Gilles Bensimon: shoot as if you are on vacation

Gilles Bensimon — an absolutely unique phenomenon in fashion photography. Once he wanted to shoot what he liked and for this he had to create his own glossy magazine. Now everyone knows this edition — it's the American version of ELLE. And then he got tired of everything, and he left his brainchild. Gilles became an iconic photographer, shooting supermodels. Yes, it happens that way. But only from the outside it may seem that everything is easy for Bensimon. All his life, the photographer has made titanic efforts to ... not work.

The future photographer was born in 1944 in the canton of Vic-sur-Ser, France in a family of artists. As a child, Gilles suffered from dyslexia and his parents introduced him to art as therapy. Bensimon began to draw and very soon achieved serious success in this field.

Now the photographer admits that in his youth he did not want to work. He graduated from art school, then served in the army. When it came time to choose his path in life, he even considered becoming a drug dealer so as not to overwork. But I came to my senses in time, weighing all the pros and cons of this option.

Bensimon got a job in a small magazine as a photographer and worked fruitfully for several months. Then, oddly enough, an unknown master from the province was invited to work at ELLE. At first, a career in a popular publication seemed tempting to the guy. But later he realized that they wouldn't let him shoot the way he wanted.

Then Gilles found the same young and ambitious like-minded person and went with him to the USA. There, the partners did not trifle, but opened the American version of ELLE. They were laughed at and mocked, claiming that Americans would not buy a French magazine. But Bensimon and his partner made the publication so Western that millions fell in love with it.

In an interview, the master said that he was the only photographer in history who became the art director of the magazine. And then he added with a laugh that for this he had to found this magazine. In the 1980s, Bensimon spent more time with the camera on the beaches than in the office of his company.

The press wrote that the photographer does wonderful work the way others shoot on vacation. In fact, Bensimon already knew then that the dream of his youth had come true and he was not working. Is it possible to call the work of creativity that brings daily pleasure?

Then Gilles Bensimon does the incredible. He leaves the magazine to which he gave decades of his life and becomes a "freelance artist". He shoots for Vogue, Glamour, Maxim, and his models are Cindy Crawford, Stephanie Seymour, Elle MacPherson, Christy Tarlington, Charlize Theron, Linda Evangelista, Gisele Bundchen.

Now, despite his advanced age, Bensimon continues to work actively. He is a real generator of ideas and those whom we consider the stars of world photography come to him for advice.