Anton Östlund

Anton Östlund

A photographer who specialises in Fashion portraits. 

http://antonostlundphoto.tumblr.com/archive





It is interesting to note that the models or subjects in the images are wearing very plain cut, black clothing. What i like about these images and what i feel links them to previous images i have researched by other photographers, is the expressionless faces the subjects of the images have. The natural feel it gives to the image is something which i find really interesting. The models are not hiding behind smiles or any kind of fake expressions. This idea compliments the highly detailed images and how close up they have been taken. I feel you can admire the persons features more when the photographer has taken this simplistic approach.

The top image has a grey background much like the kind of background we have been including in our own studio portraits so far in the project. This image above is the first image I've found with a black background which i really admire. The idea of only including the head and shoulders in an image is what i associate most with the word 'portrait'. 

The lighting used for all the images appears to be fair subtle and even. Evenly lighting the object, only causing subtle shadowing under the chin. Still obviously needing to learn about what effects different studio lighting gives, personally i would first choose a light box and see if this lighting gave me a similar outcome?




I think a challenge that would come with re-creating this image for someone like myself who is new to studio photography would be working out what lighting to use to achieve this overall grey colour to the image as i would image even after turning the image to Monochrome some lighting may mean that the model skin would be too white or washed out and vise versa with not enough lighting. 



I found this question and answer on the photographers Tumblr which i found helpful information to know and keep in mind.

"Anonymous asked: Hello Mr. Östlund,I just want to ask you, what lense and camera do you use or more important, what light. All your photos look so great and detailed! Is it fullframe?

Thanks!

I use a Canon 5D Mark II with a 50mm f/1.4 most of the times and for lighting I try to use natural light as often as I can, love big windows. "

Terry Richardson

Terry Richardson

A New York born fashion photographer, rasied in Hollywood. Richardson has shot campaigns for Marc Jacobs, Supreme, Tom Ford, and Yves Saint Laurent among others. He has done work for magazines such as Rolling Stone, GQ, Vogue, Vanity Fair, i-D and Vice.

Using the photographer's tumblr I have again chosen images which not only inspire me but in my opinion best fit within our project of studio photography. 

http://terrysdiary.com/archive

These two images are quiet inspiring to me as i feel they go against what most would imagine when they think of a portrait. I like the way the model is pulling faces and preforming these carefree poses, going against the simple 'passport' style portrait photograph. 

I think something to think about which is quite important with these images is why does the very simple style of the portrait create such an interesting image to look at? the fact that all of these people are famous and well known today, is probably why the images appeal to people. Would an image taken in this style have the same appeal if it was taken of an ordinary person? eg one of my class members. 



I like this portrait because again the subject is creating a more unusual pose to what youd expect from a portrait image. However, what i find most striking about this image and most intersting is the contrast between the white background and bland coloured clothing against the bright red colour and leather texture of the subjects glove. 



The same applies to this image. - unusual pose. A bright red in contrast with a white background and dark coloured clothing. This concept might be an interesting concept to use in my images as it would link my final three images together as a series. 

lotusjosephine

Heres a photographer ive found whom I am really inspired by. 

http://lotusjosephine.foliohd.com/all

http://lotusjosephine.tumblr.com/archive

Fashion photography - 
These are the kind of images I'm really interested in. I love to look at them anyway, and I am going to attempt similar style images of my own, however I know this will be a challenge to me with being new to studio photography. Here's some images I've picked out which I find most interesting, inspiring and most related to our project of 'Studio Portraits.'



After some experimentation in the studio with my other class member's, the photos that we have been producing so far all have a grey coloured background like this image. I don't personally like the look of a grey background and do not wish or envision my own images to have a grey coloured background, however, this has got to be the first studio portrait I've found with a grey background which i really like! I like the expression on the models face and her whole look. I like the way the background progresses from a very dark grey at the top of the image down to a much lighter grey around the models shoulders. This moody grey background really suits the style and look of the model. I think this could well be something fairly important to think about in my own images.. suiting the background to the theme of the shoot. 



What attracts me to this image is the warm tone throughout. 




I like the detail in the models eyes here. I am drawn to the eyes of the model when looking at the image. I've chosen this image as i feel it is simple and possibly something i could successfully re-create myself. 






These two images are a bit more edgy than what I would expect to be producing at this stage however I've chosen the images because I like the more unusual poses that the model is creating. Also linking to the first image in this blog post, I like the slouchy look the models have got going on; little expression in their faces, untidy hair, plain clothing, slouchy'effortless poses. 




I like how the subject of the images fills the full frame. Close up portraiture of the head and shoulders are something i would like to explore. 

Juergen Teller

                

Juergen Teller.

