Vintage Reflections by Marjie Callaghan at Aurora Photography

 

This is a collection of 1920's vintage clothing on display at the Nanaimo Heritage Museum. I was inspired by the texture of the fabric to do some type of macro study. Once I started walking around, the reflections of the other manequins in each display case was haunting and I decided to refocus on that. I think the result is beautiful.

 

When I was in Art College, I was drawn to fashion  and textiles, however, photography became my passion when others thought I may turn towards a fashion career. I fell in love with the photography side of the industry and worked for the fashion section of Disinformation Magazine for a couple of years in the 90's. My problem with the way that the industry presents the models is the distorted photoshopping and unrealistic body shapes. My hope for this industry is that we will go back to the natural REAL body shape and stop starving our models.

 I photograph about 2000 Highschool Seniors a year and have taken a fashion style approach to the sessions. I think this is a great way to approach Senior portraiture and keeps it contemporary. My job as a photographer is to make ALL body shapes look amazing, not through photoshop, but through finding the most flattering angles. I find beauty in all of my clients and hope they then find beauty in themselves.

 

This project made me look at how women have been portrayed throughout the last century in the media and although I am drawn to the glamour of the runway, we have a long way to go in creating a realistic and healthy body image in this industry. I feel designers and photographers are the ones who need to take responsibility for these issues. 

 

Cheers!