Research: David Bailey

David Royston Bailey was born in Leytonstone, London and after leaving school at fifteen got a job as a copy boy at the Yorkshire Post in Fleet Street.  He was then called up for National Service where he served in the Royal Air Force and soon discovered the work of Henri Cartier Bresson which inspired him and increased his passion for photography.

David Baileys professional career started as a photographers assistant and he then went on to be a freelance photographer for Vogue Magazine in the late 1960s.  At this time London was in the swinging 60s which was the height of fashion culture for celebrities.  Along with Terence Donovan and Brian Duffy he was socialising with actors, musicians and royalty.  This is when Bailey revolutionised pop portrait which was previously formal and false.  In 1965 his Box of Pin Ups which is a box of thirty seven portrait poster prints done in half tone print include Terance Stamp, Jean Shrimpton, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger and The Kray Twins. 

Of the thirty seven box prints thirty were taken against a plain white background a style much used today for portrait style photography. Bailey then used high contrast printing in some of  the images like this one of John Lennon and Paul McCartney taken in 1965 which developed the style even further.  I really like this image the high key background against the low key figure brings out a really interesting contrast.  The empty backdrop and the low key clothing demands you to look at the faces forcing you to study the expression.  They appear to be staring out endlessly at the viewer but I would say there mood seems relaxed, indifferent and unselfconscious.  The image has great shape against the background and the balance of both sides are almost symmetrical.

Music was a passion of Bailey's and he became great friends with Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones in the early days and accompanied them in the early days when they were still playing tiny halls with minimal equipment.  Mick Jagger was also in Bailey's Box of Pin Ups with this image taken in 1964.

This is one of my favorite of Bailey's Box of Pin Up images.  A fresh faced Mick Jagger a young rock star in all his insolent androgynous glory.  This full frontal pose where just the head and the shoulders are heavy within the frame shows a stripped bare portrait of the young Mick Jagger with no artificial props or poses.  Again Bailey has used a plain white backdrop which shows good contrast against the texture of the fur hood around Jaggers head.  Bailey has used a direct flash for this image which has resulted in flawless luminous skin.  The bareness of the backdrop has been softened by the fur of the hood.   This image has a great tonal range bought together from the white backdrop and his flawless luminous skin together with the low key contrast of the fur around his shoulders which is then softened by the fur hood.  I really like the frame created around his eye with part of the fur from the hood.  There is great texture and patten within this image which is created by the fur hood which allows for a lovely shape against the white clinical cold background.

I really like this image shot of Pauline Boty in 1964.  The camera has been tilted which has created an unsettled composition.  The canvas picture in the background has been tilted in the opposite direction which creates further disorientation.  This aside I still really like this image that I feel has a lot going on.  The portrait is really close to the lens but the eye is guided into the image beyond the subject.  There is lots of patten and texture in this image and the composition aspects of lines forms a great part of the image together with angle.  I think this image has a really nice contrast with the spotted blouse and iron bedstead.  The main focus is the eyes but then you are very quickly guided around the image.

This image of Jean Shrimpton was taken in July 1965 and it was taken especially for the Box of Pin Ups.  Taken in the style Bailey seemed to adopt around that time against a white backdrop this portrait has a flawless look.  The high key tone and the great contrast of the hair demands that you focus on the subject.  The focal point is the eyes and you are drawn towards the facial expression.  Bailey shot this image with the camera just below her face which it seems you are looking up to her.  Bailey said she is narcissus in love with her own reflection.

Bailey has shot quite a few images with black and white fashion garments much like this image of Chrissie Shrimpton and Ossie Clark taken in July 1965.  Using a white backdrop I like the choice of clothing Ossie dressed entirely in black and Chrissie wearing black and white makes the image high contrast with a really good tonal range throughout the image.  The image has nice patten and texture created by the black and white clothing and shows the composition aspects of lines, pattens and texture  The subjects are very heavy in the frame guiding the eye around the whole of the image but the focus still remains in the expression.

This is a fantastic image of Jean Shrimpton taken in 1962 in New York for British Vogue.  This was taken on Baileys first trip to New York when American photographers often came to London but British photographers were seldom invited to travel west.  This image represents the composition aspect of reflection and the way Bailey has captured the reflection in the puddle is great showing the composition aspect of the Rule of Thirds within the puddle.  I like the way the image in the puddle almost seems like a different image altogether almost like a statue.  The image has a really nice tonal range and appears like it has been shot high but at a tilted downwards angle.  I also like how the background shows street life and people just going about their day to day business.  I really like this image as I really like images with reflections within them two images in one which sometimes, like this, can look completely different.

In 2001 David Bailey was given a CBE and has been involved in numerous television commercials and documentaries and together with David Lichfield published the Ritz Newspaper.  He has photographed icons including Paul Weller, Jarvis Cocker and Razorlight.  David Bailey has also been a filmmaker, curator, environmental campaigner painter and sculptor as well as photographer.  Bailey has published many books to celebrate his work.

The genres of David Baileys photography go from fashion to portraiture, nudes to erotica and documentary to reportage.  Many of his photographs have been black and white, minimalist, graphic and high contrast between lighter values and darker tones.  Bailey has also produced some really powerful images of his wife Catherine Bailey giving birth to their daughter Paloma which must hold a personal feeling that only they can explain, he also has a books called Mrs. David Bailey by David Bailey and The lady is a Tramp.  In the collection The Lady is a Tramp these images are split into five different sections Nudes, Fashion, Pregnancy, Children and Beauty.  These images show Catherine Bailey in different incarnations as wife, mother, lover, seductress and Tramp.  Although I do admire much of Bailey's work it is the work photographing the music icons, high contrast shot in black and white and minimalist which inspire me the most.

Bailey has done various exhibitions including a major traveling show which opened at the Barbican, London in 1999 entitled "The Birth of Cool".  This exhibition includes an overview of Baileys life including works from "Box of Pin Ups" and "The lady is a Tramp".

Research Material Used

David Baileys Rock and Roll Heroes 1997
David Baileys Look Book - Jackie Higgins
David Baileys Locations - Martin Harrison

Internet