Photographers Research - Milton Greene

Milton Greene is an American photographer who was born on March 14th 1922 and died on August 8th 1985. Greene was a fashion and celebrity photographer and a film and TV producer, who is best known for his shots of Marilyn Monroe. Before beginning his own work, he apprenticed with photographers Eliot Elisofon and Louise Dahl-Wolfe. By the age of 23, Greene was already being referred to as "Colour Photography's Wonder Boy". As mentioned, his most famous work is his series of images featuring Marilyn Monroe. The relationship between Greene and Monroe lasted for four years, and in this time he has photographed her in 52 different locations, spanning a collection of images that was over 5000.

This image shows Marilyn sat in front of a black back drop, smoking a cigarette and holding a guitar. The cardigan she is wearing is quite casual, which is a contradiction of the pictures of Marilyn that people usually see which are quite glamorous. This could suggest that this is how Marilyn looks 'behind the scenes' - when nobody is looking and she could truly be herself. 

Again, this image of Marilyn appears have a lot more of a relaxed vibe than the usual pictures of Marilyn. In this, she is slouched in a wicker chair as she laughs - presumably towards Milton as he takes the picture. The fact that she has a shoe kicked off furthers the suggestion that this is Marilyn is relaxed as to 'kick your shoes off' is to come home and relax after a long day. From that, we could guess that this may have been taken after a day of filming or an event. The blue colours in this image are extremely vibrant and pop, which really captures the viewers eye.

The red colour on Marilyn's lips really pops when compared to the white of the rest of the image. The use of white could be symbolic of purity or innocence, as there are only a few flecks of colour in this photograph. The way that she smiles at the camera with her hands under her chin makes her appear youthful and cheeky, which works well with the suggestion of innocence.

It appears that Milton was able to capture many pictures of Marilyn when she is not made it and posing for paparazzi, as in this image she is completely her natural self - no make up and wet hair as she relaxes in the swimming pool. This is Marilyn at her purest self, and so this could suggest that Milton was extremely close to her and that she trusted him a lot as she was able to be completely natural around him.