An environmental portrait is a portrait executed in the subject’s usual environment, such as in their home or workplace, and typically illuminates the subject’s life and surroundings.
Blog Post 1 :
- define, describe and explain what an environmental portrait is
- add a moodboard of suitable images
- include hyperlinks to suitable URLs to help you
- add at least one video to create inter-activity on your blog
Blog Post 2 :
Choose either Arnold Newman or August Sander to write a CASE STUDY and create a blog post that includes….
- a brief biography of the artist
- Mood-board of key images
- Select one image and apply Technical | Visual | Contextual | Conceptual analysis
- Add any other relevant research / insights
Arnold Newman (photographer) // Igor Stravinsky (Russian composer) 1946 // New York
August Sander // Pastry Cook 1928 // Germany
But… you may be influenced by an alternative, contemporary photographer that you have discovered or researched so please show clearly where your ideas and inspiration has developed from…
For example…Anthony Kurtz
Click here http://www.anthonykurtz.com/
Key things to consider with formal / environmental portraits…
Technical= Composition / exposure / lens / light
Visual= eye contact / engagement with the camera / neutral pose and facial expression / angle / viewpoint
Conceptual= what are you intending to present? eg : social documentary? / class ? / authority ? / gender role ? / lifetsyle ?
Contextual=back ground / story / detail / information about the character(s) / connection to the photographer eg family / insider / outsider
Extension Task
Environmental Portraits are a type of formal portrait, which can be similar to documentary / narrative approaches to portraiture. You may want to look at the work of the following artists and respond visually, or create a blog post that explores some of their work and shows awareness of this important genre too.
Walker Evans
Dorothea Lange
Candy Cigarette
Sally Mann
Sian Davey
Alec Soth
James Nachtwey
Michelle Sank
David GoldBlatt