Bruno Bisang (born 1952 in Ascona, Switzerland) is one of Europe’s most important photographers. Bisang spent most of his youth in Ascona, moving to Zurich at the age of 19 to study at the Kunstgewerbeschule. This was followed by a photography apprenticeship. He set up his own business as a photographer in Zurich in 1979, and soon enjoyed his first taste of success as a fashion photographer. Today, he lives and works in Milan, Zurich, Paris, and New York City.
Bisang’s photographs, including numerous portraits of top models and celebrities such as Claudia Schiffer, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Monica Bellucci and Tyra Banks, have featured in international magazines, among them Vogue and Cosmopolitan. He has worked on advertising campaigns for many fashion brands such as Chanel, Cartier, Humanic, Wolford and Yamaha.
For years, Bisang used a Polaroid camera to test lighting, angles and mood in his work, often asking celebrities he was portraying to sign the instant prints. At a time when commercial and fashion photography is almost always heavily edited, Bisang’s Polaroids are authentic proof of his skills and those of the protagonists. “I’ve never seen models as clothes hangers, but always as my partners. Working together to get a great picture – that was the goal,” says Bisang about his approach.[1]
Bruno Bisang’s photos have been shown at galleries all over the world. His third book 30 Years of Polaroids, published by teNeues in May 2011, features a colorful cross-section of work from his Polaroid archives.
[1] https://www.fototv.de/blog/sch-nheit-auf-knopfdruck-polaworld-von-bruno-bisang (Status: 29 March 2023)
Polaroid book
Bruno Bisang, 30 Years of Polaroids, teNeues 2011