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Avedon started out as a freelance photographer but was later picked up by Harper's Bazaar, becoming the chief photographer at the magazine. Inspired by photographer Martin Munkacsi who combined photojournalism with fashion photography, Avedon took his models out on the streets, giving his photography a certain energy lacking in the four corners of his studio.


This was a step forward from the works of Edward Steichen and Cecil Beaton who primarily worked in the controlled environment of the photo studio. In fashion photography's infancy, designers and photographers worked to create a distinctive setting inside a confined space. With Avedon's work however, he sought to bring the photos alive through the vibrant and sometimes uncontrollable nature of the outside.


Even with his studio work, Avedon sought to create something new and inspired in his photography. He would capture his models in a whole variety of expressions and poses; laughing, frowning, dancing and even jumping, his fashion photography leaned towards charming out the life in his subjects.

That kind of out-of-the-box imagination certainly paid off dividends as one of his photographs, Dovima with elephants (the first image in this post), fetched a price of $1.151 million at an auction last year, making it one of the most expensive photographs in the world.


Avedon's talent for striking photographs also extended to his portraiture work. From time to time, he would be commissioned to take the portraits of celebrities and politicians on assignment or as part of his own personal projects. In many of his portraiture works, he would use a plain white or grey background, allowing the viewer to focus squarely on the subject.

Among his notable portrait works is his series on The Kennedy Family which he did for Harper's Bazaar. The resulting photographs framed the famous family in a simple, somber and sometimes intimate manner, something rarely seen during that time. His most famous portrait series centered on the ordinary people of the western United States; Avedon spent more than five years photographing cowboys, drifters and gamblers and the resulting portraits were collected in the highly praised book In the American West.


Of course, as with any high profile photographer, Avedon's works weren't always without controversy. Take for example the double portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor below. Avedon recounts that in order to capture the couple in their now famous grimace, he told a lie about running over a dog in his taxi on his way over to the photo shoot. The Royal couple, both dog lovers, expressed their shock at his story and that's when Avedon clicked the shutter.

The photographer would become infamous for many other unflattering portraits, but he would defend his works saying that he wanted to capture the true character, or at least a different angle on his subjects, many of whom were artists and celebrities.


Avedon wasn't just a photographer; he was a restless artist who continuously sought to reinvent the medium. Even in his seventies and up to his death in 2004, he continued to work on many projects. His last one was to be on the presidential election at that time.


More of Richard Avedon's works can be found over at his official website. Among the many books available on his photography, Avedon Fashion 1944-2000 is a good collection of his editorial works. Many of his now famous portraits can be found in Performance: Richard Avedon. His seminal work documenting the American beauty of the west is collected in Avedon at Work: In the American West.

There was a time when glamour was celebrated, beauty was venerated and high society was all in between. This was during the two World Wars when the definition of chic and style were in flux, but glamour was unquestioned. And whenever glamour was there, photographer and designer Cecil Beaton was there.

 He began his career as a costume designer although his passion for photography was already stirring in him ever since he got a Kodak camera when he was just a boy. Before long, he was given a staff position in British Vogue and he soon became a noted photographer, dividing his time between fashion shoots (such as the one with the ladies dressed in gowns designed by Charles James above) and portrait sessions (such as the rest of the images in this post).


Among Beaton's numerous subjects, The British Royal Family stands out above all others in terms of class and substance in the photographer's catalogue of works. The elegance and grace of Beaton's Royal sitters and their surroundings probably suited him very well, and in many photographs the extravagance of the setting juxtaposed against the quiet and dignified Royals made for a striking combination.

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother was his favorite among the Royal Family, and it reflects in the numerous portraits of her in the photographer's collection. Some of these early photographs would later become the primary inspiration for American photographer Annie Leibovitz when she was commissioned to take Queen Elizabeth's portraits in 2007. The resulting portraits are clearly in homage to Beaton's work.


Coincidentally, an upcoming exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum will be devoted to Beaton's portraits of Queen Elizabeth II and several members of the Royal Family. There will be close to a hundred photographs that will be displayed to coincide with Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Outside the world of photography, Beaton was known for his talents in designing theatrical sets and costumes. His most notable triumph in this field came in 1956 when he was tasked to design the costumes for Lerner and Loewe's musical My Fair Lady. He would later on lend his hand in the film adaptation as well as the film musical Gigi and many others.


To learn more about Cecil Beaton and his photographs, check out the book Beaton: Portraits. Another good collection is Cecil Beaton: Photographs 1920-1970, although it's currently not available (as of this post). A new publication entitled Cecil Beaton: The New York Years will contain never before seen photographs from the 1930s to the 1960s.