Philip Lorca-Dicorcia Hustler series depicts male prostitutes in the early 90s. He sets up the lighting to give off a certain emotion about each subject. One that stood out to me the most was Chris, 28 years old, Los Angeles, California, $30. There is so much going on in this photo and the lighting used really shows the life of this subject. Lorca-Dicorcia uses a front light on the subject’s face to show his emotion. This looks like a candid moment but without the light on his face, you wouldn’t be able to see his expression as well. The front light cast a large shadow onto the brick wall behind him. This gives off a more dramatic feel to the photo.

I like that he is in profile because it emphasizes his head tilting down. You really get to see his whole posture from a profile view. He is sitting down with bar-like rails in front of him. From this, I get the feeling of entrapment. I feel that the subject is trapped in this lifestyle as if this is something he has to do. The bars are also a great example of leading lines and perspective. You see them get smaller and it brings attention to the building across the street. The building across the street is lit with a cooler toned light. This brings out the contrast in this whole photo because of the warm toned red bricks. The photo also displays the rule of thirds. The split between the motel and greenish building across the street isn’t in the center but more off to the right. However, this places the subject in the center of the photo.

This is a very beautiful photo to look at. You start at the left with the large railings/bars and also see the doors. Then make your way to the shadow and subject of the photo to really understand the emotion that is being captured. As you move to the right, the doors and rails get smaller and point to the building across the street. I also see the cars kind of bring your eye back to the subject, once you’ve viewed the whole photo.

All of the photographs from the series Hustlers were very captivating and opened a light on male prostitutes in the 90’s. The one photo that caught my attention was Chris, 28 years old, Los Angeles, California, $30. The photo shows Chris sitting on the edge of what looks like the second floor of a motel, his arms holding the top of the bar while his head rests on the bar below. The light appears to be in front of him or even slightly below him. The light casts a shadow in the back creating a silhouette of him being hung or even crucified. I can feel that sense of loneliness and emptiness from looking at his face and the way he is positioned. He has that hollow look in his face as if there is no emotion. The shadow can also be depicted as his soul being locked behind bars. He probably didn’t think that coming to Hollywood he would have ended up like this. It feels like for him there is nothing left in life, that by doing this he is just barely surviving. The bars can be interpreted as him holding on to that bit of life he has left deep inside. I know I’m just rambling on about there being a deeper meaning behind the photograph at this point but there is so much I get from looking at this. Meticulously planned or not, I think DiCorcia truly captured the real loneliness of all these people.

Richard Avedon was a well known portrait and fashion photographer. He’s photographed people like Gloria Vanderbilt and Marilyn Monroe. His portrait style is very unique. From looking at his work, it’s very expressive. His photographs definitely capture the moment. He liked shooting in black and white. His photos show very strong contrasts between the light and dark areas.

Jonathan Mannion had the honor to work under Avedon as his assistant. He was able to observe the psychological connection between Avedon and his subjects. Mannion’s love for hip hop and pop culture really helped to create portraits that personified many recognized names in the business. Looking at Mannion’s work, it is apparent that there is a similar style to his portraits. He also shot in black and white and had very strong contrasts. There’s a lot of dimension and kind of harshness (not in a bad way) of using such contrasts. It brings the subject matter forwards. It has a dramatic effect as well as a grungy look, kind of very in your face and like “I’m not intimidated by anybody” look. In addition, it also highlights the higher points on a subjects face to capture certain shadows. The portrait of Jay Z is a prime example of Mannion using Avedon’s portrait style. It’s very high contrast, not only seen in his face but in his outfit. His outfit is black and white. In his face, you can see the shadows under his brow bone, under the eyes, bottom and side of his nose, and under his lip on his chin. They aren’t unflattering shadows help to emphasize the particular features.

Richard Avedon was a well-renowned photographer. He is known for his fashion photography and portraits. Most of Avedon’s work can easily be recognized because he has a very unique style of photography. Most of his work has very similar qualities to them. Avedon’s portraits are usually black and white. They have very high contrast. There is even lighting in most of his portraits. Avedon also shoots against a white background. He does a great job at separating his subject from the background.

