Book or documentary recommendations for 4x5 Slide Portraiture?

[Certain Exposures]

Are there any good books you've read about portrait photographers that were in hot demand and built their careers on 4x5 slide film in advertising, glamour/fashion, and celebrity coverage? I am looking for something that covers popular names, their lighting methods, the gear they were using, etc.

What about links to a documentary or video tutorial by a photographer working at that time? I'll share here if I find anything noteworthy.

I want to satisfy my curiosity because I came across a few sites that sell old slides while looking for examples of 5x7 Ektachrome. There's a lot of great work out there without a name attached or any copyright details whatsoever. Not all of the work was in a studio, either. I saw an examples out on location.

[Vaughan]

Back in the day, all commercial colour work was done on reversal (slide) film because it usually ended up on a printing press, and the printing industry worked from positives. High quality was done on 4x5 or larger; if the image required significant manipulation (before the days of PS) it may have been done on 8x10 or duplicated from 4x5 up to 8x10 for ease of masking and retouching. The only exceptions are black and white which was done on negative film, and portrait/wedding photography that used colour negative film because the final result is usually low volume prints. (Kodak made special paper to make b+w prints from colour negatives.)

Celebrity coverage would have been done on 35mm. Photographers like Charlie Waite did a lot of landscape with Hasselblad 6x6.

I don't think 5x7 was ever a popular format, certainly not compared to 4x5 or 8x10.

[bdkphoto]

Vaughan is correct.

For portraiture the majority of the commercia/ editorial work was shot in 2 1/4, I would look up Annie, Albert Watson, Greg Heisler, Avedon, Bruce Weber, Mark Seliger, Marin Schoeller (8x10) - plus all of the fashion folks, DeMarchalier, Lachapelle etc. 4x5 was more common in the studio/still life environment.

[Certain Exposures]

Back in the day, all commercial colour work was done on reversal (slide) film because it usually ended up on a printing press, and the printing industry worked from positives. High quality was done on 4x5 or larger; if the image required significant manipulation (before the days of PS) it may have been done on 8x10 or duplicated from 4x5 up to 8x10 for ease of masking and retouching. The only exceptions are black and white which was done on negative film, and portrait/wedding photography that used colour negative film because the final result is usually low volume prints. (Kodak made special paper to make b+w prints from colour negatives.)

Celebrity coverage would have been done on 35mm. Photographers like Charlie Waite did a lot of landscape with Hasselblad 6x6.

I don't think 5x7 was ever a popular format, certainly not compared to 4x5 or 8x10.

Thanks, Vaughan. Who were some of your personal favorites?

I have to look up the whole duplicating process. Maybe that would be a less expensive way to make occasional 8x10 slides.

[Certain Exposures]

Vaughan is correct.

For portraiture the majority of the commercia/ editorial work was shot in 2 1/4, I would look up Annie, Albert Watson, Greg Heisler, Avedon, Bruce Weber, Mark Seliger, Marin Schoeller (8x10) - plus all of the fashion folks, DeMarchalier, Lachapelle etc. 4x5 was more common in the studio/still life environment.

Thanks - was Annie's last name Watson or did you accidentally omit it?

[bdkphoto]

Thanks - was Annie's last name Watson or did you accidentally omit it?

Annie Leibovitz -

[Certain Exposures]

Thanks!

[Vaughan]

I have to look up the whole duplicating process. Maybe that would be a less expensive way to make occasional 8x10 slides.

The duplicating process itself is pretty simple: take a photograph of the original. This could be done with a large format camera, an enlarger, or a process camera. Not technically difficult or uncommon.

Occasional 8x10 slides? I'm not sure what you mean. Nothing involving 8x10 film is cheap. Duplicating film may have been more expensive than standard camera film, I never used it myself.

If you wanted large transparencies for back-lit signage you'd use a material specifically made for the purpose like that made by Ciba/Ilford. It was available in standard paper sheet sizes and rolls up to something like 1200mm wide, and used standard Cibachrome print processing machinery and chemistry. It was available in both clear and translucent base and was drop-dead gorgeous. Not cheap either.

As for personal favourite colour photographers: probably Martin Parr, Joel Meyerowitz and the like. The world is full of good colour photographers and good colour photography, in many ways it's the default. For some reason (possibly the single flaw in my otherwise perfect character) I tend to be more impressed by good black and white photography.

[Vaughan]

Thanks - was Annie's last name Watson or did you accidentally omit it?

Everybody's journey begins with a first step, and I don't want to sound mean, but the fact you needed to ask means you need to do some homework.

Thankfully there are some really good YT channels:

The Art of Photography

THopper

Imitative Photography This person looks at some really interesting photographs are tries to re-create them. It sounds like a bad idea but they really do the original artist and their work justice, and their video production is excellent. I'm working through their catalog at the moment.

[Tin Can]

I don't do LF slides in color

I do use a 5x7 Elwood in horizontal projecting on my backdrop

B&W only