Schon! Magazine #17 Ellen Von Unwerth

Schön! Magazine #17 Review

Top American fashion model, Crystal Renn graces the latest cover of Schön! Magazine. The striking image is one of the strongest covers to date and is certainly an eye-catching work of art. The bold image was shot by renowned fashion photographer Ellen Von Unwerth whose editorial work also features inside this issue of Schön!

Not only did Ellen’s work in this issue of Schön! stand out to me because I am a huge fan of her work and style of photography but also because of the insightful and meaningful interview with her by Saskia Reis. The questions she asked Ellen throughout the interview are really insightful and dig deep, giving the reader an in depth understanding into Ellen’s life and accomplishments to date. It has always fascinated me that Ellen Von Unwerth has had no training in photography and taught herself and to me, this is what makes her work so spectacular. As a reader learning about how Ellen’s interest in photography grew is both insightful and as a reader you feel you are getting to know her better; “My boyfriend was a photographer and he taught me how to print black and white pictures, that’s actually how I got into it”. Looking at Ellen’s work the extent of professionalism is evident throughout; it would never occur to me that she has no formal photographic training.

Following Saskia’s insightful interview with Ellen comes the outstanding editorial CHAMPION where Ellen shoots cover star, Crystal Renn. The styling by Brett Bailey compliments Ellen’s trademark style of pushing the boundaries when it comes to sexuality in her images. Ellen works in a way with her models that capture the models beauty in a way that perhaps male photographers don’t. This editorial uses an array of jewelry by Stephen Webster that adds an element of edgy aesthetic to the shoot. Brett Bailey’s styling is simply phenomenal with his intricate attention to detail and powerful statements.

The lighting on Ellen’s shoots is always so brilliantly crafted and with CHAMPION this is most certainly the case. Ellen’s trademark eroticism is brought into this editorial with playful nudity covering some of the pages. The pages are well balanced with a mixture of both black and white and colour photography, a style that has become popular with fashion editorials over the past couple of years. The black and white images speak for themselves but the editorial is broken up and its impact strengthened with colour photography.


Written by Katie Handy-Beith