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We all might think we know what to expect from fashion photography. But away from the highly commercial, glossy shoots that dominate the mainstream media, there is scope for fashion photography to speak to its viewers a little more deeply. Aisling Farinella and Darragh Shanahan — curators of Resonate, The Gallery of Photography’s latest exhibition — asked 23 Irish photographers to pick a single image from their entire body of work. The images have appeared in publications such as Oyster and W Magazine. At a talk given by Farinella and contributor Linda Brownlee they explained that they felt it important for the photographers to pick the images themselves, as the commercial aspect of fashion photography often meant that the photographer’s favourite images are rarely the ones a magazine will use. Competing interests and the many people involved in a shoot inevitably means that the photographer has less control than with other types of photography.

This exhibition asks us to take a longer, more considered look at fashion photography. Without the interests of designers, advertisements, stylists and editors to contend with, these images are free to speak for themselves, and the result is intimate and often startling. The collection of pictures is eclectic, featuring different aesthetics, and moving from one to another produces a variety of reactions. Some photos are haunting, some are stark, others are dramatic. Stylised images sit beside ones which look wholly natural.

The variety of photographs is not only thought-provoking, but also demonstrates the expansive nature of this genre of photography, the many guises it can take. It gives viewers a chance to explore these images beyond the page of a magazine, makes them more than something to glance at or flick past. A wonderful showcase of Irish talent as well as an intriguing new look at fashion photography, this exhibition is well worth the short trip to Meeting House Square.

Until March 29, at the Gallery of Photography. Admission free.