Franz Walderdorff

Artist Biography

Franz Walderdorff's primary subject is beauty; he was on contract with Allure magazine from the day it launched and for the next 20 years, regularly contributing beauty pictures with the energy of a film-maker and the technical precision of a portraitist in an approach that precisely echoed the magazine's ethos. That easy-going feel, combined with visual high definition, is also what Walderdorff brings to his other work, whether in fashion or portraiture. Every element: from the choice of lighting, location and model through his comfortable, respectful rapport with his subjects, to the loyal team of experts he prefers to work with-contributes to this way of seeing. It's a truism that ultimately photographers only shoot their own personalities, but that is certainly the case with Walderdorff.

Walderdorff has shot striking behind-the-scenes images from all major women's fashion shows in New York, Paris and Milan. His work is always related to beauty, whether with a model in a studio, on location, in the locker room of a professional cheerleading team, or the dressing rooms of New York's most famous strip clubs and cabarets. When at home in Sag Harbor, German-born Walderdorff likes to spend time at the beach even in the winter months. It was here that his most recent project, "Connections", was created. This series of photos reflects the playful, ever-shifting movement of sand, water and sky. The abstract, contemplative images, at first viewing, make us wonder what we are looking at, at what scale and in what location.

Walderdorff had a one man show of 16 images entitled " Sand Games " at the Donna Karan Flagship Store in Manhattan in the spring of 2011. He is regularly published in Allure, Spanish and Chinese Vogue, Italian, British and German Glamour, and many other publications.