FRENCH John (Photographer)

A formal coat is given a surreal treatment by John French. Originally a graphic designer, he believed, "You have to compose a picture in the view-finder exactly as if it were an artist's picture on the canvas". His black-and-white portraits were always perfectly arranged. "Fill in the space. The space round the subject is as important as the subject itself", he would say. French's apparently impromptu style contrasted with the posed formality of fashion photography in the early 1950s. One of Britain's first model talent-spotters, he encouraged Barbara Goalen and others to develop their own personalities in front of the lens. The hand intruding at the bottom of the picture doesn't belong to French. He never actually released the camera shutter himself; instead he would direct set, lighting and model, then tell his assistant (at times David Bailey or Terence Donovan) to take the photograph. 

Also look up for David Bailey, Bruyère, Goalen, Morton