David LaChapelle
Chanel on Ice, 1998
Pigment print
40 x 29 in
I started working for magazines in the era of Grunge, which influenced fashion and photography. Most of the editorial work I saw at the time was black and white or very desaturated, but I was taking very colourful pictures and avoiding trends.
I began to use America as a background for my photographs; saturated scenes of Daytona Beach, theme parks, motels, auto shops, ski slopes, Vegas and the boardwalks of Southern California. I cast models that were not accepted in the fashion world and we took a lot of risks.
Traveler Magazine sent me to many locations which opened up my world view. This led to a job shooting a campaign at a popular island in the South Atlantic. At the time it was overrun with tourists and pretty bleak. The only pristine beach I found was next to a prison. I focused on making the most aspirational photo possible. We shot by the prison but I used a really beautiful angle that avoided the building.
Andy would say about portraits “do whatever you want, but make them beautiful.” I applied that attitude to all of my assignments.
For fashion magazines | pulled a lot of clothes from thrift stores and costume shops. If I couldn't find things I wanted for the story, I would make them and credit famous designers.
No one checked the credits, so it was fine.
People say a photo doesn't lie. Mine do. Well sometimes just a little fib here and there. - David LaChapelle
I began to use America as a background for my photographs; saturated scenes of Daytona Beach, theme parks, motels, auto shops, ski slopes, Vegas and the boardwalks of Southern California. I cast models that were not accepted in the fashion world and we took a lot of risks.
Traveler Magazine sent me to many locations which opened up my world view. This led to a job shooting a campaign at a popular island in the South Atlantic. At the time it was overrun with tourists and pretty bleak. The only pristine beach I found was next to a prison. I focused on making the most aspirational photo possible. We shot by the prison but I used a really beautiful angle that avoided the building.
Andy would say about portraits “do whatever you want, but make them beautiful.” I applied that attitude to all of my assignments.
For fashion magazines | pulled a lot of clothes from thrift stores and costume shops. If I couldn't find things I wanted for the story, I would make them and credit famous designers.
No one checked the credits, so it was fine.
People say a photo doesn't lie. Mine do. Well sometimes just a little fib here and there. - David LaChapelle
EP1-00056 457
©David LaChapelle