Richard Franklin – The Man and His Camera



Experiences and Article by John (Entertainment Editor/Los Angeles)

“It’s not that often that you can meet a living legend – but, we did!” – Ron, Senior Editor/West Coast Pin-Up Magazine©.

On three separate Saturday mornings I found myself curving and swerving around the ever nerve-wracking streets of Laurel Canyon to meet one Richard Franklin. Up in the Hollywood Hills, overlooking Brittany Spears old estate, Richard Franklin, of www.richardfranklinphotography.com greeted me with the poise and professionalism of a classy middle-aged English fellow. But any assumptions I made about this witty Englishman through a few introductory phone calls, was instantly shattered when I stood before the man. Richard, looking somewhat like Al Pacino from Godfather III, but with the physique of a young man, who spends a lot of time working out and maintaining the belief that the mind and the body are always interconnected. I was asked to meet with Richard in order to delve into the art and style of his Glamour Photography, but what I found was so much more. Richard Franklin is a Glamour Photographer with his only subject being that of exotic and amazingly beautiful Black women, but that is only one small part of Richard Franklin, the man, the producer, the photographer, but most of all the philosopher.

masterpiece_smallWhile never taking a single photography class, Richard approaches his photography much like he approaches life; with a focus, trust in himself and the desire to find what else life has to show him. His subjects come to him knowing that he will make the beautiful look gorgeous while using stark color and simple background to augment the beauty that is the subject of his photo shoots. He avoids black & white as well as pastels in favor of simple color. Richard loves color and his interest is stimulated by black skin on a canvas of his choosing. Sometimes in the pool or behind bright lights, Richard trusts his instincts in knowing what to surround his latest subject with. His attitude is, I shoot for myself and if the model gets something out of it then good for her. It is an attitude that some may dismiss as ego, but to sit with the man, you are automatically pulled into energy of self-assurance. Richard is not egotistical, but rather he is curious and has a level of self-esteem that we should all hope to achieve. He doesn’t look at his photography as the photographer shooting the model, but rather he approaches it as a man who knows what he thinks is beautiful and sets out to complete that thought.

As we sit in his, lavish, yet simply decorated home adorned with artwork of various naked forms, Richard basically dismisses the assertion that he is an artist, or that he is even talented. He confesses that his photographs are not mired in as much talent as others may believe, but rather that he has a vision and he looks to honor it to the fullest. Artists exist to create, to serve their art and that is what Richard Franklin does. But to look at his website, you’d never think these are the photographs of someone who picked up a camera for the first time barely five years ago. Maybe he is the master illusionist, as his photographs show much more talent than Richard will allow himself to admit. Richard basically admits that he comes up with an idea or two and allows everything else in the photographic process to follow suit. He doesn’t appear interested in making the model look exotic or sexy. Rather, he believes they show up that way and as a result of his dedication to his own vision, the two marry together to create some of the sexiest photographs of black women I have ever seen. It is an interesting approach that while serving his own needs, the models ultimately end up looking more gorgeous in the finished product. This is why these girls from all over the place seek Richard out to photograph them. He absolutely does not go shopping for the next great face. In a way he is a hand on photographer with a very hands-off approach. He lets the art come to him. It is again part of the philosophical man that Richard Franklin is.

Born in England to a wealthy family. His aunt Rosalind Franklin, is credited with discovering the structures of DNA and believed by many in the world of science that she was on her way to a Nobel Prize. Richard’s father was a successful investment banker and his mother comes from a long line of dedicated Jews from Poland. He also has five brothers and sisters. But Richard, a self-proclaimed Atheist, set his eyes on America and finally arrived to make his mark. During the 1990’s he bought the rights and produced the controversial stage production of, Disputation, a piece about the Catholic church in Medieval Barcelona conducting a public trial against Judaism. He brought on famed TV director, Asaad Kelada to direct and the accolades started rolling in. Part of Richard’s aim in life is to do things he believes so much in, regardless of whether or not it yields him a financial profit. He does not tie in money with success or more important, self-achievement. Producing this play was just another example of a man who cannot so easily be categorized or simplified. Richard is a man who is always evolving and it just so happens that these days his evolution has taken him behind the lens of an expensive camera in order to satisfy his own desires and likes.