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WHEN YOU SEE A TERRY RICHARDSON PHOTOGRAPH IN A HIGH-GLAMOUR ENVIRONMENT LIKE
WHEN YOU SEE A TERRY RICHARDSON PHOTOGRAPH IN A HIGH-GLAMOUR ENVIRONMENT LIKE Allure or Harper's Bazaar (and you will see many), you may be surprised to learn that this is the same Terry Richardson who, inspired by the suicide of INXS lead singer Michael Hutchence, created the controversial image of a model with a crucifix and belt around his neck for the September issue of Spin magazine. When you talk to the 33-year-old New York photographer, however, the explanation as to why he is able to do both kinds of work so suc cessfully becomes clear: Terry Richardson understands the business of fashion photography.
"If you want to work for [American fashion magazines]," Richardson says plainly, "you have to know the girls can't look too down or be in a scuzzy background. If they do, the magazine won't run your pictures" Allure art director David Sebbah, with whom Richardson has worked on several stories, waxes a bit more philosophical on the subject. "The point of fashion is to create a spirit, an attitude and an ambiance," he says. "You cannot ignore the sexy part of it, which is really about 90 percent of fashion for me" And, he adds, "Terry is one of the best at capturing it"
Richardson does capture the sexy part of fashion-yet manages to leave a definite mark on his images. For the June issue of Allure, for example, he photographed models in denim clothing, on location in Texas. While there's a fair amount of innocent frolicking in the nine-page story-the kind depicted by young women in jeans, jumping in a lake-there's also an adult edge to the playfulness. The expressions on Richardson's models alternate between dreamy and come-hither looks. One hikes up her denim skirt, her face partially hidden by some trees; another leaps out of a barn window, showing off her countrified skirt, petticoat and denim halter top; yet another stretches out atop a bale of hay.
Sebbah says that because Richardson has "a really specific point of view," he doesn't give the photographer much direction on a shoot. "Terry is the easiest guy to work with," he says. "If you're expecting a point of view, your...