Old Hollywood Glamour Photography For the Layperson

Jean Harlow 

If you haven't noticed by now, I am passionate about classic Hollywood.  That passion spills over into photography.  Since I was young I have been fascinated by the photos taken of the stars of yesteryear... something about that potent mix of silver halide, period attire, and superstar charisma.  Of course, there is also the artful hand of the studio photographer pulling the strings.

Hollywood glamour photography is as old as Hollywood itself: a tool for studios to promote their galaxy of stars.  If a studio had a new talent that they wanted to promote to movie goers, studio heads would order several sessions with their hired photographers and distribute the results to various fan magazines.  When a film was in production, actors and actresses would be subjected to several wardrobe and hair tests, the results were documented by a studio photographer. And once stars had reached a certain level of fame, countless fan letters would come flowing in, and studio ordained head shots were the reward for a fan's devotion(this was elevated to another level once World War II broke out and studio pinup photos became the rage).  In all cases, it was necessary that the photography captured that illusion of otherworldly beauty and glamour that surrounded movie stars.  

Between 1910 and 1950, the art of Hollywood glamour photography evolved from flat, uninspired photos of silent film stars to gorgeous works of art truly immortalizing their subjects as the larger than life personalities that the studios wanted them to be.  This type of photography can be divided up into two different categories: gallery portraits (which were taken within a Hollywood studio's on site photography studio) and candid portraits (which were taken on location either outdoors or possibly in a star's own home).  Within both of these categories there were several sub-categories, including the standard head-shot, the duo (or couples) portrait, the costume portrait, and the pinup.  Some of the most celebrated studio photographers of the era include Clarence Sinclair Bull, George Hurrell, and Ernest A. Bachrach.  Unfortunately for these talented men, their names were never mentioned and their contributions to creating the illusion of otherworldly stars went largely unheralded.

Theda Bara, circa. 1916

Elizabeth Taylor, circa 1958

Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy in a Duo Shot

Audrey Hepburn models Givenchy in a costume shot

Eight Day Halloween Advent Calendar - Eight More Days...

... 'til Halloween...
                       ... Halloween...
                                             ... Halloween...

Sorry about that.  The title immediately made me think of that obnoxious Silver Shamrock jingle from Halloween 3: Season of the Witch.  To celebrate I thought that I'd post some sort of Halloween themed image or graphic until the big day arrives.  So without further adieu here's your first eight day Halloween advent calendar treat.

 I'm not sure the exact age of this photo, but it would have to be sometime after 1928, since this was the year that Minnie Mouse was first introduced.  I would say with confidence that this photograph was probably taken sometime before World War Two broke out, judging from this woman's hairstyle and the distinctive sepia tone of the photograph.  I kind of like the ghostly apparition of a framed silhouette portrait to the left of this woman.  It's kind of spooky.

I wonder where she was going dressed like that.

Thanks Edmonton Garrison!

 We wanted to give a quick shout out to the folks over at the Edmonton Garrison, who were extremely kind in letting us borrow one of their tanks this afternoon for a photo shoot.  The results will soon be making an appearance on the blog and main site, but for now you'll have to make do with a couple of shots of Saira and I in front of the aforementioned tank.  Thanks again boys!

Spooktacular Speakeasy

We're all about dressing up and pretending to be something out of the ordinary here at Bombshell Photography.  Naturally, Halloween is one of our favourite times of the year.  A couple of weeks ago we had the privilege of photograph a fun-loving Edmonton couple who had no problem getting into the Halloween spirit.  Inspired by speakeasies of the prohibition era, and a little bit of zombie pinup action thrown in for good measure, I give you our own Spooktacular Speakeasy.  Our couple go from having a drink at the bar to succumbing to death and coming back again to live it up one more time.  Give our zombie couple some jazz hands!  

Really?!? - Annie Leibovitz's Wall Street 2 Shot

I was looking through Vanity Fair's February issue (the Tiger Woods issue) a few weeks ago, and happened on an article about the new sequel to Wall Street. It was accompanied by a couple of pictures by Vanity Fair contributing editor and celebrated photographer Annie Leibovitz, including the one above, which left me scratching my head a little...

Really? I this the best shot of the cast taken that day?

Let me qualify my bewilderment. On the surface everything looks ok: everyone is looking at the camera, their eyes are all open and the overall composition is fine. It's clearly supposed to be a candid impromptu shot of the cast and director- fair enough. Look a little closer (click here to see the larger image from the Vanity Fair website). Look at The Beef (Shia LeBeouf to the lay person). See how the left side of his face is substantially blown out? The strobe directly behind his head isn't helping matters much. Carey Mulligan's face is a little on the over exposed side as well; though not nearly as bad as The Beef's. Her collar is also mangled and folded over on one side, and the way Mulligan has her right leg wrapped around her leg and partially hidden behind her left calf made me do a double take- it looks awkward.

I have to admit, I take a certain delight in picking apart this picture. Not that I think that I know more than Leibovitz (I'm nowhere near her level as a photographer), but I was stuck my the sloppiness on display in this photograph. In some ways it's kind of affirming to know that a photographer of her caliber can miss things. Nobody's perfect, I guess. But, I'm surprised that a greater effort wasn't made in digital processing to even the exposure out a little... But then what do I know, maybe it was intentional? It's not very flattering for the subjects if it was.

Welcome to the Blog!

Chances are that you have been playing around on the Bombshell Photography Inc. website and decided to hit the Bombshell Blog link, or maybe you did a google search for god knows what and this blog came up. How ever you got here, welcome!

This is the more casual side of Bombshell Photography, where we talk about photography, retro icons, fashion, films, television, art or anything else that catches our fancy. The conversation may inevitably fall in to the realm of personal matters, and we may from time to time use the blog to showcase some of our recent photographs, or update you on what is going on in the Bombshell Photography universe. Whatever we come up with, we hope that you will enjoy it and visit the blog regularly!

Just remember here at Bombshell Photography Inc. we do more than make droll witticisms: we take pictures too! If you live in the Edmonton area take a look at our main site at: www.photobombshell.com. You could be one click away from releasing your inner bombshell.