self-portraiture and portraiture considerations: lighting: direction and quality from direct (harsh)...

Self-Portraiture and Portraiture

Considerations:•Lighting: direction and quality from direct (harsh) to diffused (soft)•Formal vs. informal•Environmental vs. Studio•Props •Expression, Gesture, Attitude, Personality

Alfred Stieglitz, Self Portrait, 1907

Stieglitz (1864-1946) was an American photographer who was one of the first to promote photography as art form. He photographed a wide range of subjects.

“Ansel Easton Adams was an American photographer and environmentalist, best known for his black-and-white photographs of the American West, especially in Yosemite National Park.”

Portrait of Georgia O’Keefe by Ansel Adams, 1937

Portrait of Georgia O’Keefe by Yousuf Karsh, 1956

Compare and contrast these two portraits.

Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002): Armenian-Canadian photographer who is famous for his portraits. “His body of work includes portraits of statesmen, artists, musicians, authors, scientists, and men and women of accomplishment.  His extraordinary and unique portfolio presents the viewer with an intimate and compassionate view of humanity.” http://www.karsh.org/

Winston Churchill, 1941

Annie Liebowitz, San Francisco, 1970

Liebowitz is an American portrait photographer known for her images of celebrities. She started at Rolling Stone in 1970.

Click on this link: http://www.npg.org.uk/irvingpenn/

Irving Penn was an American photographer most known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at Vogue magazine, and independent advertising work for clients including Issey Miyake, and Clinique.

Irving Penn, In a Cracked Mirror (Self Portrait), 1986

Click on this link and search portraits: http://www.arnoldnewmanarchive.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=9

Arnold Newman: “Generally acknowledged as the pioneer of the environmental portrait, he is also known for his still life and abstract photography, and he is considered as one of the most influential photographers of the 20th Century.”

“We do not take pictures with our cameras, but with our hearts and minds.”-Arnold Newman

Lee Friedlander, New York City, 1966

Friedlander, American artist, born 1934. Created a series of self portraits playing with his own role in the photo (sometime shadows, later more of himself). His images sometimes have a surreal quality.

Carrie Mae Weems

Weems (born 1953) says of her work, “Storytelling is fundamental to my work, a way to best express the human condition that has been a focus of my art….” http://carriemaeweems.net/bio.html

“Emmet Gowin [born 1941] is an American photographer. He first gained attention in the 1970s with his intimate portraits of his wife, Edith, and her family.”

Emmet Gowin, Edith, Chincoteague, Virginia, 1967, Gelatin Silver Print

Emmet GowinEdithDanville, Virginia1970

Other portrait artists you may want to research:

• Diane Arbus

• Cindy Sherman

• Sally Mann

• Harry Callahan

Student Examples

Considerations:

• How do I want to portray myself?

• Does my entire face need to be in the photograph?

• How can I go beyond a single photograph?

• How may I use Photoshop or other tools and materials to express myself through an image?