Sian Davey’s photography explores the psychological, social and political surroundings of herself and the people around her. Davey was born in Brighton in 1964. She studied Fine Art painting at Bath Academy of Fine Art in 1985. She was a psychotherapist for fifteen years before becoming a photographer, and her training in psychotherapy fundamentally informs and inspires her work, which often feels intimate and features themes of depression and grief.
Many of Sian Davey’s photographs are environmental portraits, which tell a story about the subject’s life and usual location. For example, in her project ‘Martha’ she has photographed her step-daughter in various locations, either by herself or in groups of her friends.
Image Analysis
This is a digital photo by the photographer Sian Davey. There are 5 subjects in this photograph. The focal point is the person sitting on the bed in the foreground, and the composition follows the rule of thirds. In this image, the lighting appears to be natural daylight, creeping in from the window in the background. Some parts of the photo are overexposed, for example, the subject closest to the window, whilst some are underexposed. The depth of field is shallow, as the background and midground is blurred. The shutter speed appears to be fast at around 1/250, the image is a bit grainy, so I believe the ISO is around 1600.
This is a digital photo by the photographer Sian Davey. The focal point is the 1 subject in this photograph, who is holding a newspaper and is sitting on a moving vehicle. This composition follows the rule of thirds. In this image, the light source appears to be strong and heavily contrasting natural daylight from the window on the left of the photograph. The depth of field is shallow, as the background and midground is blurred. To represent the movement of the vehicle the subject is sitting in, there is a horizontal motion blur, obstructing the details in shadowed areas even further. Because of this, I believe the shutter speed is slower and around 1/30, and the ISO is around 100.
1. The quality of your analysis and interpretation of Sian Davey’s work is improving, but try and provide more contextual insights into her practice and methods. For example, when analysing key images make use of the image analysis sheet: Technical/ Visual/ Contextual/ Conceptual more explicitly. You should choose 2 things from each category and use that as a structure in your image analysis
https://www.photopedagogy.com/photo-literacy.html
2. Try and make your own set of environmental portraits in response to Sian Davey.
Hi Tallulah, did you read my comments from 27 Nov?