In contrast to studio photography, where there is artificial lighting used, we can used a natural source of lighting to light up the subject of the photograph. In this case we used windows around the school to light up the model. Instead of using three point lighting, we used reflectors which help to light up the opposite side of the model which is darker, to eliminate a contrast in tonal regions. For this photo shoot I used a quick shutter speed, a low ISO to reduce the noise found in the photograph, a large aperture and had a large depth of field. With regard to editing I am going to focus on leveling the images and adjusting the curves, making the edits simple like the idea and aim of this photo shoot.
Intensity of the light – An intense lighting source is very harsh, and allows the subject of the photograph to be illuminated. If using a one point lighting rig with intense lighting, we are able to choose what parts of the subject to light up.
Direction of the light – Changing the direction of the light helps to illuminate different areas of the subject. Having the light at the back creates a silhouette surrounding the subject, making them stand out from the background. The light at the front will usually light up the whole of the subject. A light source from the side of the subject will only light up one side of the subject creating a chiarascuro effect. Finally we can position the light up towards the ceiling which will diffuse the light and scatter the light back down on the subject
Temperature of the light and white balance – The temperature of the light is used to help create an emotional response between the viewer and the subject. A cold light is usually more of a white light, the white balance to be used is likely to be cloudy which warms up the photograph but you can change this if you want to stay with the cold effect. and a warm light is a more of a yellow light. The white balance to go with this is likely to be florescent
Using reflectors – A reflector is used to reflect the light source onto a part of the subject. With regards to natural lighting we use reflectors to make the subject equally lit.
Using diffusers – Diffuses are used to make a harsh light much softer. To diffuse the lights we can use tracing paper, colored gels or purchasing a diffuse.
High Key / low key lighting – High key lighting is essentially trying to over expose things. The ISO is likely to be higher and the white balance is altered in order to make everything lighter. To achieve this the lighting is usually harsh and cold.This works well on a white background. In contrast, low key lighting consists of a lot of contrasts and shadows. and its usually dark. The lighting is usually softer and use diffuses, typically this works well using a black background.
Contact Sheets
Edits
These three photographs I would consider to be the top images from this photoshoot. I have been able to use a natural light source in order to capture these images. I have also be able to use a reflector to help light up the other side of my models face.
This photograph was taken at a window, where the most light was found within the school. The main focus point of the photograph is the model who is located on the right side of the frame. The left side of the frame is slightly out of focus meaning the depth of field is smaller and and aperture was low when taking the photograph. I wanted the viewers to still be able to see the background as I felt that it added context towards my image. In this image a reflector was not used which means the left side of her face is lit up and the right side is slightly darker, creating a contrast in tonal areas. The formal elements which are clearly presented are texture, found on the models clothes and hair, and space as negative space is found in the background of the image. The model is looking directly at the lens with a neutral facial expression, her right hand is supporting her face. This creates an emotional response, it shows that she is bored or trapped and that she is next to the outside world that she potentially can not get to. This photograph I would say is my most successful image as it allows the viewers to make their own opinion about why the model is the way she is, making them involved with the image. Moreover I believe it clearly illustrates my skills of natural lighting photography and provides a contrast between studio and natural photography.
An important aspect of studio photography is the artificial lighting that is used. The lighting used helps to present an emotional responses by the viewers of the audience, it also allows the focal point of the image much clearer. Another reason why artificial lighting is important is the fact it adds temperature to the photograph, the harsher the light the warmer the atmosphere of the image, making it seem more cheerful. In studio photography there are four different types of studio lighting:
Flat Light – This is when the light source is facing directly at the subject of the image, meaning the subject is well lit, and all emphasis is on the whole subject. This light source creates a full shadow of the subject in the image.
Split Light – A light source which is provided at the side of the subject, which makes half of the subject lit up and the rest fading into darkness, this is where the photographer can clearly show their main focal point
Back Light – The light source is found at the back of the subject which helps to create a semi-silhouttes creating a contrast in like and dark in the frame of the image.
