David Bailey

David Bailey Photo

David Bailey was born in London, England on January 2nd, 1938 and is a self-taught photographer. Apart from his highly personal approach to photography he is also notable as a representative of a significant change in the attitude to the glossier aspects of the art which took place in the 1960s. The fashion and advertising side of the business had been dominated by rather more aloof personalities than the slightly irreverent natures of David Bailey and some of his contemporaries. His approach to fashion photography was much less remote than much of the earlier work in the fashion magazines. His models were photographed more as girls and less as clothes horses.

Although his association with Vogue categorized him as a fashion photographer, his interest extends far beyond that, and his more personally orientated work includes landscape, reportage and nudes. His approach to photography was strongly influenced by the cinema and this interest has continued to the point where he now directs television commercials and documentaries.

Contrary to the dependence on automation that some contemporary photographers in the trendier area of the medium have, David Bailey displays and respects technical skill and control and is as much at home with a large-format camera as with a 35mm. He is constantly experimenting with new equipment, materials, and techniques.

Books of his photographs include Trouble and Strife, 1980, Papua New Guinea, 1975, and Goodbye Baby and Amen, 1969.

David Bailey Photos