Inside the World of Cecil Beaton Part 1: Fashion, Fame and Reinvention

Cambridge Jones and Hugo Burnand explore the dazzling world of Cecil Beaton – one of Britain’s most influential photographers. From Hollywood portraits to Vogue fashion shoots and iconic images of the Royal Family, Beaton was the master of creativity within the frame. But was he actually a photographer? Find out what happened behind the scenes of his shoots with Elizabeth Taylor and Marilyn Monroe and why if you put Cambridge and Hugo in a photographic blender you’d get Cecil Beaton! Discover: How Hugo and Beaton share surprising parallels: school days at Harrow, royalty, celebrity portraits, and high society access. Beaton’s early years: a Box Brownie, a camera gifted at 12 (used astonishingly far into his career) and two glamorous sisters who became his early subjects. The story behind his meteoric rise: from Cambridge to Bright Young Things to Vogue to New York. Beaton’s belief in performance and reinvention: “I don’t want people to know me as I really am.” How photographing Edward and Mrs Simpson inadvertently opened palace doors. The Vogue scandal: how a hidden anti-Semitic phrase in an illustration lead to pulped copies and his abrupt firing. Why his cultural impact is huge, but auction prices don’t match contemporaries like Steichen. Cecil Beaton’s Fashionable World is at the National Portrait Gallery until January 11.   Hosted by royal photographer Hugo Burnand and celebrity portrait photographer Cambridge Jones, Double Exposure is the podcast that gives you a new angle on the world we live in through the lens of photography. Follow us on Instagram @hugoandjones Series producer: Eve Streeter Managing editor: William Miller Music by Eclectic Sounds A Raconteur Studios production Learn more about your ad choices. Visit p