How Did Richard Avedon Influenced Photography

Darkness and Light

From a very young age, American photographer Richard Avedon had a major influence on the medium of photography, and the way he used his photos to convey emotion and reality to people, he changed the world we live in. He changed the fashion photography industry and the way fashion as well as other products are promoted commercially. He developed a style that had never been seen before, changing the medium of photography to be not only a tool to sell products, but also to be an art form.

Avedon was only 19 when he was hired to work at Harper’s Bazaar magazine. His style of photographs were not what people were normally used to seeing. The fashion photographers of the 1930’s and 40’s followed the Art Deco tradition of photography where the models stood still, posing like statues, and with serious faces. He wanted his pictures to show movement, not only of the models, but also of the clothing and their facial expressions. He moved around the models as he photographed them, giving even more emphasis on movement in the pictures. The clothing the models wore was usually in motion, showing flowing fabric and flowing hair. He wanted his photographs to

He photographed clowns and actors. But later in his career he wanted to photograph real emotions, not fake. He photographed Dorothy Parker and the dark side of her emotions, and the toll life had taken on her. He wanted to show the hidden emotions of people, like King Edward and his wife, Wallis Simpson. He watched them interact together and wanted to bring out real emotions, not fake smiles. So when photographing them, he told them a story of how the taxi he was riding in hit a dog, so he could get a real expression from them, and he got it. He photographed many celebrities, including Charlie Chaplin and Marilyn Monroe, and catching glimpses of real emotion during the