Weekly Post: Terry Richardson

Terry Richardson is a fashion and portrait photographer, notably known for photographing high profile celebrities, models, and for his recent controversy pertaining to his over-sexualizing the photography of young models. Richardson's work exudes the air of an amateur photographer with his straight on composition, use of instant and disposable cameras, and use of a single light source; usually a camera mounted flash. The aesthetic of Richardson's work is one that gives an 'exposing' or 'bear-all' look at celebrities, making the viewer feel as if you can see them for who they are, and not who they are portrayed as in the media. Richardson's work also explores sexuality via the use of partial, frontal, and full nudity. Often times his subject don revealing clothing, and male subjects are often photographed shirtless. Not only does he manage to give the celebrities the 'bear-all' feeling mentioned earlier, but his subjects often don a wide smile, indicating a sense of freedom and fun while being photographed. Another signature of Richardson's work is him posing in the photograph with his subject, giving the viewer somewhat of an 'excited fan' feeling of seeing a celebrity on the street and wanted to have your picture taken with them. Richardson has recently met controversy for his earlier work with models in sexualized photographs, being accused of taking things too far on the set, and even involving himself in staged, and actual sex acts, giving somewhat of a stereotypical 'sleazy' air to the role of the photographer working with young, sexualized models.