Image analysis

Black and white masterpiece, this visual analysis is about, is fashion campaign photograph for Versace taken by famous photographer Herb Ritts in 1990. This photo is showing us dark skinned model, who happens to be Naomi Campbell, wearing tight black clothes combined with high heels, also in black colour, clearly standing out from the bright white background. It is a full body picture where the model is in the centre, her legs are pointed straight at the camera, looking like she is stepping forward, while her torso and head can be seen from the profile making an open form photo. She is covered with the long see trough black veil which is hiding her face, but showing her desirable silhouette. Picture was definitely taken in some deserted place from which you can only recognise mountains in the distance. Weather has greatly influenced this shoot, so thanks to the wind her earlier mentioned veil is gently fluttering in the air leaving viewers with a strong impression.

Contrasts are the very first thing you see when you look at this picture. Visual contrast of model dressed and covered in black sticking out from bright white background is the most noticeable one but there is also a contrast between the left linear half and the right painterly half of the photo. One of the halves is showing clear, recognisable lines of model's figure while the other one is quite messy and lines are much harder to recognise. That shows us how balance of the image is assymetrical but the proportions in the photo are realistic. Using good light & shading techniques and with putting highlight on the model, photographer tried his best to make this 2D photo look like 3D one. Black veil ''dancing'' in the wind helps us imagine how smooth and silky its texture really is and makes us use other senses than just sight while analysing the photography. Many triangular shapes, like the one her legs,the lines on her veil or the mountains in the back are making, are repeating and are easy to spot in the shoot.

This photograph may seem meaningless to a lot of people on the first sight but there is a deeper meaning behind this fashion shoot. First of all, sentence „ Triangles are most likely representing power and strenght...˝ (Velarde, 2018) shows us how all those triangular shapes in the photo are probably there to point out how powerful the model (and all women) actually is. According to the way the image is viewed, there are multiple messages that the photographer wanted to send to the world. It can remind us there are dark and scary things and not everything is white in the world around us so if we want complete and pure life we should blow off all those things like the wind is trying to do with the veil. On the other hand if the image is analyzed from left to right we can interpret it as a life course, at first lines are clear and simple as the beginning of your life, without any important decisions and worries but the closer to the middle the more messy and intricate it becomes just like the veil in the wind. Third and most important point that is being shown is that no matter how many people (boring white background) want to blow away your beliefs and ideas (model and the black veil) only because they are different you should stand up for yourself and fight just like the model is resisting the wind.

To conclude this image analysis, I would like to say that this photograph should not be used only to promote clothes, but also to make everyone think about life and other people around them. Herb Ritts accomplished to transfer strong and important message from which all of us should learn. Personally, the first moment I saw the picture I liked it, but now, after all the research and analysis I have done I can truly say that I love it. From now on I will definitely pay more attention to the meanings of the images around me and I hope it won't be too hard to find more amazing ones.

After all, we live in a world full of visuals, don't we?