babe of the week

frontispiece, country life magazine

Posted on in Editorial photography, Portrait photography

Frontispiece for Country Life Magazine

Country Life Magazine’s frontispiece, often referred to as the ‘Girls in pearl’, ‘babe of the week’ or ‘English rose’, is arguably one of the first pages people reach for when opening the magazine.   Originally this was a means of introducing young women into Society, portraying members of the aristocracy, but it has developed to celebrate engagements, achievements, new career choices, charity endeavours and so on.

It is the variety of styles, not just in the photography, but the clothing & composition that interests me so much the frontispiece.  One day you will find a beautifully lit close up portrait, another you’ll find a girl in green leaning out of a yellow digger, or as in this issue’s case, in gold standing in a round ball on a large lawn in Hampshire!    My preference lies with the more quirky shots and this is one of my recent favourites.

Thank you to the stunning Victoria Gibbs for making the shoot such fun, Avington Park for providing a spectacular location and Mach Management for their wonderful make up.