Photo Essay

 

As my photographer influence, I have chosen Yousuf Karsh, a very well known portrait photographer from the 1930s to 2000s. He was most known for his portrait work or many famous people and I would say has influenced photographic work to this day. His use of black and white photography seems to evoke a sense of “seeing the soul' of the subject. I admire his work quite a bit and know my imitations do him little justice as the depth of the shadows in his images are astounding and the emotions he seems to evoke in his subjects faces are beautiful. My attempt to honor his work through mine, does his no justice but emulates his ideas.

One way I tried to capture emotion from my subjects was to talk to them, get them to tell a story of something interesting that had happened or to think about someone they cared about. In some cases it was more successful than others. One thing I found interesting about Karsh, was how he described that pert of the photographer's job. In one of his books, of which several were published, he once said "Within every man and woman a secret is hidden, and as a photographer it is my task to reveal it if I can.” (Karsh, 1967) One of the reasons I find his work so influential and beautiful was how his work with celebrities and political figures created images that made them so emotionally accessible to the layman. They appear as almost kindred spirits, with their own vulnerabilities and beauty. Which he once described aptly; “A lifting of the mask that all humans wear to conceal their innermost selves from the world. In that fleeting interval of opportunity the photographer must act or lose his prize." (Karsh, 1967). While a portrait can be technically beautiful, in my opinion, the subject needs to show an emotion, to truly create a beautiful piece of art.

In my images, I used a light source to the side and slightly in front, as he did. Trying to inexpertly imitate the idea of a studio. While I wish I could have used film, my iPhone was my only camera at my disposal. Because of this, I could not capture the sharpness of Karsh's photos. While I wish I had a studio to properly burn and dodge my photos properly, I used editing software to make the images black and white and alter the contrast. As well as some minute burning and dodging for certain features. I feel that I got some emotion from my subjects to emulate the art or Karsh but when I saw the size of negative he used it was clear I could not capture the light digitally the way he could in film.

One of his most well known portraits is his photograph of Winston Churchill in 1941. He spoke of his encounter with the man as a rather intimidating encounter. “My portrait of Winston Churchill changed my life. I knew after I had taken it that it was an important picture, but I could hardly have dreamed that it would become one of the most widely reproduced images in the history of photography.” (Karsh, 1967) It's amazing to go through his work and see the faces of history in his art telling such a story from the 1930s to almost the present. As he died only recently in 2008. Leaving an amazing photographic mark on the world.

 My Photos

Self Portrait

Photos by Yousuf Karsh

Albert Einstein, 1948

Nelson Mandela, 1990

Winston Churchill, 1941

Ernest Hemingway, 1957

Audrey Hepburn, 1956

Yousuf Karsh, Self Portrait with Negative

 

Works Cited

Karsh, Y. (1967). Karsh portfolio. London: Nelson.

Yousuf Karsh / Photographer. (n.d.). Retrieved November 27, 2014, from http://karsh.org/#/the_man
/biography

Photography and ethic

 

Photojournalistic images and art images are in their nature different. Journalists find themselves trying to share truth and newsworthy information through simple images. While art photographers are not held to such limitations and are not expected to present honesty, while they can they are not limited to the ethics photojournalists are bound by. “Most of the media around the globe believe that [journalistic] photography in the media should receive the same treatment as words: no manipulations in any ways are allowed, the visual and verbal part of the story must be accurate and fact-based and must portray reality.” (Icevska, p.3) While art photography can encompass journalistic photographs, it is a sub-genre that has its own set of rules just as other photographic sub genres have guidelines.

 

Art photography has fewer ethical rules to follow; while still respecting the subject’s rights the artist has more power over their final product. Art photography has no ethical obligation to not edit their photographs as they are not obliged to speak the truth through their photographs but perhaps create beauty or a social statement. It has become common in many forms of photography to perform ‘touch-ups’ in post editing, which gives the photographer more control over their subject. 

 

Press photography has a sort of ethical code they should follow to be considered a reputable source for the public media. While there are fewer over-arching guidelines the National Press Photographers Association, the NPPA, has created a very thorough code of ethics for press photographers to refer to. While some of their rules could be common sense for example; “4. Treat all subjects with respect and dignity. Give special consideration to vulnerable subjects and compassion to victims of crime or tragedy. Intrude on private moments of grief only when the public has an overriding and justifiable need to see.” (NPPA, 2012). It is an excellent guideline for new photographers in the field while adding support for veterans. 

