Might be a dumb question...

[dancingsphinx22]

...but I just can't seem to find an answer.

I'm wondering if there is a specific name for the type of portraits/shoots shown below.

http://i39.tinypic.com/nlq2l2.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/99qwbn.jpg
http://i41.tinypic.com/10s93f7.jpg
http://i42.tinypic.com/fmpg7b.jpg

The shots are obviously staged, and yes they are all of famous people from Vanity Fair shoots, but they are not "fashion shoots" nor are they product photography either.

But if you were to take pictures of normal people, dressed up in costumes with staged poses and backgrounds, what would you call the shots? Are they still just portraits?

Thanks,
M

 

[Overread]

I belive "Alice in Wonderland" is the kind of thing you are looking at and certainly applies to the last shot. Other than that you could name it what you like - it is just portrait work at the end of the day, just that you've added fantasy or other elements to the scene.

 

[gsgary]

Most of them are commitioned shoots by Annie Leibovitz for advertizing

 

[Iron Flatline]

The style is generally referred to as "Editorial". It is close to fine art, but usually commissioned by a magazine editor. The typical usage is fashion (show all the new summer clothes) but there are also these Annie Leibovitz shots that are about award nominees, or even some of the gear magazines showing pretty girls with hot gadgets.

Editorial shooting is the most expensive. The big magazines (Vogue, Harper's, Vanity Fair) pay extremely low page rates (Vogue only pays $500 bucks per page!) but it is the best advertisement for a photographer. There is a lot of money involved - models, sets, make-up, hair, wardrobe, gear, processing, retouching, catering... Not for the faint of heart.

Melissa Rodwell had an interesting article recently.

Check it out.

A good source for catching Editorial shoots is Fashionising.com.