Photo - Steichen

Photo - Steichen

  • Submitted By: ericzzz
  • Date Submitted: 03/02/2011 10:12 PM
  • Category: Biographies
  • Words: 339
  • Page: 2
  • Views: 480

• Born on March 27,1879, son of Jean-Pierre and Marie Kemp Steichen. In 1889, when steichen was 10 his family, incuding his younger sister, immigrated to the United States. Steichen began a four-year lithography apprenticeship with the American Fine Art Company of Milwaukee when he was 14, and tought himself to print. He borght his first camera in 1895. With a friend who was also intersted in drawing and photography steichen rented a small room in a Milwaukee office building, they called themselves the Milwaukee Art Students League.

Family life

• Steichen had two daughters, and two failed marriages before a dead at age 94

Early career

• He began to experiment with color photography in 1904, and was one of the first in the U.S. to use the Autochrome Lumière process. Helped to created the Little Galleries of the Photo-Secession with Alfred Stieglitz in the 1900’s. In 1911, steichen published photograghs for the magazine Art et Décoration, to promote fashion as a fine art by the use of photography. Thoes picture are now considered as the first ever modern fashion photograghy shoots.

(The Pond—Moonlight, 1904.)
WWI

• He commanded the photographic division of the American Expeditionary Forces during the frist world war

Later career

• In 1928, Steichen became the chief photographer for The Conde Nast Publications, taking mostly fashion photographs. During his time with Conde Nast he became the most celebrated photographer in America.


(Marion Morehouse in Augusta-Bernard, 1929.)

WWII

• He was the director of the Naval Aviation Photographic Unit during the war and made the war documentary The Fighting Lady which won the 1945 Academy Award for Best Documentary.

Style

• His earlier works are soft focused and soft-edged, romantic images, using light and shadow to create mood and to shape form. After WWI he changed to sharp focused and strong contrasted fashion photography.

Conclusion

• Talk to a professional photographer...

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