A German Fashion Photographer.
"His fashion photographs have been featured in The Face, Vogue (U.S., France, U.K., Italy), Another, Index, W Magazine, Self Service, Details, Purple, i-D, among others."

There are so many images by this photographer which i find visually attractive. The unique overall style of his images is something which really interests me. I really like and am interested in the edgy fashion photography style, and would love to produce images like this myself. However i did find it difficult to find images by the artist which i personally felt represented the 'Studio Portrait', 
I found a Tumblr under his name, which i believe has been made by someone else? Theres a vast range of images on there, so i picked out the few which i felt shwed a strong link to the images i believe we are expected to produce in this project of "The  Studio Portrait." 
I find tumblr a real inspiration for photography as like i said earlier, i am really interested in the fashion side of photography. I feel the images produced by Juergen Teller are exactly what i would expect to see on tumblr.

http://juergenteller.tumblr.com/

                                                 

Although not all of his images in my opinion relate to Studio portraits his use of lighting and the poses which the models preform are something i feel i could take ideas and influence from. 

                                    

              

            

Thomas Ruff Portraits

Thomas Ruff

So, studio photography. I think this photographer is brilliant to first research because of his very simplistic style, in terms of simple poses and expressions by the people in the images and very simple studio lighting, with a simple white backdrop. Thomas Ruff is a German photographer, who hasn't always just worked around portraiture photography, however it was this series of photographs which really made his name. 

The aim behind these were to capture unglamorous portraits of people, avoiding any expression. As the website for the Tate modern museum says "The Portraits suggest that it is impossible to photographically represent a subject's inner life, positing instead a more democratic, socially based mode of representation." Which is something i completely agree with. This concept is something I find really interesting and something I would love to try in my own work. Its so interesting to look at a number of the portraits together and be able to admire how unique peoples looks really are, each present the same emotionless expression yet all look so different.

Just from the hair, makeup and clothes any of these people are wearing/have leads the viewer to straight away start assuming things about the person, despite not necessarily meaning to.

http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/thomas-ruff-2602

         

         

What adds to the interest of this series of images is the vast amount of detail you can see on the peoples faces. It almost feels like you're face to face with the person in the image. The immense detail captured in these portraits actually remind me slightly of the work of Photorealism artists just as Chuck Close. 

       

Evaluation

Evaluation

Street Photography

The first Photographer I was introduced to by my tutor was Bruce Gilden. After watching a short video of him I was blown away by his unique style and the amazing outcome of his images. As his work was like no other work I had seen before, it really captured my interest. I would say that the main inspiration I found in street photography was from Bruce Gilden. No matter what other photographers I began to research, no other photographer grabbed my attention and interest as much as this photographer did. Throughout this whole project I have kept the work of Bruce Gilden in mind, constantly trying my best to capture images like his.

Using a 35mm SLR and the developing process was not an issue for me, as these were aspects I was already familiar with. However when I stepped out onto the street for the first time in this project, it was then, it dawned upon me that this was going to be harder than I had originally thought. The main challenge I faced throughout the project was gaining the confidence to capture images close up to people, like I was intending to. Before this project I really had not realised the way in which the public react to a person taking photos in the street. I learnt to overcome this fear of people looking at me, as through research into the laws around photography in the UK, and seeing the way Bruce Gilden would react to abuse on the streets, I came to realise that I had every right to be there taking photographs as I was doing no harm.

After gaining the confidence to capture images on my first roll, I ended up exposing my film to light in some areas, due to not fully winding the film back into the canister. I soon learnt from this mistake and I think that is made clear when you can see the progression of my contact sheets. A progression which I believe can also be clearly seen in my contact sheets, is the way my confidence grew throughout the project, meaning that by the end, I had some really close up shots of peoples faces.

My five final prints, link together as a series. Despite the final five not showing influence from Bruce Gilden, whom I was inspired most by, during the project I came to realise that without intending to do so, I had created my own ongoing theme throughout my rolls of film. My natural style was evident; I seemed to be attracted to capturing images of individuals often from a side on view, central to the image. I feel the five final prints work well as a whole, show a strong sense of my individual style as a street photographer and meet the requirements of the brief successfully, especially considering the images had to show some aspect of human interaction.

On reflection, I am pleased with the outcome of this project. However if I could have done things differently, I would have experimented far more in terms of variety within my images. Although my final five do work together well as a whole, I do believe more variety would have made my outcome more appealing, interesting to look at and would have shown my ability as a street photographer even more so. 

