Arnold Newman – Alfred Krupp

Emotional Response When I first saw this I really liked the photo,                                                        this was because of the contrast between the                                                    light and the dark, in terms of the foreground                                                    and the background. I also like the the way                                                          that Newman has captured that depth of the                                                      photo. I also quite like the symmetry as Krupp                                                    is in the center of the shot, and how the                                                                  Pillars also create that nice line of symmetry                                                      down the sides.

Visual: Visually this photo is very appealing to the eye, as there are                     nice lines of symmetry vertically down. This gives the                                   portrait a spooky/eerie feel to it. Within the photo the way                       the facial expression has been presented and the way he is                       holding his hands makes him look very sinister, with this in                       topic, there doesn’t seem to be any parts of beauty, only a                         dark, depressing background.

Technical: I feel like the first thing that you are drawn to in this                                      portrait is Krupp’s eyes, this gives you an all round feel of                          the photo. The lighting has been very well balanced with                            the use of natural lighting in the background, and on                                      Krupp’s face with the aid of a smaller light, possibly a                                    lamp giving him that glow/lit up feature on his face and                               forehead.

Conceptual: This photo was taken in 1963 by Jewish photographer                                 Arnold Newman. At first Newman was hesitant with                                     taking this photo as Krupp was a well known helper                                       with Nazi’s in World War II, using his company in which                               he took over from his father as slave labor camp in                                         order top make weapons in aid to help the Nazis in                                         their seek for world domination in World War II. When                               taking this photo Newman tried to make Krupp as                                           sinister looking as possible to show the world and                                          expose him in what he did during the difficult times.

Street Photography Case Study – Jeff Mermelstein

I wanted to look at Jeff Mermelstein’s work as it seems to focus mostly on people doing everyday acts and living normal lives, and this is what I wanted to highlight in my photo shoot.  Jeff Mermelstein was born in 1957 in New Jersey, and is perhaps most known for his detailed photographical documentation of the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and their aftermath. However he also has extensive experience in ‘everyday life’ street photography, capturing some of the strange and interesting things people do on a regular basis. Mermelstein studied at Rutgers College and the International Center of Photography and went on to have images printed in publications such as LIFE, The New Yorker, and The New York Times Magazine.

Image result for jeff mermelstein street photographyImage result for jeff mermelstein street photography

Mermelstein now lives in New York City and this is where most of his street photographs come from. Due to the busy, rushing and cramped streets of New York, it provides him with a lot of opportunity to get interesting pictures. He has also taught at the International Center of Photography in New York since 1988 and has released 4 books over the course of his career(“SideWalk”-1999, “Side walk: Per le strade di New York”-1999, “No Title Here”-2001, “Twirl×Run”-2009). For my Practical photo shoot I will be trying to use some of the techniques used in Mermelstein’s work, and try to imitate elements of his photography into my own.

Image result for jeff mermelstein street photographyImage result for jeff mermelstein street photography

One of the images that stuck out to me was this image below, as it has multiple ‘layers’; What I mean by this is that by using a shallow focus, Mermelstein has created multiple areas of focus. As you can see, the most obvious thing that immediately stands out is the reflection in the woman’s glasses, with the sharp reflections of the buildings across the street, however, in using this depth of field, he also has the people in the background of the shot in focus, making the city seem so busy at ground level, but the reflection in the glasses make it seem much more tranquil and quiet in comparison to the bustling crowd behind.

Image result for jeff mermelstein

Environmental Portraits

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.

By photographing a person in their natural surroundings, it is thought that you will be able to better illuminate their character, and therefore portray the essence of their personality, rather than merely a likeness of their physical features. It is also thought that by photographing a person in their natural surroundings, the subject will be more at ease, and so be more conducive to expressing themselves, as opposed to in a studio, which can be a rather intimidating and artificial experience.

 

Contact sheets:

 

Contact sheet
Contact sheet

In the images I took, I aimed to get the subjects in their natural environments, doing what they normally do. I got someone driving, someone painting, and another doing their school work. These are all usual tasks which the subjects in the pictures take on in their daily lives.

