August Sander (November 17, 1876 – April 20, 1964) was a notable German photographer known for his portraits and documentary style. His first book, Face of Our Time, came out in 1929. Many consider Sander to be the most significant German portrait photographer of the early 1900s. While he also captured landscapes, nature, architecture, and street scenes, his portraits are what he is most famous for, particularly in his series People of the 20th Century. This series was designed to reflect a diverse range of society during the Weimar Republic.
A photographic typology is all about exploring different “types” through a series of images. Instead of focusing on individual photos, it emphasizes the idea of gathering and categorizing. This approach to photography is really impactful because it can change how we see and understand the world we live in.
An environmental portrait is a type of portrait taken in the subject’s everyday setting, like their home or workplace. This style of photography aims to showcase not just the person but also their life and the environment around them. When you capture someone in their own space, it’s believed that you can reveal more about their character and truly reflect their personality, rather than just focusing on their physical appearance. Additionally, being in a familiar environment can help the subject feel more comfortable, allowing them to express themselves more naturally compared to the often intimidating atmosphere of a studio.
Artist Analysis
Arnold Newman
Who is he ?
Arnold Abner Newman, born on March 3, 1918, and passing away on June 6, 2006, was a renowned American photographer. He gained fame for his “environmental portraits,” which captured artists and politicians in their own settings. Additionally, he was recognized for his skilful abstract still life photography. In 2006, he was honoured with induction into the International Photography Hall of Fame and Museum.
Newman’s work
Image Analysis
Alfred Krupp by Arnold Newman – 1963
This image shows an almost villain looking old man staring directly into the camera, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere. The two pillars either side exaggerate the rule of thirds in this image and place Krupp in the centre bottom of the image. The lighting along the celling creates leading lines that take the viewer to the industrial, train station background.
Visual – The sitter ( Krupp ) is the main focal point of the image, he is leaning forward suggesting how he is confident he is and how he is probably the owner and not a worker. Krupp’s wrinkly face and hands highlights his age and worn appearance, it also shows how he has seen and been through a lot in his life. Krupp is fully centre with lights leading to him and pillars either side to show how he is the centre of attention. The relatively bland colours create a strong contrast between the dark and light patches of the image. The photo has little negative space and is extremely cluttered which could allude to how messy and cramped his past life was. Krupp seems raised from the background showing how he could be more important than average.
Technical – The dim lighting, probably artificial, creates and eerie atmosphere. Furthermore the cold tone of the lighting emphasises the serious, uncomfortable scene. Moreover because of this lighting technique, each side of his face is lit up whereas the front of his face is left in darkness, this reinforces how mysterious Krupp is. The background is blurred however some of the background details are still identifiable, Krupp is in focus, this is through using a medium to shallow depth of field and a middle to low f/stop. The shutter speed is most likely fast as he is fully in focus with a balanced exposure. The angle the photo was taken at is directly facing him at eye level which allows the view to connect better with him.
Contextual – Arnold Newman was a Jewish photographer who was asked by Newsweek to capture a photo of Alfred Krupp who was not a military man but an industrialist who owned and ran the war factories. Newman didn’t want to take the photo but then agreed to it in the end and saw it has his small bit of revenge for what Krupp did.
Conceptual – Newman didn’t want to take the photo but then agreed to it in the end and saw it has his small bit of revenge for what Krupp did. When Newman asked Krupp to lean forward for the photo he naturally without being asked put his hands together and put them to his chin. Newman seeing this took the photo without hesitation, however Krupp hated this photo that was now famous world wide. This was Newman’s revenge.
Further Artist Analysis
August Sander
Who is he ?
August Sander (November 17, 1876 – April 20, 1964) was a notable German photographer known for his portraits and documentary style. His first book, Face of Our Time, came out in 1929. Many consider Sander to be the most significant German portrait photographer of the early 1900s. While he also captured landscapes, nature, architecture, and street scenes, his portraits are what he is most famous for, especially in his series People of the 20th Century. This series was created to represent a diverse slice of society during the Weimar Republic.
Image Analysis
Photo by August Sander
The image shows an older man using two walking sticks, prominently featured in the foreground. He seems to have stopped for a moment while making his way up the lane in the background. You can tell he’s elderly by his hunched posture and the white hair on his face. In the photo, the man looks like he’s been walking down the road and has taken a break to look at the camera. He’s positioned on the right side of the frame, facing towards the centre and the empty space on the left. This composition leads our eyes to the building in the background, suggesting that this is his destination. His calm expression makes it feel like a candid shot, capturing him in a genuine moment rather than a posed picture.
