Terry Richardson

Richardson is a very controversial photographer because of the relations he has with the pornography industry. He funds the operation of a pornography website and often is accused of bribing/convincing amateur models to take part in his own productions. His first book Terryworld showed images of himself, friends and models undertaking sexual acts. Even with this background and reputation he has become one of the most sort after photographer of the A list celebrities.

The model is Cara Delevingne who is often portrayed as a fashion and beauty icon. However in this image she has been directed to pull a funny face, this gives us as the viewer an insight into her personality. With the image being black and white it takes away more of the beauty aspect because Delevingne is blond. This is often worked with massively in magazines because that is a main form of 'mainstream' beauty. Wearing a very baggy jumper is very contemporary with 'comfy clothes' that young adults and teens would wear; this shows that she is a modern woman. The jumper also hides a lot of the models skin which is often a large focus point for fashion magazines; questioning what is the normal fashion. A crisp, sharp shadow can be seen behind the hand meaning that the light used is very harsh and directional towards the model from the left of the image. This light might have been created by a flashgun since as the light is directional. This also suggests that the camera he might have used is a DSLR because of the hot shoe adaptability. The glasses resemble that of Richardson's, this may have been done to recreate his own presence in the image without actually being there.

 

This image of president Obama shows him looking a little more relaxed instead of the very formal and professional man we know. His sleeves rolled up, the tie very slightly loosened, hands in pockets and leaning against the wall are all indications that he doesn't have any worries and feeling quite relaxed. However the flash angled from the right creates a strong shadow behind him, the shadow is only this small because he is standing so close to the wall. This might be representing how he always has his responsibilities with him and is never far away. All this may have been done to show the people he is trying to communicate with that he's actually a very down to earth guy, that he's a man of the people. The subject is centralised and Richardson uses the background to blend the model into it, making it look pure and clean. The distance of the shadow would suggest that the light wouldn't be too far away from the camera so I think that either a DSLR with a flash gun or a compact camera was used.

 

Once again an A list celebrity models for Richardson however this time the image seems to be more orientated towards the use in a magazine or online article. I think this because clothing with the American flag on is very popular in modern fashion and the use of minimal clothing could be used to also attract other audiences that isn't the primary target to read the article or campaign. The salute also shows her dedication to her country which makes her relate-able to many American audiences. I feel that this image is trying to humanise the person who many would consider 'better' than the everyday. Richardson has still played with the sexual subject of Nicki Minaj's bum. He has angled the light above the subject and to the left which only creates shadow behind her thigh and bum making it look bigger and more 'idealistic'. I think that to make this image Richardson has used an external flash so that he could angle the light at the models face. From this I think that the DSLR was used with a wireless sync. The stretching of the vest shirt also leaves little to the imagination and reveals a fair amount of her bust; which also sexualises her more. However the flag enveloping her would suggest that you cant touch/remove it as it would be desecration of the flag.