Photographer Focus: Richard Avedon

Born: May 15, 1923 New York City. Died: October 1, 2004.

Richard Avedon started as a photographer for the Merchant Marines in 1942, taking identification pictures of the crewmen with his Rolleiflex camera which was given to him by his father as a going-away present. In 1944, he began working as an advertising photographer for a department store, and soon was discorvered by the art director for the fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar. In 1946, Avedon had set up his own studio and began providing images for magazines including Vogue and Life.

He soon became the chief photographer for Harper’s Bazaar before moving to Vouge in 1966. In addition to his continuing fashion work, Avedon began to branch out and photographed patients of mental hospitals, the Civil Rights Movement in 1963, protesters of the Vietnam War, and other political and historical events.

Avedon became the first-ever staff photographer for The New Yorker in 1992. He has won many awards for his photography, including the International Center of Photography Master of Photography Award in 1993, the Prix Nadar in 1994, and the Royal Photographic Society 150th Anniversary Medal in 2003.

Avedon’s Style

His style of shooting intensly direct and personal portraits on a stark white background became his trademark. As his work continued until his death he increasingly refined his approach, creating some of his most unflinching and direct portriats in this style. Of this work Avedon has said:

“I’ve worked out of a series of no’s. No to exquisite light, no to apparent compositions, no to the seduction of poses or narrative. And all these no’s force me to the “yes.” I have a white background. I have the person I’m interested in and the thing that happens between us.”
-Richard Avedon, 1994

Portaits by Richard Avedon

More Info: www.richardavedon.com

Also Read: Richard Avedon: The secrets of America’s Master Photographer