Flash – Producing a flash of artificial light (typically 1/1000 to 1/200 of a second) at a color temperature of about 5500 K to help illuminate a scene.
One Point Lighting – This is when the photographer will only use one light, which is considered to be the ‘key light’. This singular light is used to emphasis certain aspects of the subject. Usually this light is likely to be a soft box as it turns a powerful light source into a more diffused light.
Two Point Lighting – This is also known as the cross lighting technique and is mainly used in interviews. The first light is used to show highlights and shadows. The secondary light is known as the fill-light which is used to eliminate the shadows and allow the whole subject to be lit up. This light source is found directly opposite the key light source.
Three Point Lighting – This is the black light, which is placed behind the subject. Its purpose is to provide definition and subtle highlights around the subject’s outlines. This helps separate the subject from the background and provide a three-dimensional look.
Chiaroscuro Tehnique – This technique is used to create contrast between the lighting on the subject. Normally, the light source is used to illuminate one side of the face leaving the other side in darkness. To create this affect the key light is place next to the subject, on the side and a black background is used.
John Rankin
Rankin is a British photographer who is well known for capturing images of celebrities in a studio. During his careers he and his friend created a magazine where they would be able to promote their photography. Not only has his work appeared in his own magazine but also in Vogue and GQ, making his images reach out towards the younger generation.
Rankin’s Photograph
This photograph is apart of Rankin’s destroy series, where he would capture photographs of celebrities attempting to show their emotions and personality through costume, props and makeup. He would then print out the images and hand them to the celebrities to make it their own. It was then the celebrity job to destroy, colour stitch, do whatever they wanted to the image to express their personality. Conceptually, Rankin wanted to outline the importance that no one is perfect, even if we are famous we are not perfect, which outlines issues in todays society. When first viewing this photograph I am drawn to the fact that the model has her eyes closed and has her head facing downwards, which could present her emotional state at this time as negative. The use of the plain red background is also used to help support this idea. The necklace found around her neck could be considered as something trapping her, thus she attempts to try and take away her life. The lighting used to capture the photograph seems to be three point lighting as all of the model is well lit up, having no shadows or contrast in tones. I would consider texture and line to be the formal elements within the image, these can be found through the stitching of the image and through the different materials of clothing. The ISO in this image is likely to be low as there is no noise found within the image. Moreover, the image is not completely bright meaning the shutter speed is likely to be fast. Moreover, the whole frame of the image is in focus, suggesting that the aperture is likely to be high and informs us that the image has a large depth of field. In this example of Rankin’s work we can see the celebrity has ripped up the photograph and sown it back together using black thread, making this element clearly visible. This could show that at this time her life is being ripped apart but slowly and surely she is sowing it back together to gain a better life. This photograph is presented in colour which eliminates a high contrast in tonal regions, allowing the three point lighting to clearly be shown. The image is taken at a straight on angle with the subject located in the foreground of the image, making her the main focus point. I believe Rankin’s work clearly shows elements of studio photography but with his own twist, making his work successful. I enjoy looking at his destroy series as I found them visually stimulating and makes you grasp an understanding of what life is truly like for the celebrity.
Plan
I will be conducting this photoshoot inside of the schools photography studio. I will be using the white infinite wall and the black curtain as the backgrounds. The lights being used will mainly be a soft box and a normal harsh light. With regards to camera settings I will be having my ISO roughly around 400-800 and my shutter speed will be around 1/100. The white balance will be put onto tungsten and I will be using a manual focus. I will be looking at using the different techniques listed above to put the theory of studio photography into practice. Moreover, I will be keeping the editing simple I will be levelling the images and adjusting the curves to make the image to be sharper.
Contact Sheets
Edits
This outcomes are very successful considering it is my first attempt at studio photography. Due to the success of this first photoshoot, in studio photography, I decided to conduct another photoshoot where I would look at different aspects of studio photography. I will be using filters and props within this new photoshoot in order to gain more meaningful outcomes. I will be redoing my Chiaroscuro technique images as the original images where not as sharp as I would have liked them to be.
