Photographer: Philip-Lorca DiCorcia

Philip-Lorca Dicorcia is an american photographer whose work drifts between the realms of both documentary and portraiture. His work often seems to document the real however has an mix of fiction thrown in. This results in complex images which often have their own narratives. His images are carefully considered and composition is almost staged like a set.

The three images above are from a collaboration with W magazine that was arranged as an editorial shoot. DiCorcia has taken the standard editorial shoot and turned it into his own with the women in the images wearing styled designer pieces set in shots you wouldn't usually see them in.  These images are somewhat withdrawn from the usual high gloss style you would expect to see, however instead add a little bit more of a realistic gritty feel and something you'd least expect when turning the pages of a woman's fashion magazine. The images are each their own and all tell different stories which is very coherent with the photographers style. All images are untitled so they're left for you to make your own mind up about their stories.

In one image above you see a lady walking down the street near a car wash, in another you see a woman up a ladder in a elegantly dressed gown.

I feel the lighting in these images are very important as they set an overall mood and make the images more engaging. Each of the photographs above include slightly different lighting. The first is very direct light on the models face, the second is slightly warmer and diffused and the third seem to be coming mostly from the lighting above.

My favourite image is the middle one with the car wash as the tones and overall composition really seem to draw me in. The wall in the almost centre of the image kind of splits it so you're left looking at both scenes on each side. To me it makes me think whether she is actually anything to do with the car being washed or if she is simply just making her way past. The lighting also suggests that it was taken towards dusk as everything has a soft warm cast to it. The model is dressed in all black and is slightly dresses up so it could also suggest she is going somewhere for the evening. It looks like some artificial lighting may have been used to highlight the model and the red wall in the centre.