24 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Candid Shots of Sleepyheads and Fast Starters, April 24, 2001
The concept of this book was to shoot candid photographs of women doing their normal activities in the morning, following on the successful book done with men in the morning. The purpose was to get the real person behind the polished facade of the famous. Ms. Vial wanted to see "raw, real, natural . . . no makeup, no posing, I wanted their souls." Each photograph was done without additional lighting and was based on a few candid rolls. The book notes the time when the photograph was taken in most cases. Most are from 7 to 10 a.m. The images catch the subjects in bed (alone, and with pets, a mom, children, and men), bathing, showering, with kids, wearing robes, wearing no robes, dressing, exercising, smoking (too many of these), brushing their teeth, drying their hair, putting on make up, having coffee, meditating, making breakfast, eating breakfast, and even working. The concept works best for those who are still half conked-out while they are being photographed, and those who are not professional models. The bright-eyed professional models look just as great as they would on any fashion shoot. It's testimony to their talent for posing without direction. The book contains lots of notes about the subjects, both written in calligraphy and in printed captions at the end of the book. The book would have been a lot better with much more editing. Many of the images add little, other than to make the people look bad. Some of these women looked like they were coming off an all-night drunk or a drug-based party.
The images here would often earn the book an R rating if it were a motion picture. There is total nudity in some cases, but of the modest sort.
A major drawback to doing candid shots in available light is that many of the images end up looking like semi mug shots, because the light was so poor. I feel that more of these should have been eliminated.
The brief foreword by Sean Penn didn't do anything for me. I suggest you skip it.
One of the touching photographs in the collection is of Demi Moore in bed with her dying mother.
Other touching images include mothers playing with their children, pregnant woman struggling with their temporary girth, and women with their pets.
Despite the limitations of the book, I liked many of the photographs either because they did give a window on the soul or because the woman was just so beautiful or interesting that she overcame the circumstances of the photography.
Here are my favorites: Reese Witherspoon; Helena Christensen; Uschi Obermaier; Julia Stiles; Laetitia Casta (7:17 a.m. and under water); Ingrid Seynhaere; Emily Watson; Mia Kirshner (2); Sophis and Tess Medina; Charlotte Flossant; Amanda De Cadenet; Emma Thompson (2nd one); Dyan Cannon; Frederique van der Wal (2); Diane Warren; Eileen Ryan Penn; Debbie Morgan; Sofia Coppola; Sigourney Weaver (2); Joely Fisher; Lisa Marie; Lumi Cavazos; Angie Everhart; Cheryl Tiegs (2); Gina Gershon; Lois Chiles; Jennifer Beals; and Emmanuelle Sallet.
After you finish enjoying this book, I suggest that you do your own version of this photography with the people in your family. Get them at various times in the day when they are at their most open. It will make a wonderful scrapbook!
Find the natural person behind the prepared mask and response, . . . and cherish them!
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Disappointing, throwaway follow-up, January 27, 1999
By A Customer
This book, a companion (?) to 'Men Before 10,' is a desultory followup that lacks almost all the charm, depth, warmth and perceptiveness of its predecessor.
Maybe it's the absence of the element of surprise that made 'Men' so special. The subjects here look self-conscious and posed, the circumstances sadly lacking in spontaneity and individuality. It looks as if Vial was saying, "OK, now jump on the bed. Brush your teeth. Take a shower. Play with your dog. Have a cup of coffee." The women, according to the notes at the end, are almost all 'actress,' 'model' or 'actress/model' -- where's the entrepreneurs, film directors, the painters, the authors -- heck, the OLD people -- we saw in 'Men?'
In order, perhaps, to cram in more indistinguishable pictures of naked bathing beauties, Vial's amusing, brief descriptions of the shoots have been shrunk even further -- even the type is tiny -- and jammed onto one page at the end of the book. Many get no description at all, while the few that are described in the body of the book are written in an irritatingly artsy, hard-to-read type. There's nothing comparable to Pam Houston's charming narrative counterpoint (Sean Penn's tossed-off introduction doesn't even merit a second glance) that made the first book more like an intimate conversation about the private moments with the men we adore
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
beautiful!! and full of life, June 14, 2001
By A Customer
I normally don't like to write these reviews, I feel art and music are such subjective experiences, you really need to check it out for yourself. But I had to say that this was a very beautiful book. Its an intimate view into a world, most of us men rarely get to be a part of, especially living in such a fast paced world. Veronique Vial captures these passing moments, tip toeing her way through the homes of some well known and before-they-were-famous woman. All the more reason to appreciate this book. Being a photographer, I can also appreciate the clean straight forward layout, that really shows off her great work. Her previous Men Before Ten am, I found too dark and over designed. Its hard to compare the two, because of the subject, but the printing on Women is superior and it has brighter and livelier feel. Her photographs really capture the moment, which is what great photography is all about.
I would compare her to the likes of the great Magnum photographers like, Bresson, Bruce Davidson, Elliot Erwitt. Her ability to capture the "life" in her subjects and "the moment" shows through in these photographs and her other work (see O Cirque du Soleil).
I gave five of these as gifts to woman friends and they loved and enjoyed this book, seeing themselves captured in these beautiful moments.
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