Under The Influence

Doisneau meets Vettriano – A retro-styled shoot with mature models and Models of Diversity

Being a photographer, you are continually influenced by other photographers’ work, especially the greats, whose famous images make such an indelible impact on you, that in some shape or form they influence your own work.

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For me the greatest influences have been the French street photographers, Jacques Henri Lartigue, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Robert Doisneau. Street photography for me is my first love and what I photograph for myself.

During the successful Catwalk4Change Fashion Show with Models of Diversity, that catalyst started the process to form these images. Mature models dressed in vintage clothing catwalked towards us (the photographers); it struck me, these were scenes lifted directly from the canvases of the artist Jack Vettriano.

It was both obvious and simple, take four mature models, who all were friends as a consequence of the show and photograph them in London in a style of Doisneau with the composure and feel of Vettriano. The opportunity realised itself days later, with a chance to shoot on a Saturday afternoon, on The Embankment in London. Granted, it’s neither the Parisian Streets nor the flat tide-less beaches made famous by photographer and artist alike, but it was our canvass with which to tell our story.

Four friends, socialites having been out all night at a party carry on together into the break of day, not wanting the spell to end as in inevitably would.

Oblivious to all those around, we take to The Embankment to play out our parts and I watch and record from behind the lens. For those who know either artist or photographer’s work, you will see the influences I hope. For those that don’t, maybe you will look both up.

The four models, Annabel, Samantha, Mark and John, styled themselves and acted the parts with ease. Would I have been able to get the same results with younger models? Maybe, but I would not have got the intent and subtle style in their poses that I got from these mature models.

under_the_influencePhotography and words by James Alexander Lyon

Models: Annabel Davis, Samantha Tomlin, Mark Flynn Rutter & John McKenzie – Models of Diversity

Styling: Models’ own

Download a copy of the images and sample page spreads (Pdf 4.6Mb) [wpdm_file id=1]

 

 

A Slideshow of the images use in the editorial piece.

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