Portrait+Assignment

Slideshow :

Yousuf Karsh

 Yousef Karsh was an Armenian-Canadian who lived from December 23th, 1908 to July 13th, 2002. He is considered one of the most famous portrait photographers ever. Immortalizing a substantial number of some of the world’s most respected people of his time, including Fidel Castro, Albert Einstein, Gandhi, Helen Keller, Pierre Trudeau, Picasso, and, most famously, Winston Churchill, Karsh gained international prominence, and was made a Companion of Canada in 1990. In 2000, the //International Who’s Who// released a list of the one hundred most notable people of the 20th century, on which Karsh had photographed 51; Karsh himself was on the list as well as the only Canadian. One photographical aspect Karsh was noted for in particular was his inclination to light each of his subjects' hands separately, and his expert manipulation of studio lighting. His way of making the subject tell their own story in their own unique way was a distinct characteristic. He also liked shooting with props, or in an environment comfortable to the subject. He would often research his clients before photographing, as he liked to surprise them, and lull them into a sense of comfort. His use of lighting was also somewhat new to the time. He had been a photographer for the Ottawa Little Theatre for a while, and from there started using dramatic theatre lights for portraits, often splaying different kinds of lighting to bring out the subject's features. His lighting created an almost 3D effect, accentuated by his darkroom preference of a slight underexposure to bring out highlights, and other craftsman-like techniques.



Both of these Karsh portraits were taken in an environment other than a studio, which is something Karsh preferred in order to bring out the subject's character a bit more. The portrait of O'Keefe especially uses the environment, with the mounted antlers on the wall providing a very interesting decoration. The lighting is most likely largely natural, although it intensifies her face well, which was another preference of Karsh's. On the right, the portrait of Winston Churchill is not his famed "English Bulldog" photo, but is reported to be one of Karsh's personal favourites. In a similar pose to the famous portrait, Churchill is not scowling, but still has the same intenseness in his features, and also shows Karsh's mastery of shadow.

 Robert Mapplethorpe

Robert Mapplethorpe was born on November 4th, 1946, and died at age 42 on March 9th, 1989. He was an open advocate of LGBT issues, and based many photos around this theme. Mapplethorpe shot everything in his studio, a loft in New York City. He was notorious yet respected for his daring shots of sensual and borderline explicit photographs.

This photo displays Mapplethorpe's knack at creating something delicately sensual in a very simple manner. The V-shape lines in the background create dynamic as it guides the eye downward along the leg. It leads many things to be guessed at, which is another of his techniques. 



 This photo captures much contrast, melding the deep shadows with the starkness of the closer subject's skin. As with his style, there is a sense of sensualness within the element relationship, yet much is left to the viewer's discretion. His use of a simple background contributes to the contrast.