Contact Sheets
Edits
I am very pleased with the way these outcomes have turned out from this new photoshoot. I have been able to successfully show the chiaroscuro technique. I have also been able to use props and light filters in order to create an emotion for the models
John Rankin Waddell (born 1966), also known under his working name Rankin, is a British portrait and fashion photographer and director. Rankin is best known as the founder of Dazed and Confusedmagazine (along with Jefferson Hack), and for his photography of models including Kate Moss and Heidi Klum, celebrities such as Madonna and David Bowie and his portrait of Elizabeth II. His work has appeared in magazines such as GQ, Vogue and Marie Claire.
Rankin visited South Africa in 2010 with BBC to make a documentary titled, South Africa in Pictures. In the same year, Nike and Bono’s R.E.D commissioned Rankin to shoot for Nike’s global campaign to fight and spread awareness against HIV/AIDS. The campaign was called, Lace Up Save Lives.
In 2011 Rankin started the biannual fashion, culture and lifestyle magazine, Hunger and launched Rankin Film to produce and direct his own commercial and editorial film work.
Rankin |
Practical Responses to Rankin
Contact Sheet of Shoot
One Point Lighting:
Studio Lighting | 7772Studio Lighting | 7759
These photographs are examples of 1-point lighting as one soft light was used to light the subject. I feel these work well as studio lighting examples. due to the lighting and the positions the subjects are in.
Is a British portrait and fashion photographer he is also the founder of ‘Dazed and Confused’ magazine and for his photography. He has work with many famous people, including models, Heidi Klum and Kate Moss, celebrities such as David Bowie and Madonna and is known for his portrait of Elizabeth II. His work has appeared in magazines such as GQ, Vogue and Marie Claire. In 2011 Rankin started the biannual fashion, culture and lifestyle magazine, hunger and launched Rankin Film to produce and direct his own commercial and editorial film work. Rankin was destined for life of an accountant until he discovered his interests lay somewhere else as he drop his accountancy studies and began studying photography instead. Rankin’s work has a distinct patterns of using white backgrounds, or single colour background, which helps to concentrate all focus on the person he is shooting. The blank background creates almost a blank canvas in with the person is the paint, the more expressions and feeling in the persons face the more detailed the canvas becomes. He is very much a studio photographer and works with artificial light and flash photography to capture the detail on peoples faces.
Lighting
Why do we use studio lighting? It allows us to create natural lighting effects in a variety of situations its easy to control and to adapt to fit the needs of the shoot. Also with so many options available nowadays, it doesn’t have to be confined to a studio.
What is the difference between 1-2-3 point lighting and what does each technique provide / solve
Key Light
This is the main light. It is usually the strongest and has the most influence on the look of the scene. It is placed to one side of the camera/subject so that this side is well lit and the other side has some shadow.
Fill Light
This is the secondary light and is placed on the opposite side of the key light. It is used to fill the shadows created by the key. The fill will usually be softer and less bright than the key. To achieve this, you could move the light further away or use some spun. You might also want to set the fill light to more of a flood than the key.
Back Light
The back light is placed behind the subject and lights it from the rear. Rather than providing direct lighting (like the key and fill), its purpose is to provide definition and subtle highlights around the subject’s outlines. This helps separate the subject from the background and provide a three-dimensional look.
What is fill lighting? Fill light is form of supplementary light mainly used to lighten shadows in an image. Fill light is often used in portrait photography to create a contrast between the image subject and image background giving the scene a sense of depth despite the final product being 2 dimensional. In this situation the use of fill light also reduces the overall dynamic range of the scene allowing for easier selection of the exposure settings required to capture an image. When fill light is correctly applied it does not significantly impact the main light source of an image.
What is spill lighting? Light spilling is where light falls where it was not intended to fall, creating a hazy, blown out look at times.
What is Chiaroscuro ? It’s the strong and bold contrasts between light and dark areas in a photograph.
Street photography, also sometimes called candid photography, is photography conducted for art or inquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places. The images captured when taking photos in the street are immediate and happen often quite quickly no member of the public stands there and stages this out therefore all images happen by fate.
