While definitions of glamour photography, along with styles and
techniques vary greatly, glamour photography is an attempt to idealize
the beauty and attractiveness of the subject and to show that specific
person is irresistible, the driving force is sexuality. In my view,
modern glamour photography began with the Hollywood glamour portraits
of movie stars in the 1940s and 50s and with the pin-up photos which
gained such international popularity during World War II. In those
photos, the sexual qualities inherent in the photos were
understated and subdued, but were there. As time passed and much of
photography became arguably more sophisticated and public tastes
changed, magazines such as Playboy came into being and to a degree,
redefined glamour. Nudity became more publicly accepted and as a
result, elements of nudity began to emerge in glamour photography. Now
when one mentions glamour, some degree of nudity or near nudity is
often assumed, whether rightly or wrongly. Whether nudity is involved
in a glamour shoot or not, the basic concepts of glamour are sexual
attraction and fantasy. Glamour images often create a fantasy, showing
the subject at her best, but always with an attempt to create an
illusion of physical perfection. Glamour is often shot on
elaborate sets with expensive props, using the background sets
and props as part of the fantasy of glamour. My own personal concept is
a bit different. I believe that while those fancy backgrounds and
expensive props may incrrease the overall fantasy, I see glamour as
more personal. My concept is to use no sets and few if, any, props. My
concept is to feature the ijndividual woman, alone, just her and light.
I call it "Simple Glamour".