Visual – All of Sanders’ photographs, including this one, are in black and white. This choice stems from the limitations of cameras back then, but it also gives a unique style that ties all his photos together, making them feel like part of a single collection. The black-and-white look really brings out the different shades in the image. The dark bushes on the right side stand out against the lighter path on the left, which naturally leads your gaze toward the house. The wild and rough texture of both the bushes and the path hints that this scene is set in a countryside area.
Technical – This picture makes great use of natural light, which adds to its authentic feel. The exposure is well-balanced and doesn’t rely on any fancy techniques. The wide aperture used here results in a shallow depth of field, which helps focus our eyes on the main subject in the foreground.
Context – This image comes from the book ‘Face of Our Time’ by August Sander. The book was originally published in 1929 and features a foreword by the German author Alfred Dublin. When it was first released, it was promoted with the following description: “The sixty photographs of Germans from the twentieth century included in Face of Our Time are just a small part of Sander’s larger project, which he started in 1910 and has been developing for twenty years. Sander didn’t take on this huge personal project from a scholarly perspective or with scientific tools, nor did he seek guidance from racial theorists or social scientists. Instead, he approached it as a photographer, relying on his own direct observations of human nature, appearances, and environments, guided by a strong sense of what is authentic and important.”
Conceptual – The book isn’t about the ‘faces’ of our time; it’s about a single ‘face.’ This implies that all these individuals together represent one unified identity. It seems like Sander’s idea was to bring these people together as a single representation of his era. There’s no deep theory behind the work; it’s simply an observation of that time, at first glance.
These red lines are strong leading lines that show how his walking sticks are used to frame his face in the image. Furthermore because of this framing the view is immediately drawn to the main subject, his face. The red line going across the image shows how the large amount of negative space below the red line is counter acted by the vast detail above the line.
Photoshoot plan
For my photoshoot I plan to photography my younger brother doing one of his hobbies. He plays airsoft so I plan to get him to dress up in his full gear and I’m going to use my garden and surrounding trees to frame him in the photo. I also want to capture photos of him from many different angles and him in different places and positions. I intend for him to have a serious, straight face for the photos as I think this would look the best. I want to use a mix of landscape and portrait orientated photos as I want to use the landscape photos to capture more of the environment and then portrait so all of the focus is on my subject.
Furthermore my brother also does gaming so I’m going to use him for a second photoshoot and capture him gaming. I want to get different angles and poses. I want to use the same mix of landscape and portrait photos when I’m taking them to include the environment and a focus on the subject. I intend for him to have a serious, straight face, almost like he’s concentrating on the game.
My Contact Sheet
Selection Process
I used three colours to grade which photos are good, okay and bad. It also gave me an idea of which photos I want to work with and edit.
My chosen photos
Second Photoshoot
Editing
Second Photoshoot
Edited Chosen Photos
Composition Experiments
Final Composition
Evaluation
In my opinion I think this photoshoot went really well and I’m super happy with the outcome. The photos I produced is exactly what I was aiming to do originally and in the photoshoot plan. I think the editing process went really well and really enhanced my already good photos. To improve my next photoshoot I might consider shooting photos in better light or cropping in while editing.
Art Steps
I used Art Steps to create a realistic gallery of my best, edited photos.
Texture in photography is all about how the surface of an object looks visually. It shows up through differences in shape, tone, and colour depth. Adding texture makes photos more lively and exciting, turning what could be dull images into something really engaging.
Formal elements and what are they?
Marc Anderson
Marc Anderson is famous for his nature photography, especially his amazing close-up shots of tree bark. His pictures highlight the complex details of the bark on trees.
Marc Anderson’s photos:
Marc Anderson’s photos are eye-catching, yet they focus on the texture of tree bark. He takes the photos at an eye level angle. The images are taken close up/macro, to focus your attention on the textures and patterns created by the tree bark. It seems likely that he used a high f-stop number, which keeps everything in sharp focus with little to no blurring.
My Inspiration
Francis Bruguière
Bruguière spent his life trying out different photography techniques like multiple-exposure, solarization, and photograms, along with exploring how regular film reacts to different light wavelengths. However he was most famous for his intricate abstract paper photography. Bruguiere cut up sheets of paper and placed them in random positions so he can capture the cuts and curves within the paper.
