Montage: Activity 2

Activity 2: Blog Entry

• Find two examples of political photomontages that are either from a historical or contemporary source. 
• Discuss in what context they have been produced and how effective you think they communicate their intended message. 
• Discuss the techniques that have been used to assemble the examples you have chosen and offer alternative ways that the artist could have put over the same message. 

 

Montage by Jared Krebs

This montage is very powerful about the strength of women, the poster "We Can Do It" is meant to convey the go get it attitude of women who have forever been repressed. Showing the sharing of the coloration on these images shows that these women throughout history are sharing the strength in this world. Another way that this image could have been achieved would have been to photoshop one of these powerful ladies into the image of Rosie the riveter to show they are one and the same.

Montage by John Heartfield

This image is very interesting, it is a picture of Adolf Hitler but his throat is filled with gold coins, it is showing the drive for money that is powering this infamous individual. This could have also been achieved if there had been more of these tyrants being fueled by money in the same way to show that they are all driven by money. 

Montage: Activity 1

Activity 1: Blog Entry

• Briefly discuss why you think painters of the Victorian period might have criticized these early photomontages and why the pictures were popular with the general public. (This technique of piecing together separate images to create one picture is again very popular with both artists and the media). 
• What two reasons can you think of for this revival of an old technique? 

Painters in the victorian times probably would have criticized these techniques because they were untraditional, painting is very much an art that has a direct focus and not all over the place like the images that are pieced together. The images would appeal to the general public because they were something unexpected and interesting, not seen anywhere else.  I can assume that this technique is in revival because it is very interesting to look at, it gives a very different message than what is originally seen in the image. It could also be revived because it is fun for the artist to take an image that already exists and create something totally new and interesting with it. It is taking an art that is made to capture a moment and twist that moment into new art. It is truly a beautiful technique.

Portraiture and Studio Photography: Activity 3

Activity 3
Collect four portrait images with two to five subjects.In at least one image the subject should have been placed in the foreground.Comment on the arrangement of the subjects in relation to the camera and the effectiveness of the design.

Photo by: Amber Katrina

This picture has a very interesting placement of the bride in relation to the rest of the bridesmaids you can still see all of the lovely ladies but obviously the most important character in this image is the bride. The only thing off in the structure of the image is the bride being off centered in the lineup. it just creates an off feeling in the image.

Photo By: Josh Brewster

This is another image in the group portraiture where there is a group of dancers showing off their moves. This is an interesting composition because there is just so much to look at, they are all in different positions and it's very dramatic, I like that none of them are standing straight up because that would make the composition less interesting.

Photo By: Nina Paz

This group portrait is very interesting in its composition. this is a groom and his groomsmen. You can tell the groom is the one with the white tie in the center with the one on his bike, I like the placement of the groomsmen behind his because it creates an interesting composition, also having the other subjects at that angle creates a sense of leading lines.

Photo by : Joyful Gestures Photography(Marcia Kuyper)

This is another interesting type of group portrait, a family portrait. The subject is obviously the little girl's reaction to her parents in the background. I think this is absolutely adorable. The parents are out of the depth of field and it creates an interesting composition to see the parents blurred and the little girl perfectly clear. But this is a great placement for the subjects.

Portraiture and Studio Photography: Activity 2

Activity 2
Find four portraits that demonstrate the different ways a photographer has framed the image to alter the design and content. Discuss the vantage point, depth of field and subject placement in all of the images.

Photograph by Dinofa Photography

This is a very interesting way to frame a portrait. The bride is sitting in a car and the image is encased in the side mirror. This is truly a stunning image because as you can see by the bride's veil and dress it is a very vintage wedding, the mirror makes the image seem more vintage and creates a very interesting display. I love this image because of how directed the focus is on the bride through the mirror. (a looking glass). And finally the black and white display of the image makes this all the more stunning.

Found on Photographymagazine.com

This is one of the most intriguing portraits that I think I have ever seen, The subject who is covered in colored makeup and paint, is framed by it looks like a wreath of twigs and buttons. This makes me automatically think that this subject is an artist. This is obviously shown through the use of colors and structured obscurity. I love the use of colors in this image because it just makes the image so interesting and hard to take your eyes away from.

