who is ROBERT FRANK and what do they do?

ROBERT FRANK was a swiss photographer and documentary filmaker, born in 1924. His most famous work was his book ‘the americans’, which documented american people during their everyday life. FRANK later went on to experimenting with photomontages and film. Their photographs were expressive and raw, which changed the way documentary photographs were taken.

my favourite photographs from ROBERT FRANK

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In these photographs, from FRANK, i like the expressions on the faces of the subjects and how natural they look. These photographs really capture the joy and the happiness of the people.

analysis of a ROBERT FRANK piece

technical

The lighting in this photograph is coming from infront, because there are shadows and highlights on the subjects faces. If there were no lighting from the front the subjects faces would be dull and not illuminated, which they aren’t. The lighting is also natural, as the faces are not over exposed, or over powered by light, but the light is subtle. The lighting allows for there to be a high contrast between the lights and darks. This photograph has a varied tonal range, as there are dark darks and bright whites too.

visual

This particular photograph is taken in black and white, FRANK must have decided to do this because it allows the photograph to look more powerful and poignant. There are a varied different textures, from the metal with the pattern of bolts, to the reflections on the windows. These textures allow the photograph to be more interesting and eye catching. FRANK has captured this scene very well, because of the repeating pattern of the windows, and how they also form a frame around the individuals, which is interesting too. The arrangement of the people also relates to a contextual link from the time of the photograph being captured.

contextual

Around the time of this photograph was taken in 1958, and before this time, there was a big divide between the social classes, races and ethnicities. So this photograph is important because it shows how all people, whatever race, class or ethnicity get the bus. Even though it does still show the divide, in the sense that the black people are sitting separated from the white people, at the back of the bus.

conceptual

This photograph really highlights the segregation of the different people of America, due to each different groups being separated in a window. Each window frames a different, and shows how they are separated in society and on the bus. But what it is interesting about this photograph, by FRANK, is how it shows the variation of people in America and how they are represented too.

how am I going to relate to ROBERT FRANK in my photographs?

I am going to capture people in their natural environment and take their photograph without them knowing they are being photographed, because then you really get the natural and candid shots, that look very effective and eye catching.

definition: photography that features unplanned chance encounters and random incidents in public places. Street photography doesn’t need to be in a street or even in an urban environment.

Street photography captures and records everyday life in a public place, and this public and open setting allows photographers to take pictures of strangers without their knowledge; perfect for the candid nature of street photography.

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The first known street photographer, or at least person to use photography with the same techniques and mindset as street photographers do, was Charles Nègre, who photographed workers, shopkeepers, travelers and salespeople in Paris in the 1850s.

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In general, street photography can capture real people in the middle of their everyday lives, and the results can be used in the future to show how people actually lived and the sorts of lifestyles they had. They can reveal how political climates affected the average citizen of a certain country, and can reflect on more widespread issues such as poverty, homelessness or even fashion trends.

Here is a link to an article that explains the origins of street photography, its ideals, past and future: https://www.britannica.com/art/street-photography

For the first shoot, I went into an office workspace for a dancewear company, which explains the dance-related items in the background. This shoot featured artificial lighting from the lightbulbs above.

I then went into the central market for my next shoot and photographed several different people in different working environments. This was to try and capture different lighting as well as colour palettes and most likely different moods as well, although they are all tied together through the theme of a working environment.

The red crosses are to show images that I have completely discounted, the yellow dot is for images that are a possibility, and the green circle is for images that are a definite yes.

These are my final images, taken from a variety of working environments.

I am happy with my final set of images as I feel like they all portray different working environments but still display the same elements of people hard at work. Some feature the subjects staring directly down the lens and some do not, but they all demonstrate the environmental portraiture style. If I were to do the shoots again, I would attempt to take more fully posed images, with the people looking directly down the lens and in a position that I have chosen myself.

Who you are photographing? 

People doing their job, strangers working in the market and such 

When you are conducting the shoot? 

I’ll be conducting the shoot in my free time, probably during the daytime to get good natural lighting 

Where you are working/ location? 

In an office for one shoot and probably in the central market or in shops in the town area 

Why you are designing the shoot in this way? 

To achieve a portrait that shows the subject in their working environment and so that I can capture a range of different environments and people. 

FORMAL-

Environmental portraits are an example of formal portraits, because they have been pre-prepared and are posed. Environmental portraits can also be commissioned by the subject of the portrait as well, so they are even more planned out beforehand. Environmental images are of people in their work or home environment, or simply somewhere that defines them as a person.

For example, a butcher would be photographed in their shop, possibly wearing their uniform or in the process of handling the meat. Influential environmental photographers include Arnold Newman and Anthony Kurtz, both who became known for their strong portraits of people in their “natural” environments.

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As can be seen from above, environmental portraits do have have to be specifically in either black and white or colour, as both are just as good as each other. They are often half-body or three quarter length shots, but they environmental portraits can be simply head-shots as well, it would just be more difficult to fully show the environment. Most environmental portraits feature the person looking directly down the lens of the camera, but this is not always necessary. They all, however, feature a person or group of people in an environment that defines them, either that they work or live in.

