Richard Avedon
I decided now would be a good time to talk about some of the different photographers who have had a major impact on the way I shoot and see my world.
I want to start with the late, great Richard Avedon. Many consider him the greatest portrait photographer of all time. I don’t know if I agree with that, but he’s on the Mt. Rushmore of portrait photographers in my mind.
Avedon shot to fame shooting for magazines like Vogue, and Harper’s Bazaar, it was his always pushing photography forward that made him the super star he became.
I remember when I was a kid there were these impactful perfume commercials in the late 70s or early 80s that he created for perfumes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJrJi5BkZ7Y) that had huge impacts on me. Of course, I had no idea he made them, I only learned of that later, but they always stuck with me.
As I matured as a photographer, I began studying his work. I began to practice his styles. His lighting, his posing. I absorbed as much as I could about his approach to photographing people. It made me a better photographer because of it.
I could go on for pages on his work, but I doubt you want to read that much about him. I will leave a final link to his work In The American West. Many of those images are stunning, and the collection as a whole is one of the most important body of work in the history of photography and art.
In fact my profile pic on my Instagram page @jmartinezjr_photos is me in front of one of his prints from that series. It was on display at the Amon Carter Museum in Ft. Worth where I had the pleasure of seeing some of his images from that collection.
Avedon is the first major photographer who blurred the line between commercial photography and the art world. His work straddled the line that historically demanded both worlds be separate. He wasn’t without controversy, but he was never apologetic for his beliefs, his approach, and most definitely never for his work.
As I studied and learned as much as I could from Avedon’s work, and interviews, and whatever speeches I could find, I realized much of my portraits found their base in his. The way I communicate with my subjects in front of my lens borrows from his approach. The questions I ask are designed to invoke a look or feeling as I create my art. That is a direct lesson from Avedon, and one I advise my photography students to adapt as well.
I hope this brief snapshot of Richard Avedon will encourage you to explore more of his work, and also provide some insight into what it is like to sit for me as I create your portrait.
Thank you for reading this far. Have a beautiful day.
