3/28/2013

A Look At Some Famous Portrait Photographers

By Christi Larsen


Portraiture is a very specific type of photography that not every photographer can achieve. There have been a selected amount, however, of photographers who have captured some of the most beautiful and memorable images of individuals - celebrity or otherwise - that deserve to be remembered always. This is a look at some of the most famous portrait photographers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Cecil Beaton is, without a doubt, one of Britain's most famed photographic geniuses. Born in the early 1900s, he received his first camera when he was eleven years old. During the 1920s, he worked as a photographer on the staff of both Vogue and Vanity Fair, having moved to New York from London for better opportunities. It is during this time that he developed his unique style.

Cecil Beaton became an Honorary Fellow thanks to Great Britain's Photographic Society in the mid sixties. In the early seventies, he was made a knight. When he died at the age of 76 years, Cecil Beaton had taken the portraits of prominent figures in the world such as royal family members in Great Britain, Winston Churchill and Marilyn Monroe.

Philippe Halsman was a Latvian-born photographer. He lived in France for some time after leaving Austria following his father's death, which he was charge for. When the French invasion happened, he moved to the States. One of his most famous images is that of Albert Einstein, world-renowned scientist. That image landed on the TIME magazine cover, where Einstein was 'Person of the Century'. The image consequently was used in nineteen sixty-six on a postage stamp from the U. S.

Salvador Dali was also one of Halsman's clients. The photographer and the surrealist painter collaborated together on numerous projects throughout the years. Halsman has also captured some of Hollywood's greatest actresses, such as Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe.

One of the world's most accomplished photographers of all time is Yousuf Karsh. This Armenian-Canadian photographer was born in Turkey at the end of the first decade of the 1900s, but went to live with his photographer uncle in Canada. He was an apprentice of photographer John Garo for 4 years in America, where he further developed his skills.

Karsh's break into international fame arose from an image he took of Winston Churchill. This image is said to be the most reproduced portrait, in terms of photography, in history. He was also the only Canadian to be on the list of one hundred most notable individuals of the 20th century. His clients include Albert Einstein, Brigitte Bardot, Fidel Castro and Mother Teresa.

Famous portrait photographers become known for their ability to capture the essence or personality of their subject. They are able to convey with just one image an emotion or a thought. For some photographers, an individual does not need to be famous for the image to be iconic. As in the case of Steve McCurry's portrait entitled 'Afghan Girl', all it takes is one special image to catapult a photographer into the realm of immortality in their work.




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