What is visually inspiring to me?

Henri Cartier-Bresson


Throughout my time as a photographer, I have often reflected back on Cartier-Bresson's work because of his fantastic composition through all of his images. 

" The creative act lasts but a brief moment, a lightning instant of give-and-take, just long enough for you to level the camera
and to trap the fleeting prey in your little box."

Many of his images are known as masterpieces, but Bresson himself wants to be seen as almost invisible. He always looked for the decisive moment in everyday life, so that he could capture people in their normal day-to-day activities. He believed that these images revealed the nature of real life. He was definitely an observer, and he always knew what he wanted and what interested him. He often described himself as a fisherman - to be very cautious when catching the fish, and then to strike at exactly the right moment. 

The thing that strikes me about his work is his incredible use of composition. The way the objects in the photo are laid out draws the eye in and the viewer wants to look deeper into the image. All of his images, in one way or another, use fantastic composition; which is a key part of photography. I also think that the way he captures his images at a specific time is really clever and gives his images a certain edge that other photographers don't have.

"My passion has never been for photography 'in itself', but for the possibility-through forgetting yourself-of recording in a fraction of a second the emotion of the subject, and the beauty of the form; that is, a geometry awakened by what's offered. The photographic shot is one of my sketchpads"

This is one of the most inspiring quotes I have ever read. Also, this is exactly how I feel about photography...my love for the art revolves around the chance to make something absolutely beautiful and meaningful through the click of one small button. A particular snippet of Cartier-Bresson's book was particularly inspiring to me when I read it:

"The camera became the extension of my eye, and I have never been separated from it since I found it. I prowled the streets all day, feeling very strung up and ready to pounce, determined to 'trap' life - to preserve life in  the act of living. Above all, I craved to seize, in the confines of one single photograph, the whole essence of some situation that was in the process of unrolling itself before my eyes."

Just as Cartier-Bresson did, I love to work with the decisive moment. I think that capturing people at a specific time...in a specific place...is magical, and you I believe you can only bring out people's true character through the decisive moment - never in a staged shot.

What is a portrait? The relationship between the photographer and the subject

What is a portrait?
In the the dictionary it is a picture of a person. It can be a photograph, a sketch, a sculpture, but a portrait is so much more than that. It is collaboration between the subject and in my case, the photographer. 

Afghan Girl, by Steve McCurry

In many ways the photographer controls the collaboration and chooses the final image of what they see and how that photographer wants it to reflect on their work. However, I believe that a real portrait and getting it right, is a balance between the subject and the photographer. The subject in many ways is controlled by the photographer and at the end of the day, it is his image. Much of how that final image is seen depends on the day, the time, and how well or how badly the subject is feeling. Is the person fresh, tired or worried? All of which will slightly show through in the final image. 

Marilyn Monroe, by Eve Arnold

I believe that the key is the photographer... Will the photographer help a person look their best (not to create a false image) but to get beyond the moment and capture the personality of the person that is characteristic of who they are. Not just at that moment, but who they are as a person, which is always recognizable. I think that the relationship between the photographer and the subject is one of the most important things in the photography world. I, personally, click the shutter more times than I need to during a photo shoot. This isn't because I cannot get the perfect shot - it is because the more the subject is photographed, the more comfortable they feel in the situation. The more comfortable they feel = the more relaxed they become = the more realistic the true the image becomes. 

Inspiration

Who has inspired me the most throughout my Photography life?
One of the people would have to be Richard Avedon.

One of the most famous portrait photographers, Avedon's work has inspired me so much during my time as a photographer. Even though many of his images are simple in terms of composition, the way that he communicates with his models can really be seen in all of him images. The fact that his images are all black and white is really beautiful and the high contrast brings out the lovely shadows and tones in the model's faces. He uses harsh light sources in his images, but I think this works really well because it creates a high contrast, which in turn brings out the darker areas of the pictures.


Avedon was interested in how the camera captures the personality and soul of his subjects - this is exactly what I love about Photography. Avedon would at times evoke reactions from his portrait subjects by guiding them into uncomfortable areas of discussion or asking them personal questions. Through these means he would produce images revealing aspects of his subject's character and personality that were not typically seen by others. This is a really interesting aspect to Avedon's work because a lot of photographers just expect the models to come up with an interesting facial expression, but with Avedon's images, he almost creates the facial expression of his subjects (and they are normally really interesting expressions, for example, in the above image of Monroe). 


Avedon was actually criticized for giving his subjects TOO MUCH attention, however, personally, if I were a model, I would prefer more attention than to be ignored by the photographer. I believe it is incredibly important to have a good relationship between the photographer and the subject because I think that with a friendship, the photographer will be able to portray the true character of the model, rather than almost guess.

Me & Photography

When I started doing A Level Photography, the first thing I looked at was portraiture. From then on, that has been my favourite aspect of the subject. In nearly all of my college projects, portraiture has been the main focus of my work, and through Representation this year, I have really enjoyed looking at portraiture once again!


Why do I love portraiture so much? Simple...I love the way the face can display emotion without even trying. You can see a person's personality and character in one image, even if the model doesn't purposely show it. I love setting a scene up, where I give the model a character to be, and an emotion to display - but I do prefer to catch a person at a specific moment, without them realizing. I think there is something truly beautiful about catching a person in a moment of joy, anger or excitement. By doing this, the photographer captures the inner beauty of the person without them even trying. On this note, through Representation, I came across a book called 'Individuals'. The book is full to the brim of celebrity pictures, but not how we see the people in the media. Each image is different to the next - the celebrities each show a hidden identity, that the public do not usually see.

Steve Zahn, by Christian Witkin (2001)

I love how this photography by Christian Witkin is composed. Usually celebrities are made to look more glamourous and perfect than in real life. However, in this image of Steve Zahn, the photographer has simply taken a close-up photograph of the everyday celebrity. I think that a lot of people would benefit from seeing this particular book because there is so much pressure these days to have an air-brushed celebrity look because of the media.

India.Arie, by Christian Witkin (2001)

Again, in this image by Witkin, he has captured India at a beautiful point, where she is almost in her own world, not thinking about the camera at all. Her clothes are not glamourous specifically for a shoot like a lot of magazines and newspapers. To be frank, she looks like a normal person, and I think that Witkins has portrayed this really well. It almost looks like India is dancing and not even aware of what is going on around her, which I think is beautiful. Although the image is framed like a normal celebrity shoot, I think India looks far more natural and beautiful being caught at this particular moment. 

Stockard Channing, by Christian Witkin (2002)

I absolutely love this photo of Stockard Channing. This photo does not represent glamour and elegance, but instead it represents natural beauty and portrays the seductive plus-size woman that surrounds us today. Channing almost shows a 'yummy mummy' pose here, rather than the typical 'runway pose'. I love the way that she is looking straight into the camera, therefore connecting with the audience, with a cheeky grin on her face - this shows how confident and happy she is with her body and looks, which is the most beautiful thing a woman can do. 

I think this book is really inspirational to the people of today, because it shows that when having your picture taken, you do not have to be skinny, elegant and perfect - in fact, just being yourself is more inspiring to other people, and I think that more people should be confident enough to have their portrait taken, just as themselves.