Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell in 3-D: The art of photographic sculpture

This week, British photographer Nick Knight joins CNN Style as a contributing editor. He's commissioned a series of features around the theme of fashion film and photography.

Photographic sculpture -- I even like the name; it's made up of two well known and traditional words both of which conjure up imagery of great art from the past, be it Brassai, Rodin, Avedon or Bernini.

But this is a new art form, totally of our age and as yet undefined and undeveloped. It is just one of what will be a gigantic wave of new art forms that will be come from the internet.

This particular one came from the worlds of engineering and medicine -- exciting parents to have. I came across it about 17 years ago, and fell in love with the idea straight away.

What is photographic sculpture?

Simply explained, photographic sculpture starts with a 3-D scan of the subject and ends with a physical sculpture printed out (or sintering) using the data of the scan.

The reason I call it photographic sculpture is that when I scan my model, I use exactly the same approach I do as when I photograph someone. The same directing, the same searching for shape and form, the same desire to portray their emotion, but I don't end up with a two dimensional photograph, but an object.

This object has been created using all the language of photography, such as multiple exposure, depth of field and so on.

It is retouched in just the same way one would a photographic image, in Photoshop.

This is a photograph as sculpture - I haven't chiseled away at a block of marble or pushed huge chunks of clay into forms, I have used every skill I would as a photographer, yet the end result is an physical object.

I have scanned some of the women in my life that I love, respect and find fascinating; Lady Gaga, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Liberty Ross and Daphne Guinness, for example.

All important women, strong women and women who shape our visual culture.

An early question you have to consider when making a sculpture is what material to work with: what should Daphne Guinness be made of? Alabaster? Orbicular Jasper? Titanium? Wax?

This thought process is new to me and the research into materials is only just starting. Apart from the classic materials like bronze or marble, I have new options that are so modern we only see their use in high performance sports technology or being used by NASA.

But, to me, the most exciting and by far the oddest option is that possibility is there to actually print in living matter - look at the now well know medical advances in printing out organs.(CNN)