Wisniewski+Portrait



Arnold Newman; This portrait was shot by Arnold Newman and it is called John F, and is a portrait of president John F. Kennedy. It is good because it uses framing, and shows the building more than Kennedy.This is important in this situation because he is a president, and the building is the white house, or some other government building that is important because of his job, and his loyalty to his job. Natural lighting is used through the holes between the pillars, making the building more lit than the person, and making him look more dramatic. There are many different natural textures from the building, as well as sharp corners that make it look more dramatic, and the repetition of the pattern pulls the piece together. This portrait was found on... http://www.arnoldnewmanarchive.com/media-gallery/detail/58/325

Julia Margaret Cameron; This portrait was shot by Julia Margaret Cameron and the title is unknown. This is a terrible picture compositionally because it include none of the components, except possibly framing with no background whatsoever. I think that artificial lighting was used, although it is unclear because of the old feel to the picture, and the brown. The reason that this portrait intrigued me is because of the emotions in her eyes, and the suffering and sorrow it looks like she has felt. It looks really dramatic, and is a good photo in mu opinion, even if the compositional components were not met. This portrait was found on... http://www.atgetphotography.com/The-Photographers/Julia-Margaret-Cameron.html

Imogen Cunningham; This portrait was shot by Imogen Cunningham, and is called Edward Weston and Margarethe Mather. This portrait is strange, because it is not only of one person, but two. It gives me the feeling that they are not complete without each other and that is why they were in a self portrait together. It also has a somewhat eerie feel to it because you really cannot see their faces at all. The lighting used is dramatic, and really that is the only type of lighting that would look good for this photo because of the sensuality that can somewhat be seen, and the somewhat forbidden and incompleteness of the people. I think the sharpness of this photo completes the message, and the dramatic lighting is almost to her eyes, but not yet, because she is still somewhat reserved from him. Overall this is my favorite photo because of the complicated message behind the simplistic photo of two people. This portrait was found on... http://www.imogencunningham.com/page.php?page=display&return=archive&menu=archive&print=PHO27&index=128

Answer analysis questions;

A: How do these artists make their portraits become true works of art, not just snapshots?


 * -The thing that makes these portraits become true works of art is the emotion behind the piece. Without emotions and perfectly planned settings, these would easily be photos to share online, rather than beautiful portraits that evoke emotion within the viewer. **

A: What lighting and compositional techniques are evident in the photographer's work?


 * -Each artists work has numerous lighting techniques from portrait to portrait all strategically planned to evoke the most emotion possible, and the one that they want us to feel. In many of the portraits the only evident compositional technique is a different point of view, because many of them take the person out of everyday life and take a snapshot of their emotions at a particular moment in time. **

A: How might their artwork influence your own?


 * -This work will influence my own because I learned that the real concept, and most important concept behind portraits is evoking emotion. WIthout the emotion in these pieces I really would not give them a second guess, but the mystery behind what happened and what emotion they feel is what will keep people looking at them. **