William Klein was born American, but has lived and worked in France for most his life. He is works as a photographer and filmmaker and is recognized for both photojournalism and fashion photography. While in the US Army he toured both Germany and France, and settled in Paris. He initially pursued painting and kinetic sculptures.

While he was at an exhibition of his sculptures, he met Alexander Liberman, who was the art director for Vogue magazine. He went on to win the Prix Nadar in 1957 for a book of photographs called “New York.” He also found great success in the world of fashion, mainly for his total rejection of the rules of photography. He frequently made extensive use of wide-angle and telephoto lenses while shooting under natural lighting. He also liked motion blur in his images. He is considered a pioneer in street photography.

I photograph what i see in front of me, I move in close to see better and use a wide-angle lens to get as much as possible in the frame.

He directed his first movie in 1966 and then went on to work on several more documentaries. One of his most famous films profiled boxing legend Muhammed Ali. He also applied his skills to the commercial world directing more than 250 television commercials.

Learn a little more about him below. (Can’t see the movie? Click ).

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