Why Saul Leiter’s ‘Bad’ Photos Are Actually Masterpieces

"Color was considered very silly, and unimportant." — Saul Leiter
In a world dominated by black-and-white photography, Saul Leiter quietly broke the rules. His painterly use of colour, bold cropping, reflections, and abstraction set him apart, even as critics dismissed his work as unfocused or amateurish. In this video, we explore how Leiter’s so-called “bad” photos became timeless masterpieces, and what modern photographers can learn from his poetic vision.

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???? All images © Saul Leiter / The Saul Leiter Foundation
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Saul Leiter: The Centennial Retrospective https://geni.us/Amt25y

00:00 - Saul Leiter: Breaking the 1950s Photographic Mould
01:08 - Hidden Scenes: Saul Leiter’s Use Of Negative Space In Photography
03:19 - Hidden Scenes: Saul Leiter’s Crops & Framed Surprises
06:05 - Colourful Abstractions: Saul Leiter’s Street Photography
09:37 - Layered Light: Saul Leiter’s Reflections on Glass