For me there are a few ways of interpreting the way someone takes photos under the theme of ‘Street Photography’ In these examples some of the images were taken a long time ago. For street photographers they have seen,through images,changes in clothes, appearance and just the way individuals have interacted with one another for the past hundred years or so.
There are many artists that are linked to street photography here are just some examples:
Bruce Gilden
Henri – cartier Bresson
Garry Winogrand
Weegee
Robert Doisneau
Vivian Maier
These are some quotes that photographers have said or wrote whilst out and about photographing the streets and whats inside it.
“Photographers mistake the emotion they feel while taking the photo as a judgment that the photograph is good.” – Garry Winogrand
“I love the people I photograph. I men they’re my friends. I’ve never met most of them or I don’t know them at all, yet through my images I live with them”- Bruce Gilden
“Don’t wait. the time will never just be right” – Napoleon Hill
Below is a video on some more examples of street photography :
The context behind this image is Arnold Newman essentially was asked to photograph Alfred Krupp (by himself). However when Alfred found out that Newman was Jewish he no longer wanted to be photographed him. Newman insisted of Krupp looking at his portfolio before making any final decisions. Finally Krupp just agreed and the photo was taken and published in 1963. This image was taken in front of whats believed to have been a train factory which was used to deport Jews off to concentration camps. Krupp allegedly used slave labor to make weapons and help the Nazis with the extermination of Jews. However it is believed that Krupp ended up in jail because of his un-thought actions.
Having first looked at this image without knowing any of the background knowledge i wasn’t too keen on it. I didn’t like it because there’s quite a lot of elements going on in the photo in terms of objects wise. additionally the photo being under exposed also makes me not like as there’s quite a lot of dark and tones you wouldn’t normally see if the image was a happy image. Looking closely at the mans face he looks like hes scheming something it looks sinister. Having further investigated the image i can now see that Alfred was actually trying to make himself look evil and that make out to be quite powerful.
The color of the image is quite rusty and dark, by using this effect on the picture it allows the focus to be directly in the middle of the mans face.
Arnold Newman –
Recognized for his incredible ability to capture the spirit and personality of his subjects, Newman is credited for his work in environmental portraiture and having countless world leaders pass before his lens. Born on March 3, 1918 in New York, Newman began studying painting after moving to Miami with his family.
Newman’s career quickly escalated as he explored the idea of photographing his subjects in their own personal environments. He first began photographing artists, often with their own work, and quickly moved on to photographing some of the world’s most prominent figures. With careful composition and dynamic design, his environmental portraiture managed to evoke a sense of the person’s inner spirit. Newman explained, “I am interested in what motivates individuals, what they do with their lives, their personalities, and how I perceive and interpret them.”
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 might be artistic, or it might be clinical, as part of a medical study.
These images are not mine they are from the internet (from google images)
Every one of these images:
formal
informal
candidate
High angle
Low angle
Headshot
futuristic
high key
colour
black and white
half body
Full body
natural
posed
Environmental Portraits
Arnold Newman
This is an example of an environmental portrait.
The lighting and exposure of the images is quite low however it highlights the focus on to the man who is wearing white. As shown in the image the man is engaging with the camera, unlike street photography where the person being photographed usually isn’t aware environmental portraits is the opposite and encourages the person to be looking at the image.
Arnold Newman began taking images that were based around on who the person actually is. For this man it looks like his background is something along the lines of being a musician so therefore he’s trying to capture part of his identity. This captures the idea of environmental as its trying to portray the idea that this what they do day to day.
Firstly, I used the quick selection tool to select the person in the image. I then inversed it so that the entire area around his was selected instead. After, I turned the hue and saturation right down while also decreasing the brightness a tiny bit. Below is my final outcome:
My initial final outcome.
The reason that I thought I would do this is because it would make the person stand out more against the plain background. I thought this would be a good idea because it would help to bring out people’s personalities and individuality out a lot more as that is what I personally thinks makes street photography interesting.
