Noble Beauty and Mystery in the Pictures of Dominique Issermann

French photographer Dominique Issermann is a true sorceress of black and white photography. Her portraits are considered flawless, and they seem to radiate light. This feature even has a name - "Issermann light", and lectures are given about it in photography schools. The photographer's works are mysterious and beautiful, like Renaissance paintings.

All of Dominique Issermann's photographs are pleasing to the eye. Experts believe that the secret lies in the impeccable composition, which follows the rules of the "golden section". Each frame is thought out to the smallest detail and the viewer's gaze moves along the trajectory intended by the photographer.

Issermann's photographs have a lot of light and space, like a theatre stage. The artist herself says this:

The photographer believes that her ability to create a composition is innate. According to her, as a child she would look at the simplest things for a long time and intently, surprising those around her. And Dominique first picked up a camera at the age of 4 to photograph her mother hanging out laundry.

But after school, Issermann chose literature rather than photography, which she studied at the Sorbonne. Then she went to live in Rome, where she worked in cinema and traveled a lot. Only at the age of 26, Dominique realized that her calling was photography.

She returned to Paris and worked as a photographer on the sets of such film masters as Fellini and Bertolucci. Dominique photographed Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Adjani, Gerard Depardieu and other movie stars. Then came the first orders from magazines and famous brands.

Dominique Issermann collaborates with Sonia Rykiel, Christian Dior, Nina Ricci, Guess, Lancôme, La Perla, Tiffany, Chanel. She has been shooting for French and Italian Vogue for many years. Over the years, the photographer has developed favorite models. Issermann has been collaborating with some of them, such as Laetitia Casta, for decades.

It remains to add that Isserman is the first female photographer to receive the equivalent of an Oscar for her fashion photography. This happened at the French Fashion Prize in 1987.