Inspiration : Helmut Newton

Helmut Newton - October 31, 1920 – January 23, 2004

“Look, I’m not an intellectual. I just take pictures.” -Helmut Newton

Love him or hate him, it’s hard to argue the influence Helmut Newton has had not only on the image of women but also on the evolution of fashion photography . Through his provocative and sensual images which critics say borderline pornography, a Helmut Newton photo can be easily recognised. His body of work really speaks to me and I feel he is able to share his voyeuristic tendencies with audiences while allowing us to delve into the mind of a chauvinistic male. Perhaps the misogynist in me can relate to him on many levels.

What I really like about his style is that he doesn’t have the need for big studio lighting and excessive gear; he uses whatever is handed to him. In the past I’ve read that he has used bodies such as Hasselblads, Rolleis, Nikons and Polaroids but whatever camera he uses, he has a very consistent Newton style that is his own.

- Ontoshiki

maya murofushi (i left my heart in venice) fashion/hair/makeup stylist: victoria deleske

As you can see, his photography has had a considerable influence on my black and white portraiture work. Here’s an example with my 2011 shoot with Maya Murofushi. I used ambient lighting here with the help of some reflectors but did some dodging and burning to achieve that look.

the infamous shot of woman in men's clothes

Helmut Newton was born in Germany and later forced out of the country because of the threat of the Nazis. This turned out to be a gift to the world because it eventually gave him the freedom to pursue his now legendary career in photography.

We see a lot of sexy photos of women in today’s magazines, most of them designed only to titillate and excite men, having no artistic message that goes beyond “I am sexy”. In the fashion photography world, however, there is one man that has used the female form to delve into human nature even though it is viewed by many as pornographic and inappropriate. Helmut Newton, for decades, pushed the envelope in fashion photography.

Born on October 31, 1920 in Berlin, Helmut Newton grew up in a privileged family. Due to his passion for photography, he stopped going to school and pursued an apprenticeship with Elsie Simon, a top photographer. He only had this job for a while because he had to feel Germany due to Adolf Hitler’s violent treatment of Jews in Germany. He went to Singapore and got a job there. That did not last long. He moved around Singapore for a while until he moved to Australia in 1940. There, he settled and built a new life with his wife, June Brunell. He continued following his passion for photography, eventually getting his work to appear in top fashion magazines around the world.From his small photo studio that he built in Melbourne, he eventually got the creative momentum that led him to get his photos published in French Vogue in 1961. From there, his name became synonymous to the magazine’s look and feel, leading to more work for other magazines such as Nova, Queen, Marie-Claire, Elle, Playboy and different editions of Vogue. His provocative photos of women earned him the titles “Prince of Porn” and “King of Kink”. This image of his kind of photography was cemented with the release of his book called “White Women,” an erotic publication that defines his style and artistic vision.

Helmut Newton images depicting women in men’s clothing and depicting them as powerful figures, breaking all the molds built by society, made heads turned. It also led some people to ask for his head to roll. Even with all the controversy, he continued pushing the envelope in photographing women by taking images of nude bodies in provocative positions. It may have been met by scrutiny and rage in the beginning, but it eventually became the industry standard. His unconventional images of femme fatales made Helmut Newton a legend in fashion photography. Not even his death in 2004 would end his undeniable influence in how photography can exude power in women.

Helmut Newton did not just limit his photography to nude women and fashion. He also shared with the whole world his early life as a survivor of the Nazi invasion in Germany. He took portraits of Nazi personalities and other people relevant to the very difficult time in world history. Helmut Newton images clearly show the world through the eyes of a nomad who wandered the earth, not giving a care to people’s judgments and myopic views.

 

Newton died on January 23, 2004 due to vehicular accident in California. It was reported that he lost control of his car because of sudden heart attack. The 83 years old photographer crashed into the wall beyond the Hotel Chateau Marmont’s driveway in Hollywood.

 

* His biography above is sourced from http://www.brighthub.com

Contacts video shows some behind the scenes from Helmut Newton:

 

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 12:44 am. It is filed under All, Inspiration, Videos and tagged with helmut newton, inspiration. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.