I also wanted to experiment with making the entire photo black and white also as I thought this could make my image look more like the ones Sander took. To do this i inversed the selection again, so that it was around the person and turned the hue and saturation right down. I kept the brightness at 0 so that the person would still slightly stand out, but not as much as before.
My second outcome, experimenting with black and white.
EditingI edited this image using Lightroom. As the image was overexposed along the top, I lowered the exposure, shadows and black shades and increased increased the contrast, highlights and whites. This helped not make the people in the image too overexposed. Lastly, I cropped the image to get rid of the left part as I thought it was quite unnecessary since it was quite distracting. This way you’re able to notice the main subject of the image more.
There are many different types of lighting that create many different types of images and can cause different feelings towards an image. These include:
Intensity of the light
Direction of the light
Temperature of the light and white balance
Using reflectors (silver / gold)
Studio lighting
Natural lighting
Flat light:
Flat light is very different from soft and hard light, flat lighting causes the minimum contrasts in an image/scene.This means there is pretty much no significant contrast between the highlights and shadows of that particular image.
Split light:
Split lighting is simply the use of one light angled at 90 degrees from the subject you are photographing and placed a bit higher that their eye level. Leaving one half of the face exposed to the light and other in shadow.
Back light:
Back lighting is basically the main light shining in from behind the subject, pretty much so that the back light is some what facing onward towards the camera.
Natural lighting:
Natural lighting is the most basic type of lighting and refers to mainly light produced from the sun. In other words ambient light (meaning the available light in an environment) can be considered as natural light as it is photographer’s lighting equipment. This usually indicates natural lighting from outside that lights up a room through a window. There are three different types of natural lighting they include:
Intensity of light
Direction of light
Temperature of the light
Studio lighting:
Studio light is essential for most photographers and allows photographers to create natural lighting effects in a variety of situations that the photographer controls. This helps us change and alter things:
Filter lighting
Distance from subject to create hard / soft light
Angles and directions
reflectors and diffuses
By using studio lighting it allows a large range of equipment to be used, for example, soft-boxes, umbrella lights, spot lights and floodlights.
Why use this particular lighting?
Studio lighting allows the photographer to have full control of the image being created, and can help us imitate almost all types of lighting with the right equipment.
Flash:
Flash units offer a range of possibilities in both low and high lighting scenarios:
fill-in flash flash “bouncing”
TTL / speedlight flash
remote / infra-red flash (studio lighting)
fast + slow synch flash
light painting c/w slow shutter speeds
What is the difference between 1-2-3 point lighting and what does each technique provide?
Point lightning 1:
Point lighting is the most common and can sometimes be accidental for example when taking a photos outside with the sun shinning- this is a prime example of one point light this can be proven to mainly natural images/light. However one point lighting could lead to a rather dramatic image being produced, with the light being focused on one section/area/or the whole subject.
Point lightning 2:
Although not as popular 2 point lighting can also be proved to be extremely beneficial as the lighting allows the main subject to stand out much more, creating a stronger 3D image as the two point lighting creates much stronger shadows leading to more dimensional angles throughout.
Point lightning 3:
The goal of three point lighting is to create the illusion of a three-dimensional subject in a two-dimensional image. whilst removing background shadow produced by the subject/ clashing lights. this is proven an extremely popular technique commonly used.
Street photography, also sometimes called Candid photography is photography conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places. Although there is a difference between street and candid photography, it is usually subtle with most street photography being candid in nature and some candid photography being classifiable as street photography. Street photography does not necessitate the presence of a street or even the urban environment.
Acandid photograph is a photograph captured without creating a posed appearance. This is achieved in many ways, for example:
when the subject is in motion,
by avoiding prior preparation of the subject,
by surprising the subject,
by not distracting the subject during the process of taking photos.
Eren Sarigul | Street Photography
Henri Cartier–Bresson
“To take a photograph is to align the head, the eye and the heart. It’s a way of life.”
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Henri Cartier-Bresson (1908–2004) was a French humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35mm film. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as capturing a decisive moment. Cartier-Bresson was one of the founding members of Magnum Photos in 1947.
