Portrait+Assignment

= Eve Arnold =

I think Eve Arnold's photographs are unique because of the way she photographed the celebrities like regular people. I think this helped her get a true raw emotion from her photographs so they wouldn't be lifeless stills on the cover of dull magazines. Her photos brought personality and life to the faces of celebrities known by the world and to poor and dispossessed people living in slums. In most of her pictures of Marilyn Munroe, she is not posing for the photo and Eve Arnold captured her in between takes or just lounging around. By doing this Arnold showed the world a glimpse of the famous Munroe behind the scenes which really showed people Munroe's personality. Elements that are present in her photographs are simple and single shot, in many of her portrait photos there is a main focus and a person in the centre of the photograph, sometimes off centre by following the rule of thirds. She also used lighting to enhance the meaning and effectiveness. For example, in one of her photos of an old chinese woman in 1979 the whole image is blacked out and the only park of the woman you can see is her face.

//"I don't see anybody as either ordinary or extraordinary. I see them simple as people in front of my lens."// -Eve Arnold, 1990 BBC Interview



= Richard Avedon = The genre that Avedon mostly shot in was fashion and portraits. But he was widely known for his portraits of celebrities. He also took very cultural and artistic photos when taking picture of average Americans and people. The design elements that are present in his photos are sometimes similar. In the image of the portrait of the farm girl is simple and single shots and are uncluttered. In the image of the couple lounging on the grass has the design element of rule of thirds. The couple is in the bottom right third of the image and the mans legs form a triangle using the triangle design element. Their arms also make triangles. Also, along with the image of the farm girl she is slightly moved to the right which starts to follow the rule of thirds. I think these photos are good representations of Richard Avedon's photographic work. I think this because you see how he liked to photograph average American life in the photos of the couple lying in the park and the farm girl on a white background. The photo of the couple lying in the park has a very natural light that you can see shining through the trees. This was taken in the daylight. As for the photo of the farm girl you can't really tell where the light is coming from. In the image of the young girl it looks like the light is coming right at her. Richard Avedon's photos are unique because of the emotion he could capture in a simple photo. In many of his portraits he uses simplicity to his advantage to emit energy and meaning from his photos. His talent for capturing people in candid was amazing because it showed the everyday life of people but adding excitement and emotion by his techniques.