Self-Portraiture and Portraiture
Considerations:
•Lighting: direction and quality from direct
(harsh) to diffused (soft)
•Formal vs. informal
•Environmental vs. Studio
•Props
•Expression, Gesture, Attitude, Personality
Alfred Stieglitz, Self Portrait, 1907
Stieglitz (1864-1946) was an American photographer who
was one of the first to promote photography as art form. He
photographed a wide range of subjects.
“Ansel Easton Adams was an American
photographer and environmentalist, best
known for his black-and-white photographs
of the American West, especially in
Yosemite National Park.”
Portrait of Georgia O’Keefe by Ansel Adams, 1937
Portrait of Georgia O’Keefe by Yousuf Karsh, 1956
Compare and contrast these two portraits.
Winston Churchill, 1941
Yousuf Karsh (1908-2002): Armenian-Canadian photographer who
is famous for his portraits. “His body of work includes portraits of
statesmen, artists, musicians, authors, scientists, and men and
women of accomplishment. His extraordinary and unique portfolio
presents the viewer with an intimate and compassionate view of
humanity.” http://www.karsh.org/
Annie Liebowitz, San Francisco, 1970
Liebowitz is an American portrait photographer
known for her images of celebrities. She started at
Rolling Stone in 1970.
Irving Penn was an American
photographer most known for his
fashion photography, portraits, and
still lifes. Penn's career included
work at Vogue magazine, and
independent advertising work for
clients including Issey Miyake, and
Clinique.
Click on this link:
http://www.npg.org.uk/irvingpenn/
Irving Penn, In a Cracked Mirror
(Self Portrait), 1986
Arnold Newman: “Generally acknowledged as the
pioneer of the environmental portrait, he is also
known for his still life and abstract photography,
and he is considered as one of the most influential
photographers of the 20th Century.”
“We do not take pictures
with our cameras, but with
our hearts and minds.”
-Arnold Newman
Click on this link and search portraits:
http://www.arnoldnewmanarchive.com/index.php?option=com_co
ntent&view=article&id=8&Itemid=9
Lee Friedlander, New York City, 1966
Friedlander, American artist, born 1934.
Created a series of self portraits playing
with his own role in the photo (sometime
shadows, later more of himself). His
images sometimes have a surreal quality.
Carrie Mae Weems
Weems (born 1953) says of her work, “Storytelling is fundamental to my
work, a way to best express the human condition that has been a focus of
my art….” http://carriemaeweems.net/bio.html
Emmet Gowin, Edith,
Chincoteague, Virginia, 1967,
Gelatin Silver Print
“Emmet Gowin [born 1941] is an American photographer. He
first gained attention in the 1970s with his intimate portraits of
his wife, Edith, and her family.”
Emmet Gowin
Edith
Danville, Virginia
1970
Other portrait artists you may
want to research:
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Diane Arbus
Cindy Sherman
Sally Mann
Harry Callahan
Student Examples
Considerations:
• How do I want to portray myself?
• Does my entire face need to be in the
photograph?
• How can I go beyond a single
photograph?
• How may I use Photoshop or other tools
and materials to express myself through
an image?