Magnum Photos
In early 1947, Cartier-Bresson, with Robert Capa, David Seymour, William Vandivert and George Rodger founded Magnum Photos. Capa’s brainchild, Magnum was a cooperative picture agency owned by its members. The team split photo assignments among the members. Rodger, who had quit Life in London after covering World War II, would cover Africa and the Middle East. Chim, who spoke a variety of European languages, would work in Europe. Cartier-Bresson would be assigned to India and China.
Cartier-Bresson achieved international recognition for his coverage of Gandhi’s funeral in India in 1948 and the last stage of the Chinese Civil War in 1949. He covered the last six months of the Kuomintang administration and the first six months of the Maoist People’s Republics. He also photographed the last surviving Imperial eunuchs in Beijing, as the city was falling to the communists. In Shanghai, he often worked in the company of photojournalist Sam Tata, whom Cartier-Bresson had previously befriended in Bombay. From China, he went on to Dutch East Indies (Indonesia), where he documented the gaining of independence from the Dutch. In 1950, Cartier-Bresson had traveled to the South India. He had visited Tiruvannamalai, a town in the Indian State of Tamil Nadu and photographed the last moments of Ramana Maharshi, Sri Ramana Ashram and it’s surroundings. A few days later he also visited and photographed Sri Aurobindo, Mother and Sri Aurobindo Ashram.
Magnum’s mission was to “feel the pulse” of the times and some of its first projects were People Live Everywhere, Youth of the World, Women of the World and The Child Generation. Magnum aimed to use photography in the service of humanity, and provided arresting, widely viewed images.
Henri Cartier-Bresson | Magnum Photos | Ramana Maharshi
The Decisive Moment
In 1952, Cartier-Bresson published his book Images à lasauvette, whose English-language edition was titled The DecisiveMoment, although the French language title actually translates as “images on the sly” or “hastily taken images”. Images à la sauvette included a portfolio of 126 of his photos from the East and the West.
Cartier-Bresson took his keynote text from the 17th century Cardinal de Retz, “Il n’y a rien dans ce monde qui n’ait un moment decisif” (“There is nothing in this world that does not have a decisive moment”). Cartier-Bresson applied this to his photographic style. He said: “To me, photography is the simultaneous recognition, in a fraction of a second, of the significance of an event as well as of a precise organization of forms which give that event its proper expression.”
Henri Cartier-Bresson | The Decisive Moment
Analysis
Henri Cartier-Bresson | Gandhi | 1948
Technical: There seems to be the use of natural lighting in this photograph there is no harsh lights which gives off the impression that it is the natural lighting in the room which is giving the photograph the light. There is a strong focus in the foreground of the photograph where Gandhi himself is seated and then towards the background of the photograph it becomes a little less focused but there is also a strong sense of depth and you can see the layers in the image as there is a clear foreground, mid ground and background creating perspective and a sense of depth.
Visual Elements: Visually there is a lot of tone throughout the image it is lighter and brighter towards the front of the image and in the background there is a lot more dark tones created by the shadows and gives a contrast in the photograph, as it is lighter in the front of the photograph compared to the back it also helps us understand that the light source would be coming front behind the camera and looking on at the scene. Our eyes are easily lead through this photograph as they move from one person easily to the next and this creates a leading line as it leads us towards the back end point of the photograph.
Context/ Concept: The photograph shows Gandhi dictating a message at Birla House, the residence where he spent his last days and in which he was assassinated, just before breaking his fast. Delhi, India. 1948. Cartier-Bresson initially set out to create a photographic essay that would capture the essence of the country, its past and present at a time of rapid social change. India’s recent independence from Britain had quickly deteriorated into unrest with the dividing of the country into Hindu India and Muslim East and West Pakistan. At the centre of these upheavals was Mahatma Gandhi, who, after campaigning for India’s independence, was now protesting for the end of the violence between Hindus and Muslims. Cartier-Bresson had exclusive access to Gandhi, recording the activist’s hunger strike in protest of riots in which millions died. However, with the assassination of Gandhi on January 30, 1948, the day after he had taken his portrait, he unexpectedly found himself witness to a major historical event.
