LO2: Photographic Genre and Style

LO1 Photographer Analysis: David Hockney

David Hockney

Genre/Category:

David Hockney's work fits into the genre of social reportage, he uses many techniques in his work to make it more interesting than a basic photo you would typically see in the same genre.This photo is of two people talking, this shows that it is social reportage as it's a photo of social life.

Analysis/meaning:
This photo is a collage of Polaroid's, the way he has done this is by taking numerous photos at different angles, distances and times, and then positioned them in a portrait structure, this is because Hockney usually works with a theme of cubism. Some of the Polaroid photos are also either farther or closer than the rest. I think he has done this as the viewer of the photos can look at each one, mainly the central photos as a point of interest and see something different in each one whilst seeing all of them together as a collective is still interesting, as the whole collective of photos is very different to one that would be just a singular photo of two people standing and sitting. I think it is also like this to show movement and life in his photo as a collective. In my opinion this image is very different to ones that are in the same genre as this, as Hockney has presented it in a unique way that you don't usually see.

Purpose:
I think the main purpose of his photos are just to capture life in the moment as the way he does the photos are photos I wouldn't really see in a newspaper, he may also not be doing this for a client to promote a product or event.


LO1 Photographer Analysis: Duncan Philpott

Duncan Philpott

This photographer had presented to us in the UTC Sheffield about his work.

Genre/ Category:

His chosen genre of photography is action and adventure sports, this is shown clearly by the collections of his portfolios full of photos all based around sports and action. This photo is obviously related to the genre as the model, Steve Peat, is a downhill mountain biker and is wearing his helmet what he wears during downhill mountain biking.

Analysis/ Meaning:

In this photo Philpott has took a picture of Steve Peat, a professional downhill mountain biker, the photo has been taken and then most likely edited to be in monochrome, this is used to great effect as the use of the lighting makes the face expression and detail within the photo stand out. Philpott has also used depth of field by making the background completely black whilst the lighting lights up the face and helmet so you can obviously see Peat, this is different to the usual technique of making the background out of focus whilst the foreground in focus. The lighting and depth of field both work together to make Steve Peat look like he's coming out of the darkness, by using monochrome and using the lighting to emphasise on his expressions, it connotes that he is a mean and ruthless biker, which the client might of wanted, to show that he isn't a biker to be messed with. There's also the fact that Peat is central to the photograph, this being the point of interest technique, and as I said the background is fully dark too, which makes Steve Peat stand out more, this helps makes Peat the point of interest every viewer will look at first as there's nothing else to look at. 

Purpose:

Duncan Philpott has worked with many companies and people such as Hope Technology, Red Bull, Nike and Steve Peat, the target audience for this picture may be fans of Steve Peat and they know what he is like in the downhill competitions, the purpose of this photo and most of his work is to promote himself and also complete the brief from a client the best way he can. Another example of Philpott's work that had a purpose was to promote bike parts by a company, this meant he had to do something practical which was to actually go out and do the photo shoot whilst he and friends used the bike parts on their bikes, this was a great way to promote the product through photography. 

LO1 Photographer Analysis: Martin Parr

Martin Parr

Genre/ Category:

 Parr's genre of photography is mostly photojournalism and social reportage, this is a perfect photo for these genres as he is a British photographer who takes photos mostly based in Britain on British events and everyday life, this shot was most likely taken at a bake sale or something of the sort, its purpose maybe even being to promote the bake sale in a newspaper for example. 

Analysis/ Meaning:

He has captured the British spirit in his photo, by including the Union Jack's colours as they're the colours that typically represent Britain. In this photo, as I said he has used contrasting colours, coincidentally the colours of the Union Jack contrast together very well, making the photo look eye catching. This photo fits into the rule of thirds (As shown below), most of the British flags are in most of the sections and this makes the image more interesting as it isn't dull with nothing to look at, but the opposite of that. Martin Parr has also used the point of interest technique where something is central to the photograph and is there for you to see first before anything else on the photo, he may of even implied the meaning of this photo through that very technique as it is in my opinion, about British pride, and the first thing you see is the British flag, giving the idea to the viewer this photo is to do with Britain.

Purpose:
As I said his genre of photography is both social reportage and photojournalism, meaning that his photos are either used in Newspapers, or used just to show the everyday social life of people, this one was most likely used in a newspaper article that was based around this bake sale. 

Unit 31 LO1 Task 1:Photographic Elements

Photographic elements are what makes the photo successful. There are many types of elements used in photo's, such as composition, format, centre of interest, viewpoint, framing, the rule of thirds and colour/ monochrome.

Firstly there is composition which is the way a photographer arranges objects in the photograph, so to have a successful composition in a photo you need to position the main point of interest correctly so that the background isn't too obvious and that the point of interest is seen easily.

I think this is a perfect example of composition by Jim Kazanjian, before editing this photo he had to find a great Setting and vantage point for this photo as it has a perfect view of the landscape but the most obvious thing in the photo is the sphere as it's surreal and contrasts against the monochrome background which is mostly black because of the amount of forestation. It's also very dark at the bottom of the photo but as you go farther to the back it gets brighter.

