CECIL BEATONBy Zyanya Aguilar-Nelsonp.4

Cecil’s Background

Cecil Beaton was born January 14th 1904 in Hampstead.

He was an English fashion and portrait photographer and an academic award winning stage and costume designer for films and theater.

Education

Cecil was educated at Heath Mount School, St Cyprian’s School and Eastbourne, where his artistic talent was quickly recognized.

He went on to Harrow, St John’s College and Cambridge to study history, art and architecture.

Through his college connections he was able to get a portrait sitting with the Duchess Of Malfi. This portrait gave him his first piece of published work. Vogue magazine bought and published his work.

Most of his work appeared in magazines such a vogue

Inspiration

Cecil started learning and experimenting photography with his nanny’s Kodak 3A camera.

He would sit his mother and sister down to practice taking portraits of them.

His style is portrait and fashion photos.

Style- Fashion Photography

Fashion Photography is a genre of photography which displays clothing and other fashion items. Fashion photography is often conducted for fashion magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair. Over time, fashion photography has developed its own aesthetic in which the clothes and fashions are enhanced by the presence of exotic locations or accessories.

Style- Portrait Photography

Portrait photography is photography in which the face and expression is predominant. The objective is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the subject.

Photography

Beaton's first camera was a Kodak 3A folding camera.

Beaton was never known as a highly skilled technical photographer, and instead focused on staging a compelling model or scene and looking for the perfect shutter-release moment.

Cecil’s Work

Beaton often photographed the Royal Family for official publication.

Beaton took the famous wedding pictures of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor.

He recorded images from the home front during World War two.

Three models in candy-colored dresses, 1948

The lighting used in this picture is artificial. It is coming from the top right corner of the picture.

The main subject of the picture are the 3 girls in their dresses reading books. I can tell because they are the only thing in the picture besides branches that are added for decoration.

The photographer is communicating reading and friendship and leisure.

This pictures uses lighting as one of its main elements of composition. Using lighting there are shadows cast upon the background and the girls are more lit up. There is also a large focal point. The 3 girls are all in focus while the branches on top are out of focus. This also creates a frame around the girls.

I chose this picture because I loved the colors of the picture and the dresses worn by the girls, which is what Cecil would have aimed for since he was a fashion photographer

Eileen Dunne, WW II

The lighting in this picture is probably a mixture of natural light coming from windows and artificial light coming from inside. The light is coming from the top left corner.

The main subject of the picture is the girl clutching her teddy bear.

This picture is telling a story about the war and about the effects it had on everyone, even little girls

The main element of composition in this picture are leading lines and frame. The bed the girl is sitting in frames her body so that your eye focuses on her. The railing along the bed lead your eye to her in the center. The contrast is also high making the picture a bit darker and accenting each line and couture of the face and body even more.

I like this picture because of the story it tells, and because of the impact it has despite its simplicity

Charles James Gowns, Vogue 1948

The lighting in this picture is artificial and is coming from the middle top left and is cast diagonally across the picture.

The main subjects of the picture are scattered around and are the models wearing the gowns, because it is a fashion shot for this designer.

The picture is telling a story of beauty and how great girls will look in these dresses, encouraging people to buy them.

The main element of composition in this picture is clearly lighting. Cecil used lighting to focus the viewers eyes on the center of the picture since there is so much color and movement all over. Contrast also brings out the smooth flowy texture of the dresses and how they drape of the girls bodies.

I like this picture because all the girls look so elegant and regal in the picture and because the way the lighting was used really interested me.

Princess Margaret 19th Birthday, 1949

The lighting in this picture is artificial and is coming from the bottom left corner.

The main subject is the princess on her 19th birthday

The picture isn't telling a story necessarily, it is documenting the birthday of the princess

The main element of composition used in this picture is lighting which highlights her as the main focus. The texture of the dress is also very interesting.

I selected this picture because the way Cecil uses lighting to highlight the princess is nice and because I like the colors and texture of the picture as a whole.

Vogue, 1951

The lighting in this picture is artificial and seems to be coming from the top and directly shinning on the model.

The main focus of this image is the model and her dress.

This picture is trying to sell the dress as it was in a fashion magazine, vogue.

The main element of composition that I see in this picture is the texture used. I like the contrast of the splatter paint texture with the soft fluffy texture of the dress. I also like the light that seems to be coming from behind her. It gives her a halo of light around the entire body, setting her apart from the wall.

I chose this picture because I thought the texture of the background was really interesting.

Pictures "Style NOtes." For The Love Of Beauty. 12 Jul. 2013. 23 Apr.

2010. <http://for-the-love-of-beauty.blogspot.com/2008/07/style-notes-summer-reading.html>.

C. (2009, December 17). English Lovers. Retrieved April 23, 2010, from http://speakin-colors.blogspot.com/2009/12/british-photographers-cecil-beaton.html

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-528014/Now-IS-posh-Posh-Queen-Victoria-adopts-regal-pose.html

Biography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Beaton