Portrait Photographer : Katy Grannan

http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/feature/grannan.html

http://www.npg.si.edu/exhibit/feature/statement_grannan.html

Blog Promps #5, #6 & #7

# 5

“ I just think it’s important to be direct and honest with people about why you’re photographying them and what you’re doing. After all, you’re taking some of their soul.” – Mary Ellen Mark

I think the way Mark describes photography is quite interesting— stealing a piece of someone’s soul. To some degree I really agree with this quote. When you shoot a picture of someone, you are not only capturing his or her facial expressions, their locations and the rest of the environment, but also you are recording a moment with their emotion, thoughts, feelings in the person’s life. It is these thousands of hundreds of moments that consist one’s whole life, one’s history.  Within those moments, one develops his or her characters, personality, and his or her way of living. I feel those are very significant elements influencing one’s soul. Therefore, something spiritual and private is taken from somebody when you press down your shutter.

#6

In your opinion, when is it beneficial, ethical, or appropriate to digitally alter photographic portraits? When do you think it is inappropriate or ethically wrong?

I personally think that slight adjusting to the portraits for the visual effect sake is acceptable, such as wedding picture or senior portraits. But when photographying portraits for news or identification, even slight altering of the picture may cause huge misunderstanding. The altered portraits convey incorrect information, or even incomplete information, which is not ethical or objective for news release.

#7

Pay close attention to the types and number of photographic portraits you see in one day. Where did you see them? What’s the difference between the portraits on facebook vs. on news/ websites? What’s the different viewpoint of photographer in each situation?  What are their different “intents”?

Every day we see portraits on facebook, newspapers, magazines and other printed ads.  The portraits on facebook are usually more personal and unprofessional. Those pictures are mainly aiming at sharing personal life, usually the fun part. The photographer may not think too much before they press the button.  However the portraits on websites and news are more focusing on public events and creating buzz.  Photographer may focus more on the controversial and popular subjects trying to catch the tension, the unexpected and the attractiveness.

Assignment #2(0) Recreation

http://portfolio.joemcnally.com/#mi=2&pt=1&pi=10000&s=12&p=6&a=0&at=0

  

The original portrait of the dancer was only focusing on the ballerina's blistered feet and her pink shoes with ribbons. The content was quite powerful even though the photographer didn't show any part of the girl's face which usually conveys more emotional information. I was trying to use the concept of showing the "hidden" voice of the body language and to portrait the figure in a different perspective.  In my recreation, i chose to shoot my roommate's hand with a  piece of leave. The content seems to be more casual and less intense, but i do think it shows some of her personality. She's very sensitive to minutiae in daily life.

Blog Promps #3 & #4

" Photography deals with exquisitely with appearance, but nothing is what it appears to be."-- Duane Michals.

I understand why Duane put photography in this way. Since photography is not only about camera work, but also a lot of brainstorming, design, and editing afterward, it is hard to say that the photo is only what it looks like. Everything in the picture has its significance. Every detail contributes to the main idea of the photo. A great photo is able to tell a story without any words. Nothing is just as simple as it seems in photography. However, personally I feel sometimes photography does not need too much interpretation. The information can be direct and simple. I love shooting pictures of the nature, like sunset and forest. The beauty of the nature scene is revealed directly by the light, shadow and color. There is nothing more than the appearance.

"If I could tell the story in words, I wouldn't need to lug around a camera."-- Lewis Hine.

I totally agree with what Lewis said. Preferring using my right brain, I am more sensitive to visual communications. In a picture, the camera captures the moment, the place and the event. It records the little tiny piece of history about what happened.  Also I believe that photos are able to communicate emotions, but it allows the viewers to process their own feelings. Those are things that a piece of news can hardly do.
If the story is just about a moment, the image might be able to tell more about the environment, and record something that is influenced by the event. I feel like that the word are better at telling a long story or something logical.

Assignment 1: Explore

About *Repetition*:
   In this picture, I chose to emphasize the pattern of the pencils. I placed them on top of a planner in a row. The framing of this picture makes the pattern look like repeatedly extended. Even though the colored pencils looked almost the same in gray scale,  each individual pencil had a distinguish tone and highlights.  I used my desk light while I was shooting, which ended up helping show the different texture of the wood and the medal.

    

About *Light as Subject*

     In this photo, I put the figure on the right side of the picture and asked her to "draw" with a flash light. The light drawing extended to the left side which creates a balance. The idea is about tracking the light and make light as the focal point, not the figure. I set my camera on a table(since I don't have a tripod), and set the smallest aperture and the lowest ISO with a 30'' shutter speed, and let the girl write stuff with the flash light. I just wanted to try to make the photo look still in the background but also generate a sense of motions.

 About *Small Depth of Field*
    In this photo I chose to shoot 3 tiny rubber animals by placing them in different distances. The piggy and the dolphin were out of focus and blur, but the little cow in the center of the picture was very sharp. I used a very large aperture to make this effect. The main idea of this picture is to show the shallow depth of field by placing the focal point only on the cow. I think the picture also shows a different perspective of life. :-)

 

About *Contrast*
  I wanted to show the contrast of the bright highlights of the silverware and the dark shadow. Also the round shaped spoons contrast with the sharp ends of the forks.  I placed a light source on the table in a dark room in order to create the shadow.

Assignment 0: Recreate

the photo I got was taken by Napoleon Sarony, who was known for striking and unconventional poses and backdrops and, at a time when photography was becoming a key component of celebrity image making, established mutually beneficial relationships with stars like Sarah Bernhardt and Lillie Langtry. In this original photo, he put a lot light on the actress body, making her image stand out.

My recreation of this photo is a just a similar composition. However I didn't get a light source which could help the subject stand out.