As a prominent artistic school, Beauty Photography has been altered dramatically through the past years; knowledge of what happened to it earlier can give us the clue of what awaits glamour images in the future. Like any other genre of photography, it witnessed some dramatic changes, withstood many cultural revolutions to finally emerge in its present state.

Let us have a short walk through the past years of Glamour Photos and then venture forth to predict some of their future.

Adolescence. As to the starting point of the history of glamour photography – nobody is certain. There are people who believe it can be traced back to "French postcard" that flooded Paris back in 1930's, whereas many prefer to think it originated from Victorian photography. Some think that cultural foundation and inspiration for glamour pictures lies in XVI and XVIII centuries. Franskly speaking, the birth of glamour images cannot be discovered with any degree of certainty. I prefer to consider that classic and contemporary fine arts contributed in equal measures to create this unique genre – and it is the melting pot of 1920’s culture that we owe its birth. Also, it is from the first half of twentieth century that the history of classic glamour photography can be traced.

Zenith of Glory and Later. Those were difficult but glorious years. Famous Betty Grable was the queen of hearts before and after the war; Marilyn Monroe brought even more recognition to glamour photography by her famous appearance on Playboy's cover in 1953. Pamela Green and other famous and charming models contributed to glorifying glamour photography at its finest, winning the heart of audience worldwide.

Nowadays – Digital Fever. Color wasn't the only achievement that glamour images acquired – they turned into something more creative and provocative. Dita von Teese and Hope Talmons gained young and ambitious competitors like Heidie Van Horne, Lucy Pinder, Bernie Dexter and others. As it happened, film gave way to digital photography. The tidal wave of progress improved glamour images’ technical quality and drastically simplified the very process of photo production. Everyone with a DSLR camera could become another glamour photographer. Due to rapid development of Internet technologies, a swarm of "people with cameras" emerged, awaiting recognition.

Are you Afraid of 3D? Finally, nowadays we face a new era, when 3D rendering easily re-creates that very glamour that we are so striving to deliver. Though nobody doubts it is art, 3D appears to rival not only the photography techniques but artists and models themselves. I really doubt that 3D-rendered beauty can better the genuinely beautiful model and a talented artist cannot be matched by a PC. If this is a struggle of old and modern, my side is with the former.

Never-the-less, I gaze in the future with a smile – after all, no art has ever been forgotten; oils and film have an army of admirers, as do many other genres. 3D art undoubtedly deserves for its own niche and admirers. It is not technology that is behind each glamour picture – it’s the soul, the inspiration and the dedication: that of photographer and the model. No real photographer ever forgets this – and I'm sure that neither will you.

Glamour Photo Ressources