INFORMAL-

An example of informal portrait photography would be street photography, which is mostly comprised of candid images. Candid images are taken mostly without the knowledge of the person in the picture, and this unawareness is a large part of much of street photography.

Candid photography is unplanned and not posed at all, often there is no relationship between the photographer and the person in the image whatsoever, and candid images simply show the real day-to-day life of people in whichever time period the image was taken.

Two influential street-candid photographers are Henri Cartier-Bresson and Vivian Maier. They both took many candid images in black and white, but I added some of Maier’s colour photos to show how there is no need to stay in black and white with street photography, and to reveal how she used colour very well.

Below are photographs that inspire me and are photographs I would like to relate to and recreate, with my own ideas.

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Portrait photography is an image of a person or group of people, capturing the personality of the subject. Lighting, backdrops and poses can influence the mood of the portrait, and further portray certain emotions and feelings.

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There are many forms of portrait imagery taken in different ways such as head shots, half body, three quarter length, at different angles and heights, but they could fall into a few categories including:

Candid: Taking photos of people without having them pose or even realize their photo is being taken. This enables you to catch someone in the moment, creating a naturalistic photograph, that reflects the true emotions of the subject

Environmental: This type of portrait is taken in the subject’s usual environment, such as in their home or workplace, and typically illuminates the subject’s life and surroundings.

Formal: Formal portraits refer to photos usually taken for a specific occasion such as wedding or school photographs, where the subject is arranged to pose under chosen lighting conditions often in a studio.

Informal: The opposite of formal portraits, with a casual and relaxed mood to the image that shows the personality of the subject. These types of portraits aren’t usually taken in studio lighting, but are still positioned with effective lighting, with the rule of thirds and depth of field in mind.

Other examples of portrait photography:

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who is ARNOLD NEWMAN and what do they do?

ARNOLD NEWMAN is a photographer, born in New York City in 1918, who studied art in Miami. NEWMAN is acknowledged for being the pioneer of the genre of photography called environmental portraits. He worked as a documentary photographer, who took still portraits of subjects in an environment that symbolises the individuals life and work.

my favourite photographs from ARNOLD NEWMAN

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These photographs from ARNOLD NEWMAN are my favourite, because they are very strong and hold a lot of power within them. They also display the emotion and stories of the individual within the photograph, and what NEWMAN thinks of them too.

analysis of an image from ARNOLD NEWMAN

technical

The light source is coming from behind the individual, this allows the subject to be lit and to stand out. It also allows the background to be illuminated to add the importance of this feature in the photograph. There also may be light coming from in front of the individual as their facial features are visible but not quite contrasted. The depth of field, in this photograph, is long, as the background are sharp and in focus.

visual

The photographer has decided to shoot in black and white, it is very powerful as it allows for there to be a high contrast, which is interesting for the viewer. There is a varied tonal range, as there are dark blacks and bright whites. The bright whites stand out, when mixed among the dark blacks. The bright whites are also limited as the only white things are the music paper, the subjects shirt and the chairs in the background, this allows the subject to be the focal point of the photograph, as the paper is directly infront of him and the chairs are directly behind him. There are many textural aspects, from the notes on the paper to the wooden flooring. These aspects add interest and detail to the image. The chairs in the background are repetivitely placed, and form a pattern behind the subject, which contrasts with the scattered stands directly behind the subject, as they are more randomly placed. The sections on the music paper kind of act as leading lines, pointing towards the subject as they are arranged in a way that direct the viewers eye to them.

contextual

The subject in the photograph is Leonard Bernstein, a conductor, composer and piano player, who was one of the first American born conductor to be praised for his musical ability. Bernstein was also the first conductor to give lectures on television on classical music. He was a very talented musician, as he composed lots of music for theatre and ballets. Although Bernstein was known for his musical talents, he was also known for his social activism, hoping for further social change, and was heavily involved with left wing organisations. The reason why NEWMAN captured Bernstein in an empty concert hall was to highlight how unimportant Bersteins audience was to him, which contrasts with the thoughtful look on his face demonstrates how much his music meant to him. For NEWMAN to photograph Bernstein he must have agreed with his views on social activism and social change, as it was important for him to relate to the subject on a more obscure reason.

conceptual

ARNOLD NEWMAN took photographs of subjects in an area that represented and connected to their job, or other aspects of their life. So in this photograph of Leonard Bernstein, NEWMAN captured him in a concert hall that related to him, as he was a composer and conductor.

how am I going to relate to ARNOLD NEWMAN in my photographs

I am going to photograph my subjects in an area that is related to them and hold direct eye contact with the camera, similar to how NEWMAN captured his subjects.

In order to edit this image, I used the black and white option converter in order to adjust the intensity of each shade. This allowed me to create a very dark background, making the subject more prevalent. I then added the ‘tint’ option so that textures such as the chains were more visible. Overall, I chose this image as I think it represents the candid genre the most – with the subject being unaware of the image being taken and therefore not acting any different to usual.

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