Gregory Heisler uses short light to frame the person’s features and hair. The hair are in the front of the face framing his face and letting the lighting to only center around him and everything else is pitch black. The color of his eyes are give this sense of creepiness and the way the lighting hits only on his face also creates that feeling. The out of focus of the hair at the bottom also makes it seem that his hair is a creature coming out of the blackness that Heisler has created. That detail around his face makes the photo strange and creepy. Gregory Heisler does name the photo strange making sense due to the fact that it has the feeling. The way he composes the photo sort of center makes the photo feel that urge of being creep out and feeling uncomfortable. He brings out the subjects’s being a bit strange and out of the ordinary with the way he frames his hair which are dreads that not make choice to have and showcasing that. As well choosing to have the photo in black and white rather than in color which would defeat the purpose of the aura the shot is giving to the viewer.
Author Archives: Catherine P.
Inspiration #2: Yosuf Karsh and Nadav Kander
1 Reply
Yosuf Karsh’s work is dramatic and makes it look like no other picture. Its seems as he wanted to bring out the true character of the person who is was working with. The lighting hits the center of the face or the side of the face to bring out the person features. Karsh’s photos used the lighting to create that sense of drama and played around with the poses of the subject to bring out and make them feel comfortable to bring out a natural soft portraits.
For Nadav Kander, his work is more serious and dark in nature. he seems to take his subject and pose them the way he wants rather than letting them do their own thing. His setups are less natural than Yosuf Knader’s work. Kander uses different lighting styles rather than just one setup with the same person. Kander leaves a sense of mystery and drama with the way the the photo is taking.
I do love Kander’s portrait of Thom Yorke. he seems to use the mirror that Yorke is holding and playing with it in the photo. You see the person three different ways rather than just one direction. The use of lighting creates that drama that is always in his photos. the one i like the most from Karsh is the portrait of Grace Kelly. He does seem to want to capture her beauty which she was known for. The photo creates the sense of importance rather just her beauty speaking for her.
Dawoud Bey
Dawoud uses the lighting from one angle capture the features of the students perfectly. Highlighting the most basic features on a person like the eyes and somehow capturing the sense of innocence and pureness. The subject is at the focal point of the shoot and with the background being being out of focus makes them pop more than if everything was in focus. As well the colors of the students clothing and the contrasting of the background make the the student standout due to the fact that the background is more colorful and lively but the students’ with muted clothing capture the viewers eyes more taking away from the busy backgrounds. The posing of the students create the sense and feeling of innocence and being more mature than their ages. Bey captures those elements well with the angles and lighting of the students to create that helpless sense and in their need of guidance although in their stories them seem to have that already. Bey’s portraits of the students wants me to focus on the subjects features more and how i postion the person in the frame. To take more photos from the front of the subject rather than moving all over the place.
