Virtual Essay – Option # 2

While doing research for my photo journal: part 2 I recently discovered David LaChapelle’s work.  I found his website and immediately fell in love with his work. I love how over the top and vibrant each photo is. LaChapelle’s work tells a whole story in one frame. And I love how even though there is so much going on, the focus is still on the model.

When I first saw this assignment, I was going to get my friend Sarah, who is a great photographer and take some pictures inspired by David LaChapelle, but due to camera malfunctions, I decided to start looking for another photographer whose work reminded me of LaChapelle.

It was when I was watching America’s Next Top Model, one of my guilty pleasures, that I noticed how similar the work of Photographer/ Judge Nigel Barker  was to that of LaChapelle’s. So I researched his work, I and realized that a lot of his pictures reminded me of much tamer versions of David LaChapelle’s work , and so I decided to uses the work of these two photographers for my virtual essay. 

Nigel Barker source

Nigel Barker source

This is the first set of pictures that I found by Nigel Barker that reminded me of David LaChapelle. They’re from cycle 2 of America’s Next Top Model, where the girls participated in an “Adam and Eve” themed shoot and were covered in body paint instead of clothes. They reminded me of David LaChapelle's picture of Godzilla in the Jungle with Lady Gaga and Kanye West. 

David LaChapelle source

An obvious similarity between the two pictures is the jungle theme background. Another similarities is in the  lighting, since it seems to be focused on the female instead of the male. In both photos, my eye is drawn to the female first. In Nigel's photos, the male model is just a part of the background, and in LaChapelle's photo, I feel like Kanye West is more of a prop holding Lady Gaga, than as a focal point of the picture. A lot of the same colors are used in both photos, such as green, yellow, red and orange. 

The next similarity I saw was how the models were directed to pose. In the pictures above, the female models are sitting or carried in the same pose. I found another picture by David LaChapelle of Alan Cumming (below) and thought the pose was also very similar to poses of models from the same shoot as above by Nigel Barker. 

David LaChapelle source

Nigel Barker source

The next picture I found was of Britney Spears by David LaChapelle. It automatically reminded me of an episode of America's Next Top Model where the girls had to model on a beach with a bunch of people in the background and still remain the focus of the picture. I remembered Nigel Barker was the photographer for the shoot. Both pictures are similar because one frame tells a whole story, there's a lot going on in both photos but the model remains the focus. 

David LaChapelle source

Nigel Barker source

The next set of similar pictures I found are of Alexander McQueen (David LaChapelle) and from cycles 11and 14 of America's Next Top Model (Nigel Barker). 

David LaChapelle source

Nigel Barker source

I think that the two of these photos are similar in the way that they are lit; they both have a very dark feeling to them. The colors of the hot balloon of Nigel's photo remind me of the colors of the dress in LaChapelle's photo. The big flow-y dresses are also another similarity in the two photographs and are used to give the photo direction. 

I think David LaChapelle and Nigel Barker have similar photography styles because they are both heavily involved in the process. It doesn't seem like any of the photos happen by chance, it seems like both photographers have a certain image in their minds that they are trying to capture and they control every aspect of their photos to ensure that have the final product that they are looking for.