Arnold Newman was generally known as the pioneer of environmental portrait, while also being known for his still life and abstract photography. He is considered as one of the most influential photographers in the 20th century. Newman’s environmental approach to portraiture was greatly influenced by impressionism and symbolism, which attracts the viewer no matter how well we know what the focus is.

Arnold Newman became well know for his distinctive approach to portraiture, where he would capture the person/ subject in their job or their natural surroundings. He didn’t ask the person to pose in a studio or in a particular way, instead he took a more realistic approach which told an insightful story of their life. Newman wanted to create depth and composition in his portraits, so he had equipment set up in a particular way, possible poses, and a floor plan ideas as he really wanted to show the relation between the person and their natural surroundings. This engages the viewer, showing a story and connection.

The photo makes me really interested because I can see into his studio where he does his work. I think having the photo in black and white makes you look closer into the background filled with his paintings, as from a distance all you can see if unique shapes filled with tones and shades that blend together creating this chaotic, but engaging scene to look at. I think having him sat in an informal position at the bottom right, with not much facial expression, makes him blend in almost with his studio behind, creating this feeling that Newman didn’t just want to make the portrait purely of Picasso. Instead he wanted to engage the viewer from a different perspective, which I think is what makes the environmental portrait of him more engaging, because it makes us wonder what he is doing, creating lots of focal points for the viewer.

The photo looks like it is captured in the natural light, that brightens up various parts of the portrait which I think makes it more effective because it shows it, in that moment. This emphasizes parts creating soft and intricate textures in his studio, leading your eye closer into the photo.

Newman has captured Marilyn Monroe and Carl Sandburg sat in his flat. The piece is know for the composition where they are sat glancing at one another, engaging with the camera from a different perspective. Also, the photo captures Monroe’s more glamorous, and public persona, whereas Sandburg is more serious, and is sat more naturally. Newman may have decided to do this to show the contrast between their personalities, which is expressed in a clear way to the viewer. I like how the photo is taken close up which creates an abstract portrait, leading your eye straight to the subjects. As the viewer, I think we engage more with the photo from a side angle, as it makes you look closer because we want to find out their expressions. The lighter areas are around the face which makes you focus on that area more, noticing subtle, soft tones which enhances these areas more, creating a short but engaging depth.

Environmental Portraits depict people in their working environments or environments they are associated with.

They are portraits which are taken in the subjects natural surroundings, such as their home or workplace, that illuminates the subjects life and surroundings.

I think the portraits are unique and interesting, because they aren’t photographed in a studio, they are in the subjects particular environment, which relates to the person. Also, they engage the viewer creating a meaningful story behind the photo as we learn something about them.

Contact sheet for my photoshoot inspired by Walker Evans, I have highlighted my favourite photos in green.

For this photoshoot, I experimented using more than one of the same objects. Overall, I thought this created an interesting photograph when captured at different angles because it gives a 3 dimensional view, rather than photographing from a birds eye view which gives a 2 dimensional effect – this was what William Eggleston did. He captured his photographs from one angle as this was done to get your direct focus solely on the object, however I wanted to achieve this from different angles and with a few objects. This overall effect created a really interesting photo to look at, as it created a unique look. For each photo below, the first ones I haven’t edited whereas the second ones I have. I thought they didn’t need much editing as I had experimented using different light, which gave the right warmth and contrast of tones that I wanted. However, I still edited most as I wanted to make them more clearer and highlight each individual object making them bolder. This also enhanced the detail on the brushes making a bolder look.

I didn’t edit this photo as I already preferred the look it gave. I thought the way I positioned the objects made it a really effective photo as creates an interesting look leading your eye into different parts of the photo, as it draws you in, in from many angles.

Here I have highlighted my favourite and best photos in green as I thought these images showed a clear photograph of the object. Inspired by Walker Evans, I turned each of the photos in black and white which are shown on the left I showed the before and after photos so you could see the different effects.

