“Birth and Life” of Glamour Images: Past and Future
Artistic Glamour Photography is a relatively young artistic genre, yet it already boasts impressive and rich historic legacy, possesses its own legendary characters and turning points. After countless changes and transformations, numerous revolutions and much controversy, glamour photography became what we can see today.
Let us have a short walk through the past years of Glamour Pictures and then venture forth to predict some of their future.
Early Years. Nobody really knows from where to begin the history of glamour photo genre. 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 photo cannot be discovered with any degree of certainty. I prefer to consider that classic and contemporary fine arts contributed in equal measures to create this unique genre – and it is the melting pot of 1920’s culture that we owe its birth. Also, it is from the first half of twentieth century that the history of classic glamour pictures can be traced.
Brilliant 50’s and Beyond. Those were difficult but glorious years. Famous Betty Grable was the queen of hearts before and after the war; Marilyn Monroe brought even more recognition to glamour pictures by her famous appearance on Playboy’s cover in 1953. Glamour pictures became more and more popular, as Pamela Green and others helped this young but prospective genre to become widely recognized.
Dawn of Digital Era. As time passed, beauty photography became colorful, frivolous, scandalous and much more ingenious. New names started conquering the stage, glamour magazines and beauty photography admirers – those were Dita von Teese, Heidie Van Horne, Lucy Pinder, Bernie Dexter and many others. As it happened, film gave way to digital photography. The tidal wave of progress improved glamour images’ technical quality and drastically simplified the very process of photo production. An amateur in possession of DSLR could potentially become a glamour photographer. Combined with Internet, a real army of both gifted artists and usual dabblers emerged in the online world.
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 strongly believe that no artificial computer rendering can ever excel the natural beauty and genuine work of a talented photographer. In this fight of old and new I remain with the side of inspiration, live relationship and hard studio work.
The future, however, is bright – despite everything, oil, film and digital live on and remain popular. Artistic 3D may join these ranks, and so may whatever comes next. 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.
