Helmut Newton: Polaroids

I really like the mix of seeing Helmut Newtons polished super slick fashion style in this lower quality vibrant contrasty over saturated format. These Polaroids tend to look much more intense than film prints of the same photo sessions. I had owned Newton's Pola Women for almost 10 years before this came out, and this one does not replace the first book in any way. Although many of the same photos in this book were in the first book, many were not, and the first book tends to have more of them enlarged to about 8x12'', where as this book shows the photos in a smaller size. But this book has so many photos! I especially enjoy the 70s and 80s photos, when Polaroid prints were more contrasty and saturated, but some of the 90s stuff is also great. Some of newtons later shoots are a little bland or overly simple for me, like the mannequin legs upside down on the gravel beach, just doesn't do anything for me. The nudes are great, I especially remember one of a girl inside a huge fish tank with her head sticking out, the glass and water make it look like her head is severed. Also the one of the girl in the white swimsuit standing next to the white Ferrari on the beach is stunning! He knew how to get the most from his models, and I can tell that many times these Polaroids, being test shots of the sessions, would yield more spontaneous, fresh results than the final shots that ended up being used for negative prints. $37 is what I paid, well worth it for a hard cover book with about 250 pages, and hundreds of images. As far as awesome Polaroid books, at the top of my list is Carlo Mollino's Polaroids (2002 Arena Editions, now out of print and usually sells for around $400 and probably worth the price, this book is awesome), then there's Helmut Newton Polaroids (this book) and finally Newton's Pola Women, which is a more affordable and still essential compilations of Newton's Polaroid shots. So, if you are a fan of Newton, If you are a fan of Polaroids, if you are a fan of fashion photography, nude photography, or any of these things, I think you can't go wrong with this precious hardbound edition!

This is a beautiful compilation of H. Newton’s polaroids! I find all negative reviews that I read about this book, such as the size of prints, inadequate crispness, etc., quite unsubstantiated… Namely, the pints are as crisp as they could be being polaroids: The quality of print paper and reproduction by TASCHEN are flawless! I would highly recommend this book to all who love the art of H. Newton!

I gave this book to my daughter who is a photographer and she loved it!! A perfect coffee table book!

Excellent curating and printing make this book a joy to read. It is interesting to learn about how Newton thought about the test shots and see how exacting his technique really was. There is gold here for any photographer or Newton fan.

Before Photoshop there were real photos that relied on natural beauty, good lighting, and good angles. Books like this remind us of why traditional photography is an esteemed form of art.

Love it. Great condition.

What can I write about an album of my best photographer? :) You have to buy it!

Helmut was the man and still is! Good book if you are looking to go further more into his work.