Staged Authenticity. How the 'Real' Is Created in Model Photography

Abstract

While obviously lavish styling was favored in the past, the so-called "authentic" or "natural" style has recently gained popularity in the model photography scene. After looking at the cultural situation that paved the way for this style the article explores the on first sight conflicting needs for "the real" and for perfection. In the following, (visual) strategies for conveying the "authentic", including the choice of ordinary locations, the emphasis on the moment, built-in film errors reminiscent of analogue times, but also the emphasis on the friendly-intimate relationship between model and photographer. The resulting images pretend to be natural but are not. Through the apparent abandonment of signifiers, which stand for elaborate, high-quality recordings, these images emphasize emotion and intuition and could be perceived as more auratic.