Emotional Response: My initial emotional response to this photograph is that it is quite a light photograph creating it to seem almost uplifting in a way.
Comparison to other Photographers
Bruce Gilden
“I love the people I photograph. I mean, they’re my friends. I’ve never met most of them or I don’t know them at all, yet through my images I live with them.”
-Bruce Gilden
Bruce Gilden (born 1946) is an American street photographer. He is best known for his candid close-up photographs of people on the streets of New York City, using a flashgun. He has had numerous books of his work published, has received the European Publishers Award for Photography and is a Guggenheim Fellow. Gilden has been a member of Magnum Photos since 1998.
Bruce Gilden was fascinated with people on the street and the idea of visual-spontaneity. His work is characterized by his use of flash photography and he has mostly worked in black and white, but began shooting in digital and colour when he was introduced to the Leica S camera as part of Magnums’s Postcard’s from America Project.
Henri Cartier Bresson (below) | Bruce Gilden (above) | Comparison
Both Henri Cartier-Bresson and Bruce Gilden produce documentary photography, however in two different styles and ways. Bruce Gilden is very extreme in the way he takes his photographs by using a flashgun and creates very up-close portraits of the general public and people on the streets in busy urban areas such as Brooklyn, New York. Neither of the photographers went into a lot of effort to alter the moment that they were capturing they wanted to document it raw and as it was however Bruce Gilden was a lot more intense and extreme with the way he took his photographs getting up close to the people very quickly and for a short span of time. Henri Cartier-Bresson, however, played a more subtle approach and captured the moments either from the side of the scene or mixed in the crowds that were on-looking. Technically, Gilden’s work seem to contain more contrast due to him using the flashgun as he works, Gilden’s photographs seem to be more busy and have more noise compared to some of Cartier-Bresson’s work.
Robert Frank
“When people look at my pictures I want them to feel the way they do when they want to read a line of a poem twice.” ― Robert Frank
Robert Frank(born 1924) is a Swiss-American photographer and documentary film maker. His most notable work, the 1958 book titled The Americans, earned Frank comparisons to a modern-day de Tocqueville for his fresh and nuanced outsider’s view of American society. The Americansreveal Frank’s mature style, which is characterized by bold composition and ironic, sometimes bitter, social commentary.
Frank became associated with the so-called ‘Beat Circle’, a group of poets, writers and artists – beatniks – who exemplified the apolitical, free-form spirit of post-war American existentialism. Having made his living as a commissioned commercial photographer, but left feeling frustrated artistically in that role, Frank took his 35mm camera onto the streets and highways of America where he honed his highly influential style of wandering, observational photography. Frank shunned the principle of balanced compositions in favor of crooked, grainy high contrasts in black and white and his revolutionary approach to his subjects was to prove decisive in the development of a more authentic reportage photography.
Henri Cartier-Bresson (below) | Robert Frank – Parade Hoboken New Jersey 1955 (above) | Comparison
Both Frank and Cartier-Bresson use their photography to document moments and people lives. Frank wanted to be both intuitive and ‘somehow engaged’ and his goal was to capture through his lens the way in which the environment had effected him on a personal level. Rather than capturing the environment effecting him on a personal level Cartier-Bresson felt his camera was and extension of his eye and wanted to capture visually stimulating material and he could linger for hours observing waiting for the perfect moment. In this aspect both Frank and Cartier-Bresson are similar in what they might look for but their work is also similar in the way it presents itself, both of their works hold a lot of tone, some of Franks tend to be on the darker toned side compared to Cartier-Bresson.
I edited this image using Lightroom. As the image was overexposed along the top, I lowered the exposure, shadows and black shades and increased increased the contrast, highlights and whites. This helped not make the people in the image too overexposed.
Lastly, I cropped the image to get rid of the left part as I thought it was quite unnecessary since it was quite distracting. This way you’re able to notice the main subject of the image more.
