraits such as the above photo. Terry prefers taking pictures in a landscape format showing only the torso and face. I think this particular set-up of shooting is Terry’s trademark style and is reminiscent of his portrait editorials for big magazines such as Rolling Stone. There have even been editorials using this simple set up for magazines like Purple Fashion. Despite Charlotte Free being an up-and-coming model being shot for various advertisements I originally thought she was one of Terry’s acquaintances who had quirky style so decided to shoot her over again. The reason why I chose this shot is I like the off white background and the slight vignette from where the flash fades outwards and her carefree expression. Terry has a great knack of getting the most of his subjects and showing off their personality on camera. He isn’t afraid of highlighting the fun side of ‘untouchable’ celebrities and portraying them as normal people who want to have fun too. In relation to my project about photographing people with style and loving what they wear, Charlotte Free is a great example of individual style. This photo isn’t made up and she hasn’t got a make-up/stylist team on hand; she is herself wearing clothes she enjoys wearing. The salmon pink colour in her t-shirt goes with the aesthetics of her hair and pale skin. Though this image only reveals one item of clothing, a person’s style is in much more than the clothes they wear, but how they wear it as well as the characteristics of their hair and skin. The viewer feels the essence of being a kid and having childlike freedom from her ‘The Ren & Stimpy’ t-shirt (which is seen as vintage today) and the motion of flying her hair around.

Useful Links: 

Terry's Diary http://www.terrysdiary.com/

Terry Richardson http://www.terryrichardson.com/

models.com - Terry Richardson http://models.com/people/terry-richardson

Read More:
V.E.S.T: Blog Exposure: Terry's Diary http://nishahaqvisualexploration.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/blog-exposure-terrys-diary.html

In Discussion: Semiotics (How to decode an image)

One of my photography seminars consisted around the understanding of semiotics: the study of signs and sign processes (semiosis) [1]. We looked at how meanings are made and what we associate with signs in social life (semiology). This leads to how a sign consists of a signifier, the material aspect (what we see) and signified, the mental aspect (what we learn through our society and culture). Studying semiotics is the foundation of understanding photography as there are many ways of seeing images (see John Berger's Ways of Seeing) and different ways of applying our interpretation that is influenced by society and our own personal experiences. But by first realizing the components of how an image is read one must understand semiotics.

There are 3 ways to analyse:

• 'Linguistic' message - any/all words: this is both the connotation and denotation in the analysis of the image
• 'Non-coded iconic' message - the denotations in the photograph: these are the recognisable/identifiable (the signifier) objects in the photograph
• 'Coded iconic' message - The connotations that derived from the larger sign system of society (the signified) in the photograph. This is is dependant on external factors like culture, race etc.

These steps can be applied to this simple image:

Image Source: Kristianne's seminar in semiotics (Powerpoint presentation) [2]

Linguistic message: 'Toilet' (or for braille readers underneath)

Non-coded iconic message: A shape resembling a female figure wearing a dress

'Coded iconic' message: Put the two together and we are taught that this sign indicates a female toilet. The blue background signifies cleanliness/freshness. If the background were to be red it may give a different meaning, possibly the toilet was dangerous, as in western society we associate red with danger.

Though the decoding of the above image was simple the 3 steps can be applied to everything we see and gets more complex when an image gives us an emotional response or has differing cultural meanings making a common image/sign in one society completely different in another. This post has been a very basic introduction to semiotics and I'm still learning about this vast topic! There have been many books and philosophies on the study of semiology so I will continue to be reading!

References:

1. Wikipedia - Semiotics http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotics [Accessed 14/05/12]

2. Drake, Kristianne; Semiotics Powerpoint Presentation; 13 Feb 2012

Useful Links:

Google books - Semiotics https://www.google.com/search?q=semiotics&tbm=bks&tbo=1&oq=semi