William Klein (1828-2023) was an American born French photographer, filmmaker and graphic designer, widely regarded as one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. He is known for his ground-breaking approach to both fashion and street photography, Klein revolutionised the visual language of photography with his unconventional style. Klein’s work would often break traditional rules, favouring spontaneity, high contrast, and bold composition. He is known for shooting with wide angle lenses, capturing dynamic and chaotic moments, often with blurred motion, grain, and stark contrast. His photos were raw, candid, and sometimes confrontational, focusing on the energy and diversity of urban life, particularly in New York, Paris and other major cities. One of his most iconic works would be “New York” (1956), a photo book that marked a major departure from traditional fashion and street photography. His images, often featuring stark juxtaposition and chaotic city scenes, helped redefine the concept of urban photography. Klein’s work also included fashion photography for vogue, when he introduced a more spontaneous and edgy style that contrasted with the highly polished approach typically associated with the magazine. 

Rejection of traditional fashion norms: Klein’s fashion photography was revolutionary because he rejected the idealised, glamorous aesthetic that dominated the industry at the time. He often shot in urban settings rather than controlled studio environments, preferring the grit and spontaneity of the streets. This made his images more alive and unique compared to polished, staged looks that were the norm. 

Dynamic, Candid shots: Instead of the carefully posed, idealised models typically seen in magazines, Klein’s photos captured models in motion, often blurred or interacting with their surroundings. Thus gave his images a sense of energy or urgency. He was also known for using wide- angle lenses to distort and exaggerate perspectives, which further intensified the impact on his upcoming photographs. 

Use of high contrasts and grain: Klein was known for his high contrasted black and white images that featured deep shadows and bright highlights. He also embraced grainy textures in his work, often resulting from shooting fast film in challenging lighting conditions. This gave his photos a gritty, almost rough aesthetic, in stark contrast to the soft-focus images commonly used in high- fashion magazines. 

Controversy and provocation: Klein’s approach to fashion photography often provoked controversy. For example, his photos sometimes depicted the models as “imperfect” with wrinkles, motion blur or awkward poses. He also frequently introduced elements of social critique, incorporating elements of the political and cultural landscapes into his work. Most of his images were positioned in working class environments. 

Klein’s initial interest in photography developed during his time in Paris in the early 1950s, It was there that he met the photographer and painter brassai, who had a significant influence on him. Brassai encouraged him to take up photography, Klein then began taking photos realising that paintings couldn’t capture moments and stories like a camera could. 

One of William Klein’s most famous work would be these photographs above referred to as Dorothy + Japanese lights or Dorothy juggling with light balls from his Paris + light series in 1962. Klein’s approach was revolutionary, blending high fashion with urban dynamism and experimentation. The image features a model, Dorothy, engaging with illuminated balls in theatrical, surreal composition, set against Klein’s distinctive use of emphasising energy and spontaneity. This work was created using the gelatine silver print process and reflects Klein’s signature avant-garde style that merged fine art with fashion and street photography. part of a limited-edition series, the print is valued not only for its aesthetic quantities but also as a cultural artefact that captures Klein’s innovative spirit and his influence on photography during the mid-20th century. 

His images are hugely different an unusual from the rest as some would say that they are not necessarily staged and that the model is just misplaced, it is a way of reflecting how one individual might feel, misplaced, they do not belong there because they are too different. All the other people in the image are unaware that they are in a photo which makes the image even more powerful, it could show that people are uncomfortable where they are, they don’t fit in in society and nobody around them is aware of that, they are clueless as they are focusing on their own lives, although many other people in this photograph may be feeling this, William has focused on the one wearing the “fashionable clothes”. Although that isn’t what William Klein is going for, it does show that not all images have intentional factors, Klein’s imagery was inspired by tabloid sensationalism, overturning established styles in street and fashion photography, Klein liked the idea of mixing the street background with the fashion photography, he didn’t like the basic studio that models would pose in so he tried to charge it and make it more personal. I really like how his images turned out as the mixture of the streets and fashion could be seen as opposites, the streets are normally dirty and full of people, but Klein made sure that the backgrounds in the images were all neutral, I also like that all his images are in black and white as that adds a modern look but also stops all the colourful items in the background taking the attention, the main focus would be the model that is in the middle of the street looking different from everyone else who looks “basic”.