The Blog

It was for a Look magazine story on Hollywood stars that Milton H. Greene photographed a galaxy of the eras brightest stars including this image of the Chairman of the Board, Frank Sinatra, at the Beverly Hills Hotel in December of 1954. "Not wanting to go to the studio, Frank preferred to be photographed at Milton's bungalow at the Beverly Hills Hotel. He came beautifully dressed and looking elegant. After getting that series, Milton looking...

While under assignment for Life Magazine, Milton H. Greene was hired in 1951 to photograph the young star of the hot Broadway production of Gigi. A then 22-year-old Audrey Hepburn did a wonderful series with her wearing her Gigi, sailor-inspired costume. The pre-movie star Hepburn kicked and smiled, jumped and posed for Milton and he was instantly smitten by her lighthearted, playful personality. Being a single, young man himself, a brief affair between the two...

the archives helps shape marilyn monroe documentary A year and a half ago, the production crew that was hired by CNN to film a Marilyn Monroe documentary contacted us. After getting a detailed overview, we recommended various content providers, in addition to the Archives. They also expressed interest in interviewing my mother, Amy Greene, for the film. They sent a crew to film her in Florida and we supplied them with home movies and stills....

Photographing a subject on a shadowless, white background became a signature look for fashion and portraiture starting in the 1950s. Milton's mantra was "if you can't light it with one light, then you can't light it." This held true for the light hitting the subject. But it had nothing to do with lighting the white environment so the subject seemed to be floating. Photographers would use different intensities of light on the background to a...

Get Started with Outdoor Portrait Photography Outdoor portrait photography can be rewarding yet challenging for many photographers. Throughout the mid-20th century, Milton Greene pioneered on-location photography, which meant that he had to master the art of outdoor portrait photography. With his trusted analog camera in hand, he captured some of the most intimate and never-before-seen photos of cultural icons from this era.  Outdoor photography is different from shooting in a studio because photographers cannot control...

Midcentury styles are not just for furniture - and nobody captured the era more perfectly than Milton Greene, famous for his fashion and celebrity photography during Hollywood’s golden age. From conservative designs to simple yet elegant ways to accentuate your natural features, here are ten examples of what midcentury fashion looked like in its heyday, as captured by Greene himself.  High Fashion High fashion was all the rage during the Midcentury, as captured in Milton...

Glamour magazine did a college issue every year celebrating the top ten outstanding females from campuses throughout the country. For the 1960 issue, each state's Senator was photographed with the college winner of his home state. Senator John F. Kennedy fell to Milton, who photographed JFK with the winner from Massachusetts.    

Actor and Comedian Phil Silvers was born May 11, 1911. Best known for his role as Sgt. Bilko, Silvers was a television mainstay for decades. Milton H. Greene photographed Phil in 1963, when he, along with singer Robert Goulet, was a guest on friend Judy Garland’s variety TV special “Judy Garland and Her Guests.”    

Milton photographed Barbra Streisand a handful of times. In 1964, after being delayed five times, “Funny Girl” finally opened on Broadway and turned out to be a huge smash. Composer Jule Styne custom-fit the show to its star and Fanny Brice ran away with it. Milton photographed Barbara at Joe Eula’s apartment for the Life Magazine story on “Funny Girl” in May of 1964.    

There are big changes happening here at The Archives. It's been a hectic 2016 and Joshua Greene has been busy reviewing and reorganizing the current collections while also going over some new images in preparation for some new products.The first big announcement is the introduction of The Anthology Collection. The Anthology Collection is comprised of new, never-before-seen images as well as some of Milton's best-known works. The intent of the Anthology Collection is to capture...

Elizabeth Taylor’s birthday was this past weekend. February 27th. Elizabeth Taylor, 1975 Russia I always wanted to go to Russia. We traveled to St. Petersburg for two weeks to photograph Elizabeth Taylor, Jane Fonda, Ava Gardner, and Cecily Tyson. Milton and Life had the world exclusive on George Cukor’s film “The Blue Bird”, a fairytale by Maurice Maeterlinck. Away from the movie set, Milton wanted a more glamorous location for Elizabeth. What could be more...