These photos, from Francis Bruguière, are a unique look into paper photography, the cuts and angles of the paper show some depth and texture of something so simple. The abstract approach to these images makes them very mysterious and will leave the viewer wondering what the image is of. Moreover the macro effect further enhances the abstraction of these photos. The light in these photos are carefully angled to show a strong contrast between the dark shadows and bright highlights, this creates a strong sense of balance, pattern and texture within the image. The images are monochrome, which increases the depth of this image and makes the view look at the entire image instead of being distracted by colour.
My Photoshoot
Selection process
I used the colouring in feature in Lightroom to show which photos were strongest, okay and not good.
My best photos
Editing
In these edits I increased the contrast to make the black and white parts standout and I also increased the sharpness and texture so you can really see the texture in the paper.
My second photoshoot
Selection process
I used the same colour coordination technique as my first photo shoot.
My best photos
Editing
I increased the black and whites to really bring out the contrast. Furthermore I increased the texture and sharpness to really show the creases and folds in the paper.
Final images
Art steps gallery
Overall thoughts and evaluation for above photos
I believe the photoshoot turned out really well. I was able to take some close-up shots that showed the texture of the paper in great detail. After editing, the images looked even better, and I’m super pleased with how they came out. Furthermore I managed to use the artificial lighting effectively to show off the small details in the paper and really highlight the texture, corners and creases in the paper. Moreover my Art steps gallery shows off my paper ball photos really well.
Compositions:
I tried a couple different Positions with my three photos so I could make a decision on my favourite one.
Further editing
First I started experimenting with inverting colours.
Inverting the colours gave a interesting and different perspective on my image.
I inverted the colours on the other two images as well.
Final composition inverted
My final photos and final inverted photos combined
All my final photos in Art Steps
My final selection of paper photography, combines 3 images that have been duplicated and inverted. The tight cropping of the photos further shows off the cuts, creases and texture within the paper, it really draws the views eyes to the sharp corners and cuts. All the photos have a reduced saturation, with increased contrast to really show off the tonal value, further more the shadows and highlights are better shown off due to the strong saturation adjustment. While some images are cooler in tone, some are warmer. This allows the image to be more balanced and gives the photos more variation and contrast within the tone. The Repeated photos in the grid add a balance to the final presentation, especially with three inverted photos which complement the original photos really well. The macro focus on the cuts of paper add an interesting and detailed pattern and a greater depth of detail. Moreover this even further exaggerates the tone.
ISO determines how much light your camera allows in, which affects whether your pictures turn out dark or bright, furthermore ISO determines how sensitive your camera is to light.
When might you want a high ISO?
High ISO settings are really useful in low-light conditions, especially when you need a quick shutter speed or a small lens opening to get the shot you want. For instance, if you’re doing street photography at night without a tripod, cranking up the ISO lets you take clear and bright pictures even while moving quickly.
My own ISO example
ISO: 100
ISO: 6400
Cropping in to the image with ISO: 6400, you can see just how grainy the image is.
Texture
Guy Bourdin
Guy Bourdin (December 2, 1928 – March 29, 1991) was a French artist and fashion photographer famous for his striking and bold images. Starting in 1955, he primarily collaborated with Vogue, along with other magazines like Harper’s Bazaar. He also created advertising campaigns for brands such as Chanel, Charles Jourdan, Pentax, and Bloomingdale’s.
Examples of his work
Guy Bourdin effectively uses his ISO so that there is no grain or noise in his photos and because of that there is no focus taken away from the texture of his style of photos.
My texture photos
Selection process
My best photos
Editing
Final photos
Overall thoughts and evaluation
In my opinion I think that my final images are really effective and I also think they wok well together. I like the deep colours of the landscape photo but, on the other end of the scale, I think the plain black and white wood grain photo is super striking.
Lightroom Classic provides all the editing tools you need on your computer to enhance your photos. You can boost colours, turn boring images into eye-catching ones, eliminate unwanted distractions, and fix crooked pictures.
I learnt to use Lightroom today.
First I learnt to import photos into Lightroom.
I then put all of my imported photos into a collection, this was stored in the D drive (Video Data).
I then learnt how to rate photos with the 5 star feature. furthermore I then used the flagging system to pick which photos I liked and which photos I didn’t.
After learning the basics I then decided to play around with the develop mode and learn how to effectively edit one image at a time.
I used this menu on the right hand side to edit and change my image to improve many different aspects of it.
This is how the image looked after I edited it, the main noticeable difference is the vibrancy change to make the image much more appealing.
Using the side by side comparison future the differences are clearly shown.
I then learnt to use the pre-set filters.
Contact Sheets
What are Contact Sheets?
A contact sheet is a type of photographic paper that displays a collection of small images. These images are taken from a roll of film that the photographer has sliced into several strips. The photographer then places these negatives on the sheet to see all the images side by side, making it easier to compare them.
