Week 7: Networked Photography
Who is the practitioner (what is their name?) and when were they practising?
Emma Louise Connolly is a British model, focusing on fashion and is engaged to British reality TV star Proudlock. She was born in Dunblane, Scotland and is 28 years old. Her Instagram handle is @emmalouiseconnolly
I chose Emma as the persona she forms through her Instagram profile inspires me to make a better effort when it comes to my own fashion style. There are thousands of British models on Instagram, but Emma omits a certain likeability factor, being very engaging to watch etc. Currently her Instagram has over 400,000 followers, making it a portfolio of her life. She started being interested in fashion and fashion photography when she was a teenager, and studied fashion design. Since then, she has starred in many fashion campaigns, even appearing on a billboard in Piccadilly Circus in London.
What is the title of the photo or video you have chosen to analyse (can you provide a link?)
The title, Instagram calls it the caption, states “thankful for another year shooting the beautiful @hm Studio collection. This top makes me feel like Leanne Rimes in 2001 in all the best ways. And this photo makes me feel like I’m on the album cover. THANK YOU ❤️ #HMxME ad shot by @alexkenealy ✨”.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B8f_mWip5JD/
With the photo or video, you are examining when was it produced (date)?
The photo was uploaded to Instagram on February 13th 2020. However, it may have been produced before this date as it was for a brand campaign. Therefore, making an educated guess she didn’t get the photos that day regrading timings and priorities of the shoot and the photographer will have chosen the best ones to send to her.
How was the photo or video authored?
Emma Louise Connolly uses her iPhone for many of her Instagram photographs she takes and also owns cameras herself. However, as this was for a branded H&M location campaign, a professional photographer was used. Luckily, Emma has tagged the Instagram handle of the photographer: @alexkenealy. Alex Kenealy is Los Angeles photographer, specialising in fashion photography. She creates artistic video art on her website, but is most known for her aesthetically pleasing photography. On her Instagram profile, she describes herself as a director and a creative photographer. Looking through her portfolio of photographs, she truly lives up to being creative, using different angles, models, utilising lighting, features and so on.
I am limited to finding information on the camera’s used. Being a digital photograph in the 21st century, the majority of her work will be through the use of a digital camera. It is probable she uses a variety of cameras and could have used any camera from this list in order to generate this shot.
How was the photo or video published?
The photo was published via the social media network application Instagram. The concept of an ‘Instagram Influencer’ has become an increasingly used term to describe the models that construct an ‘Instagrammable’ portfolio of photographs that can influence their followers. For example, they post photographs of brands and take them as part of online marketing, aligning Instagram with the advertising agency.
It is very common for models to create an online portfolio through their own Instagram profiles. As western society moves forward, the network does too. It gives models the opportunity to monetise how they use Instagram, providing a vocational drive Behind every post. In Emma’s context, with each post she uploads, she is building her persona even more, creating a name for herself through her photographs. This in turn helps to grow her audience and the demand of content from her.
Emma also includes the geo-tag of California. Doing this means when other Instagram users search the geo-tag California, her post will come up for some who may interact with fashion, accessed through their shared cookies and personal data from other sites via the network. Through the Instagram algorithm of how many followers and activity an account has, the further up the post will go. Therefore, she will have more of a reach with her post, gaining more of an audience and exposing more branding for the H&M campaign, which she will be making money from.
How was the photo or video distributed?
The distribution of this photograph is immediate. The Instagram post will go on to the news-feeds of all of her followers, depending on when they will go on Instagram and how often they interact with Emma’s account. People use social media every day and interact with it in many different ways. Currently, the likes on the post is at nearly 6,000. This means already we know 6,000 people have seen the photograph and have gave a positive response towards it.
In this era of ever-changing technology, online photography changes with it. People use it in many different ways that 5 years prior no one would have dreamed about doing. Also, there is a fascination with producing aesthetically appealing photographs and utilising Instagram’s provided grid feature and filters to help build your account. Essentially, Instagram naturalises our understanding of how images are produced and shared in a contemporary society. With Emma using this knowledge to advertise her shared brand campaign with H&M, reaching a potential new target audience for the brand, always thinking about money. Emma’s account is clever because she styles her posts in a way that makes it not obvious and streamlined, when really these potentially paid posts is what keeps her career alive.
References
Kuoch, S (2019) Top 10 Best Cameras for Fashion Photography. Re Think Through. [Online], 9 October. Available from: <https://rethinkrethought.com/cameras-for-fashion-photography/> [Accessed 23/04/2020].
Long, J (2018) Who is Emma Louise Connolly? The design grad and model engaged to Made in Chelsea’s Proudlock. The Tab. [Online]. Available from: <https://thetab.com/uk/2018/08/13/who-is-emma-louise-connolly-the-nasty-gal-model-engaged-to-made-in-chelseas-proudlock-77302> [Accessed 23/04/2020].