Fashion photographer Marie Zucker widens her scope towards personal photographic travelogues

Date
25 May 2016

German-born, London-based photographer Marie Zucker, specialises in shooting fashion as a collection of introspective moments captured on celluloid. Her first professional work was featured in Vogue Italia in 2011, little over a year since a SX70 Polaroid camera ignited her interest in photography. While still at London College of Fashion studying photography, she was already seeing the fruits of her labour featured in the likes of AnOther Magazine, Oyster, and Nylon, attracting further commissions from Louis Vuitton, Tank and Vogue China.

Frequently cropped, obscured or isolated on minutiae her images hone in on a feel of the accidental, of chance and the naturalistic. The momentary position of key details outweighs the importance of the whole picture. Even many of her editorial fashion shoots feature their subjects in set-ups reminiscent of casual instant shooting, often in states of partial undress or whimsical experimentation, than they do high fashion signature poses. Subjects frequently face away from the camera, turning away from the hallmarks of a traditional commercial editorial and towards the contemplative, working not just in service to the featured clothes but as attractive studies in their own right.

Some of her best work though, such as her Tanzanian travel diary featured in French magazine Purple, breaks from her centric discipline of fashion. A muted, grainy quality prevails through the pieces, as if shot sometime in the past during a golden age of travel. Though editorial in their eventual purpose and undoubted calibre — they might not superficially, for example, seem entirely out of place in a vintage edition of National Geographic — they end up feeling evocative of a singular personal anthropological curiosity, rather than strict scientific study.

What might on paper seem like a checklist of tourist troupes — an elephant, a zebra, Maasai villagers, vistas of the Serengeti — is negated by the style and presentation. The subjects are seldom featured in the traditional manner: the zebra is an extreme close-up on the neck, unidentifiable if not for the animal’s iconic print; Maasai villagers go about their business and casually stroll out of shot rather than pose for exploitative tourist shots. Soft focus, grain and a tight field of view (even in the portrayal of sweeping vistas) continue her analogue tradition, and reinforce the earnest exploratory intentions.

A recent trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand has yielded similar results, demonstrating an interest in pursuing and developing her style further beyond the realms of fashion photography; Marie’s creative style looks to hold as she approaches new challenges, experimenting in moments caught in motion, with a short film shot in the German Alps awaiting release in June.

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Marie Zucker: Shanghai for Thu Thu

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Marie Zucker: Shanghai for Thu Thu

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Marie Zucker: Shanghai for Thu Thu

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Marie Zucker: Tanzanian travel diary for Purple

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Marie Zucker: Chiang Mai travel diary for Purple

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Marie Zucker: Chiang Mai travel diary for Purple

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About the Author

Jamie Green

Jamie joined It’s Nice That back in May 2016 as an editorial assistant. And, after a seven-year sojourn away planning advertising campaigns for the likes of The LEGO Group and Converse, he came back to look after New Business & Partnerships here at It’s Nice That. Get in touch with him to discuss new business opportunities, and how we can work together on creative partnerships, insights, experiences or advertising.

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