28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
The cover says it all, August 15, 2004
This review is from: Gilles Bensimon Photography: No Particular Order (Hardcover)
Bensimon has been my favorite photographer since the mid-1980s when my wife first got a subscription to Elle magazine. With a distinct style at a time when the magazine was trying making a name for itself, Bensimon was much of the reason the mag was successful, with his eye catching front covers, strong, bright, new style fashion photography. His use of colour, his camera anlges, his composition, the obvious fact that he liked women and all their parts, his willingness to take risks (if they all showed up for a shoot and it was raining, instead of waiting for the perfect light he would shoot in the rain and print those in the magazine, something not done before, and the shots were good); all these combined to set him ahead of the other photographers of that time. He would shoot photos with a very narrow plane of foucus so that in a tight shot the end of the model's nose and her ear are out of foucus, but the plane in between with her eyes and the expensive beautiful necklace would be in foucs. He would shoot in colour and print in black & white. He used two softlights that gave the photographs a distinct lighting look.
But he was at this best with the use of colour and the beauty of women. The photographs of that period made an impact, sold magazines, yet he stayed in the background while lesser skilled photographers like Patrick Demarchalier sold books and pushed their name out into the public eye. Bensimon's work was the strongest of any photographer during that time period, and his fans have been waiting almost 20 years for his first book. With the size of this book the pages are actually larger than the magazine pages the photographs were originally meant for, the paper quality is very good, so the photos can really be appreciated. Unfortunately, he left out a lot of his best work.
His most creative dynamic period mid-1980s to 1993 or so, is very poorly represented here with only 18 pages of the 220 some in the book. None of the strong colour cover shots of that time period, the very creative settings, the genius composition (the most famous of which is laying 6 or 7 models with side by side in alternating directions, each with a different bold coloured bathing suit). Only two photos of Rachel Williams, which his work with her could have filled an entire whole book. He discovered Claudia Schiffer, he worked so well with Elle McPherson they were married for a while; yet there is only one photo each of those models. Too many of the photographs are from the last 3-4 years, maybe half the book.
The photographs are very good, the book is good, but they are not his best photographs, not the ones that make you pick up the book over and over again. The front cover says it all: When the first impression should be his bold vibrant surprising style in the manner of the type of magazine covers he was famous for, he choose an out-of-focus black and white. I hope he hurries to get out a book that covers the period of the 80s and 90s only. There is a lot of very strong work that did not get into this book that should have been here.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
5.0 out of 5 stars
Lovin it, July 30, 2009
This review is from: Gilles Bensimon Photography: No Particular Order (Hardcover)
It is a perfect photobook, lots of full page pics, good printing, i love it!!
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
8 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Who else but Gilles can produce such images, October 9, 2003
By A Customer
This review is from: Gilles Bensimon Photography: No Particular Order (Hardcover)
Approximately 200 hundred beautiful photos ranging from those seen on the cover of Elle to beautifully lit black and white photos. Each shot is full page in this larger than usual book.
This book really showcases his range as a photographer. Everything from super sharp portraits to moody, slightly soft images.
Any fan of fashion and portrait work needs to add this to their library.
Help other customers find the most helpful reviews
Was this review helpful to you? Yes
No
