Authenticity in Photography - My Photography

If you, as a photographer or a film director, are trying to portray a certain decade or era through your work, it is important that attention to detail is considered in every micro aspect to gain that authentic look you are going for. I wanted to do a response to James Nader's work and also link it back to chiaroscuro (light and dark).


Pictures and more after the jump.

Chiaroscuro

Chiaroscuro is a Italian word used to represent light and shadow as they create three dimensional objects. It originates from the Italian renaissance and was heavily used by artists such as Raphael and Leonardo da Vinci. Usually, the shadows casted are separated into values. The area closest to the object is usually the darkest area that is being portrayed. Then, as light becomes more available, the same cast shadow lightens in increments until it reaches the shadow's edge.


Read more after the jump.

Rembrandt van Rijn was one of the pioneering Chiaroscuro artists. He is known for his singular brushwork, use of colour and his good use of light and shadow.


Rembrandt was able to portray the contrast between light and shadow through his paintings. For example, in ‘Two scholars disputing’ he creates depth in the photo by transforming a two-dimensional flat painting into a three-dimensional room with depth.

Artist Analysis: James Nader

This is one of James Nader’s photos. It is of a woman’s profile. I like this shot in relation to the theme. The woman is standing at an angle and her face looks tough; giving off a masculine pose and expression. However,  in contrast to the super 1980’s power woman inspired styling and strong make-up, the masculine pose and expression become very womanly.

Pictures and more after the jump.

Artist Study: James Nader

James Nader is a British Fashion photographer working mostly on editorial projects and expresses his distinctive style thorough conceptual ideas. His work has featured in such campaigns as Krispy Kreme adverts, The Bath Magazine and various TV work and galleries.

Androgynous Photography & Film - My Photography

Following up from Mario Torres' work, I decided to do my own response. So I got another friend to help me do some androgynous photography.

I found that whilst doing androgynous photography it was easy to drift over to gender-bending photography (which is more extreme with its messages and values).


Video, pictures and more after the jump.

Artist Analysis: Mario Torres

This is one of Mario Torres' photos from his website. It shows a female model embodying the attitude of a boy/ man. This style of photography is becoming more and more popular. The androgynous looks is very interesting and you can always do something daring, something different with it.


Read more after the jump.

Artist Study: Mario Torres

New York based photographer Mario Torres

Mario Torres is an American photographer. He featured in ‘The Ones2Watch’ (an online magazine that showcases up and coming photographers, stylists, illustrators, designers, make-up artists etc) in their September 2010 issue.

Read more after the jump.


I believe that the idea of the photos is to show a woman's femininity does not come from the clothes on her back. For, example, the women are in the men's suits but still appear to be ‘womanly’ in their pose and attitude. This shows that the suits act as barriers between a feminine attitude and men's apparel. From this collection, I would take Torres’ idea of using a underlying metaphor in the photography.

Conveying Messages through Photography II

 - My Photography

This photo shows me the 'idea' idea of a woman's image. The whole 'picture perfect' concept in the magazines is highlighted in this photo. It connects with a lot of what we see and hear in today's media. What is beauty? What is it to be a lady? Is it what we see on the billboards and in the magazines or is it something more sensual?

The photo is in black and white but still shows natural lighting; this is apparent through the different tones of lighting in the photo. No artificial light source (lamp, flashlight etc.) was used because I wanted to create a raw effect.

There is a framing created over the image by the window frame shadowed onto the model and the magazine. The window frame could depict the barriers between true beauty and man-made beauty.

When I look at this photo, it makes me think about what she could be thinking about. She is still in the process of applying her make-up so she could be thinking about how bare she looks. It reminds me of an old saying "I haven't put my face on yet".

This photo was shot out of focus. On my camera, I experimented with the focus settings to try and create a different feel to the final image. I wanted to see if it changed how it would be viewed and analysed. I also done it to age the photo to get a 1980's photography feel so I reduced the contrast and changed the colour balance to be more green-biased.