Jonathan Mannion had the privilege of assisting Richard Avedon during his career as a photographer. He went on to photograph many famous people in hip-hop as well as other icons. It’s safe to say that Mannion has applied what he’s learned from Avedon to his photography. Mannion photographed Jay-Z in such a way that seems similar to Avedon’s style of portraits. You can see he uses a white background with even lighting. The picture has very high contrast because of Jay-Z’s suit, scarf, and hat. His attire forms the whole shape of the photo. Jay-Z is also looking at the camera. Mannion’s portraits don’t all have the similar styles like Avedon but you can see most of them have the subject looking at the camera. This is something that Avedon’s portraits also have. It seems that Mannion may have also learned the importance of capturing the eyes when shooting.

Well, I want to start off by saying both these women looked absolutely fantastic in both of these photographs and still do. They were both shots during their pregnancy and they were both positioned similarly, except that Demi was standing up as opposed to Beyonce who was sitting down. Demi’s was very natural and dramatic with no props and a solid color backdrop whereas, Beyonce’s is colorful and more embellished. Beyonce’s has a floral throne with a sky backdrop.

Demi’s was shot in 1991 by Annie Leibovitz, which was a time where shooting nude in such a manner was “indecent”. Leibovitz idea of shooting this was to combat societies value of thinness by showing the uncomfortable, distorted (not in a terrible way) female form when pregnant. To show that beauty comes in other forms too not just what society deems as “perfect”. This photograph is very natural and raw. It was shot to make women feel empowered and feel free. Leibovitz used Rembrandt lighting. You can see the triangle shown on her right cheek. The shadows help to illuminate the face and parts of the body, like the belly. The lighting adds a more dramatic effect. One arm was positioned over her breast while the other was over her belly. They are both positioned in a way that says, “this is my body and I am not ashamed”. Her head tilted slightly and her eyes looking up shows confidence, that there is no reason for her to look down or feel any less.

On the other hand, Beyonce’s photograph was shot in 2017 by Awol Erizku, during a time where the feminist movement was making waves and great strides in women equality. Beyonce wasn’t completely nude like Demi was. Both her arms were positioned over her belly. Unlike Demi, Beyonce was looking directly at the camera straight on. The photograph seems to be taken with front lighting. There doesn’t seem to be as much dimension to this photo compared to Demi’s. I feel like the use of all the props and background deter from the subject herself but that’s just my two cents.

Yousuf Karsh was an Armenian-Canadian photographer from the 20^th century who is known for his portraiture of notable individuals like Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King, John F. Kennedy, Queen Elizabeth, etc. For Yousuf Karsh, his main focus is to capture one’s inward power. To capture their true sense of self, not the mask they put on for others. The portrait that I love the most from Karsh is of Audrey Hepburn 1956. I absolutely love and adore her and her movies. She was not only an actress but also a humanitarian. This portrait is actually one of my favorites of her. I’ve used it in one of the projects I did on her. I like that she isn’t looking directly at the camera with her eyes looking down. It not only captures her elegance but her sincerity as well. The way this photo is captured has a sense of intimacy being shot so up close. His portraits provide a more intimate glimpse and insight to some of the most outstanding personalities of our time.

Nadav Kander is still a working photographer who is known for his portraits and landscapes. Unlike Karsh who wanted to capture one’s true self, Kander captures his own through his work. His work has a sense of direction. His strong belief is that nothing is out of bounds. Looking at his portraits, they are very unconventional. The tone of his solitary portrait series is very cool toned. His use of light, props, expression, and posture add to the theme of being alone and isolated. The people he chose for this series were quite interesting. I think these people fit his solitary vision. There are a few that I really liked. Two of them were slightly similar, Eddie Redmayne, Forest, 2016 and Rosamund Pike II, 2015. I liked how he incorporated the forest shadow as an overlay. It gives me the idea that they’re one with nature or that humans are these creatures of habit.

Both of these two photographers are pretty admirable. There is one who wants to capture the true essence and rawness of a person, and then you have one who isn’t bound by convention and what a normal portrait should look like but rather what it can become. What I want to emulate in the upcoming portrait assignments are a bit of both. I want to follow my own artistic direction along with one’s true self. I hope that makes sense.