Assignment Research: Richard Avedon

Richard Avedon's portraits are very distinct.  They usually feature the subject in front of a plain white background looking straight into the camera.  Although Avedon has photographed many famous faces, some of his other works seem to focus on working class people and those from poorer backgrounds.

He has worked for many high end fashion magazines but his style is very different.  His pictures capture peoples emotions, laughing, smiling and sometimes action shots which are different to the expressionless glossy shots you usually find in these sorts of magazines.  Avedon would sometimes ask uncomfortable questions to his subjects to provoke a reaction or an expression.

He is also famous for his large prints.  He did large format portrait work of travelers , drifters, miners and cowboys for his best selling book In The American West.

Red Owens, oil field worker, Velma, Oklahoma, June12, 1980



James Story, coal miner, Somerset, Colorado, December 18, 1979

 The pictures from the book In The American West were criticised at the time for showing America in a less esteemed way.  I think that the pictures from the book such as these of the oil workers and miners, show the struggle and the hardship faced by 'real' ordinary people.  Avedon chose to shoot these people in their soiled work clothes and this adds to the impression he is trying to capture of a hard life.  I think the people in the photographs look tired and this shows how hard they have to work every day.

He has worked with many celebrities but what's so interesting about his shots of famous people is that he captures them in a very different way.  A lot of the pictures are often not instantly recognisable and the figures unfamiliar or out of character.  These pictures were mostly very unflattering but they stand out for these reasons.

This picture of Marilyn Monroe is different to how she is usually seen.  Her arms are down by her side and she has a look on her face which suggests she is fed up.  It's how you imagine she looks on her days off, looking away and not playing up to the camera.

What I like most about his work is that he captures real people with real emotions and even manages to get the same results with celebrities.  This is what I'd like to achieve with my own work.