Launch Recite Me assistive technology
A person wearing a red and white polka-dot jacket and several rings looks at the camera. To their right, handwritten text on a white wall reads “IT AIN’T MUCH if IT AIN’T DUTCH.”

Rob Oades' Polaroids capture off-duty models with fascinating results

—
Date
9 May 2013

For the past four years, photographer Rob Oades has been taking polaroids of the many models he’s worked with on a whole host of fashion shoots. From fresh-faced newcomers to seasoned professionals Robert has captured them all, and it’s interesting to see which ones are unable to turn off the lens-perfected pout and which seem much more relaxed. He also asks his subjects to sign the resulting pictures and again it’s revealing that while some suffice with a simple name, others doodle over their own faces, leave messages and cite in-jokes. The combination of Robert’s eye for a great-looking picture and the input of the subjects makes the polaroids into interesting objects, over and above the images themselves.

A person with dark, styled hair wears a colourful, patterned jacket with a deep neckline and a gold spiral brooch. The image is a Polaroid with the word “Flowerdew.” and a small sun doodle handwritten in black ink on the white border.
Above

Rob Oades: Polaroids

A Polaroid photo of a person with blonde hair wearing a belted tan coat. A dark ink signature is scribbled across the centre of the image.
Above

Rob Oades: Polaroids

A person holds a cigarette to their lips in a Polaroid photo. They wear a blue floral blazer and a beaded necklace. Handwritten text on the photo reads “Rianne” with a heart, and “SMOKING KILLS!” across the bottom border.
Above

Rob Oades: Polaroids

A person with long blonde hair wears a white knit sweater and poses outdoors. Handwritten text on the white border of the polaroid reads “Yeah + Aline Weka” and “in the House!”.
Above

Rob Oades: Polaroids

A Polaroid photo of two people with long blonde hair standing outdoors against a backdrop of green foliage. One wears a leopard-print shirt, while the other wears a pale yellow jacket and holds a cigarette. Handwritten text on the white border reads “Emily Baker” and “Aline Uder”, accompanied by small hand-drawn hearts and stars.
Above

Rob Oades: Polaroids

A Polaroid photo of a person wearing a white bodysuit and a cream jacket. Black marker doodles over the image include a crown, the name “SAMMI”, a map of Nebraska labelled “NE”, and a Capricorn zodiac symbol. The bottom white border reads “mines a jack + coke”.
Above

Rob Oades: Polaroids

A person with wet hair stands in a dark swimming pool, looking towards the camera. The image is a polaroid with a black ink signature scrawled across the bottom right corner.
Above

Rob Oades: Polaroids

A Polaroid photo of a person with messy blonde hair and purple lipstick, wearing a white top and a chunky necklace. Handwritten text on the white border reads “LOVE X CATO”.
Above

Rob Oades: Polaroids

A person wearing a red and white polka-dot jacket looks directly at the camera. Hand-written text to the right reads “IT AIN’T MUCH IF IT AIN’T DUTCH.” and a signature at the bottom reads “Rianne”.
Above

Rob Oades: Polaroids

Share Article

Further Info

About the Author

Rob Alderson

—

Rob Alderson is a freelance writer, editor and strategist. He was previously editor-in-chief of It’s Nice That and WePresent, and editor of Design Week. He publishes the newsletter Undo, which tries to make sense of how AI is changing design work, the design process and the design industry.

It's Nice That Newsletters

Fancy a bit of It's Nice That in your inbox? Sign up to our newsletters and we'll keep you in the loop with everything good going on in the creative world.