Andy Fallon Photography

To gain a better understanding of the genre of Music photography I decided to look at the work of a number of leading photographers who work for NME, MOJO, Q, Kerrang, Metal Hammer and Uncut. Specifically I looked at the work of Andy Fallon. The work of Andy Fallon interested me because his photos ensure that the essence of the subject is captured and therefore make them more striking and eye catching. His unique and intimate portrait style has won him a solid reputation as a music photographer especially after he has shot iconic images for the likes of Morrissey, Michael Stipe, The Killers, Dave Grohl, Dizzee Rascal and more. Not only has he taken portraits of such high status artists but he has also had portraits published in The Guardian, The Saturday Telegraph, The Sunday Times, NME, MOJO, SPIN, and Rolling Stone.

I found this photograph really eye catching because of the bright colours and also the bold styling that is used here. I think this is done as a way to catch the audience’s attention because if this style of photo was used for a magazine front cover than people are more likely to look at it because of these colours and are then more likely to buy it. I think in the terms of Andy Fallon’s individual photography style he is trying to capture the essence of the artist that people wouldn’t expect to be, as if showing the audience something new to them. It also has the reference to Andy Warhol pop art creating a style surrounding it that is familiar yet different in this specific content. I think the representation of the female in the picture links to Laura Mulvey’s theory of the male gaze which states that women are only there as an object of desire and this is done through three different ways; the look of the audience, the look of the camera, and the look of the male spectators. As although she isn’t pulling an obviously sexual pose it is still clear that she isn’t wearing much and that she has a lot of bare skin on show. This links back to Mulvey’s theory as the idea that she doesn’t have much clothing on shows she is an object of desire because men are picturing her body more because she is showing so much skin. Also the pose that she is pulling is showing a secretive stance but with her pursed lips it is almost as if she is flirting with the audience. As this pose has lustful connotations of what the secret could be and this links back to the male spectators as this is something that will appear to them. There is also the use of star vehicle in this photo which appeals to the use for a magazine front cover as it will attract fans of that artist. Although the artist being used is Beth Jeans Houghton who isn’t as widely known as many artists so the fan following for her would be a much smaller niche group.

I think this photo is really interesting as it shows a good use of location while the old sofa is showing something that you would not expect to be here. I think this type of bold photography works well because it gives the audience member a variety of different focuses inside the photo as the location has an attraction because of the countryside element. I also think by having the star vehicle of Carl Barot the indie rock musician in this photo this setting is perfect as it shows the contrast between his rocker image with the green vast countryside. This works well because the connotations of his rocker image and the relaxed pose on the sofa are he is laid back, careless, and sticking to the conventions of what a rocker does. But the contrast with the background shows a setting far from the fast paced rock musician lifestyle creating an overall image that captures the audience in. This image also sticks to the stereotype that men are lazy and shouldn’t have to do much as this shows him just lounging about without nothing else to do.