 

While art photography and photojournalism differ in many ways both do have an effect on their audiences. “Photographic and video images can reveal great truths, expose wrongdoing and neglect, inspire hope and understanding and connect people around the globe through the language of visual understanding”. (NPPA, 2012) While they differ in their ethical and communicatory goals they can both change someones opinion on a subject and influence their lives. I find it interesting many people believe that photojournalism must accompany a news story, or some sort of explanation, but it is my belief that simply photo essays convey such a strong unspoken message that it makes further explanation unnecessary. So while different in ethics and biases, both art photography and photojournalism do convey important messages to their audience. 

Press Photography 

 Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, Sep2012, Vol. 13 Issue 3, p429-437, 9p, 8 Black and White Photographs
Black and White Photograph; found on p432 

 

Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, Sep2012, Vol. 13 Issue 3, p429-437, 9p, 8 Black and White Photographs
Black and White Photograph; found on p433 

Art Photography

 Taken by me.

Taken by me.

Works Cited

Icevska, G. S. SHOOTING THE TRUTH: HOW PHOTOGRAPHS IN THE MEDIA BETRAY           US. Ma thesis. Retrieved October 26, 2014, from https://drive.google.com/viewerng  
          /viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxzaG9vdGluZ

NPPA Code of Ethics. (2012). National Press Photographers Association. Retrieved October 26,

 

Assignment 1

For my photo editing project I decided to create my own twin. Photo editing software is used for many different alterations, touch-ups and tricks for the intended audience. Some more subtle than others, I went for a less subtle approach and opted to alter images to make my image appear twice. This created the illusion of my twin being out with me and my friends. I chose this route; because I felt that smaller photo manipulations have become such a norm in our social media, people have gotten to the point where they feel they have to label images they have not edited as they are fewer in number. In this case I am referring to the #nofilter that has become so popular. Small photo manipulations have also been so popularized  that in many cases to be a successful art or fashion photographer you also need to be highly skilled in 're-touching' in order for your art to be beautiful.

Photo manipulations such as the one I did have many uses, creating art, or simply to create an interesting story. Although in some magazines and tabloids there are similar edits to make it as though someone was someplace they shouldn't have been. Which as reporters, is lying to their audience, morally this should be unacceptable because these doctored images can be used to create an image of someone, like a celebrity, that mislabels them or influences how people perceive them. Smaller edits are also a major part of photography. Having an un-'retouched' image in a magazine has become novel and daring. While in the history of photography photo editing mostly ended at dodging and burning. Crating something amazing and gravity defying was a matter of timing and negatives rather than now, in the digital age, someone can simply use their phone to capture and create interesting images.  While in our digital age, we cannot run out of film, and we can always alter images after the fact with little difficulty.

I don't believe my images could fully convince people who know me, but without seeing the originals, someone could believe I had a twin or relative with a close resemblance. As an experiment I decided to post one of the pictures on Facebook, with the comment "Doesn't my cousin look like me?” to see my friends and family's reactions. The result was rather amusing, and in some cases believed it, even if just momentarily. Even my own (actual) cousin posted "Is this a daughter of your dad's sibling?” Some were confused simply because I had identified the other image of me as my cousin, by stating this it created a different context to view the image. In cases where someone did not know me personally this context could simply justify why two similar looking people were in the image. Along with the idea of why would someone want to create an image like this, or why would you put the time into duplication yourself in an image. Many people would assume it is unedited simply because they assume human indifference and laziness. I chose also, to not edit other parts of the pictures so there would be less of a chance to 'get caught' trying to be true to the lighting and flash photography as possible.

Edited pictures:

Originals:

Facebook's reaction to when I posted one of the pictures:

All images taken by me and with permission.

Hello!

Hello! I'm Asia, a second year fashion techniques and design student. I've always appreciated photography and now I'm excited to be able to apply the ideas and photographic styles we discuss here in my own fashion photography. I also love the idea of using a blog to document pictures and art that may inspire me. I hope everyone enjoys this class!

So here is a photo that I have found inspires me.

Photographer uncredited

Model Raja Gemini