Access to Fashion Media and Communications
Photography for Fashion
Comparative Essay
French fashion photographer Patrick Demarchelier was born
in France in 1943 and grew up alongside his four
brothers. Demarchelier was just 17 when he was first
introduced to photography after his father gave him a
camera for his birthday. Starting out as a photographic
assistant to Hans Feurer at Nova magazine, he quickly
began establishing himself. After getting noticed by
Alexander Liberman in 1972 he was offered a job for
Glamour in New York and moved over permenatly in 1975.
Towards the late 1970s he began working for Vogue,
shooting covers. In the time he spent at Vogue, he worked
with a number of different models and celebrity’s
including Brooke Shields, Madonna and Naomi Campbell.
1992 bought a change for Demarchelier when he signed a
long-term contract with Harpers Bazaar and began working
alongside Elizabeth Tilberis; the pair formed a close
relationship.
Over the years of working as
a photographer, as well as
fashion, he tends to specialise
in portrait photography. Within
these photographs he enhances a
models natural beauty with just a
little subtle lighting. His work
has been said to have casual,
realistic and playful qualities.
Demarchelier enjoys working in
black and white mainly,
especially when shooting
celebrities.
(Fig 1) Kate Moss, Harpers
Bazaar, 1993.
Born in 1958, Nick Knight is a British photographer
specialising in fashion and documentary. He was only 17
when he first picked up a camera and began photographing.
He then went on to study photography at Bournemouth and
Poole College of Art and Design, before graduating with a
distinction in 1982. His first major project, ’Skinheads’
was a book of photographs documenting skinhead culture,
this was published in 1985. Since then he has gone on to
work for i-D, British Vogue and W Magazine, shooting
editorials with celebrities and various models. He has
also won awards for his ad campaigns for clients
including Alexander McQueen, Christian Dior and Levi
Strauss. In 2000, Knight became the director and founder
of SHOWstudio.com, an award winning fashion website for
presenting fashion through the Internet. This could be
either live streams of fashion shows and catwalks or
working with pop icons to create a fashion film.
Renowned for his creative
collaborations with some of the
most famous people in the fashion
industry, Nick Knight’s
photography style is extremely
experimental. His use of colour,
shape and movement in many of his
photographs is very extravagant,
and it has been said that he
often pushes the boundaries. He
is constantly challenging
conventional ideals of beauty and
has worked on issues dealing with
(Fig 2) Kim Kardashian,
V magazine, 2012
racism and disability.
Both Demarchelier and Knight have something unique
about themselves, which distinguishes them from other
photographers. Demarchelier is extremely realistic with
his photographs and portrays his models beauty and
personality in a very natural style. The results he gets
are believable and audiences can relate. Knight brings
more imagination to his
photographs creating an avantgarde feel to them. However,
although both photographers stand
out as complete opposites, the
similarity between them is their
minimal use of props. They both
tend to work with the models body
shape and features rather than
location and added objects.
In Figure 3 we see Knight
capture movement with his models
body to create shape. The effect
Fig 3, 2003.
of this cleverly creates a type of
distorted image. The legs of the model
look extremely long and the arch of the back and angle of
the head is unusual. Use of clothing in this photograph
brings a futuristic effect, which is often a familiar
theme with his images. About his photography he says
‘Clothes are designed to be seen in movement – and the
development of film and fashion
is so important.’ (Vogue.com)
Figure 4 is a photograph
from Vogue Russia, the September
2011 issue. Here Demarchelier
also uses movement and his models
body to create shape. His image
is a lot less unusual in the ways
of clothing and posture. Despite
the fact this photograph uses
minimal colour, both Demarchelier
and Knight create a distinguished
contrast between backdrop and
Fig 4, Vogue Russia, 2011.
clothing. The background for this image is almost similar
to that of the models skin, meaning the harsh black skirt
and sleeves and the extreme lighting used, makes his
model stand out.
Demarcheliers work is seen to be more about creating
a character and a story. His use of lighting is
intriguing and adds mystery, making the audience want to
see more. Knight’s photography is a very strong example
of innovative imagery. In much contrast to the softer and
realistic result of Demarchelier’s work, the digital
manipulation Knight uses to create his shots is
extraordinary, showing complete engagement with his
creations.
Bibliography
Patrick Demarchelier
Web Pages

http://www.thefashionspot.com/runwaynews/news/105575-patrick-demarchelier-photographyicon Accessed: 20/2/13

http://www.vogue.co.uk/person/patrick-demarchelier
Accessed: 20/2/13
Articles

http://www.myfashionbank.com/articles/article12.html Accessed:
20/2/13

http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/newsfeatures/TMG8990230/Patrick-Demarchelier-My-job-isto-make-clothes-look-beautiful-but-with-couture-itseasy.html Accessed: 20/2/13
Images

(Fig 1) Demarchelier, P. (1993) For Harper’s Bazaar.
Available at:
http://fashion.telegraph.co.uk/article/TMG9683072/Ca
ndid-shots-Kate-Moss-opens-up.html

(Fig 4) Demarchelier, P. (2011) Vogue Russia.
Available at: http://demarchelier.com/fashion
Nick Knight
Web Pages

http://nickknight.com/main.html Accessed 20/2/13

http://showstudio.com/contributor/nick_knight
Accessed: 20/2/13

http://www.vogue.co.uk/spy/biographies/nick-knightbiography Accessed: 20/2/13
Articles

http://www.independent.co.uk/lifestyle/fashion/features/the-fabulous-world-of-nickknight-1809790.html Accessed: 20/2/1
Images

(Fig 2) Knight, N. (2012) For V Magazine. Available
at:
http://showstudio.com/project/kim_kardashian_sitting
s

(Fig 3) Knight, N. (2003) Available at:
http://www.vogue.co.uk/news/2009/07/24/nick-knightinterview/gallery/20