“Nothing in this book is known to be true. It’s a reflection on what I’ve noticed - Not facts so much as thoughts” - Rick Rubin from The Creative Act: A Way of Being.
A lovely Sunday morning to you. In today’s newsletter I’m going to share some thoughts on glamour photography. But I really want to emphasize … these are just thoughts. Not rules, just observations. Art can be anything you want it to be. So grab a cup of coffee and enjoy.
Glamour photography focuses on the person and form (typically female). Fashion photography focuses on the clothes and culture. The glamour photographer’s aim is to titillate and arouse. The fashion photographer’s aim is to communicate societal trends and sell clothes or magazines. Fashion photography can be titillating, but that’s not its primary purpose.
The web surfer needn’t paddle very far on the internet before he/she is bombarded with sexuality. If you’re interested in photography and have an Instagram account, you already know what I’m talking about. Glamour photography abounds. The sheer volume of unique 10/10 models being photographed by talented photographers is actually quite impressive. However, thematically, I don’t see a lot of variation. Pretty girl. Skimpy outfit. Soft window light. Usually in the study or living room. Low contrast. Soft Portra film or “Portra film style” digital. Rinse and repeat.
The inspiration for this episode is how odd many of these glamour photographs are. People (at least the people I know) don’t sit in painfully uncomfortable positions with their backs bent over the edge of a chair in their underwear trying to look contemplative or whistful or sexy. People don’t sit in lingerie next to a library of books while “trying to look sexy” by tousling their hair by the fistful. These actions are incongruent with reality (even fantasy reality).
There are ordinary things that beautiful women do do, like peer out the window bathed in morning light, or make coffee in their underwear, or get out of the shower wrapped in towels. For many, it happens everyday. When viewed from the eyes of an observer, these seemingly banal morning rituals are in fact quite fantastical. You’d be hard pressed to find a red-blooded man who doesn’t fantasize about watching voyeuristically as his lover towels-off after a steaming-hot morning shower. And to be clear, in glamour photography the camera always represents the eye of this beholder.
But, dear reader, if you find your lover bent awkwardly over a chair and you suspect he/she may be suffering a seizure or fall, call 911! If you find your partner staring oddly, blankly into the mirror, contact a mental health professional. If you yourself fantasize about either of these scenarios, consider counseling. But in any case, don’t memorialize the moment with a photograph!
If you Mr or Miss photographer want to make great, odd, provocative, unique and unusual glamour photographs, get into a studio! Call it portriature or fine art and do whatever the hell you want. A solid background and studio lighting create a level of abstraction that detaches your subject from reality. Meaning you can get away with pretty much anything and it’s not going to create cognitive dissonance in the eyes of the viewer. Plus, the studio setting removes the voyurestic essence of glamour photography. Richard Avedon made a photo of a bald man covered in bees standing in front of a white background and it’s brilliant. But run that same photograph through ChatGPT and ask it to add a background - like a bathroom or bedroom. The results are equal parts entertaining and alarming.
Cynicism aside, let’s land the plane here. Glamour photography is pretty formulaic. Pretty pictures of pretty girls. Fantasy portrayed in a voyeuristic way. The first person observation of intimacy. The story you’re not supposed to tell. Glamour is wonderful and when executed at its highest level, provides no reason to deviate from its essential form. The idea of her is the star.
So here’s the takeaway to the aspiring glamour photographers out there. If glamour is about fantasy then show me something I want to fantasize about, not my crazy ex-girlfriend sitting on my favorite antique end table. In a great glamour photograph, the story writes itself. The taste of coffee in her breath. The warmth spot on the bed where her body once laid. Dripping sweat. The possibility of maybe.
Tell me that story, and I’ll listen all day long.
Or just say fuck it … and make whatever art you want because like I said at the beginning. These are just my thoughts. You do you.
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The photos in this essay were harvested from c-heads magazine online.
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