Contact Sheet example
Willian Klein
William Klein (April 19, 1926 – September 10, 2022) was a photographer and filmmaker who was born in the U.S. but later became a French citizen. He was known for his unique and ironic style in both photography and filmmaking, often using unconventional techniques in photojournalism and fashion photography. Klein was recognized as the 25th most influential photographer by Professional Photographer magazine in their list of the top 100 photographers.
In photography, shutter speed, also known as exposure time, refers to how long the camera’s film or digital sensor is exposed to light while taking a picture. This happens when the camera’s shutter is open. The longer the exposure time, the more light hits the film or sensor. For example, an exposure time of 1/500 of a second allows in half as much light as an exposure time of 1/250 of a second.
Fast vs slow shutter speed
Slow ——————————–Fast
Important Photographers
Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge (April 9, 1830 – May 8) was a British photographer recognized for his ground-breaking contributions to the study of motion through photography, as well as his early discoveries in motion-picture projection. Muybridge is mostly famous for his work in chronophotography, which he did between 1878 and 1886. He used several cameras to take pictures of animals in motion, showing the different stages of their strides. He also created the zoopraxiscope, a machine that projected painted moving images from glass discs, which came before the flexible film strips used in movies. From 1883 to 1886, he had a super productive time at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, where he took over 100,000 images of both animals and people moving, sometimes capturing moments that were too quick for the human eye to see as separate.
Example of his work
Harold Edgerton
Harold Eugene “Doc” Edgerton (April 6, 1903 – January 4, 1990), often called Papa Flash, was an American scientist and researcher who taught electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is well-known for changing the stroboscope from a little-known lab tool into a widely used device. Additionally, he played a significant role in creating sonar technology and deep-sea photography. His inventions were used alongside Jacques Cousteau in efforts to find shipwrecks and even the legendary Loch Ness Monster.
Example of his work
Hiroshi Sugimoto
Hiroshi Sugimoto, born on February 23, 1948, is a renowned photographer and architect from Japan. He is the head of an architectural firm called New Material Research Laboratory, which is located in Tokyo. Sugimoto describes his art as a way to show ‘time exposed,’ meaning his photographs act like a time capsule that captures various moments. His work highlights the fleeting nature of life and the struggle between existence and mortality. Additionally, Sugimoto draws significant inspiration from Marcel Duchamp’s writings and the broader Dadaist and Surrealist movements. He has also shown a strong fascination with modern architecture from the late 20th century.
Example of his work
Francesca Woodman
Francesca Stern Woodman (April 3, 1958 – January 19, 1981) was a talented American photographer famous for her striking black and white images that often included herself or other female models. A lot of her photos depict women, either nude or dressed, appearing blurred because of movement and long exposure times. This creates a unique effect where they seem to blend into their environments, and sometimes their faces are hidden. Even years after her tragic passing at just 22 in 1981, her work still receives a lot of praise and attention from critics.
Example of her work
Example I’ve made of how shutter speed effects exposure.
1/4000 sec. (under exposed)
1/250 sec. (sharp)
1/3 sec. (motion blur)
30 sec. (over exposed)
These 4 photos show the difference between different shutter speeds.
My long exposure photos
My best long exposure photos
F/22. 1/3 sec. ISO-100.
F/36. 1 sec. ISO-100.
F/22. 1 sec. ISO-100.
The photos shown above are some of the best photos I took using a long shutter speed. To create this I used a tripod to keep everything in focus and then used a long shutter speed.
Black and white edited
Editing my images to black and white means that the photos follow the style of Francesca Woodman more closely.
Overall thoughts and evaluation
I believe this photoshoot went really well. The motion blur in my final pictures looks awesome, and the extra editing, like the black and white effect, made my images even better. I feel like I realistically replicated Woodman’s photos with my own twist on the photos, being the cars instead of people.
The aperture is measured in f/stop which controls the amount of light that is let through the camera by changing the size of the lens. For example a low aperture, like f/2 would let a lot of light into the lens and give a shallow depth of field. Where as a high f/stop, like f/22 would let very little light into the camera and have a very deep depth of field.
What is Depth of Field ?
Depth of field, in its most basic definition, refers to the extent of an image that remains in focus. More technically, it can be described as the range within a photograph where objects are perceived as being “satisfactorily in focus” or exhibit a degree of “acceptable sharpness.” Depth of field can also be controlled by aperture.
