PortraitKnepprathA4

“We do not take pictures with our cameras, but with our hearts and minds.” ~Arnold Newman

**Harry Callahan's portrait of his wife, Eleanor, 1947** Lighting: Even though this photograph was put into a black and white color scheme, the lighting technique can still be recognized as dramatic. Since there are no harsh shadows on her face, the light can be assumed to be coming from straight on. Also, the continuity of sharp edges and lack of any difference in focus suggests artificial light was used to create a more flawless look.

Compositional Technique: The up-close-and-personal view is used in the photograph of Harry Callahan's wife, Eleanor. The centering of her face and closeness to it allows the rest of her to go off of the edges, filling the frame. Another compositional technique utilized in this photograph is framing. Crossing her arms above her head creates a frame around her face, and keeps the eyes moving in a rectangular direction.

Source: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2007/10/02/arts/face190.jpg

 **Robert Bergman's Untitled, 1989** Lighting: The lighting shown in this photograph is available. Due to the fact this boy's photograph was taken on the street at night, the darker tones are more prominent throughout. Also, the mixture of greens, reds, and yellows could be reflections from street lights and store signs that are turned on during the night. No harsh lighting was used to clear up the blurry edges, instead the artist captured the natural, //available// lighting from the night street, providing viewers with a completely untouched and unaltered photograph.

Compositional Technique: The compositional technique used in this photograph is unique point of focus. The focal point is on the boys eyes; they stand out being the only sharp, in-focus object in the photograph. By having the center of the photograph being the only thing in focus, it inevitably forms an out-of-focus frame. Therefore, the compositional technique of framing is also utilized in the photograph.

Source: http://www.photoradar.com/news/story/robert-bergman-portraits-at-the-michael-hoppen-gallery#ad-image0

**Arnold Newman's portrait of Igor Stravinsky, New York, NY 1946** Lighting: The way this photograph was shot, it is difficult to know what form of lighting was used. Since there are harsher shadows on only one side of Igor's face, it can be assumed that the lighting, whether natural or artificial, can be coming from one side. But, due to the fact that it is in black and white, the blacker tones appear more prominent anyway. If a guess was to be made, I think that natural light was used when shooting this photograph since there aren't any extreme shadows behind Igor and his face is not too harshly lighten.

Compositional Technique: Newman composed this photograph to compliment asymmetry by placing the subject, Igor Stravinsky, on the far left opposite the piano. He is not the largest object in the photograph by any means, and could almost be missed if glanced at quickly. It is an interesting photograph for this reason. Another technique used while composing this portrait was leading lines. The vertical color separation in the background and the sharp diagonals created by the piano in the foreground keep the eyes moving throughout the piece.

Source: http://www.arnoldnewmanarchive.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8&Itemid=9

~Kate Knepprath