Portraiture

Portraiture is any form of a persons portrait, it can be incorporated into paintings,drawings and photography, more recently it has been incorporated into different medias such as  video. Portrait photography displays a persons expression or emotion. Portrait photography usually focuses on a persons face, although the entire body and also the background of the photograph can have a story and a meaning to the viewer.

Wes Naman…

Wes Naman is a Portrait photographer from Albuquerque New Mexico. He is best  known for the use of cello tape and rubber bands to distort the look of somebody's face. 

His photographs each have a title and a meaning behind why he has done them in that way to tell a story or journey. He photographs his friends in the same position but with scotch tape on their faces to distort and differ their features.

He originally got the idea to use the scotch tape by putting it on himself to test a lighting set up, he then enlisted the help of his friends to create his distorted photographs.

More and more people became interested in his work after he published the first few of his friends. This then led to more people wanting to be involved in his work. All of the scotch tape series he did, were taken in 2012. He has also done work with elastic bands to again distort facial features. However he does different series such as Halloween and food related photographs too.

Wes Naman image analysis...

The style of the photograph only shows he head and her shoulders which focuses more on her face to pick out individual features. Wes Naman used scotch tape to distort an individuals facial features and to create a weird and unusual perspective. He said the reasoning behind the use of the cello tape was because he stumbled upon the idea whilst setting something up and then he decided to have a night of getting his friends to do it for a laugh, however in this particular shot I think it can also have a hidden meaning behind it. Descriptively, it's a woman with scotch tape on her face to distort and change her face, however ,in my opinion, it could be showing how women are shown through the media with plastic surgery and Photoshop, for example in model photography. The idea of the 'perfect' body which has been magnified by magazines. The tape alters the perspective people see her in because it is altering her facial expressions as well as her natural features.

Diane Arbus...

Diane Arbus was born in 1923,she was an American photographer and writer. She was most known for her black and white portrait photographs. She chose to take photographs of people whose normality seems ugly or surreal. She thought that the camera could often be a little harsh, but this harshness was what revealed the truth about individuals. It put there flaws on show. She said, that was the difference between what people wanted others to see and what they did see-imperfections. Diane took a lot of her photos in 1960...

    Diane Arbus image analysis...

Diane Arbus wanted to take photos of people who weren't always seen as 'normal' in the society eye. She thought that the camera was a little cold but she wanted to pick out peoples 'flaws' or 'imperfections'. It seems that this is something that she, herself struggled with. This photography was taken in 1962 in central park in New York. Descriptively, it is a young boy standing in a stance that appears he is showing someone the things in his hands. His pose is slightly awkward and crooked suggesting that he maybe feels uncomfortable about the photo or what he is doing in it. However in my opinion,the black and white effect suggest old fashioned but in a modern world can always portion sadness, anger and loneliness. In the Portrait he has a slanted smile almost as if he is pushing a smile out through his actually emotions. There is a lot going on behind him, with the trees and the other people but it solely focuses in on him because of how she has shot the photo.

 Cindy Sherman...

Cindy Sherman was born in 1954, She is an American photographer and film director. Widely known for a her conceptual portraits. Through her photographs her aim was to discuss important questions about how women are perceived and represented in society, the media and in creating art. She typically takes the photos of herself by herself in her studio in a variety of costumes. A lot of her photographs in her fashion series were models dressed up in different outfits, portraying the look of a doll with the use of heavy make up, and bright colours. She followed these photographs with her clown series. She did this work in 1983.

  

Cindy Sherman image analysis…

 

The make up in this portrait is very drastic and full-on. This wasn't only because of the time when she took this photo (1980's) it was also to exaggerate how women are perceived in the media, or how they should look ,which in recent times, that idea has become a lot more evident in television and social medias.Descriptively, the background is fairly dull and the lighting creates shadowing in the corners whilst it brightens up her face. She is looking to the right of camera and is focussing away from the lens,she is clearly wearing a lot of make up which is deliberate in the style of Cindy Sherman.
 The way she is looking away from the camera could suggest she is trying to hide something or feels uncomfortable. She isn't looking directly into the camera which can also,in my opinion, portray her emotions as being shy or lacking in confidence. The effect of the lighting changes the mood and makes it look more shadowed around her and her face is very sharp and detailed. This can impact the mood it has on someone, because there is a lot of contrast in the portrait. Her face is very brightly shot but is almost being dragged down and dulled down by the shadowed lighting effect of the background.

My portraiture photographs...

These are my Portraiture photos which I took of Alex. They are inspired by Wes Namans work with scotch tape. I used the tape to distort the features of his face. I shot these photos on a black background as I think it makes the subject stand out more and I like that the negative space around him makes the portrait sharper and bolder. I did these photos in the studio with two lights which made the over all outcome a lot more refined. I chose to make sure that it was just one thing in the photograph and that nothing distracted from the portrait. 

 

In this shot I made it a lot more close up so that you could clearly see the details on his face and the tape that altered his features. I also did this shot from looking up and I like the perspective I got because it looks more interesting and draws people in. I also did this shot in the studio with the black backdrop and the two lights which makes everything a lot sharper and more defined.

In this shot I got him to lie down so that it was a different angle which changes the way you view the photograph. I like that the body is cut off at the side because I think it makes the photo look more interesting rather than it being centred in the middle of the background. I thought that the angle and position I shot this in made it look more intriguing for someone looking at it and I like that it looks a bit different to the other images I took.

I used photo shop to change the final look of this image. I change the colour composition to black and white, however I added a splash of colour for his eyes to make them stand out and look different from the rest of the photograph. The black and white effect made his features more prominent as I felt like in some of my other photographs, they washed out the face, however changing the colouring to black and white enhanced the features and made particular bits stand out. Adding the blue to the eyes also makes a point of difference and draws the viewer in. I chose to recreate Namans work as I think it links the most to weird and wonderful and is slightly different to most Portraiture photography.