Ellen Von Unwerth- Design Cannon

My ultimate Design Cannon is the extremely talented beauty and fashion photographer Ellen Von Unwerth. The distinct sexual and playful nature of her photographs is instantly recognisable and her sensual style is mimicked copiously by many adoring photographers. Her provocative and daring approach to fashion photography has made her one of the most renowned fashion photographers of all time, with works featured in an array of high fashion magazines including American, Italian and British Vogue, Vanity Fair and ID to name but a few and the most desirable list of subjects which include some of the most delectable women of the era, including Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Dita Von Teese, Emma Watson and Lady Gaga being some of the most iconic. It was the photographs Unwerth took of Claudia Schiffer for Guess in the early 1990’s that launched her career and unleashed her into the public domain.

Unwerth’s remarkable career has led her to publish many books displaying her iconic works. One example is Fraulein, a beautiful coffee table book inspired by the cabaret nightlife of Berlin in the 1920’s.

The creative strategies she undertakes to produce her intimate and seductive photography are greatly influenced by the ten years she spent in front of the camera as a successful model herself.  Unwerth found her time as a model incredibly boring, with so many imaginative ideas for what great pictures could be achieved she found it frustrating to not be able to contribute and found it uncomfortable to be told to stand still and not to move. In response to this Unwerth has come to hate posed pictures and her approach photography is based highly on spontaneity. Her shoots are not dominated by huge set ups so the way she composes her photographs is by taking hold of a camera and telling her subjects to be free and have fun. She creates a party atmosphere with loud music, gorgeous models and plenty of Champagne and encourages her models to have fun, be lively, play around and express themselves in front of the camera, enabling the audience to catch a glimpse of the models true personalities and naughty behaviour.             

When casting models for a shoot, Unwerth feels the need to be on the same wavelength as the girls. She looks for girls who have a devilish side, a certain energy about them that makes them willing to be naughty and play up to the camera. This is so that her photographs can have a raw edginess that can be captured right there and then without needing too much retouching.  Unwerth concentrates on atmosphere as opposed to technique and would much rather obsess over a new model or a new location than over a new piece of technology.

Unwerth’s visual language is high contrast, extremely seductive, sexy and sensual amidst sheer elegance and a sense of fantasy. However even though her pictures often contain bare breasted nudity and erotic imagery they are never sleazy, offensive or obscene. They appeal to women as much as they do men and this is because they are playful and intimate and portray women as fun, frivolous, sensual beings with personality, who are not being objectified but merely expressing their own femininity. Unwerth’s aim is purely to make women look beautiful and she achieves this almost effortlessly.

Unwerth’s playful and seductive approach to photography is what I love the most about her. If you look at the work I have produced in the past you will see distinct references to Unwerth’s unique style and evidence of the way she has influenced me is clearly visible. Unwerth is truly inspirational to me, she has influenced me remarkably in the past and I’m sure she will continue to do so in the future.

Bibliography

http://paulozelinsky.com/~mcfadden/evu/Ellen_von_Unwerth.htm

http://homotography.blogspot.com/2011/02/schwarzkopf-2011-by-ellen-von-unwerth.html

http://www.dazeddigital.com/photography/article/6073/1/fr%C3%A4ulein