Found on Wewiwa.com

This series of images is very intriguing, with the use of the photographs as the pieces of their faces it gives a sense of depth to these flatter images, there really isn't very much going on in this image other than the photographs being used so it really adds something interesting into the image.

Photography by: Lindsay Adler

I think this image is gorgeous, my favorite part of the image is the leading lines from the walls of the alleyway leading directly to the subject. The depth of field is also very shallow allowing for the viewer to focus more readily on the subject . The black and white of this image is used very effectively to make the subject seem more dramatic.

Portraiture and Studio Photography: Activity 1

Activity 1
Look through assorted media, magazines, internet and collect four portrait photographs. The environment should be a key feature in two of the four images.Describe the subject’s character in each of the images. What can you see within each image that leads you to these conclusions about the subjects’ character.

Nmbcdesign.com

The subject of this image is clearly a guitar player or a luthier (guitar maker) due to the images of the hanging guitars in the background of the image. It really shows the musician's character. The colors of the guitars in the picture also creates a very interesting and colorful backdrop for the subject of this portrait.

Thomas Campbell Photography

 This is another Example of Environmental Photography where the subject is clearly the basketball player as shown through the direction of focus through the basketball hoop. this a very interesting way to take the picture because it creates a very busy and yet effective image. 

This is another example of environmental photography. the subject is the amazing walt disney in his most famous creation, disneyland. This is a very effective image because it would be a very recognizable image, everyone knows who walt disney is and everyone knows what disneyland is, it would be an effective tool in connecting with the audience.

gretatu.deviantart.com

This is a completely different type of portrait  a studio portrait where the subject is clearly in a studio somewhere with perfect lighting and strategically placed objects. You can tell this is studio by the light placement on the subject. This is a great picture to define the smoke coming off of the cigarette, this definition would be lost in an environmental portrait.

Self Image: Activity 3

Activity 3: Blog Entry

Consider some of the social pressures that you think may shape your behavior and personal image. List the images most commonly associated with the categories or ‘boxes’ you have already listed in Activity 1. 

How have you responded to social pressures to conform by adopting an appearance that relates to the categories that you feel you have placed in or have chosen? 

The World around us tries to to make us be the perfect image of a human being, the supermodels of the world and that just wont work with me, they expect us to have our makeup perfect, out clothes amazing, our grades perfect, our bodies perfect, everything to perfection all the time. I have responded to this social pressure by just not caring what the world around me thinks. I don't do my makeup or hair for school, I don't spend every waking minute on school work, I eat fast food. I don't do what the work expects of me because frankly, it is better for me to stop pretending to be someone I am not. 

Society tries to change us. I have responded by not letting myself be changed for the worse.

Self Image: Activity 2

Find images in the media, which have been used to represent attractive and unattractive aspects of the human face. Examine and record carefully the photographic techniques used to accentuate both these qualities, drawing up a list that relates to the images you have found.

• List the physical characteristics that we have come to admire in both the male and female face and write 100 words in response to the following questions: 

1. Do you believe that media images or public opinion are responsible for the characteristics of beauty becoming universal stereotypes? 
2. Do you believe people admiring media images of glamorous models can do any harm?

Attractive

Unattractive

There are many different types of techniques used to describe beauty in the media and these are just a few of the images to describe that by seeing the two different sides of the same celebrity. Jennifer Lawrence is considered a very beautiful person but that is all seen through the lens of a camera, as seen on the left she is wearing a tight dress, her hair and makeup are done, there has been photoshop work done, this is all to assume the perfect face, and the perfect person the media likes to push into our lives. Now the picture on the right is what we would consider in the media as unattractive, wearing loose dull clothing, no makeup, hair undone, and un-photoshopped, she is just a regular person and in the eyes of the media, this is unattractive.

The media forces us to see people as lesser because they cannot reach the high standards of beauty that they push at us. The characteristics of beauty that we see are so unreachable that people never feel like they can never reach that unattainable beauty, the media is to blame for all the problems we see with people trying to reach this high standard. The people trying to reach the beauty of these perfect glamorous models with their perfect skin, hair, and features. are in turn harming themselves. The media is forever to blame.