Chosen best edited images:

 

Driving
Doing work

 

I chose these images because I feel they best represent the idea of environmental portraits out of all the images I took. As you can see in the two images I chose, one is of someone driving and the other is of someone doing their work, both being tasks they do in their daily lives. The fact that they’re turned away from the camera and seem immersed in their tasks adds a bit of reality to it.

Environmental Portraiture – Post 1 (What is Environmental Portraiture)

Environmental Portraits:

An environmental portrait is a portrait composed in the subject’s usual environment, such as their home or workplace, and usually highlights the subject’s life/lifestyle/occupation and surroundings.

By photographing a person in their natural surroundings, it better displays their character, and therefore portrays the their personality through their interests and usual setting, instead of just a likeness of their physical features. By photographing a person in their natural surroundings,  it also allows the subject to be more at ease and comfortable as it is something that is safe to them and they are used to. This allows the subject to be more likely to express themselves easily and accurately, as opposed to in a studio or posed setting, which can be an intimidating and artificial experience, taking away from the elements of a realistic image.

Mood Board:


Video/Page Links Below:

https://petapixel.com/2016/04/07/8-tips-making-better-environmental-portraits-natural-light/

 

Environmental Portraits – Class Shoot

Environmental Portraits

An environmental portrait is a portrait taken of a person or people in a situation that they live in and a place that says something about who they are. It is often a place of work, rest or play.

Here are some examples of environmental portraits:

This is a small gallery of photos I took whilst going around the school to find some people in their environments. Some were harder than others to photograph as there was no natural lighting or it was too exposed but overall I think a few photos turned out quite well after adjusting camera settings or how the people in the pictures were posing e.g if they made eye contact or not and their positioning.

A Few Successful Photos:

   I edited a few of them to be darker because the photo was too exposed and edited others to be cooler toned rather than yellow toned.

Alfried Krupp – Arnold Newman

Alfried Krupp – Arnold Newman

Saturday, July 6, 1963: Portrait of Alfried Krupp, Essen, Germany.

“By exaggerating or minimizing his subjects’ surroundings, [Arnold Newman] crafted impressionistic gems… that suggested his sitters’ personalities” wrote TIME magazine.

Above is an iconic environmental portrait  taken by Arnold Newman, (a Jewish photographer) in 1963. Alfried Krupp was a Nazi war criminal notorious for allegedly using slave labor in his factories (which can be seen in the background of this image.) Krupp contacted the famous Newman for a portrait in 1963. After finding out that Newman was a Jew, Krupp refused to let him make the photograph.

Newman insisted to have Krupp look at his portfolio before making a final decision and after seeing Newman’s portfolio Krupp accepted. So on July 6, 1963, the industrialist and the auteur went into a derelict factory in Essen which belonged to Krupp, where Newman decided to make Krupp look as evil as possible under the eerie demonic lighting of the factory.

This portrait was taken using a wide angle lens, there is a strong sense of perspective, the lighting is almost demonic with green tinge which make the subject appear very sinister. Krupp is presented as being very smug and almost proud of his actions, this is seen through his posing: his hands being placed together and his smile, his position of being above and in front of the factory also suggests this.

 

Portrait Photography

Portrait Photography or portraiture in photography is a photograph of a person or group of people that captures the personality of the subject by using effective lighting, backdrops and poses.                            A portrait picture maybe artistic or it maybe clinical, as part of a medical study.                                                                                                                   Portraits can serve many purposes, from usage on  a personal website to display in the lobby of a business.

There are many types of portrait photography genres- These can be:

