This image was taken by Arnold Newman an American photographer, noted for his ‘environmental portraits’ of artists and politicians. He was also known for his carefully composed still life images.
Content:
Initially looking at this image of Alfred Krupp it looks quite sinister. He is the focal point of the image and your eyes are drawn to him from the top of the image and the bottom. He has a moody look on his face with his hands placed under his chin staring straight into the camera. The background has cement pillars that almost act as if they are framing him.
Formal Elements:
The lighting in this image is produced behind him from ceiling lighting making the background extremely bright and intense and the foreground more gloomy looking. The bottom of the image surrounding him is very dull making him the focal point of the image as your eyes are drawn to him. The background of this image gives some insight on who Alfred Krupp is as it shows machinery and trains but doesn’t give too much away. This image also paints him out to look like he is important as he is closer to the camera than all the other objects staring down the lens. He is also dressed very formally in an informal setting making you think he is high up in the business. The structure of the cement pillars look as if they are framing him keeping him away from all the dirty work in the background.
This image was taken approximately 20 years after World War 2, in 1963, by a Jewish photographer named Arnold Newman. The image captures a German industrialist, Alfred Krupp, posing in his factory which produced ammunition for Nazi’s during the war.
Conceptual:
This iconic image was taken almost as a form of redemption for the Jews after their tragic losses in the war. Newman gained power through his photography career to expose Alfred Krupp and his cruel business. This photo could be seen as a form of deterrent against the Germans as Newman purposely chooses to have Krupp posing in a sinister manner, and his use of harsh lighting creates bold shadows around his features to almost form Krupp as a villain. Newman shoots his camera from a slightly higher angle than Krupp to prove the power has been switched between the two of them, in his favour.
Technical:
The lighting seems artificial, and appears to be coming from above as the shadows are cast underneath the features of the face. I believe there is a wide depth of field as majority of the image is in focus, this gives the sense that the whole building is exposed and out in the open to see all that is happening within. The lighting from behind and above creates a juxtaposition between the light and dark tones in the image, with the light bringing the darkness towards you. This image has colours of low saturation for the most part and not of great quality, this suggests the image is old without context as it seems to be taken on an older camera, as the colours loose a lot of their vibrance.
Visual:
The leading lines on the ceiling draw your eyes towards the figure in the foreground, I think this is used as a distraction from what’s happening in the background. The camera is central to attract the viewers eyes to the focal point, being Alfred Krupp with his head resting on his hands and staring into the lens. the dull colours add to the gloomy tone of the image it appears to have all life drained from the entire scene as a whole. This could be seen as a metaphor for the life that was lost during the war because of Krupp’s production of ammunition.
Portraits are paintings, drawings or photographs of a person, usually focusing on their head and shoulders. Portraits and portraiture started out as paintings. Usually, these types of portraits were done to show power, status, and nobility and were typically reserved for the wealthy. Once photography became popular in the late 1800s with the release of the very first Kodak cameras, portraiture became popular and was more available to the public.
Candid portraits tend be more natural, flowing, unplanned and may even be a form of street photography at times. Candid portraits are not staged or formal. You should aim to capture the essence of the person you are photographing, say something about them or the moment they are caught in…
Sam Harris “The Middle of Somewhere”
CandidPhoto-Shoot
Take a set of photographs that shows your understanding of CANDID PORTRAITS
Remember…your subject (person) DOES NOT need to be engaging with the camera and this kind of photo should not be staged or “set-up”
Then look to create a contrast between your environmental portraits and candid portraits…maybetry photographing the same person / people and then juxtaposing the images (to compare and contrast)
Then select your best 5-10 images and create a blog post that clearly shows your process of taking and making your final outcomes
Deadline = Mon 23 November
Richard Billingham “Ray’s A Laugh” – social documentary
Chris Killip The Station 1985 – more social documentary
Street Photography
Robert Frank ; “Trolley — New Orleans,” 1955.
Elliott Erwitt: Boy, 1955
Henri Cartier-Bresson ; Albert Camus, 1947
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 street photographers
This image below was taken in Seville at the beginning of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s career as a photographer. It has a strong geometric form. The viewer sees the gang of boys through a large hole in a wall which frames the scene. Without knowing the date of the image one might guess that it was taken during the Spanish Civil War (1936–9) or afterwards. The fact that it was taken in 1933 gives it a strange sense of premonition; the boys are playing at war in the ruins of a war that has not yet happened.
Henri Cartier-Bresson : Children in Seville, Spain, 1933.
Blog Post 1 : Define, describe and explain street photography.
Include images, moodboards, hyperlinks to relevant articles and URLs and add a video or two on street photography if you can
Take care in your choice of images…browse the list of street photographers below and choose from the work to “speaks” to you…
Aim to show knowledge and understanding of how street photography can reflect the life / lifestyle / politics / history / social class of an area or group of people…
Do the images make a statement…or ask a question?
