Learning Agreement

Portraits Project - Learning Agreement

For this assignment I have decided to focus on incorporating a cultural aspect into my photography and producing portraits (head and shoulder shots) of Asian women in traditional clothing.  In order to portray this appropriately I have decided to use a digital camera and use colour photography to display the bold colours that are generally used in Asian clothes with a brightly coloured background.

The idea has stemmed from my own cultural background and experience as a British Asian women and I would like to develop this idea further and capture images of Asian women living in Britain today.

I was born and brought up in the UK and in my own experience people react differently depending on how I am dressed at the time.  In the past when I have worn Asian clothes people have perceived that I either don’t speak English or don’t have the knowledge to challenge something that I feel isn’t right purely based on how I look.

This project also relates to my work as a Multicultural Centre Manager where I work directly with people from different communities to address inequalities and issues that people face on a daily basis either because of the way they look or because they lack the confidence to deal with enquires or challenge an organization.

Dress sense plays a big part in our lives and portrays whom we are and what we are comfortable with and leaves the viewer forming an opinion based purely on what they see and I will be interested in getting feedback from other people on what they think the lifestyles of the models in the photographs are and whether we tend to stereotype people based on their looks.

The photographs that I want to produce will be of a similar style and all have the same background and display portraits of different aged Asian women covering their heads with a traditional scarf (dupatta/veil as it called) as they would normally for a religious or festive occasion.  In total four images will be produced and printed to 8”x10” size.

Professional photographers and their styles that have inspired me include Steve McCurry and Senol Zorlu as their work contains strong portraits with a cultural aspect which says more about the person and their background rather than just a studio portrait which is just about the person in general.  Also the colours that are used are also important in reflecting a person’s personality and culture.

Annie Leibovitz - research and inspiration

Beautiful portrait which to me enhances her beauty and shows innocence in the way that she looks and the pose, having the photo in black and white works much better than if it were in colour.

http://portraitinspiration.com/famous-portrait

Annie Leibovitz (1949-Present)

Annie Leibovtz is one of the most famous portrait photographers alive today.  She developed her trademark use of bold colours and poses while working at Rolling Stone.  She photographed John Lennon and Yoko Ono in December 1980, 5 hours later, John Lennon was shot and killed by Mark David Chapman.

Dorothea Lange - research and inspiration

I am inspired by photographs like this one as it not only captures feeling and emotion but also by showing a bit of the background it gives the photograph more detail of the environment in which it was captured - definitely something I would take into consideration for future work.



http://portraitinspiration.com/famous-portrait-

Dorothea Lange (1895-1965)

Dorothea Lange photographed the unemployed men who wandered the streets during the great depression. Her photographs of migrant workers were often shown with captions that featured the words from the workers themselves. Dorothea Lange died from esophageal cancer in 1965.

Edouard Boubat - research and inspiration

When people think of portraits they naturally assume that the focus would be on the eyes which in most cases are open - I picked this photograph as I believe its an exception to the rule and captures a child's innocence but still produces a good photograph with the child's eyes being closed but again is the complete opposite of Steve McCurry's famous photograph of the Afghan girl with her piercing eyes.  Again it shows that if the photograph is taken well then both methods work - whether the eyes are open or closed.


http://portraitinspiration.com/famous-portrait-photographers/

Edouard Boubat (1923-1999)

Edouard Boubat was called ‘peace photographer’ by poet Jacques Prévert. He is a poet with a camera. His work is part of the great tradition of French photography that includes such masters as Brassai, Bresson and Doisneau. He is quoted as saying, “my favorite photo is always the last one that I took“. He died in Paris France in 1999

Irving Penn - research and inspiration

I love the detail in the photograph, the clarity and also the expression and the way it has been captured making the photograph more interesting.



http://portraitinspiration.com/famous-portrait-photographers/

Irving Penn (1917-2009)

Irving Penn originally intended to become a painter, however, a job to design cover photographs for Vogue magazine in the 1940′s opened up and made him consider photography. He is one of the first famous portrait photographers to use natural light and spare backgrounds which he used for most of his photographic work. He died at age 92 in his home in New York City.