In honour of the World Photo Day, here’s a post devoted to one of the most intriquing image makers – and one of my all-time favourites – Jeanloup Sieff. Born in Paris, Jeanloup Sieff received a camera for his 14th birthday and since that moment he had a passionate love affair with it. Throughout his career, he introduced an innovative feel of eroticism to fashion photography that traditionally used to represent stiff, ice-cold models. In his hands, the camera adored the sitters and vice versa, making the shoot feel like more like a flirt. Often emphasizing a specific area of the body – mostly backs and bottoms – Jeanloup Sieff believed that ‘sometimes, the face is not interesting when the body is. Sometimes the face is a distraction.’
With his wide-angle black and white images, the French photographer caught the dramatic potential of light and shadow while he often added a touch of humour to his pictures, playing with situations and his, lets not hide the fact, sexy sitters. Obsessed by women like Françoise Hardy or Mia Farrow, Jeanloup Sieff also captured one of fashion photography’s most legendary male nude – the controversial image of Yves Saint Laurent in 1971, for his perfume Y. Also, one can’t forget the couple-shot of Jane and Serge, the up-to-now epytome of French love.
Design & Culture by Ed 