Overall, I thought these photographs were really effective, as I thought having only one object really made you focus on the photo. Some of the photographs where I left in colour showed more shadows which showed more of a contrast, so using light-room I lightened them up to create more brighter images. Like Walker Evans, I kept some negative space around my object, but I also wanted the closer look of the object so you would have a clearer view of the object.

I was inspired by Walker Evan’s to create single object photos, from birds eye view as this achieved the same effect as Evan’s created in his own work. I really like how his work is simple but effective, as the single objects makes you focus on the details and tones created.

I took these photos of my own objects, that had a memory and meaning behind them. I experimented using the camera from different angles, birds eye-view, and straight on. This created interesting formations, with different focal points catching your attention in different parts of the photo. I used different light settings and back drops which emphasised the nostalgia theme as well as my objects.

Final Images

For this photoshoot, I experimented using different light settings where I achieved warmer and cooler effects on the objects. I experimented with different layouts which created interesting compositions and angles, which enhanced the objects. I was inspired by different angled, unique placed objects from the still life photos, to experiment with different formations of my own objects.

This was one of my final images that I edited on light-room. I thought the more straight-on photos engaged you in a different way compared to the more angled ones, as this created interesting depth. Also, the way I positioned the objects added to the depth because it draws you in closer leading your eye to the more of the formation of the objects. I experimented with exposure and various tones that helped engage the viewer, as well as creating an old but new look that links to the theme ‘nostalgia’.

Walker Evans was greatly influenced by Darren Harvey-Regan as they both paid close attention to the choice of objects, composition, lighting and exposure levels.

Walker Evans

Walker Evans began photography in the late 1920’s, taking his first snapshots while on his trip to Europe. Then on his return to New York he produced his first set of images. He was best know for taking photographs during the Great Depression, as he was mostly recognised for his documentary and social realism style. Evans then went onto produce his first Portfolio in 1955 called, Beauties of the Common Tool where it features day-to-day objects. The simplicity of only one object displayed, creates this engaging and immersing feature for the viewer, as he wants you to see them for yourself in a different way.

Beauties of the Common Tools

Walker Evans shows simplistic everyday objects displayed in black and white, which creates unique forms and interesting exposure as we get more out of the object. This is effective because he turns the objects into something that’s more distinct and eye catching, rather than just photographing basic tools.

Darren Harvey-Regan

Like Walker Evans, Harvey-Regan was interested in the concept that photographs do not exist just to show things, but are physical things that become objects themselves. Harvey- Regan first created montages of Walker Evan’s work, where he would find matching tools, cut them in half and rejoin them to create his final work. The objects he would find were both interesting and unusual as this would engage the viewer and overall make it more distinct.

Still life is paintings or a drawing of an arrangement of objects. They are an arrangement of inanimate objects such as fruit, flowers, household items, and textiles. These paintings use different types of symbolic and religious objects to convey deeper meanings or narratives. Still life paintings began in the 16th and 17th centuries, The Golden Ages. Now in the 21st century still life paintings were edited and modernised still capturing the same and different kinds of objects in a more vibrant and modern way.

Modern, 21st Century

Vanitas

Vanitas are symbolic artwork, it is a genre of still life that shows the fleetingness of life. Vanitas are closely related to the Memento Mori, which is artwork of objects that reminds the viewer the fragility and shortness of life, for example some of the symbols include skulls and extinguished candles.

Paulette Tavormina

Paulette creates still life imagery of lit objects such as fruit and vegetables that are immersed in dark backgrounds. The dark background enhances the lit objects making each individual objects stand out from one another. This unique feature creates an interesting and unique depth, which leads the eye to each section of the photo while also creating a more deeper and meaningful photo. With fewer negative space, this draws your eyes in closer enhancing the abstract composition, enabling you to have more of a direct focus on the objects. This feature allows you to see and focus on more of the small and intricate objects placed around the photo, creating more texture and unique formations in areas that you wouldn’t notice from a distance.

