Research
IRVING PENN
Irving Penn was an American Photographer especially known for his work within the fashion industry, portraits and still life. His work has been included within Vogue Magazine as well as independent advertising work for clients. In his studio work, Penn would experiment with the platinum printing process as a reaction to how his photographs appeared on the printed pages of magazines. This can be shown through the images below, this printing method provided a broad range of scales and tones of black and white which help to cast shadows and add expression to the subjects faces.
This type of photography is very fascinating to me as they are mare than just the generic standard portrait that famous actors and directors such as Scorsese would be in. To me these show the character of the people in the frame, the large amount of detail on the faces through wrinkles and facial expressions are also very apparent. This is something that I would want to incorporate within my project.
THOMAS RUFF
Thomas Ruff is a German photographer who is known best for his passport-like portraiture, these 9 x 12 photos were focused entirely on the person in the photo. With the top of the photograph situated just above the hair with fair, even lighting and colour. They were unglamorous photos of ordinary people, showing no expression as if they were taking a passport photo.
This artist interested me as it is a nice opposition to the more glamorous photography of Irving Penn, these photos I believe show more of what the ordinary person will look compared to the more famous. The framing is also admirable as all of the attention is focused on the expression of the subject, this expressionless face is quite harrowing and it helps to build a personal image of what this person may have been through other than that they are just posing for a passport photo.
RICHARD AVEDON
American fashion and portrait photographer, Avedon was able to capture the rare emotion and a unique essence of his subjects that cannot be seen anywhere else. He was highly renowned for using his unique black and white style and his ability to capture raw emotion within his subjects.
Similar to the work of Irving Penn through the use of black of white portraiture of inspiration figures of their time, I find Avedon’s work gives a form of connection between the consumer and the subject within the frame. For example with the picture of Marilyn Monroe, this image was taken after a photo shoot that Monroe thought had finished. This was her expression from behind the camera and is completely different to the ones that we would normally see of her where she would be smiling and posing. These unique types of images help show the true feeling and emotions of famous figures and shows that they are just as human as any other ordinary person.
My Images
I have chosen this image out of the ones I took as it is the one that appeals to me the most, I enjoy the amount of free space used within the image as well as the lighting used to case a small shadow over the subjects face. The two images below show my experimentation with different backgrounds, I chose not to go with these as they are either just out of focus or their is a metallic reflection in the background which I found distracting.
I have chosen this image for my self portrait, I wanted it to be taken outside in natural light as I believe it gives the best image quality for a persons face. When taking the picture I wanted it to be in portrait form and facing towards the sun. I wanted to include the image beneath as I think it is quite comedic and helps in showing my character.
This is the image I have chosen for my stranger. Having to go around a new city and asking stranger for their photo is a daunting experience, the majority of people will say no. Luckily students are usually always okay with it. Again I wanted the subjects to be stood with their back to the sun to help in giving clarity to their facial features, it also helps cast a nice shadow across their face.
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