According to Bruno's daughter, Susan Bernard, in the late 1940s Bernard pioneered a novel approach to the art of pin-up photography. He was acclaimed for having proved that a photograph of a model posing provocatively in scant attire, or nude, need not be perceived as a vulgar display of the feminine body, but rather as a legitimate work of art that transmits aesthetic values, such as the art of a master painter or sculptor depicting a classic nude.

In 1950, Hearst publishing distributed Bernard's hardcover black and white portfolio magazine which received sensational reviews from the arts community.