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“Birth and Life” of Glamour Images: Past and Future

The art of Glamorous Photography has come a long way from its very appearance to what we can see today. After countless changes and transformations, numerous revolutions and much controversy, glamour photography became what we can see today.

I would like to take you on a journey from the birthplace of Glamour Photographs to nowadays, and then take a sneak peek at the possible future.

Childhood. It is a very controversial issue of where the history of glamour photography really begins. Some derive it from so-called “French postcards” which were quite popular in the streets of Paris in the early 1900’s, some address to Victorian pioneers of this art. A few people consider that glamour photography can be traced as far back as Baroque and Renaissance art. Franskly speaking, the birth of glamour pictures cannot be discovered with any degree of certainty. My personal point of view is that both modern and classic arts were equally involved in the process – 1920’s and 30’s were the real boiling point of world culture, and this genre is likely to have been born in exactly this period of time. We can clearly trace the classic glamour images beginning from the first half of the former century.

Glorious 50’s and Onwards. After World War II, glamour pictures reached the apex of their glory, closely followed by controversy and outrage. Famous Betty Grable was the queen of hearts before and after the war; thank to Marylin Monroe glamour photography gained open support and recognition, as this world-famous actress appeared on Playboy’s front in 1953. Pamela Green and other famous and charming models contributed to glorifying glamour photography at its finest, winning the heart of audience worldwide.

Nowadays – Digital Fever. As time passed, glamour photography became colorful, frivolous, scandalous and much more ingenious. Dita von Teese and Hope Talmons gained young and ambitious competitors like Heidie Van Horne, Lucy Pinder, Bernie Dexter and others. As it happened, film gave way to digital photography. It improved technical side of the process and altogether simplified it beyond measure. Any amateur with a DSLR became a potential glamour photographer. In a combination with Web technologies, this was like a clamor of billions and billions of both talented people and senseless dabblers.

3D – What Does it Bring? At long last, 3D art hits the stage, offering computer graphics as an arguable alternative to photography. 3D modeling is an art as well, and a complex one, but it seems to be taking over the field of glamour images. I really doubt that 3D-rendered beauty can better the genuinely beautiful model and a talented artist cannot be matched by a PC. If this is a struggle of old and modern, my side is with the former.

The future, however, is bright – despite everything, oil, film and digital live on and remain popular. 3D art undoubtedly deserves for its own niche and admirers. Technology rarely matters – inspiration and devotion are the most important pillars of any art. Remembering this simple truth is a mark of a truly passionate artist.

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This entry was posted on Friday, February 19th, 2010 at 3:08 am and is filed under aerial photography, art photography, black and white photography, canon photography, digital cameras, fashion photography, fine art photography, glamour photography, nature photography, nikon photography, photography, photography cameras, photography digital, photography equipment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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