Bunny Yeager’s 1954 Photoshoot With Bettie Page and Kathleen Stanley

The story goes that in Miami in 1954, a model for a petticoat advertising spread didn’t show up. Photographer Bunny Yeager put her camera on self-time, stripped down, put on one of the petticoats, and jumped in. It was her first time posing alongside two up and coming professional models.

Described as “the world’s greatest pin-up photographer” by Diane Arbus, and best-remembered for her iconic collaborations with Bettie Page, Yeager began her career as a model, and her comfort on both sides of the lens is one of the skills she leaned on to bring out a level of comfort and naturalness which few glamour photographers could manage.

Bettie Page’s previous work for New York photographer Irving Klaw were seldom seen. Why? They were illegal. Bunny’s photos launched Bettie’s career as a mainstream model and launched her own career both in front and behind the camera.