first seven are allin skiba [www.allinskiba.com]
middle row of 6 portraits is megan niger [www.meganniger.com] last six are edward weston
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edward weston
edward weston was born on march 24th 1886 and died on january 1st 1958, leaving him 71 years. For around 40 of them, he dedicated to making photographs, only to stop taking pictures in 1947 due to his later developed parkinson's disease (he continued to develop his negatives after that). weston did attend an art school, but he dropped out early after he finished all of the course work in 6 months and refused to pay the rest of the 9 month course. He then moved back to California (as he had been there previously before he went back to his birth state for schooling) to fully pursue his dream. He published many of his works after that time, his pepper and cabbage photographs being the most popular, until his death in 1958. personally, edward weston is one of my favorite photographers solely for his pictures of vegetables. i like his work because it causes eye movement, has dramatic lighting and great composition, but i especially like his work because he choses to do more with, lets say a pepper, than any other artist. he seems to choose his subject based off of the human body (like pictures 2 and 3 above suggest). the way the peppers grow makes me think that it reminds him of the human body, and photographs it as such. weston almost makes the pictures romantic by creating a mood with the lighting/position of the pepper. harry callahan
harry callahan, to me, is a very private person. he's someone who never left any written records, and only produced about half a dozen photos a year. his photography is casual and nonchalant, like he wasn't trying too hard to impress anyone but himself (which somehow worked in his favor). his minimalistic style doesn't seem to have a structure, giving him room to experiment with more busy photographs (like the third picture above). the overall theme of the photographs harry callahan makes is melancholy, hurt, and wistfulness, mixed with the nonchalance of someone going outside their house and snapping a picture of what they see. personally i really enjoy his work, as vague and empty as it may be. websites and resources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Callahan_(photographer) http://www.pacemacgill.com/selected_works/artist_page.php?artist=Harry%20Callahan how to take a good photograph 1. there are no rules, but then again there are rules think about that one yourself 2. actually use the elements and principles of art. this doesn't mean follow all things to a T, obviously, because that would be boring. But actually use things like emphasis and unity and balance, they make a world of a difference in your photograph. 3. rule of thirds? two thirds of the time when first taking pictures, you're going to want to use rule of thirds. first of all, what are the rule of thirds? the rule of thirds is that little grid that comes up when you take a picture. to use rule of thirds, you need to put your focal point--main "point" of the picture" where the lines intersect. and why? because using the little boxes for a focal point both helps you take the photograph, and helps others take you seriously when your photos are a little better than Beginner. once you feel like you have the whole rule of thirds thing down, you only have to actually use it two thirds of the time, because centered pictures are good too. 4. good lighting !!!! i cannot stress this enough. if you don't have good lighting, you don't have a good photograph. There is such thing as manipulating light, and you can use it! Don't go straight out with overhead lights that come drilled into the ceiling of your room, experiment a little. (although that is how i took this photo, not gonna lie) the key to having good lighting is to do one of two things: -natural lighting: use a combination of natural and artificial lighting if you want it to look more natural, and use yellower light for day time and outside things. -artificial lighting: for all artificial lighting, go white. The cooler toned the light, the better it will turn out. Now, don't use 100% blue light unless you're planning on being Allin Skiba (and pulling it off) anytime soon. lighting can make or break your photo 5. have composition and style this rule may be a little obvious, because who doesn't want to take pictures of what they want, and how they want, but it's vital to the making of your photograph(y career). what i didn't know before photography class was this: many different people think about art in many different ways, and the same prompt can receive completely different results. Your style should be important to you, and you should try to stay unique (but not trying too hard! that's always obvious in a photograph) and it's always okay to change your style over time as well. just look at cindy sherman. what's almost more important than style is composition. your style may give you a lot of popularity points, but how you bring your photo together shows how you work as an artist. Make sure the photo moves the eye, contains sharp details (which, can be blurry, by the way, in some cases), and has a meaning. what does your photograph mean? does it make people angry? sad? content? the only negative reaction to a photo is b o r e d o m. 6. have fun!
like rule one says above, there are no real rules to photography, there are guidelines that people follow to get the best possible outcome. find out what photography means to you, not what the person next to you thinks photography is. your idea of photography may change too, over time. my personal style and interest has changed drastically from two years ago, and that's normal. don't make photography an impossibly demanding task to complete. i mean sure, it takes quite a bit of creativity, and yeah it may take a lot of time, and possibly not turn out how you would like it to, but don't make it a job you hate. you're always much better of an artist when you do what you want. |
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