  1.  Traditional Portrait.                                                                                        Traditional or Classical portraiture would refer to an image where face is the predominant element. The purpose of the photograph is to depict visual representation of that person. Subject is expected to be looking directly at the camera. With what is described as a head-shot, two thirds or full body framing can be used. 
  2. Environmental Portrait.The term Environmental Portrait refers to an image where the subject is photographed in person’s natural environment. For example, a worker photographed at the construction zone, teacher in the classroom, sculptor in a sculpture studio and so on. Surroundings are used to compliment the subject and to emphasize his character. Subject and setting are chosen by the photographer.
  3. Candid Portrait.A candid portrait is taken without a subject expecting or acknowledging the photographer. This style used in photo journalism, travel photography, street photography and event photography. As opposed to an environmental portrait, this image is captured rather than set up.
  4. Glamour Portrait.                                                                                                   The term Glamour Portrait refers to portraits where emphasis is given to highlight the sexy romantic appeal of the subject. 
  5. Lifestyle Portrait.The term Lifestyle Portrait refers to portraits where emphasis is given to suggest the “style of living” of the individuals depicted. Technically it is a combination of environmental portrait and candid portrait. More weight is given to communicate the feeling of life experience of the subject. Style has numerous implications in commercial and fine art photography. Editorial, fashion, pharmaceutical, and food industries often use lifestyle images to evoke emotions in viewers by depiction of desired life styles. It is common to see this style used in wedding and family portrait photography as well.

4. Street Photography

Street photography is photography conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places.

Street Photography is a sub-genre of photojournalism…

Street photography does not necessitate the presence of a street or even the urban environment. The concept of the “flaneur” or people watcher is often referred to…as is the candid portrait.
Henri Cartier-Bresson

Blog Post 1 : Define, describe and explain street photography.

And what is a candid photograph?

Include images, moodboards, hyperlinks to relevant articles and URLs and add a video or two on street photography…

  • Add quotes about street photography
  • add THRESHOLD CONCEPT # 7

Blog Post 2 :

Henri Cartier – Bresson and

“The Decisive Moment”

Create a blog post / case study about HenriCartier-Bresson that includes…

  • Brief biography
  • Mood-board of key images
  • Select one image and apply Technical | Visual | Contextual | Conceptual analysis
  • His contribution to MAGNUM Photo Agency
  • Add any other relevant research / insights

Then Compare and Contrast Cartier- Bresson to one (or more) of the following street photographers…

  • William Klein
  • Diane Arbus
  • Vivian Maier
  • Robert Frank
  • Bruce Gilden
  • Martin Parr
  • Saul Leiter
  • William Eggleston
  • Gordon Parks
  • John Bulmer
  • Trent Parke
  • Garry Winogrand
  • Raghubir Singh
  • Lee Friedlander
  • Joel Meyerowitz
  • Tony Ray-Jones
  • Bill Owens

Discuss in detail the differences / similarities / intentions / outcomes and of course the photographer’s technical and visual approach.

Bill Owens
William Klein

Technique : Taking street photographs

  • Be more aggressive
  • Get more involved (talk to people)
  • Stay with the subject matter (be patient)
  • Take simpler pictures
  • See if everything in background relates to subject matter
  • Vary compositions and angles more
  • Be more aware of composition
  • Don’t take boring pictures!
  • Get in closer (use 50mm lens or less)
  • Watch camera shake (shoot 250 sec or above)
  • Don’t shoot too much!!!
  • Not all eye level : try holding the camera at waist level
  • No middle distance

Article on Trent Parke’s Techniques

CLICK HERE

Article On Japanese Street Photography below

https://www.huckmag.com/art-and-culture/photography-2/tokyo-street-photographer-mikiko-hara/

Bruce Gilden

 

‘What do artists do all day?’ – Dougie Wallace, Featured on BBC. from Wren Agency on Vimeo.

Think | Answer | Discuss

  • What are you expecting to see / encounter on your photo-shoot?
  • How do you think you will deal / cope with your expectations?
  • Can you devise a photo-shoot plan for street photography?
  • What would include / exclude in your plan?

Suitable locations to position yourself…

  • airport
  • school
  • bus station
  • cafe
  • restaurant
  • street corners
  • road crossings
  • shopping centres
  • supermarkets
  • markets
  • harbour terminal
  • school

 

 

 

 

Environmental Portraits – Action Plan

Who:  I decided that I will take images of shopkeepers at their counters at various shops/ stalls.

Where: I will be visiting the market in town as well as the fish market.

Why: I believe that the best environmental portraits show the subjects livelihood and small factors in these images can show how they feel about their jobs and lives as a whole. I also believe that the lighting in these areas will create some good opportunities for photos, especially the fluorescent lighting in the fish market, the lighting is a very cold tone there and will help compliment pink skin tones.