Some of my photos:
Photo taken at f/2.8
At this aperture the subject (the plane) is completely in focus, whereas everything else is out of focus, this is good for portraits as it draws the views eye to the subject.
Photo taken at f/8
At this aperture the subject (the plane) is still completely in focus, however the background and foreground is mostly out of focus but not all of it which draws the views eye less to the plane and more so to other sections of the photo. This aperture provides a friendly depth of field, which helps photographers capture subjects with acceptable sharpness both closer to the camera and farther away.
Photo taken at f/22
At this aperture there isn’t a specific subject as the entire photo is in focus, this is good for wide shots of groups of people or large landscapes as it captures all the detail and doesn’t leave anything out.
Auto Vs Manual Focus
Autofocus is great for everyday photography, while manual focus is better for capturing close-ups and intricate details. However you have to use the focus ring at the end of the lens and make adjustments for each shot.
Focal Length
The focal length of a lens is the distance (typically measured in millimetres) from the centre of the lens to its focus point. This distance plays a key role in what you observe when taking pictures with a camera.
Ralph Eugene Meatyard
Meatyard was born in Normal, Illinois, and grew up in the adjacent town of Bloomington. Upon reaching the age of 18 during World War II, he enlisted in the United States Navy; however, he did not see service abroad before the conclusion of the war. Following his military service, he enrolled at Williams College through the GI Bill, where he initially pursued pre-dentistry studies before ultimately training to become an optician.
Although Lexington was not a prominent hub for photography, Meatyard did not identify himself as a “Southern” or regional photographer. At the time of his passing, his work was gaining national recognition, being exhibited and collected by several esteemed museums and featured in various magazines. He showcased his work alongside notable photographers such as Edward Weston, Ansel Adams, Minor White, Aaron Siskind, Harry Callahan, Robert Frank, and Eikoh Hosoe. By the late 1970s, his photographs were primarily displayed in exhibitions focused on ‘southern’ art, but they have since garnered renewed interest. His most recognized photography often depicted dolls and masks, as well as family, friends, and neighbors captured in deserted buildings or typical suburban backyards.
Meatyard used a large aperture with a very small depth of field in all of his photos. The photo below is an example of this.
Meatyards “Zen Twigs” photo.
Saul Leiter
Leiter was primarily a painter who ventured into the world of colour photography, uncovering its unique potential. Starting in the 1940s, he built an impressive collection of work that delves into colour harmonies. He often played with unconventional framing techniques like shop signs, umbrellas, curtains, car doors, and foggy windows to craft abstract scenes of everyday urban life. He loved using long lenses, which allowed him to stay unnoticed while also compressing space, creating interesting juxtapositions of objects and people. Many of his photos feature negative space, with large blurred areas that draw attention to specific details or vibrant pops of colour.
Photo by Saul Leiter
My photos
Selection process
My best photos
I used aperture in these photos to show a shallow and deep depth of field.
Photo taken at f/2.4
This photo is inspired by Meatyard.
Photo taken at f/5.6
This photo is inspired by Leiter.
Photo taken at f/12
This photo is inspired by Leiter.
Experimentations
Using various tools in Photoshop I created an abstract version, this editing helped me to understand developing much better and how to properly edit a photo.
Overall thoughts and evaluation
Personally I think this photoshoot went really well and I really liked the outcome of my final photos. Furthermore I really like the abstract version of my clock photo, not only is it an interesting photo, but it gave me a much greater understanding of photoshop.
The film roll was the key element for the first Kodak camera, which was originally called the “roll holder breast camera.” The name Kodak was created by Eastman himself and first appeared in December 1887. With the KODAK Camera, Eastman laid the groundwork for making photography accessible to everyone. The Brownie was a simple box camera featuring a single lens. It utilized roll film, another breakthrough from Eastman Kodak. Customers would get the pre-loaded camera, snap their pictures, and send it back to Kodak. Kodak would then develop the film, print the photos, reload the camera with fresh film, and send it back to the customer.
Cyanotypes
Anna Atkins
Anna Atkins (16 March 1799 – 9 June 1871) was a pioneering English botanist and photographer. She is frequently recognized as the first individual to release a book that featured photographic illustrations. Additionally, some references claim she was the first woman to produce a photograph. In the 1850s, Atkins worked together with Anne Dixon (1799–1864), who was very close to her, almost like a sister, to create at least three presentation albums featuring cyanotype photograms.
Anna Atkins.
My Cyanotype
This is a Cyanotype that I produced myself, a Cyanotype is a type of photographic printing process that reacts slowly and is cost-effective. It is sensitive to a specific range of near ultraviolet and blue light.
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