Get an exclusive insight into the experiences of a ’90s photographer and find out just what it takes to get that authentic ’90s image for your projects.
The 90s photography scene is becoming ever-more popular, from simple Instagram filters that give your images a retro feel, to the resurgence of the Polaroid camera (who’d have thought it?!). Photography in the ‘90s was all about fun and experimentation, and with ’90s influences emerging across the creative industries, it is no surprise that the photography world is experiencing the same thing.
The resurgence of 90s photography styles is demonstrating the power a well-executed image can have in transporting the viewer back to a particular moment in time. Recreating a 90s scene is not only a fun and exciting way to connect with your audience, but it’s also one of the biggest emerging trends in photography for 2018.
We caught up with photographer Honey Salvadori to find out all about life as a London-based documentary photographer in a pre-internet photography world…
“In the ’90s people developed their own visual style – they just didn’t do it on a computer”
What was life like as a photographer in the 1990s?
It wasn’t that different from being a photographer in any decade – you belong to the generation you’re in. But what was different was what we photographed and how we photographed it.
What are the key differences between the 90s and now?
The most obvious thing was that back then, you shot on film rather than digital. There’s this misconception that shooting on film is just about putting film into a camera and getting the pictures processed, but it wasn’t like that.
It was all about getting to know the intricacies of your kit and there was a lot of in-camera tweaking – overexposing, underexposing – and then tweaking the images during processing.
People developed their own visual style – they just didn’t do it on a computer. In London, there were professional processing labs open twenty-four hours a day, who could turn your film around in a couple of hours – you can’t do that today!
What were the main outlets for your work?
The magazine culture started in the 1980s, with magazines like The Face and Blitz, and it blossomed in the 90s. There were an awful lot of print publications and no internet. I worked for the music press, then the fashion magazines, and I also did a lot of PR work for TV channels.
Without the help of the internet, how did photographers get noticed?
It was a very slow process. It was about being seen in the right magazines, so that when you contacted a picture editor, if they had already seen your work, it was easier to get commissions. If they hadn’t, you’d be asked to drop off your portfolio.
Without a website, it was all about making personal contact – you also spent a lot of time talking to voicemail! But London was a smaller world back then, and everybody knew everyone else, or at least had heard of everyone.
It was easier getting your name out there, because fewer people were doing photography. When the internet arrived, every photographer needed a website; now everyone needs an Instagram feed. In the 1990s; you needed an A2-sized portfolio or you didn’t exist.
What were the main trends in photography?
The 1990s were the other side of the style/anti-style cycle. The 1980s were all about stylised portraits, but the 90s saw the return of documentary photography. The most representative of this trend was Q magazine, which featured stories about bands on the road.
I was a documentary photographer and started getting commissions from Q, and then Vox. The documentary ethos influenced everything, and fashion magazines like Marie Claire, Elle and Cosmopolitan, started running documentary stories about women’s photojournalism – it was huge thing at that point.
What were your favourite shoots from the ’90s and why?
The rise of documentary photography also influenced television and there were a lot of TV docu-soaps in the 1990s. I shot a few of them, but the most memorable was a BBC series about women prisoners called Jailbirds. It was surreal wondering around a prison and having no trouble in finding prisoners who wanted to be photographed.
Another memorable shoot was when I photographed the all-women grunge band L7 in Nashville for Vox. Normally, when you did a band-on-the-road shoot, you would fly-in, take your pictures and then fly out. But somehow, we spent a week in Nashville. The band lived up to their hype, and so did Nashville. That was the best working job I’ve ever had.
What comes to mind when you look back at the 1990s?
There’s something nice about print, about having a physical object. When you’re in front of a screen, you tend to look at things quickly, whereas looking at print is a more meditative activity, which is why people still like books. But what’s good now is the rise of self-publishing. Back then, you always had to find a gatekeeper to publish your work. But self-publishing has been a good revolution for photographers.
Explore more brilliant imagery from Honey on Alamy >
How can photographers create a 90s setting for their shoots today?
The 90s was all about making the most of the tools you had (check out the photo above of a make-shift studio for Pirate Radio in Hackney, London), so here are some quick and easy ways to set the scene for your shoots today:
Get outdoors
Photographers in the 90s loved an outdoor shoot – in a field, down an alley way or under a bridge – all classic settings for the 90s. It’s one of the easiest ways to get recreate a 90s scene as well as getting out and about.
Style your models accordingly
For Honey, fashion is a big part of a 90s photo shoot, so remember that the 1990s was ‘anti-style’ and all about dressing down. “My favourite fashion label at the time was Ghost, which had huge, floaty blouses and long dresses, made from fake silk”, and we’re all familiar with a loose flannel shirt for the ultimate fashion-comfort combo!
Check out our (fashion note on Facebook) for some style inspiration from the 90s >
Do some good old-fashioned editing
With the surge in popularity of the 90s, there are some awesome filter packs available for programmes like Lightroom that let you edit your images to perfect the look you’re trying to achieve. Yes, OK, it may not strictly be a 90s photoshoot, but I won’t tell if you don’t!
Get some inspiration for your own 90s shoot with these awesome nostalgia-inducing images >