How It Happened: Brief but Glorious History of Glamour Images
As a prominent artistic school, Beauty Photography has been altered dramatically through the past years; knowledge of what happened to it earlier can give us the clue of what awaits glamour images in the future. Beauty photography has seen a number of downfalls and artistic revolutions before it achieved its modern condition.
I will gladly take you on a short mind trip from the very dawn of Glamour Photos to their modern state – afterwards we will dabble in foreseeing their probable future.
Childhood. Nobody really knows from where to begin the history of beauty photography genre. Some derive it from so-called “French postcards” which were quite popular in the streets of Paris in the early 1900’s, some address to Victorian pioneers of this art. Some think that cultural foundation and inspiration for glamour pictures lies in XVI and XVIII centuries. So, to be honest, glamour photography is a really a child of uncertain origin. What I think is that the most likely period in which beauty photography was born is 1920′s and 1930′s, which were quite a vibrant time in terms of arts and culture. It is from the first half of 20th century that we can finally gasp distinguishable and credible information about glamour photography.
Brilliant 50’s and Beyond. The period that started with 50′s was perhaps the most successful – and hard – time for beauty photography. Shining star of Betty Grable was in zenith ever since pre-WWII time; Marilyn Monroe brought even more recognition to glamour photography by her famous appearance on Playboy’s cover in 1953. There were also Pamela Green and others helping to bring this young art to its feet and conquer the world-wide audience.
Dawn of Digital Era. Glamour images not only acquired color as years went by – they also became more frivolous, imaginative and sometimes provocative. Hope Talmons and Dita Von Teese gave way to Heidie Van Horne, Bernie Dexter, Lucy Pinder and others. As it happened, film gave way to digital photography. The tidal wave of progress improved glamour images’ technical quality and drastically simplified the very process of photo production. Everyone with a DSLR camera could become another glamour artist. Due to rapid development of Internet technologies, a swarm of “people with cameras” emerged, awaiting recognition.
Are you Afraid of 3D? Now we are at the beginning of something completely different – 3D-rendered glamour images have become another fancy, competing with traditional photography. This new form of art attempts to challenge the canons of glamour images. I really doubt that 3D-rendered beauty can better the genuinely beautiful model and a talented artist cannot be matched by a PC. If this is a struggle of old and modern, my side is with the former.
The future, however, is bright – despite everything, oil, film and digital live on and remain popular. 3D art undoubtedly deserves for its own niche and admirers. We don’t owe all the masterpieces to technology – we owe them to artists, their inspiration and their unique vision. Remembering this simple truth is a mark of a truly passionate artist.
Tags: glamour, images, photography, photos
Leave a Reply