Portrait Essay - Inspiration from Irving Penn
What made me choose Iriving Penn's portraits are the two images on this blog. I understand that the photos are all taken in black and white but rather than taking photos in black and white I did them in an environment which had next to no light. I initially played around with flash to try to get my photos, however the camera couldn't focus on anything. I then proceeded to use phone flashlight in order to illuminate my subject matter and from there play with shadows in order to get that strong sense of black and darkness in the photos. My models also liked Irving Penn's photography and initially we were gonna do a photoshoot with my models posed similarly to how some of Penn's photos came out, but in the end I put we all put a spin on it. Richard (RJ) took inspiration from the hand above and wanted to display his hand front and center in the camera, sort of blocking any view of him, while it isn't exactly the same thing Penn did, I had the same vision RJ did and did my best to recreate the photo in my own manner.
As for this second photo, I knew I didn't have a block like Penn so we just used a chair we had around in order to pose Sean, he decided to pose similarly in that his legs and arms were extended further from his body but Sean's overall demeanor takes on a more dejected or fatigued pose, I think I preferred this due to the fact that overall I knew I wanted all the prints to be on the darker side in order to accentuate the lack of light that we had. In the end this was one of the photo's I enjoyed the most for my portrait series.
The next two photos I took more of my own liberty with it, and tried my own idea attempting to continue using what small props we had in our shooting room. This is when I had Adam pose with the door in a manner similar to how guards may protect an entrance, this also connects somewhat to another photo Penn has however the person Penn took a photo of had a more boxing sort of stance, so definitely one of power or display of it but not so much, in the same manner, I decided to go with. Following, the last photo with Pablo this one had next to no inspiration from Penn and came solely with playing with the lighting and shadows in different positions. I originally had no idea as to what I wanted to do with Pablo but as I had him standing up against the wall with his police hat and handcuffs it wasn't until he had the idea to handcuff himself and by accident with the light coming from above Pablo that I realized that was the shot we wanted. With Pablo looking down slightly wearing the police hat, it perfectly hid his face, while displaying the hat, and the light created the shadows which make this photo tied for my better one in this series with Sean.
I really liked Penn's idea of portraits and if I would redo my series I think I would decide to do my photos in a studio and go along with the black and white idea. I think the lack of any other things taking away from the people I am photographing it allows for people to focus solely on the people and not the setting. I think that's why I like the photos I choose which gave me inspiration as to why I decided to go along with Penn's idea of portraits. The image of the hand is so well illuminated and crisp that it allows for people to see each and every wrinkle on this hand, you can tell this person has been around for a long time or has had years maybe decades working a job which have really worn their hands. You come to appreciate the amount of dedication this person has to their craft to put so much wear on their body. The photo with the man sitting on what I presume is a block is one I appreciate due to the fact that while we know nothing about this man what we do know is that he may have some wealth with his manner of attire. He has a nice suit, and along with the suit he appears to be well groomed and I think we can presume he holds himself to a good standard of hygiene. This is due to the fact that this man has his hair combed well, or at least well maintained, and his mustache is also well taken care of being able to have grown to a considerable length and being groomed outwardly and curling slightly at the ends. Along with his personal hygiene, the suit follows with a well-knotted tie and a handkerchief to go along with the suit, this is a man who cares for his appearance and who's body language to me states that he holds confidence in his appearance as well. Presenting himself so wide, give the idea that he is someone who will not go down without making sure he is heard and who demands a level of respect, if he is faking his status, he is doing so well and I would easily see this as someone to think of as a boss or leader of a company. With what information we have at present with this photo I think it is clear that Penn with these portraits wanted his subject centered and illuminated well. The lack of other background distractions makes people looking at these photos to focus on what it is that is captured, it is without a doubt that the one thing pictured is what we need to be looking at. While the hand is just a hand, the fact still remains, that looking at the picture you are admiring all the little lines along that hand, you are looking and analyzing the manner in which it was posed, you are carefully investigating every little detail offered to you and you do so with a high level of scrutiny. While the man sitting is not shot so close up compared to the hand, he doesn't need to be. What we get to admire with him is another person, why may they be sitting like this, what could they be doing in life, this is someone who could easily be a role model for what good hygiene and attention to detail of appearance should be. We are interested in this person and compare them to other people in our lives, it is likely that this is not someone we should know, but it is someone we want to get to know because of the photograph. That is what I believe Pen accomplishes with his portrait of this man, and it is what I hope I manage to replicate even just a little.
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