Image makers Chapter four 'portraiture' short analysis

In this blog post I am analysing two interviews from the chapter portraiture in the book: image makers, image takers. The first interview is with Tina Barney.

Tina Barney suggest that being alone before and after taking your photographs is one of the most important moments. When you are by yourself 'you are able to have a discussion with yourself' and come up with ideas through reading and exploring different contextual factors which interest you. Whilst she was alone she came across 'visual perception'. She was interested in the aspects of scale and size and how they engage the viewer. She also was interested in light and how the viewer responds with it, for example, 'when paint is raised from the surface'.

I was interested with this idea for my own work and how I can create visually interesting aesthetics that stand out, to create attention and interest for the audience. I have painted and sewed onto my images to create this raised effect, which hopefully evokes questions and interest to my images for the audience, through irony relating to the contextual factors of the image and the way it is presented.

She is interested in renaissance painters and tries to initiate theory and visual perception to her images like they do in their paintings.

Girl with a Pearl Earring is an oil painting by 17th-century Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. This was done towards the end of the renaissance but explores the aesthetic qualities that I want to display in my imagery. The small depth of field and contrasting tonal qualities creates a clear focal point onto the women, moreover the direct gaze creates attention to the audience and makes them feel a personal and intimate connection to the image and women, which I want to create in my imagery.

The second interview of this chapter was with Anton Corbijn.

In his photographs he 'eschews' the world of celebrity glamour and explores the raw and emotional aspects of their lives. He stated that one of his main philosophies is that he wants his images to be an 'extension' of an existing contextual factor or to go 'in a totally different direction'. He believes that this philosophy helps him to contribute to something and someone. With my work I want to explore a wide contextual factor that most can relate to and understand, but in a new and interesting way, that evokes people to think about my images and the context behind them.

He suggests that emotion is an important and rare element in photographs, but something that he aims to achieve. Emphasising reality to make them more interesting, and ultimately creating an emotion in the images that will in turn direct you to the way the photographer wants you to think and feel.

With my images I want the audience to think about how the idea of beauty and perfection is corrupted in the media, and through the images to start to see beauty in a different way. I will do this through irony in my images where it explores the stereotypes that women face in terms of beauty and perfection in society.