Magazine Photography

One of the reasons I love being a magazine journalist is that I’m particularly fascinated by the interaction of words and pictures. Perhaps I’m a little like Alice in that….

Anyway, Slate has published an interesting article, a photo essay really, about fashion photography in magazines, which is well worth a read:

The Decline of Fashion Photography | An argument in pictures. | By Karen Lehrman

In many ways, I think the article applies to photography in magazines generally. The industry is still too accepting of mediocre illustrations and photography in general. Really good magazine illustration should both stand up as a work of art in its own right and as an informative part of the article. If it’s not communicating a message, it’s just there to beautify the page, and that’s a missed opportunity. If it’s not something that works as a work of art, it’s not attracting the reader’s attention. I’ve been really blessed to be working with great art people on both Estates Gazette and GRID which allow me to pursue that ideal. Too many magazines only seem to care about the words. They’re not enough on their own.