David Bailey

Vogue 1969

I have really enjoyed researching David Bailey. I absolutely love his energy and his approach to fashion photography and portrait photography. He has a very relaxed approach to his work with regards to his subjects. I watched his documentary Fame, Fashion and Photography: Bailey 70's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S678bcdXsag and absolutely 'got' why he is considered one of the 7 photographers that changed fashion photography. His sense of humour and relaxed attitude on set really put his Celebrity subjects at ease. He brought the best out of them and you can see from his portraits that they felt comfortable in front of his camera. His raw approach to his personal work was simple yet he managed to break the celebrity out of there alter ego, public image and bring them back to normality. He was however known for not being so relaxed when it came to his work with models. They said he could be quite hard and demanding when it came to what he wanted out of them.
Despite this he pushed boundaries with his work and pushed fashion photography into the modern world. He broke the rules and gave you what you wouldn't expect. He was one of the first fashion photographers to break away from the mundane backdrop of the studio and take his camera around the world shooting covers for vogue in morocco, Egypt and India among many other countries. This inspired his work in Papa New Guinea and would become his first of many ventures into reportage Photography.