Thomas Ruff is a German photographer born February 10, 1958. He lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany.

THE DEADPAN AESTHETIC

According to source the origins of the word “Deadpan”  can be traced to 1927 when Vanity Fair Magazine compounded the words dead and pan, a slang word for a face, and used it as a noun. In 1928 the New York Times used it as adjective to describe the work of Buster Keaton.

It is less clear when it was first used to describe the style of photography associated with Edward Ruscha, Alec Soth, Thomas Ruff and many others.  Charlotte Cotton devotes a complete chapter to Deadpan in the photography as contemporary art and much that has been written since references that essay.

In summary Deadpan photography is a cool, detached, and unemotional presentation and, when used in a series, usually follows a pre-defined set of compositional and lighting rules.

He decided he would like to mimic a passport photo set up. he used this criteria to make his passport images.

This image meets the critria of a passport photot eyes open, neutral face, whole face in image, face and shoulders centered in image, no hair covering the eyes, no hats, no shadows on the face and natural skin tone.

FACE:

• eyes must be open and clearly visible, with no flash reflections and no ‘red eye’
• facial expression must be neutral (neither frowning nor smiling), with the mouth closed
• photos must show both edges of the face clearly
• photos must show a full front view of face and shoulders, squared to the camera 
• the face and shoulder image must be centred in the photo; the subject must not be looking over one shoulder (portrait style), or tilting their head to one side or backwards or forwards
• there must be no hair across the eyes
• hats or head coverings are not permitted except when worn for religious reasons and only if the full facial features are clearly visible
• photos with shadows on the face are unacceptable
• photos must reflect/represent natural skin tone

BACKGROUND:

Photos must have a background which:

• has no shadows
• has uniform lighting, with no shadows or flash reflection on the face and head
• shows a plain, uniform, light grey or cream background (5% to 10% grey is recommended)

Deadpan

a deadpan image can be described as a photograph that is devoid of emotion the subject is cantered in the image and the camera should be positioned straight on to the subject.

this image is of a stool I chose to use a stool because it would be easier for a stool to not show emotion than a person. the stool is centred in the frame, I positioned myself straight on from the stool to take this photograph.

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Both of these images create a sense of confused or lost identity, Soltau can be seen portraying this through her use of a cut out face stitched onto the original, Cahun presents this through the character created in her image ‘I’m training, don’t kiss me’ where she is presenting an alter male ego. Both Soltau’s and Cahun’s image create a feeling of melancholy, i believe this is created through the all around sadness of both images highlighted by facial expression and a lack of colour. while Soltau’s image is a coloured photo, it shares parts of the monochrome theme with Cahun’s image. Both images have emphasis on the lips, Soltau’s work features 2 sets of lips, one on the face and one printed onto the face, similarly, Cahun’s character is captured with obvious red lips placed on a ‘male’ character, perhaps supporting Cahun’s views on sexuality, identity and expression. We can see in Cahun’s image, she has created more of a noticeable narrative, personally, I believe this surrounds Cahun’s views of gender and breaking gender stereotypes of the time.

The lighting in Soltau’s work is very soft, perhaps shot in a white studio accompanied by a flash, Cahun’s work was captured with a much stronger light, accompanied by dark features such as dark walls, dark objects. Cahun’s image creates a huge sense of being watched, through the message on her chest and the sense that her character looks as if they would be in a public environment.

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These two images have a few similarities such as they are both displayed in black and white which I believe makes a lot of photos look better. I can identify that in both images there seems to be a mirror with a reflection of a person which could have a meaning of ‘lost identity’ through the way Claude seems to be looking away from herself in the mirror and the fact that in my image the silhouette of the person who is fading away. I feel that the images create a sense of loneliness due to

However, there are many differences between these two images from Claude Cahun and me. One difference I observed is the fact that Claude is showing her full face and in my image there is no facial or body features.

This is my photo vs Andy Le Gresley

Similarities landscapes orientation, landscape, ocean, land

The right photo is different because it is a lighter image more vibrant colours, has a wave, has sand , has a person

The left image is much darker has flat seas, there’s a tree