The models in Ellen Von Unwerth's fashion pictures tell secrets, share fantasies, loll, and play glames. Some of those games are innocent enough; others are not. Von Unwerth seems less of auteur directing her subjects than a co-conspirator who intimately knows the inner lives of these girls who want to have fun. Perhaps that's because she started out as a model. "I think about communicating with the girl," she says. "With me, female models feel comfortable. They run around naked and don't even think of it. If a guy were behind the camera, maybe they'd be more self-conscious. Maybe they'd play more with it, or be more shy." Von Unwerth is now working on her second book (her first, Snaps, was released in 1994), shooting for Vogue, and making television commercials and music videos.--David Schonauer

(photo from the Ellen Von Unwerth portfolio at Art+Commerce)

"Picnic Story", 1996

Transcribed from March/April 1998 American Photo, "Defining Women, a Portfolio of Modern Masters".