Photographing the female figure
by Bunny Yeager
Bunny Yeager (1929-2014) was one of the most influential photographers of the modern era. Her self-portraits establish her as an innovative and important artist, demonstrating her ability to transform herself for the camera via clothes, make-up, hair and setting. She would spend hours in front of a mirror trying out different expressions. Her book “How I Photograph Myself” (1964) was a watershed moment in photography that landed her a spot on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Those images were featured in an exhibition at the Andy Warhol Museum in 2010, curated by Eric Shiner.
Source: https://www.thebetsyhotel.com/bunny-yeager
Yeager’s obituary in The Miami Herald called her “one of the country’s most famous and influential photographers.”She has been cited as influencing many artists and photographers, including Diane Arbus, Cindy Sherman and Yasumasa Morimura. Arbus called her “the world’s greatest pinup photographer.” In The New York Times, Margalit Fox wrote, “She is widely credited with helping turn the erotic pinup — long a murky enterprise in every sense of the word — into high photographic art.” Her obituary in The Independent titled, “Bunny Yeager: Pin-up who moved behind the camera to take influential, iconic shots of Bettie Page and Ursula Andress” called her photographic technique pioneering and influential. The Washington Post reported she “helped define [the] art of erotic photography.”
Yeager is credited with helping to popularize the bikini in America. The inspiration for the term “cheesecake” in reference to scantily clad women has been attributed to Yeager. Her books, including Photographing the Female Figure, which sold over 300,000 copies, have influenced several generations of photographers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bunny_Yeager#
This magazine was published by Fawcett Book, Fawcett Publications, Inc. in the collection “How-to Book”
Fawcett Publications, Inc., 1st edition 1957 (Fawcett Book 348)
Illustrated and informative ‘how-to’ book on photography featuring many glamour and ‘pin-up’ models of the 1950s, including Yeager herself and regular collaborator Betty Page (aka Bettie Page).
