"90's morning after"

Hello everyone! Attached below are the photos I recently submitted for my ICP: Fashion Photography class. My final project explored the idea of a woman in the 1990’s who went out drinking and dancing the night prior to these photos being taken. She had a bit too much to drink and is now waking up, still intoxicated, but is not apologetic over her midnight decisions. The model I used for this project is my good friend, Megan Thelen.

When I began to build my Pinterest board and fine-tune my creative concept for the shoot, I found myself being drawn to the over-the-top nature of 1990’s women’s loungewear. From obnoxious pink clothing to tousled hair and retro heels, I was in love with the carefree attitude of the subjects in the inspiration I was gathering. This made me think back to my favorite childhood movie, “Clueless,” where Cher’s confidence and personality is larger-than-life. In conjunction with the glamourous Carrie Bradshaw in “Sex and the City,” I had two muses who allowed me to further explore the idea of women’s outward sexuality and independence expressed throughout the 1990’s.

We were asked to create a narrative in four to six photographs that also used fashion in some way. I decided to focus on the gold heels as the primary fashion element, supported by alternating pink sweaters and bodysuits to further tie into my inspiration. I decided to use flash to make the heels and the pink bedding pop, a skill learned in my ICP course this semester. By using flash, I was able to slightly overexpose the image and draw attention to the heels, which was a trend I saw throughout my inspiration, especially in the work of iconic photographer, Helmut Newton. Known for his provocative fashion shoots, which utilize dramatic lighting, Newton’s ability to expose the sexual and confident nature of his models is truly inspiring. With his work in the back of my mind, I also had Megan cross her legs to make the photo less pornographic, yet still sexual. It wasn’t until my final critique, however, that I realized just how sexual my photos actually came out. (read more)