glam·our  also glam·or —noun.
     1. An air of compelling charm or beauty, romance, and excitement (often with sex-appeal);
     2. The quality of fascinating, alluring, or attracting.

Glamour photography, in its pure form, seems to find its origins with a photographer by the name of "George Hurrell" (1904-1992) who back in the late 20s and 30s photographed Hollywood's greatest stars at their glamorous best while simultaneously capturing their more elusive qualities and thereby promoting the great Hollywood movie star mystique to their fans all over the world. The idea was to feature them, make them look beautiful, usually with a hint of sex-appeal, whether they wore a gown or a turtle neck sweater. They were stars and their photos made them look fabulous. Nudity or skimpy outfits were seldom used. (To all rules, there were exceptions.) Glamour photos were mostly portraits, although some were full length, but they were always very formal and were shot mainly as publicity stills for the star, many times for a specific movie. Stars like Jean Harlow, Rita Hayworth, Carol Lombard were among his many subjects. He continued his work into the '80s...Arnold Swartznegger and Farrah Fawcett were photographed by him. View some of Hurrell's work on Silver Screen Sirens. Also a great reference for retro, 30s - 50s looks.   To recreate those images is not just finding an outfit that is from those times, but also an attitude that will transcend time and come through on the finished images.
Time changes everything, including our standards in photography. Today, glamour is mainly considered photos with loads of sex-appeal and low cut, skimpy outfits; many times containing nudity. So be sure of what your photographer means when you agree on a 'glamour' shoot.

Many models, along with myself,  love the look of thirties and forties. Though most photos should be modern with today's looks, the older photos are fun to try to recreate. I'll be glad to work with you on any ideas that you may have for photos from that era, along with the modern.

Copyright 2006 Digital Light and Illusions, Columbus, OH USA. Tom Newberry, Photographer  Polaris Models

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