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Edgy Fashion Photography Biography
Erwin Blumenfeld was a creative photographer with hands in both the art and fashion worlds. He was born in Germany in 1897 and first became interested in taking photos at a young age by taking snapshots with a small box camera. He lived in Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris before arriving in the United States in 1941. Blumenfeld was also a classically trained artist with an intensive background in drawing and painting. He would later use this core knowledge for his visually intricate photos.
Soon after moving to Holland in 1918, Blumenfeld opened his own storefront business, selling leather goods such as wallets and suitcases. The store included a sealed-up photo that he discovered by knocking down a wall. Finding this fully stocked and functional studio was a great stroke of luck, and Blumenfeld began experimenting and teaching himself in earnest over the next decade.
Blumenfeld first garnered some attention in the 1930s when he created and published anti-Hitler artwork. He was briefly imprisoned in an internment camp in 1940 but allowed to leave the following year. His first job after arriving in the US was at Harper’s Bizarre magazine before he started taking photos for Vogue.
Between the late 1940s and 1960s, Blumenfeld became the most famous and renowned fashion photographer in the world. His magazine covers are still intriguing today for their intricate lighting effects and compositional choices. Many aspiring high fashion photographers today study Blumenfeld’s work as a source of inspiration.
Use of Light
Blumenfeld shot his magazine photos primarily in color and most of his other artistic work in black and white. He made several different creative uses of studio lighting in both cases, including filtering, diffusing or concentrating light in one small area of the subject. In some of his images, light serves as a means of adding dimension to a posed fashion model.
Compositional Technique
Blumenfeld arranged his models and other subject matter in a way that keeps the viewer looking. Even some of simplest images are edited in a way that captures onlookers’ curiosity and makes them wonder about the story behind the image. One notable example is an image of one eye and one pair of lips against a stark white background. Blumenfeld also used translucent drapes and similar props to make parts of his subjects deliberately softer in focus. Some of his best-known fashion shots include repeating patterns of the model’s shape, which adds another artistic element to an otherwise run-of-the-mill fashion shot.
Use of Contrast
Some of Blumenfeld’s photos have more contrast than others, and his black-and-white photography tends to have the most contrast when compared to his work in color. He sometimes placed a small area of a model’s face against a black background and arranged the lighting so that the visible area of the face appeared to glow white. This simple but effective method created an especially dramatic effect.
Parting Thoughts
Blimenfeld became famous and noteworthy because his fashion photography was anything but pedestrian documentation of a clothing collection. He added plenty of elements that made his images otherworldly and special. Much of his work reflects his attitude that fashion photography carries just as much artistic merit and impact as other art mediums such as painting.
Edgy Fashion Photography Biography
Erwin Blumenfeld was a creative photographer with hands in both the art and fashion worlds. He was born in Germany in 1897 and first became interested in taking photos at a young age by taking snapshots with a small box camera. He lived in Berlin, Amsterdam and Paris before arriving in the United States in 1941. Blumenfeld was also a classically trained artist with an intensive background in drawing and painting. He would later use this core knowledge for his visually intricate photos.
Soon after moving to Holland in 1918, Blumenfeld opened his own storefront business, selling leather goods such as wallets and suitcases. The store included a sealed-up photo that he discovered by knocking down a wall. Finding this fully stocked and functional studio was a great stroke of luck, and Blumenfeld began experimenting and teaching himself in earnest over the next decade.
Blumenfeld first garnered some attention in the 1930s when he created and published anti-Hitler artwork. He was briefly imprisoned in an internment camp in 1940 but allowed to leave the following year. His first job after arriving in the US was at Harper’s Bizarre magazine before he started taking photos for Vogue.
Between the late 1940s and 1960s, Blumenfeld became the most famous and renowned fashion photographer in the world. His magazine covers are still intriguing today for their intricate lighting effects and compositional choices. Many aspiring high fashion photographers today study Blumenfeld’s work as a source of inspiration.
Use of Light
Blumenfeld shot his magazine photos primarily in color and most of his other artistic work in black and white. He made several different creative uses of studio lighting in both cases, including filtering, diffusing or concentrating light in one small area of the subject. In some of his images, light serves as a means of adding dimension to a posed fashion model.
Compositional Technique
Blumenfeld arranged his models and other subject matter in a way that keeps the viewer looking. Even some of simplest images are edited in a way that captures onlookers’ curiosity and makes them wonder about the story behind the image. One notable example is an image of one eye and one pair of lips against a stark white background. Blumenfeld also used translucent drapes and similar props to make parts of his subjects deliberately softer in focus. Some of his best-known fashion shots include repeating patterns of the model’s shape, which adds another artistic element to an otherwise run-of-the-mill fashion shot.
Use of Contrast
Some of Blumenfeld’s photos have more contrast than others, and his black-and-white photography tends to have the most contrast when compared to his work in color. He sometimes placed a small area of a model’s face against a black background and arranged the lighting so that the visible area of the face appeared to glow white. This simple but effective method created an especially dramatic effect.
Parting Thoughts
Blimenfeld became famous and noteworthy because his fashion photography was anything but pedestrian documentation of a clothing collection. He added plenty of elements that made his images otherworldly and special. Much of his work reflects his attitude that fashion photography carries just as much artistic merit and impact as other art mediums such as painting.
Edgy Fashion Photography
Edgy Fashion Photography
Edgy Fashion Photography
Edgy Fashion Photography
Edgy Fashion Photography
Edgy Fashion Photography
Edgy Fashion Photography
Edgy Fashion Photography
Edgy Fashion Photography
Edgy Fashion Photography
Edgy Fashion Photography
Wow, some really nice shots. I love edgy fashion, and I'm quite keen on photography! I don't do a lot myself but love to look at other prints and images. Some really inspiring alternative style here. I love the leopard print In the third frame down. I like to go top disturbia clothing for a lot of alternative key pieces like this whenever I want to make an outfit or a photograph have a pop of colour like that one. Thanks for such an interesting and inspiring blog! Here's my latest purchase if you're interested :) http://www.rebelstateclothing.com/Product-900/Disturbia-Clothing/T-Shirts/Disturbia-Womens-Bat-Country-Tee-Desert
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