John french photographer biography template

The British fashion photographer John French (1907–1966) has over the years, it seems, been reduced to a mere footnote in the biographies of the two most famous photographers he trained as his assistants, David Bailey and Terence Donovan.

John french photographer biography template

These were two among the many who passed through his studios and learned from him, including those listed at the end of this text. Not only did John French set a very high standard with his own work and create what was in effect “a school of fashion photography” in London, he also devised an ideal balance of tone and contrast that would reproduce well in newsprint.

And that was a major breakthrough.

Before John French, British newspapers, for practical reasons, favoured fashion illustration over fashion photography. Techniques of reproduction for newsprint in the ‘50s were unsophisticated and the editors at the Daily Express, D