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A Photoshoot for the Young
Read MoreThe History of Glamour Photography
There’s something about those early Hollywood images. They are black and white, and relatively low-grade when compared to the HD images of today, yet still they seem alive with color and life. This ‘color’ is largely down to the efforts of two people; two out-of-towners from Ohio and New York respectively, whose names still loom large over the legacy of 1930s Hollywood. They are George
Hurrell and Ruth Harriet Louise. Without them the modern glamour photography industry would be nothing.
The Pioneers
Both Hurrell and Louise arrived in California in 1925 to find a Hollywood in transition. Advances in technology were paving the way for better quality pictures – both in the sense of feature films and in promotional photography – and Al Jolson’s groundbreaking “talkie,” "The Jazz Singer,” was just around the corner. Over the next 15 years, these two were responsible for some of the best known images of the day – images whose power and magic has endured over the years. Tragically, Ruth Harriet Louise died from complications relating to the birth of her child in 1940, while Hurrell continued to work in Hollywood,
off and on, for another four decades.
The images that the pair took of stars like Ann Sheridan, Olivia de Havilland, Greta Garbo and Marion Davies truly capture the zeitgeist of Hollywood in the 1920s and ‘30s, and are, in some part, responsible for our modern perception of that golden period of American cinema.
The Vision of Hurrell and Louise
The true genius of George Hurrell and Ruth Harriet Louise lay in their vision, and in their ability to give true beauty a platform from which it could shine. As the careers of Louise and Hurrell developed, America fell into the grips of The Great Depression; employment fell, banks foreclosed on mortgages and a solemn cloud of gloom fell upon the United States. Hollywood provided the antidote to this, and the movie producers and portrait photographers of the day set about creating ideals, creating escapist paeans that movie-lovers could take inspiration from.
Hurrell and Louise recognized this. They captured images that elevated movie stars above the level of humanity, turning them into symbols of perfection around which people could build hope. What had begun as a medium for packaging motion pictures and movie stars as saleable commodities became something more than this; it became a way to convince the citizens of the United States that there was still hope, there would still be a tomorrow and that there still would be a future after that. In a very real sense, glamour photography had taken on a wholly new element of social importance.
The End of Innocence
As attitudes towards nudity and sex began to relax towards the end of the 1940s, publishers of glamour shots began to find that their audience had an appetite for something more than the relative innocence of those early pictures.
Models like Bettie Page, herself a native of Nashville, Tennessee who moved to New York in the hope of landing a movie deal, found themselves pushed into the limelight as glamour shoots became increasingly risqué and overtly sexualized. The influence that these more liberated shoots had – and continue to have – on popular culture, is tempered by the often shoddy treatment their subjects received at the hands of exploitative publishers and movie producers, who were often themselves driven underground by rigid publication and obscenity laws.
Glamour Today
The Bettie Page era marked a transition for glamour photography, not simply in the sense that sexuality was pushed to the forefront, but also in the way in which legislation was restructured to prevent the exploitation of young models.
As for those early years – the years of Ruth Harriet Louise and George Hurrell – their legacy continues to be felt. We see evidence of this in the proliferation of ‘old school’ and retro glamour shoots which still make the pages of mainstream magazines and publications. Without the dedication of these early glamour pioneers, the landscape of glamour photography would be very different today, and our perception of what is beautiful, what is elegant and what is glamorous would be almost unrecognizable.
Fine Art Album
Once you have decided to indulge yourself with a personalized photo shoot, your next decision should be the method by which you will conserve and display the finished product. The importance of a proper storage system for your valued photos cannot be overemphasized. Both the character and quality of your photo holder will contribute to the impression it makes upon potential viewers.
A particularly distinctive way to both showcase and protect your photographs is to invest in an artisan quality portfolio. There is no more elegant means of sharing your beautiful pictures than an exquisite fine art album. As a child, I remember my Mum creating just such an album. She toiled for hours, to assemble our treasured photos in just the right order and pattern. The result was always something special. The album's opulent cover beckoned all to peer inside and view our life and times!
A cultured display will not only exhibit your treasured images in the most finished and cultured manner, but will insure that they last a lifetime. Your photos are matted within a graceful album, which fits a matching, hand covered box. Beautiful Asahi silk overlay makes this unique product a tasteful addition to your photographic collection. This handsome accessory can be stored or tucked in a briefcase or luggage pocket, for viewing when the time is right.
Your album will make a never-to-be-forgotten impression! A sophisticated portfolio is appropriate whether you wish to impress a prospective employer with corporate head shots, or just share your special glamour shots with family and friends.
Contact me to discuss your one-of-a-kind fine art album.