DEADPAN/PASSPORT/TYPOLOGIES

A photographic typology is a single photograph or more commonly a body of photographic work, that shares a high level of consistency. This consistency is usually found within the subjects, environment, photographic process, and presentation or direction of the subject. An example of this is passport photos which all follow certain rules which enable every picture to be consistent (seen below)

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)

THOMAS RUFF

Thomas Ruff followed these rules for his “Portrait” collection, in his studio between 1981 and 1985, Ruff photographed 60 half-length portraits in the same manner: Passport-like images, with the upper edge of the photographs situated just above the hair, even lighting, the subject between 25 and 35 years old, taken with a 9 × 12 cm negative and, because of the use of a flash, without any motion blur.

The early portraits were black-and-white and small, but Ruff soon switched to colour, using solid backgrounds in different colours; from a stack of coloured card stock the sitter could choose one colour, which then served as the background. The resulting Portraits depict the individual persons – often Ruff’s fellow students – framed as in a passport photo, typically shown with emotionless expressions, sometimes face-on, sometimes in profile, and in front of a plain background.

STUDIO

In the studio we did a small shoot of passport-type images

This is my most successful image from the shoot as it complies with the standards for passport photos the best.

I resized the image so it would seem more fitting for a portrait- with less negative space.

This is my final image, I believe it looks very similar to Thomas Ruff’s work however photos with the deadpan aesthetic often look very similar- especially passport photos as the entire point is to get a clear portrait formally showing someone’s facial features.

Overall these images look very similar to Thomas Ruff’s portraits photos with the deadpan aesthetic, however I do not have the variation of portraits of different people in a collection. My images are also not edited minus the resizing, this is reinforce the rules of passport photos, where there cannot be any editing however this displays an inconsistent display of portraits where they look slightly different.

Vanitas-style

Hamptonne and Jersey Heritage loaned objects

Collage-Style, also Jersey Heritage loaned objects

he Patent Diamond Cameo photograph was registered by F.R. Window of London in 1864. Four small oval portraits (1″ x ³/₄“) were placed on a carte de visite in the shape of a diamond, each portrait being of the same person photographed in a different position. A special camera made by Dallmeyer was used in which the one glass negative was moved to a new position in the back of camera after each portrait had been taken, and when the paper print had been pasted on the card a special press was used to punch the four portraits up into a convex cameo shape. It is unlikely the process became very popular with Adelaide’s photographers, as the failure of just one of the four portraits through movement, poor expression or incorrect exposure meant that the plate had to be rejected and another four portraits made on a new plate. To obtain a carte de visite which had a pleasing overall effect would have involved careful advance planning of the four positions to be taken, as it was only after the negative was developed that the photographer could see if an acceptable negative had been produced.

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To make mine I took 4 photos of someone looking straight on, away to either side and down. I put these into a photoshop document, levelled them, cut them out and arranged them in a diamond shape. To also add a more vintage and worn appearance I copied in a photo of an old piece of paper then reduced the opacity to add a more worn out look.

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I repeated this process again outside of school in a makeshift studio but with varied facial expressions and actions. I like how this one came out more as it feels more personal and the lighting changed a bit halfway through the shoot because of a malfunctioning reading lamp I was using to cast shadows.

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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

Comparison between one two images from Kensuke Koike and Claude Cahun

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this photo shows a portrait/landscape in the outdoors in black and white, the photo itself isn’t too sad its more structured and doesn’t really give much away. The way he is outside in the forest can tell you how he feels seen.

this photo is portrait and located inside also black and white, it is full length and i feel its telling a story of not feeling seen as there are masks on the cape giving a feeling of being lost and not being seen by people by who she really is.

statement

overall the differences are that one photograph is displayed inside and the other is out, they both tell a different story one shows being seen and the other tells you how they aren’t seen. One is male and the other female with different gestures.

the similarities are the way they are both black and white and full body shots, they both show body language telling us how they may be feeling.

Portrait photography is a style of photography that portrays human subjects. Portrait photography has been around since Louis Daguerre invented the daguerreotype in 1839—the same year that Robert Cornelius aimed the camera at himself and took what is widely believed to be the first self portrait photograph ever, laying the groundwork for portrait photography to emerge as its own art form.

There are different types of portrait photography, for example the ones I have included above – headshots, passport photos, full or half body shots, etc. Although most portrait photos feature the subject making eye contact with the camera, others feature them looking away or even having their eyes closed.

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. However, 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 masses.

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The daguerreotype was the first widely produced photograph, invented in France by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre in 1839. It is an image on a polished silver plate—each one a unique positive image. Daguerreotypes were produced for only twenty years before the process was replaced, and their fragility and short historical time use make them a precious record.

. Many early self-portraits fall into two general categories. In the first type, which had a long tradition in painted portraits and self-portraits, the subject poses with a camera or a set of photographs, showing him as a professional of his trade. As portrait photographers competed for customers, these images demonstrated the photographer’s ability to capture a flattering likeness with his technical skill and his eye for setting and pose. The other type of self-portrait seems to have been the photographer’s attempt to situate photography as a fine art, a novel idea during the era of early photography.

Henry Mullins

Henry Mullins started working at 230 Regent Street in London in the 1840s and moved to Jersey in July 1848, setting up a studio known as the Royal Saloon, at 7 Royal Square. His speciality was cartes de visite and the photographic archive of La Société contains a massive collection of these. Their online archive contains 9600 images, but the majority of these are sets of up to 16 photographs taken at a single sitting. In those times even 10s 6d was a a lot to pay to have your’ photograph taken, and included among his subjects are many of the island’s affluent and influential people.

The invention of the Polaroid made portrait photography more widely available to the public as it was an instant camera, and was small and easy to use. Polaroid as an American company started in 1937 when it was founded by Edwin H. Land and George W. Wheelwright III. It reached its popularity peak in the 1970s when it controlled almost two-thirds of the instant camera market in the United States. The invention of the polaroid made taking self portraits easier and more accessible as you could take a photo any time thanks to its instant camera.

Portraiture has always gravitated towards individuals in the public eye – for example in recent history, most portrait photos feature celebrities on newspapers or magazine covers.

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Portrait photography is common on social media for example Instagram – through the help of social media photography is accessible by everyone. Social media is, by definition, a quick and fairly passive tool to reach people, sometimes by the thousands or millions. That massive reach has, unsurprisingly, dramatically changed the typical means of delivering photography to the public and, with it, the revenue streams that photographers count on to make a living.

Instead of sharing their work in galleries or via print publications, photographers now rely largely on social media advertising and promotion, as well as influencers who use their vast bases of followers to direct attention to their chosen sites. It is at once highly capitalised and very freeing to the artists.