About a person, or about society?
Alex WebbJohn Bulmer | Woman and Child with washing line | 1965
Blog Post 2 :
Henri Cartier – Bresson and
“The Decisive Moment”
Create a blog post / case study about Henri Cartier-Bresson that includes…
Brief biography
Mood-board of key images
Select one image and apply Technical | Visual | Contextual | Conceptual analysis (image analysis)
In Photoshop i have created a symmetrical and reflected image by re sizing the image canvas, then coping the original image and flipping it horizontally and for the tips of both images to be touching to create an effect of it being one image. Next I coped the whole image to paste it again whilst increasing the image canvas size to then flip the image vertically to finally have four pineapples that are reflecting each other in a first glance one image look.
Portrait photography is aimed toward capturing the personality of a person or group of people. This type of photography is usually to capture special occasions, such as weddings, school events, or commercial purposes. Portraits aim to capture the essence of a person’s identity, personality and attitude. A portrait is carefully planned and rehearsed with the client. This includes the background, props, clothes, position, and the angle of the photo which should be prepared before the photo shoot. Portrait photography involves four types: environmental, constructionist, candid, and creative.
Environmental portraits is when the person is positioned in surroundings that relate to the person’s identity or profession. For example Arnold Newman’s photo of Leonard Bernstein, american conductor, composer, and pianist known in the industry of both classical and popular music. He has chosen to photograph him in theater which is his place of work and with instruments around him for the orchestra and a baton for conducting.
Arnold Newman – Leonard Bernstein , 1968
Constructionist portraits are all about building emotion and developing atmosphere. The photographer may choose to set the mood of the portrait with the background, lighting, and person’s body language. For example, a photographer might have a mom-to-be holding her belly and looking downward to convey the notion of waiting. Likewise, for a serious attitude, the photographer might have a client look intently into the camera and use a minimal background.
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Candid portraits involve capturing the essence of a client when they think the photographer isn’t working. However it will still be staged and they would still have direction from the photographer. What isn’t planned is exactly when the photograph is going to be snapped.
Introduction: Portrait photography is a type of photography which is aimed towards capturing the personality of a person or group of people by using effective lighting, backdrops, and poses. It is one of the most popular genres of photography. Good portrait photography is able to capture the emotion and personality of the subject person.
Examples of portraits:
Andreas Feininger, 1951.
Richard Avedon, 1946.
Philippe Halsman, 1942.
Dorothea Lange, 1936.
Annie Leibovitz, 1997.
John Kobal , 1961.
Lee Jeffries
Analysis: Lee Jeffries captures the true emotions of he subjects he says by being ‘Respectful and courteous’ , he likes to gain the trust of the people long before he photographs them. He says the result of the emotion is a document derived from the acceptance of his presence. Lee likes use front on view and clearly frame the face, he works in black and white as it enhances the shapes and lines in the face and creates a contrast. Lee pus in a conscious effort to place the emphasis on the emotions in the face of the person. Lee has used lighting which hits the side of the mans face creating a light and dark contrast between the 2 sides of his face. The lighting enhances the lines in the mans face , making the emotion of the man more prominent. Jeffries lightens faces and deepens the shadows created by folds of skin. Lee got the man to make direct eye contact with the camera which makes it feel as if the man is looking directly at you, which creates more sympathy for the man.
Contemporary Photography: Contemporary photography can be seen as an image of recent times, relative to an image that dates a while back.
Portrait photography captures a person or group of people- it demonstrates their personalities by using different poses, background environments and lighting. Photographers take different approaches when photographing people for portraits, the four main types are environmental, constructionist, candid, and creative. It is important, when taking portrait images, that the subject and photographer are both aware of the type of atmosphere and personality they wish to portray in every photo.
Mood Board – Iconic Portraits
Steve McCurry
Arthur Sasse
Joel Santos
Zoltan Huszti
Philippe Halsman
Steve McCurry
David Lazar
Eric Lafforgue
Lee Jeffries
Contemporary Portrait Photography
Contemporary Portrait Photography is highly focused on the values of the modern world, however it does not have to ignore a prior historical context. Contemporary portraits can either reinforce or challenge modern ideas and feelings by portraying different emotions.
Fernando Rodriguez
Fernando Rodriguez | 2017
An example of Contemporary Portrait Photography is this series of images by Fernando Rodriguez. Fernando Rodriguez is a Mexico City based photographer, who was inspired by Frida Kahlo’s iconic self portraits. Rodriguez has reimagined Frida’s recognisable portraits into contemporary pop-art style images. These images combine historic traditional hairstyles with vibrant futuristic outfits, bringing together moments of the past and present in a highly stylistic manner.
