One of my favorite advertising campaigns is the Kodak Girl campaigns of the early 1900s. Kodak wanted to get women involved with photography figuring that if women had cameras and took photographs than they would sell more film and cameras. So they created the Kodak Girl who was portrayed in the ads as an active woman out with her camera. She traveled, she participated in sporting events, and she photographed her friends and family. What she didn’t do was be an object photographed by male photographers.
So this series of photos is inspired by the early Kodak Girl campaigns – portraying women across the years out photographing with their cameras.
Every model photographed in this series has been a joy to work with. The images are collaborations that I could not create with them. They all have contributed wonderful ideas, outfits, cameras and an amazing sense of fun to the project. Without their help, this project would still be an idea floating in my brain – they have brought the Kodak Girl to life.
Vivian Cove © 2024 Patty Hankins
Rebecca Lawrence © 2024 Patty Hankins
Augusta Monroe © 2024 Patty Hankins
Vivian Cove © 2024 Patty Hankins
Anoush Anou ©2024 Patty Hankins
Vintage Lady Sarah © 2024 Patty Hankins