11.11.09
Antoine Verglas on How to Photograph Beautiful Women
Antoine Verglas has photographed some of the most beautiful women in the world and his approach is much in demand. Grant Scott managed to persuade him to let us into some of his secrets when it comes to shooting sexy, sensual women.
Antoine Verglas still retains a strong French accent despite his many years in America.His voice is warm and he speaks in a slow and considered manner, choosing his words carefully. It’s a voice which is reflected in his work.
He left Paris 20 years ago and arrived in New York to work for Elle and French photo magazines, photographing models in their home environments. It was an approach that worked immediately. His informal, ‘caught’ images felt fresh sexy, intimate, natural, new and very much in touch with the times.
“Some photographers have a hard appreciation of women, some have a soft appreciation,” he says, “the work depends on how you see women. When you’re a photographer this is reflected in your photos.”
It is an approach, which he has remained true to ever since. It was also one which many photographers adopted throughout the Eighties and Nineties. It was a fashionable and commercial look, pioneered by Herb Ritts and Mario Testino, but Verglas’ work had more of a sensual, sexual energy than theirs. His images feel post-coital, non-aggressive. “I always enjoyed photographing women without artifice,” he explains.
With the dawn of the lads’ mag, both in the UK and the US, Verglas found his images of the world’s most beautiful women in great demand, but he found that the magazines’ need for highly art directed imagery took him away from the style of work which he felt most comfortable creating. “I worked a lot with flash and my style evolved into the style of the mens’ magazines, but I am really happy now to go back to my roots of back lighting and softer lighting.”
Today in the US the days of the lads’ mag are numbered as multiple titles are closed and in the UK, their circulations are dropping dramatically. This combined with his uneasiness about the images he was creating has caused Verglas to return to his previous clients and way of working. In the Eighties he had been one of many working in this way, today he is one of a select few. He’s seeing this as a positive turning point, by rebuilding his website, taking on a new agent and gently repositioning himself back into the market he had left. His work sums up the reasons why so many people think that the world of the professional photographer is so glamorous. Beautiful women, beautiful locations, you get paid and he makes it look easy. So I asked him to share the secrets of his success and give us some tips on how to shoot like Antoine Verglas.
Antoine’s tips for shooting sexy, sensual women
Communicate: Make sure you speak to the team and the subject before the shoot.Make sure everyone knows what is expected of them before you start shooting.
Move with the subject: Try to capture the emotion and feeling of the moment.
It’s not about equipment:Move around and create an interaction with the subject, talking with them as you work.
Keep the team to a minimum:You need to create an intimacy with your subject so always work with a very small team. If the subject is willing, be alone with her.Remember Bert Stern’s final images of Marilyn Monroe, that was just the two of them.
Involve the subject: It’s important to talk with the subject. It’s hard for them to undress in front of someone
they have no connection with.
www.antoineverglas.com
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