Unit 57: Photography and

Photographic Practice

Research of other photographers

work (P1, M1, D1)

Photographer: Irving Penn

Theme or focus of images

The photographer I chose for Portrait was Irving Penn, he is known for his fashion

photography, still life and most important portrait photography. Some of his work has

been featured in Vogue Magazine, Issey Miyake and Clinique. When looking at this

work; because he is a portrait photographer like I mentioned before most of his

photos feature the model/celebrity’s face. I am not entirely sure when these photos

were shot because I didn’t find them off the photographers website itself. By looking

at all the photos and comparing them in general the pictures were most definitely

taken in a studio this is possibly because you can create your own light and get the

image to look how you really want it.

Composition

As I mentioned above Irving Penn is a portrait photographer, so when he decides

what to get in shot he always go’s for the face (obviously) and even the shoulders

and chest. If Irving had zoomed out or stood further away the additional information

which we could see from the picture could be that we get a grasp of what is going

on behind the model or even what location or setting the model is in. From looking at

the photos I have chosen the models are most definitely in a studio setting.

Techniques used

When it comes to shutter speed with these photos I think that the shutter speed was

quite fast to capture the model in the light. It would have been done on a fast shutter

speed because if it was a slow shutter speed the camera would let too much light in

and cause the image to be overexposed and also cause camera blur. When rule of

third applies to these photos I think some do and some don’t because of the position

of the model in the frame. Now finally onto depth of field, because these are portrait

shots the depth of field would be quite narrow because of how close the

photographer is to the subject .

Strengths & Weaknesses

When it comes to strengths with Irving’s work, I think that the black and white images

work exceptionally well and I love the effect that it gives. I also love that how he

focuses on the face and brings out so much detail from just a picture. Now onto

weaknesses, the only thing I didn’t like about the photos above was the very last one.

The background is a lot lighter than the other ones and I think it takes the attention

from the model because of the brightness. I most definitely prefer the darker

backgrounds compared to the lighter ones.