John Kobal
Audrey Hepburn
"Breakfast Dish"
My Opinion
Overall I think "Breakfast Dish" is a good picture but not a great one. Everything John Kobal needed was right before him. He had one of the most beautiful women of the 20th century, dressed elegantly among a fancy back drop but yet this picture falls short for me. As expected Audrey Hepburn looks beautiful but that is about all this photo has going for it. Almost all of her surroundings are blurred out and the lighting appears to be coming from behind her which is a strange source in my eyes for this subject. If I had been the one photographing her 50 years ago there are changes I would definitely make but one thing I like is what it symbolizes. In the movie she played a smooth gold digger and I think this photo represents that. She looks charming and endearing for the rich men she was trying to lure but no matter how much she acts she cannot change what she is and that is represented by the cigarette. What makes this portrait unique is how different it was for the time. 1961 was just the beginning of the revolution so women were still expected to act and dress a certain way this picture says otherwise.
History
The famous shot "Breakfast Dish" was taken by John Kobal of Audrey Hepburn in 1961. It was captured on the set of the classic movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's in which Hepburn portrayed a smooth talking gold digger, named Holly Golightly. The thought process behind this was to capture the basic essence of Holly. Kobal was a film historian and his man goal was to capture moments in a film so they could be remembered for what they were.
This photo is considered so famous because it started a new sense of fashion for women nationwide. The "little black dress", the white pearls dangling from her neck, the tiara that adorns her hair and the long cigarette pipe she cradles in her hand. Everything she wore with such confidence and gracefulness sent a message to women everywhere they should do the same.