Left to right: Dress, Jeff Banks, £9.90, P.R’s Top Shop. Dress, Ann Reeves, £9.25, Miss Selfridge,
Soft country girl dresses falling just below the knee in dark flowery prints ready for autumn, great for now. Looking sweet and old-fashioned with padded shoulders, sweetheart necklines or rever collars and cuffs – and all they really need is you and some romantic thoughts!
Very David Hamilton/Sarah Moon influenced shoot by John Carter. Scanned from Petticoat, July 1973.
Left to right: Beige dress, Jeff Banks, £9.90, Lady Tramp SW3. Mr Freedom hat, £2.50. Cream dress, Bus Stop, £9.95.
Left to right: Floral dress, Jeff Banks, £15.90, Irvine Sellars, sizal hat £2.50 from Biba. Black print dress, Ann Reeves, £9, Miss Selfridge.
A weak shoot – Some decent Art Direction / storyboarding would have lifted the whole concept, prevented the same basic pose being replicated, and perhaps actually demonstrated what the clothes looked like !
As an example of ‘How NOT to do a fashion shot’, it as merit, and is indicative of the ‘self indulgence’ of photography at the time – excessive use of soft filters, and a reliance on referencing ‘The Impressionists’
I agree that it’s not one of the finest, but I disagree that this style of photography is self-indulgent or failing in its task. There are a million and one other photoshoots in this, and similar, magazines – people didn’t really need to see the clothes in supersharp focus. It’s more about creating a mood or a different context for them. Also, I think they were deliberately trying to move away from the stiff, white background, perfect focus, photography of the likes of Bailey and Donovan. Anything which becomes a dominant style will eventually feel tired and creative people (like James Wedge or Sarah Moon) will seek to do something different.