When I think of black and white portraits I can't help but think of Herb Ritts. I came across him when I wrote a paper on fashion photography. Out of all the people I wrote about in the paper, I remember him the best. He got his start when he was at a gas station by his house and took a picture of Richard Gere, an up and coming actor at the time. Then when he sent the pictures to Richard Gere, he got his first break and photographed Brooke Shields. Since then he has taken photographs of countless celebrities until he died from cancer in 2002. The reason he was considered on of the best is because he didn't do what everyone else did, he set up little lighting and made the client comfortable so he could show the true personality of the person he was photographing.
Even though you have seen all these celebrities many times, these pictures are unique because they capture who the real person is. From looking at the pictures I feel like I know who they are, and that is hard to do consistently in picture after picture.
The lighting in all the pictures show a very clean simple lighting environment. The lighting he uses in his photographs is always very inviting and makes the photograph easy to approach. You never get distracted by the lighting, instead you can focus on the subject matter. Herb Ritts has set the bar in black and white portriature much higher and has gained the respect of many of the industry's finest professionals.
Wait, how does Johnny Depp posing as the fictional character Edward Scissorhands count as showcasing his true personality?
ReplyDeleteA good actor can take on the essence of the character he is playing. Through the use of Herb Ritts's photograph of Johnny Depp posed as Edward Scissorhands, one is able to see the personality of the character. Do you see the personality of Edward Scissorhand shine through the photograph?
ReplyDeleteTrue, but do you think that this is due to the photographer's methods? Or is it more due to Edward Scissorhands being such an iconic character that we can't help but to acknowledge who he is through his look and Depp's amazing acting? I'd like to recommend delving more into your photographic analysis when looking at a photographer like this. I don't disagree, but I think that it's very vague to talk about personality in this way.
DeleteNo, I think it makes his personality misrepresented, making Edward Scissorhands look like a monster, instead of the kind, lonely man he is.
ReplyDelete