Markus Hartel

Markus Hartel 

Black and White street photography – New York

http://www.markushartel.com/american-street-photography/black-and-white-street-photography

The work of Markus Hartel really appeals to me and I think he has been a useful street photographer to research as his work appears to be more modern than a lot of the photographers  have previously researched. Here i have picked out a handful of images from Hartel's website. I've chosen the ones which I find most interesting, and relate best to the approach and style I've had in my own street photography project.

What I like most about the work of this photographer is the variety of his images. I think its really important to capture images not only on the busy streets, but also on the subway like this photographer has done, if you are wanting to truly portray New York in your street photography. After looking at the vast range of images this artist has within his street photography album, it has lead me to think that i should have or could have captured more variety in my own shoots. if i had longer on this project i would definitely like to experiment with capturing street photographs from within public transport.

My favourite image is the last image i have displayed here as i think the timing of the situation has been perfect. the photographer has managed to capture the difference between young and old. It's such a dramatic picture and really does make you reflect upon life.

Eric Kim

Eric Kim

"

My first interest in street photography happened by chance. I was standing at a bus stop and I saw a man with horn-shaped glasses reading a book. There was something so genuine and unique about the moment. My heart was palpitating and the second I brought my camera to my eye, he looked directly at me and I instinctively clicked. My heart froze, but I made my first street photograph, without even realizing it."

I've come to the conclusion that the theme within my street photography is "Individuals". 

It seems to have been within my natural style when capturing street photographs to capture images of individual people rather than any kind of  busy street scenes. After noticing this accidental theme i have carried it on and in my most recent two rolls of film I've purposely looked out for interesting individuals to capture images of.

I thought it would obviously be really helpful to find another photographer that shares a similar style to mine, other than that of loy-chuan, who i previously blogged about. when searching in Google for street photographers that capture images of individuals, the work of Eric Kim came up. 


here i have selecteda few of the images which i feel relate most to the work i have been producing myself. The more natural images where it is clear the person is unaware of their photo being taken are what relate best to my photography. 

"The City of Angels"

This image is definitely my favorite of the ones i have found. It relates best to my work as the individual is central to the image. The shot includes the majority of the body, then being cut off at about the knee area. This is roughly the same amount of the person I seem to also capture in my own work. The shot is roughly taken from the same distance as what i have managed to take mine at. The male is interesting to look at and appears to be fairly aged, this again relates very much so to the people I have captured in my work. What's different about this image and is really successful in my opinion is that there seems to have been a flash used. This really creates a bold contrast between the dramatic black and white tones in the image. If i had longer for this project I definitely would consider starting to experiment with the use of a flash, to achieve images such as this one or like the work of Bruce Gilden. 

                                         

http://erickimphotography.com/index.php?/project/the-city-of-angels/

Walker Evans

Walker Evans

After researching into the work of Gary Wingogrand, I found out that Walker Evans was one of Winogrands biggest influences. This therefore has led me to researching into the work of Walker Evans as a street photographer.

Here is a short video about the work of Walker Evans and the book of his work, "American Photographs" published in 1938;
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23497137



http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/evan/hd_evan.htm


[Lunchroom Window, New York], 1929 Walker Evans (American, 1903–1975)



[Subway Passengers], 1938 Walker Evans (American, 1903–1975)


What I like most about the work of Walker Evans is his ability to see and capture normality in his photographs. The natural feel of these images of people going about their day to day life unaware of their photo being taken shows where Gary Winogrand got his influence from this photographer. Looking back at these images and realising what normality actually looks like really makes the viewer stop and think in my opinion as i believe so many people and photographers tend to look beyond that concept of normality and everyday behavior.



New Orleans House, 1935 Walker Evans (American, 1903–1975)

What I find most interesting this photo and what I have found is a repeated style throughout Walker Evans images of buildings is the straight on view point in which the image is taken from. The angel is unique as it is so simplistic, this simplistic way of taking the image seems to produce a very different outcome, as i feel personally it creates a much more dramatic feel to the image. The contrast of light and dark tones along with the very straight lines of the structure of each building throughout the image again adds to this dramatic effect. Because each building is so similar, I find that the eye is drawn all across the image rather than just toward particular area such as the center.






License Photo Studio, New York, 1934 Walker Evans (American, 1903–1975)

—Walker Evans, "Primitive Churches," Architectural Forum (December 1961

Couple at Coney Island, New York, 1928 Walker Evans (American, 1903–1975)

Even the images just taken of buildings rather than people still really portray street photography for me. I think documenting the actual buildings upon the streets as appose to actual people on the streets still makes a really interesting image, especially for the future. For example looking at these images taken by Walker Evans are so intriguing to look at today as it is interesting to see what streets and buildings looked at during that era. 

[Street Scene, Vicksburg, Mississippi], 1936 Walker Evans (American, 1903–1975)