Next is format and this is the orientation of the photo, either landscape or portrait, it's also the size and shape of the photograph. This can make the photo look unique and is also mostly edited into a way that the picture looks circular or triangular for example.

This is an example of Form by Tacita Dean and is a picture split into pieces by being edited into squares, this is pretty basic but helps split the actual photo so that the audience can focus on different parts. This photo specifically is in monochrome which helps juxtapose the dark areas against the lighter areas.

Next is point of interest which is the area of the photo that your attention is drawn to the most, this can be used to make a photo very interesting.

This is a picture by Vladimir Shipulin and is a perfect example of center of interests, this is because the point of interest is the slice of lime centered perfectly within the jar central in the picture. This affects the audience as it's what they see first and then they see the smaller details like the spider and the webs, the light behind the jars also is central to the lime slice as it is translucent enough to let some light through and it also lights up the small details like the web or spider which would be too small or dark to see if the light wasn't there.

Next is the viewpoint of photos and this is how and where the image is took, this can make the image look more unique than an image that is plainly took with a simple object for example.

This is a birds eye-view photo took by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, this photo is an obvious example of a viewpoint, and not one that is done very often. The planes that are shown in the image have been shown in a pattern like way, as they are all the same shape. The audience will not be attracted to one spot but the whole image, but they can look at each plane and find something different about each one.

Next is framing, this is when you use your surroundings to frame the centre of interest, this can make the photo look more interesting or get the audience's eye to see the main focus of the picture quickly or more easily.

This is a photo by Lee Friedlander which involves framing, he has used the car's window as the frame and the centre of interest is the herd of cows. I feel that Friedlander has used the monochrome filter as a way to make objects stand out more in the photo as the only things that appear dark are the Car's window as the frame, which Friedlander might want dark so that the audience can see more clearly that it is the frame, and then the cows, which are dark because they are what the photographer is wanting you to look at. It also helps that the sky and land are contrasting to the dark and so make the darker toned objects stand out more.

Then there's Rule of thirds, this is when a photo is put into a 3x3 grid and the point of interest is on one of the the crossing lines, as shown to the left.

This is a photo took by Henri Cartier-Bresson, it fits into the rule of thirds, as there are at least two points of interest that are around the crossing lines. This is the woman running across the the bridge and the boat. I feel it was intentional to get the woman into the shot as most of Henri's photos are of people daily lives, and so he was just showing the woman doing normal things. 

Next are colour and monochrome photos, monochrome can show emotion in the photo and also makes objects stand out with its contrast of black, grey and white. Colour is used for highlighting particular parts of a photo, photographers can also use complementary colours in a colour photograph to create contrast and vibrancy in the photos, which makes it look more appealing. Sepia is another choice which has the same effect as monochrome, as it makes textures in the photo stand out more easily to us. 

This is an example of a Monochrome image by Ansel Adams, I first of all noticed the river that takes up most of the photo, this is probably because it is one of the lightest tones in the image, as most of the rest are a darker tone, and because the lighter tone contrasts well against the darker tones it catches your attention easily. The darker tones give great depth to the image as the mountains are one of the darkest tones and because the snow is the lightest tone it shows the creases and rigid edges of the mountain. Another notable thing in the photo is the fact that there are a darker tone of trees on the left side and a lighter tone on the right, this creates a strong contrast in the photo.

Next is the use of light in photos, it helps with highlighting features in the photo, making it easier for the audience to see, if light is directed correctly is can create shadows and silhouettes, this can make the photo look more visually interesting. Whenever taking a picture of a dark object, it is always suitable to shoot against a light background, and visa versa.

This is an example of light and shadows used in photography by Adam Fuss, the first thing you certainly notice is the baby's silhouette, this is because it is a dark tone against a light tone, most likely a swimming pool as you can see the ripples of water too, I think this makes the picture look more interesting too because the ripples are thick enough to be seen , and because the baby has moved the ripples are different shapes and sizes to each other.

The next photographic element is the close-up, and this is zooming in on an object to get the close up, because it is a close up, it will always be at a high quality, so you can get the best detail on the object. Close ups are an interesting photography technique because it usually shows things that you wouldn't see normally, as it's abstract it can also leave the audience wondering what it is as you wouldn't be able to see what the whole object is.

This is an example of a close-up by Jan Groover, at first glance you can not tell what this is, because all you are seeing are silver objects, it could be a pile of building tools, kitchenware or random junk. You can't tell because it is a close-up and that is one of the main reasons why close-ups are used, to make the audience guess what the whole image is.

Then there is the photographic element, leading lines, this is when a photo has an object that has lines that lead from the bottom to the top of the photograph, it can also be used to lead the audience to the main point of interest in the photo. It can also be associated with symmetry too.

This is an example of leading lines in photography by Muybridge. This is counted as a photo with leading lines as the pictures within the photograph are showing movement by leading your eyes from left to right, this can also fit into the specifications for the rule of thirds as the photo is already in a grid-like format.  

