Audrey Hepburn: This Iconic Photograph During A Scene Of “Breakfast At Tiffany's”

This iconic photograph is of famous actress of the time, Audrey Hepburn during a scene of “breakfast at tiffany’s”. She is holding a long cigarette holder while wearing a stunning black dress complemented by pearl necklace and diamante hair clip. The photo was captured with a film camera as there were no digital images till 1975. The shot was taken during a classic scene known worldwide, which leads me to assume the intended audience is the media related viewers. To attract media attention to the making of “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” (BAT) by advertising the main character in costume, the famous Audrey Hepburn. It would also create excitement for release date for “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. This relates to the world as Audrey Hepburn was a massive influence at this time, for example after the screening of “Breakfast At Tiffany’s” the Cafe has now become world wide tourist destination in New York.

This image was also taken as World War 1 was ending, there was misery and despair at this time, as many soldiers died. The photography was able to uplift the world by distracting the public with a important and influential Social figure to divert the World Wide suffering. I created this image by using my sister as the model, all of my mothers jewelry to recreate her pearl necklaces. The material of the necklace were wood, diamantes and artificial jade. I also appropriated the “cigarette holder” as the modern generation are more educated towards the concerns of smoking, and adjusted it by using a rose to signify youth and growth. I have captured the image by using an Iphone X, which has a new feature, the portrait mode. Which blurs out the background in order to make my appropriated photograph more like the original. This makes the focal point remain on the portrait rather than be distracted by the busy background. I then edited it to black and white, using the camera filters to harminse the two images as coloured photographs were less prevalent in 1961. The photograph suggests that young female are encouraged to behave more mature than their age. This is evident in today’s society and culture.

My observation is that girls are getting younger and younger on Instagram, and therefore being exposed to inappropriate messages and copying these behaviours. Another subject that relates to today’s audience as the message of BAT is main character striving for something unachievable. Modern society has an unrealistic outlook on life from causes such as Social Media, making everyone’s lives look perfect from their Instagram account but in reality, there is much more to the situation then let on.