Here's more from Retroatelier, my favorite portrait photography studio (link on the sidebar). They publicize their work using pictures of models in retro settings, then offer to do similar types of photos for paying customers. They're so well-known in the Ukraine that they occasionally pack up their props and do road tours.
Believe it or not, this (above) is a recent picture.
I could see a woman getting a nude portrait if it was done as well as this (above).
Men (above) photograph particularly well when they act in front of the camera.
Hollywood-style glamour photography!
A Marlena Dietrich pose above).
This (above) could have been taken by Man Ray.
A Symbolist picture (above)! I can't believe the length these guys will go to to get an effect.
This (above) is their most versatile model. She does sci-fi, Art Nouveau, gritty 30s realism, and 50s pin-up, all with equal conviction.
So far as I can tell, a good portrait (like the one above) requires at least two sittings. The first time a lot of experiments are made. It's important to do a lot of quick and dirty pictures to find out what the camera will accept from the subject.
Here the camera has decided to accept "mean." The subject might have been the nicest person in the world, but the camera decided she was mean, and that's how the picture was taken.
Very nice (above)!
What a great idea! This (above) is portrait photography disguised as journalism. The newspaper print is fake.
A portrait (above) that suggests good times had in France in the 1930s.
Man, these guys are great!
those are some amazing photos right there!
ReplyDeleteThese are real amazing! I'd really like to see myself done this way!
ReplyDeletewow, those are classic looking. Being able to capture a feeling of the past is an amazing quality for current photographers. I would love to have some of these taken of my family, I wonder how expensive they are. Eddie, you should get some taken of yourself...nostalgic in the present.
ReplyDeleteWow, those are really well-done pictures!
ReplyDeleteIf I wasn't so camera shy, I'd want to do some photos like that. (maybe not the nude ones, aha)
beautiful stuff..very authentic looking! one guy you should definately check out from that era is andre dediennes, he was famous for those nude photos of marilyn monroe that appeared in playboy magazine.im quite his work serves as an inspiration for these guys.
ReplyDeleteI love love love those photos. It amazes me that many of those photos are from today.
ReplyDeleteI've never gotten one of the Glamor Shots photos because they always looked so fake, but I always wanted to get a photo taken of me in the 30s-40s style. I don't know anyone in the Pittsburgh area that does those. I'd love to do a moody Garbo-type photo, but I'm too smiley, so I may have to do a bubbly Joan Blondell.
Every time I see their pictures I don't know if I should gasp in awe, or cringe at the thought that I might never pull off something like that. Gotta find me a victim to shoot....
ReplyDeleteMAD MEN looks like 1962 come to life.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.elinatozzi.nl/uploads/betty-draper-collage.jpg
This is somewhat wildly off topic but I saw the coolest film last night-I'd swear you'd have known of it: "Telephone Book" from 1971. A B/W, X rated and really indescribable film...I wish you'd seen it.
ReplyDeleteThe director/writer is a friend of mine, an amazing guy; he was there and talked about it, along with the producer and the animator who did an end sequence for it that makes Ralph's "edgy" work look tame...of course, Ralph was going for something completely different. Anyway, have a look:
http://www.hello-film.com/
BTW: this is both NSFW and entirely innocent (esp compared to hentai or whatever). I was fascinated by the lead actress, who really had a special quality to her-at first I was sure she'd been dubbed.
Okay, that's a total digression from the subject of your post here so I'll finish by saying re: these photographs--wow! I'm impressed by the perfect-repro approach that they manage...esp the shots that look so exactly like old UFA film postcards, like the ones I have of Conrad Veidt and Brigitte Helm.
Still, I'd have to think there are more than a couple of artists here locally that can do this just as accurately.
Talk: Thanks for the tip about Dediennes. I looked up his pictures and...well, I'm kind of lukewarm about the guy. His best 4 or 5 pictures are fine, but there's an awful lot of material that's just okay. I'm still glad to have heard about him. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteJennifer: Joan Blondell is still a good choice. If you're ever in LA, let me see if I can do a good outdoor portrait. No charge, I just want to try out some photo ideas, like letting the camera determine who the person is and what to shoot. I'm always looking for subjects, but I can't be objective about the people I know well. I'm limited to an amateur camera, but half of photography is knowing what to shoot.
Jenny: I just watched the trailer for "Telephone Book" and it looked interesting. If the filmmaker can ever get it into the video rental store or YouTube, I'll watch it for sure!
BTW, what is NSFW?
Charles: Try the method I wrote about above. Let the camera decide who your subject is. Let it decide how to shoot them. It's hard to be specific in such a small space, but I've blogged about it before. I used the technique in some of my photo essays.
NSFW = not safe for work
ReplyDeleteLSFW = less safe for work
If you work at home, perhaps its okay, unless of course a nonunderstanding family member or friend walked in on you!
i dont know if any of you guys are currently in the new york area but the film telephone book is currently showing here, i forget which theatre, one of those anthology theatres,sorry, but i might check it out myself, its getting quite the buzz.
ReplyDeleteAll I can say is: Incredible!
ReplyDeleteThis is what 'art' does. It transcends everyday things into something more than what it started as. Lots of people take pictures, few make art.
ReplyDelete