Portraiture - Image Bank

This is a portrait photo by Annie Leibovitz. The person in the photo is actress Jodie Foster. Whoever took this photo used an extreme close up and also vignetting, so that attention is drawn to the face, and other details are dark.

This is another portrait by Annie Leibovitz. The subject of the photo is actress Angelina Jolie. Unlike the Previous image, this appears to have not been taken in the studio. This means there is no vignetting or studio lighting. Also, this is image is taken more from a mid shot perspective rather than as a close up.

The image above is taken by Alec Soth. This is a very different type of portrait than the other two above, as it is taken far further away from the subject; you can see the man's whole body. Also, this image was not taken of a celebrity. This was taken somewhere in public, and the background is a lot less neat than in the other picture; there is lots of uneven floor and there are bits of broken wood in the background.

This Portrait is much less detailed than the previous ones. It has been taken in a studio on a white background, with no vignetting or selective lighting. It has a wide depth of field, therefore everything is on focus. It looks almost like it could be a passport photo, partly due to the blank expression of the man feature in the image. This photograph was taken by Thomas Ruff

Portraiture comparison essay

I am going to be comparing the works of Portrait Photographers Alec Soth and Thomas Ruff.

Here are some examples of Alec Soth and Thomas Ruff's work respectively

These works as typical of these photographers. They are both portraits, however, they are both taken from very different perspectives. Alec Soth often takes his portraits outside in a public place, usually with a very busy and interesting background. His portraits are taken of the entire body which is unusual for portraits as they are usually very close up. This viewpoint allows us to see more of the person, including their whole outfit and where they are standing. You can also take in what is around them too, which often contrasts to what they are wearing. For example, in the image above, the man is wearing a suit, however, his background contrasts as it shows broken pieces of wood and what appears to be a caravan. The floor he is standing appears to be very dusty and dirty, which also contrasts to his clothing. 

Thomas Ruff's portraits greatly contrast to the portraits of Alec Soth. Thomas Ruff's are always taken in a studio with a very plain background, unlike Alec Soth's which are taken in a public, and there is usually something to look at in the background. Thomas Ruff's portraits are also a lot closer to the subject, taken from the shoulders up. The background of Alec Soth's portraits is a plain colour, usually a white or grey studio background. Although there is less to see of the subject i these photos and also less to look at in the background, the close up viewpoint lets us see the subjects face in more detail. Unlike the Alec Soth's portrait, the expression of the subject is a lot more blank, much like a passport photo.

Portraiture - Straight Images

Portraiture - Definition

Portraiture is the art of creating portraits. A portrait is defined as an image of a person, usually taken of the head and shoulders. It is taken with a portrait orientation, hence the name portrait.
Portraits in Photography are usually made to express a certain emotion that the person in the photo is feeling at the time of taking the photo. They can be taken in s studio, so that you can control the conditions and get a very blank background, or they can be taken outside the studio, if you want some more interesting backgrounds and more natural lighting.

Reflection - Contact Sheet(studio)

Joiners - Image Bank

This joiner image is a portrait of a man. The image used to make this joiner were taken of the same man in the same location, however, they have been taken at different times so capture different viewpoints as he moves his face.

This has been taken from the bottom of some stairs. Similar to the previous image, it has some different viewpoints other than head on. However, because the stairs are a static object, the camera has been moved around to capture the viewpoints instead of the subject moving.

This is a very different type of joiner than the other two, as it is of a landscape. This joiner is less disorganised than the others, and has lots of layers covering each other. It is also made up of less images than the other two.

This joiner image is similar to the one above, but this has a few different viewpoints that were added to the image on the sides. This also has been taken from a closer perspective.

The image below is made up of very few images; far less than the previous joiners. There are lots of overlapping layers, and there are lots of different exposure levels throughout the layers. Some are very bright, whereas some are very dark and grey.

Joiners - Definition

In photography, Joiners are images that are made up of lots of different photos, which create one big image. Although they create one big image, the images do not align neatly, therefore create an image of lots of overlapping parts. Here are some examples of Joiners.

David Hockney was one of the pioneers of the style. He was originally an artist, but during the early 1980s, he decided he wanted to try out photography. At first he didn't like how restricted photography was compared to painting, so he decided he should not create pictures in a single image, but in many, and have the pictures joined together unevenly to create a disorganised and broken up image.