Author Archives: Antone Herbert

Final Project Proposal – Antone Herbert (Edited)

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For my final project I want to do a photography based ad campaign for my mothers jewelry. She designed and sells jewelry for the 2001 World Trade Center memorial.  In response to the 9/11 2001 attacks on the world trade center my mother designed an assortment 14k gold and silver jewelry in memorial of the event. My ad campaign is both selling a brand/advertising and communicating about an issue because im trying to sell my mothers jewelry about a very sensitive event that affected a ton of people citywide in New York. I have three pieces of the jewelry that my mother designed. 

My target audience is people who want to celebrate the lives and memories of those who were lost in the 9/11 attacks. My images will be still life photography and also use models to show how the jewelry looks on and off a human subject. I want the tone of the project to be glamorous and really show off the sparkle and shine of the gold. For my models I will ask for the help of some classmates to wear the jewelry. For lighting im thinking overhead light or side lighting to give a glimmer of light to the gold products. I am hoping to capture and create ad campaigns comparable to the likes o Zales, Pandora, and other big jewelry manufacturers and sellers you see in magazines. I know the reflections, sheen, and composition will be my biggest challenges in this project.

Dawoud Bey – Antone Herbert

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Dawoud Bey’s portrait style comprises multiple elements. In most of his photos he frames his subject with their lower torso up. Bey never cuts off their heads, leaving a decent amount of headspace. The background is blurred indicating the use of a low aperture. This leaves the subject to stand out well from the background and become the main focus or the photo. The backgrounds are all different. All the students eyes are captivating. Bey’s subjects are always well lit with what I would think is front or butterfly artificial lighting. I interpret that all the students seem guarded in there photos. Their arms and hands suggest as they are in front and always seems to be “protecting” themselves from the photographer. Most of the students did not smile except for one girl. 

Im not sure how I would approach portrait photography after looking at his photos. But these set of photos inspired me because they are the type of style I strive to create when I’m doing portraits. They evoke emotion and realism. You feel like you’ve met the students and I want my photos to feel that way. Often times I worry too much about backgrounds and not enough about my subject. Bey uses a variety of backgrounds in schools, a place I imagine most people wouldn’t find all that photogenic. I want to learn to pose people like Bey can. I want to learn how to create a unified style throughout multiple portraits that evoke the same emotions. Bey’s photos teaches me that subjects you wouldn’t find interesting you can make interesting by crafting masterful portraits.