More Than Window Dressing; Mannequins Help Photography Come Alive Yesterday & Today!

Contained within the treasures of King Tutankhamen's tomb was a wooden figure probably used to display robes and jewelry. One photograph of this object has been aptly named, "The King's Mannequin".

Since then, these 3-D  styled representations of human forms have been produced out of wicker, wax, soldered metal and papier-mache. 

eraneran70. “Mannequin Talk.” 2009-Apr-03.
http://flic.kr/p/6chLzB

Mannequins and Photography...A Perfect Pair!
According to Marsha Bentley Hale, curator of a large collection of photographs, documents and knowledge about the subject of mannequins; “Some of those materials proved unsuitable, however. Wax melted, she said, and some of the plastics used in the 1940s turned a horrid shade of green in the heat of display windows. Since the '40s, she said, most mannequins have been made of fiberglass.”

Mannequins paired up perfectly with photography. They found each other just as picture taking was taking off. 

And, why not?
A subject that always held absolutely still while never complaining about the photographer’s desire to try one more shot using a just a little different lighting! Never a model release to sign! Perfect.

A Place in History
Another important role mannequins have come to play is their intricate part in the ability to display objects that have been placed into preservation. The Smithsonian is an excellent example where you will find exhibit halls filled with mannequins on display with specific clothing and body adornments, each properly preserved then fitted to these life-like forms.

In fact, an entire industry called “The Invisible Mannequin Look” has now appeared on scene using today’s digital imaging techniques. This process actually allows the garment on display to be appropriately fitted to a mannequin, who is then digitally removed from the image. The resulting photograph offers up a rather mysterious resulting full figured display with absolutely no body. To check out how the technique is performed, check out Chris Brock’s Invisible Mannequin Guide.

There’s An App For That! (Really...)
Want to know more about mannequins? 

Flickr.com has a group with over 3,300 members ready to discuss the subject, especially in terms of photography them.

Need a mannequin? You can check out Mannequin Maddness where you can find a treasure trove of more on the subject.

Still want to amp it up to another level? Go Las Vegas! The Las Vegas Mannequins Showroom & Warehouse even has an app for your smartphone. Its new LVM Mobile Smart Phone App allows users to access informational content on products, services, and even videos on any mobile platform device. According to their website, downloading the mobile app only takes seconds and is completely free.

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