There are seven basic elements of photographic art: line, shape, form, texture, colour, size, and depth. 

Line

Lines are either straight, curved, or both.  Lines can be solid, dashed or interrupted,  implied, or psychological. The type and direction of the lines inside the image convey meaning of the photograph.

Vertical or horizontal lines – convey a sense of stability or a static feel to an image.

Horizontal lines – can indicate distance

Vertical lines – can indicate height, balance, strength.

Diagonal lines – convey a more dynamic scene.

Shape

The Merriam-Webster definition of “line” comprises 15 parts, 46 sections, and 41 subsections. With all of that, the part that we, as photographic artists, are concerned about is this:

8: A straight or curved geometric element that is generated by a moving point and that has extension only along the path of the point

Shapes are 2-dimentional, some shapes intersect and overlap to create a new shapes. Shapes are often visually defined by the intersection or closing of lines. The area containing a shape is often referred to as positive space while the outside area is called negative space, the negative space also creates a shape of its own. Shapes can be geometric or organic such as birds or fluids.

Form

The Merriam-Webster definition of “shape” that we are concerned with as photographic artists is:

1 a : the visible makeup characteristic of a particular item or kind of item

1 b (1) : spatial form or contour

1 b (2) : a standard or universally recognized spatial form

There are two types of forms, organic and geometric. In photographs the positive space is the forms and the negative space is what is left. Three dimensional forms are created into two dimensional forms in the photo, so to create the 3D effect we use shadows. Painters create 3D forms by shading, this reveals depth, highlights and mid-tones. The tonality changes and cast shadows of an object, create direction and intensity. The light relative to that object can change how we perceive the depth of the object in a photograph.

Texture

The Merriam-Webster definition of “form” comprises 12 parts, 27 sections, and 4 subsections. As photographic artists, the part we are concerned with is:

1 a: the shape and structure of something as distinguished from its material

Texture is similar to form, it creates variations of tones that are two dimensional. Smooth and ruff objects creates different types of hightlights, while smooth creates mirror image reflections, ruff objects creates more of an aggressive shadow with out the exact reflections. To be able to see texture, it depends on the subject, lighting, and forms of the image. Shadows is what emphasizes texture, making you able to see texture whether smooth or rough.

Colour

The Merriam-Webster definition of “color” that we, as photographic artists, are concerned with is:

1 a : a phenomenon of light (such as red, brown, pink, or grey) or visual perception that enables one to differentiate otherwise identical objects

b (1) : the aspect of the appearance of objects and light sources that may be described in terms of hue, lightness, and saturation for objects and hue, brightness, and saturation for light.

also : a specific combination of hue, saturation, and lightness or brightness

(2) : a colour other than and as contrasted with black, white, or grey

Different colours have different emotional responses for example red represents danger, blue represents calm. We can see different types of colours bold, bright colours, muted tones and harmonic colours. As you recognise the colours in the photograph you will be able to see the subject and it will show the mood of the photo.

Size

The Merriam-Webster definition of “size” that we, as photographic artists, are concerned about is:

1 a : physical magnitude, extent, or bulk : relative or proportionate dimensions

Large, medium, and small are all types of size. The camera can make small sizes larger while making large sizes small. Size can create unique images, while the scale of the object in the photo sets the scene. If you want to emphasize the size of the object in the surroundings you get closer, this is where you change from a three dimensional scene to a two dimensional scene. Overlap also enhances the scene in three dimensions, while also showing the size.

Depth

The Merriam-Webster definition of “depth” that we, as photographic artists, are concerned about is:

2 b: the direct linear measurement from front to back

Depth is shown in all photos, it depends on objects in the frame, and choice of composition. Most images have foreground, middle ground, and background. The more clearer the presentation is between them, the stronger the depth is shown. Also depth is created in photographs when the objects get further from the eye. Texture shows depth, it often smooths out as you get into the distance.