Johnson+E-Portrait



1st picture: This picture utilizes artificial studio lighting. There are also several compositional techniques incorporated such as framing, filling the frame and focal point. While looking at the picture, you can see a slight black outline that frames the picture. There is one main focal point, the woman, and she fills the frame. Richard Avedon shot this photograph, but his website does not display its title. http://www.avedonfoundation.org/ I would classify this picture as artwork and not just a snapshot because it displays the emotion of the focal point. Art is all about expression, and when you can feel the mood and feelings of the work, it is truly art, and that inspires me to want to incorporate that into my own portraits.

2nd picture: This portrait was taken by Julia Margaret Cameron and utilizes artifical studio lighting. It incorporates compositional techniques such as focal points and filling the frame. The woman is the only thing shown in this picture, therefore making her the focal point and she fills the frame. The title of this portrait is not shown on her website, http://www.atgetphotography.com/The-Photographers/Julia-Margaret-Cameron.html. This is artwork and not just a snapshot because when I look at it I wonder what the woman is thinking and feeling. If work can have this affect on its viewers, it is a successful picture. This will influence my own portraits because I want to make the viewers intrigued, and enjoy looking at the photograph.

3rd picture: It is hard to tell what lighting is used in this picture because it is such a close up of a face. If I had to guess, I would assume it is artificial flash. In terms of compositional techniques, this picture definitely fills the frame since you see barely any background, and unusual point of view because you don't usually look so closely at someone's face. Richard Avedon shot this photo, but does not include its title on his website. http://www.avedonfoundation.org/. It isn't just a snapshot, because it isn't just a smiling picture of someone. It is artwork, because it is unique and beautiful. This inspires me to try to take a more unique twist on my own portraits.