Bring Bill Brandt Style to Your Photographs

Create illusionary, strange reflections that defy light

Paris after the rain. Photo by Matthew Bamberg

“I believe this power of seeing the world as fresh and strange lies hidden in every human being.” — Bill Brandt

Seeing visions is required for street photography. They can be illusionary, strange reflections that defy light. Think of people gathered in a park lying on the grass.

In the 1930s, when Bill Brandt photographed the people of London, he found a split between the classes in a tough economic climate. Many of these images are portraits of people in daily activities, such as a portrait of a woman at a crowded beach and one of a family at the dinner table.

He also photographed nudes and landscapes, often adding surrealistic elements to many of his photos. In one such photo, he has a profile of a woman turned on her side so she looks up in the foreground, with windows in the background.

Brandt was born in Germany. After becoming a studio photographer in his early 20s, he got a chance to meet Man Ray (see sidebar in Chapter 1), who ended up influencing his photography, making it more surreal.

Brandt’s portraits of writers and artists appeared in Harper’s Bazaar and other magazines. Many of his photos use only dark and light tones, which gives them a Hitchcock-like appearance.