Next is texture as one of the photographic elements, this is when a photo has objects which you can see the texture of in great detail, it can make a photo much more visually interesting and if two objects with different textures are in the photo, it can give the photo a contrast which makes it look more appealing to the audience.

This is a highly detailed example of a photo showing the element texture by Edward Weston. The image is in  monochrome and I think Weston did this to give the texture of the mushroom more depth as shown by the shadows between each gill that make it look very visually appealing as it looks like it is real in the photo. The mushroom also contrasts well against the black background, taking from the photographic element 'light'. 

Next, is the photographic element, repetition. This is when a photo is repeated to create a visual interest to the audience by creating a pattern, it can also create an illusion of movement.

This is an example of repetition by the photographer Jurgia Remelkyte. They have took photos of people and then stuck them on the cuboid shaped objects, they have then placed them and took the photo at an angle that some of the cubes look like a whole image.

Finally, another photographic element is Narrative, this is when a photo tells a narrative or gives you an idea of what was happening at the time of the photo being took, this gives the photo meaning.

This is an example of narrative took by Christian Stoll, I think this shows the photographic element by showing the narrative of what people do in there daily life, which this showing people getting to and from the train station. The photo contains the other photographic element leading lines, with the escalator starting from the bottom and it then leading to the top. The photo is also very symmetrical as the picture has been took directly in the middle.

LO1 Mindmap

Terms:

Ambient Light: Natural light from the sun

Artificial Light: Made by an artificial light source, like a lamp.

Rule of thirds: The rule of thirds states than an image is most pleasing when its subjects or regions are composed along imaginary lines which divide the image into thirds, both vertically and horizontally.

Exposure: How much light is exposed in an image for a certain amount of time.

Shutter Speed: How long the shutter is open.

Aperture: The device that controls the size of an opening made by the lens to control how much light gets to the CCD (charge-coupled device) for analog cameras and CMOS (Complementary metal-oxide semiconductor) for digital.

F Stop: Focal-Stop setting, which determines the measurements of the aperture.

ISO: The less the ISO number the less sensitive the camera is to the light and vice versa.

Macro: An extreme close up of something very small.

Leading Lines: A composition of a photo that show an image where the image leads lines from one place to the other, normally facing forward from the bottom of the image to near the top.

Fish-Eye (lens): A lens that shows a 180-degree of all directions that’s in front of the camera, which creates a circular image.

Resolution: The dimension of an image measured in megapixels.

Focal Point: The point of focus, the most interesting point in a picture, mostly in the centre.

Negative space: The empty space around the focal point or subject.

Composition: The way the Photo is taken and how things are placed in the picture.

Tripod: Stabilizes and elevates the camera.

Tone: The brightness of a photo.

What is Photography?

Photography is the art of taking and processing photographs by using photography techniques like Rule of thirds and Leading lines.

What photographs I would take to explain my identity or another objects identity?

Me: Cars, Gaming, Music, and Drawing.

Sheffield: Henderson’s relish, landscape/Cityscape, Culture and history (Research), Steel.

Britain: Countryside, Tea, Yorkshire puddings, Fish and Chips, History and culture (Research).

What is the millennium gallery like?

Millennium Gallery is a part of Museums Sheffield which is a charitable trust which Western Park Museum and Graves Gallery is also a part of. Millennium Gallery its self is a place full of Art, Craft and design which features artwork like metalwork which has made Sheffield world famous. A few of their past exhibitions have been:

·      Charlene Mullen Textiles (A range of cushions)

·      Graphic Nature (Digitally made pieces that are made of natural patterns from giraffe skin to cauliflowers and Italian marble are transformed into edgy dramatic designs.)

·      John Martin: Painting the Apocalypse (A famous artist in the 1900s who people have rarely heard of, his dramatic art has inspired sci-fi films and rock albums, the showcase displayed his best oil paintings)

·      Designed to shine – 100 years of Stainless Steel (An exhibition to celebrate a 100 years of stainless steel (Rustless), which was made by Sheffield’s Harry Brearley, in 1913.It was open for just under a year and displayed a century of design and innovation, showcasing the diversity and quality of products made in stainless steel in Sheffield and beyond.)

·      Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize 2014 (the only chance to see one of the country’s leading photography exhibitions outside of London.)

http://museums-sheffield.org.uk/museums/millennium-gallery/exhibitions/past/

Examples of Exhibitions posters

What do I think makes a successful photo?

The Photo has a great Focal Point which stands out in the picture.

It has great Monochrome and contrast which makes it stand out more clearly. Great quality so that it looks professional and clear. The composition needs to be perfect. It needs to create an emotional response that makes the viewer feel something. It needs to be unique which makes it more special.

“Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.”―Don McCullin

What genre/type/style of photograph should I use?

Landscape, Technology, Cityscape, Architecture, History, Monochrome and Still Life.

Which Photographers Should I explore and what techniques do they use?

Mike Moats and his Macro-still images of natural forms. Philipe Saint Laudy and his colour landscape photos.

What Terminology do photographers use?

See Top

LO1 What makes a good photo?