Project 7: Cover Page & Paparazzi shot

In this project, we made a cover page of two images that we copied from Platon Antoniou and Irving Penn. We used digital for both Platon and Irving Penn and film for Paparazzi shots. Then we made fake interview, pretending that we were each Platon and Irving Penn.

Project 7: Paparazzi Shots

In this picture, the student is rushing through his homework right before class starts. He should have done his homework before but since he forgot to do it, he is copying someone else's. Also the blur on the top right corner gives the effect that the photograph was taken rapidly, giving the sense that it was paparazzi shot.
In this picture, I tried to portray how the students are misbehaving in class. The student in the front is surfing on the internet while she is supposed to be doing her class work. This is a typical sight of a class using laptops.

Project 7: Cover Page-Platon Interview

Another nominee of World’s 10 Greatest Photographers, Platon Antoniou shared his life story with V Magazine. Born in London in 1968, Antoniou was raised by English mother and Greek father and because his parents were an art historian and an architect, he was constantly exposed to the arts. Platon said, “While I was still a student at the Royal College of Art, I received British Vogue’s Best up-and-coming Photographer, and now I am receiving World’s 10 Greatest Photographers.”

After graduating, he started working for George, the

political and media cultural magazine and achieved one of his favorite projects, which was “a cross-country trip in order to document the 20 most fascinating men in America.” Since then, Platon’s fame spread all over the country and he has shot many commercials for luxurious brands. Now he is still a renowned photographer, residing in New York with his family,

Platon shared his story with his new project, Portraits of Power that he did for The New Yorker. Platon said, “This project was taken this past September, when there was a meeting of the United Nations in New York. I set up a tiny studio next to the General Assembly and hustled as many of them in front of my lens as possible. It was a five-day-long improvisation.” He added that It was very interesting to see the world leaders’ new faces through the portraits and added commentaries to each picture on the website Portraits of Power.

One of his portraits has made the cover of V Magazine, and us, the editors, thought it would be a perfect choice due to the model's hands. When asked about the

posture, Platon answered, "Oh yes, [chuckles] I totally had the desire to make the cover of V Magazine and asked the model to posture his hands. [chuckles] Actually, I had the model put up a V sign because I wanted to show the juxtaposition between his serious face and his hands. His face and clothing all say that he is a powerful, rich man. However his hands show a playful side of him and that is what I wanted to show with the portrait of the president of Brazil."

Original Photograph by Platon Antoniou

Original Magazine Cover

Project 7: Cover Page-Irving Penn Interview

Nominated as one of our World’s 10 Greatest Photographers, Irving Penn revealed his life story with the V Magazine. Irving Penn, born in June 16, 1917 started studying arts from an early age. Penn revealed that his paintings and drawings were published by Harper’s Bazaar for two years and has worked as an office boy and apprentice artist. He added on his experience working at Vogue magazine.

Penn continued on his story to his early career when his fame started to spread. During his assistant years with Alexander Liberman, he has gained a lot of recognition from Liberman and his one photograph as an assistant was published as the cover for Vogue magazine. This photograph, according to Penn, “launched [him] on his photographic career.”

At Vogue, he shot a lot of fashion photography and eventually founded his own studio in 1953, developing his own style of simplicity. Many depict his style to be d

istinct where there is a subject in front of a monotone backdrop or an acute corner. When asked about his technique using the corners, Penn answered that the technique is “a mean of closing people in,” and added that some felt secure and some felt trapped in the corners. He was able to capture their reactions on his photographs. He added “I am a professional photographer because it is the best way I know to earn the money I require to take care of my wife and children.”

The above photograph is one of his latest works from his project and in this picture, he once again has used his typical technique of corner. When asked about the photograph, Penn responded, "If you see closely, the model's posture looks a bit awkward. His right arm is too far up. However his facial expression and posture all emanate a sense of isolation and loneliness. This sense goes very well with the use of corners, as he felt trapped in by the corners."

Penn has had many exhibitions, including Metropolitan Museum of A

rt, National Gallery of Art, J.Paul getty Museum and most recently National Portrait Gallery in London.

Original Photograph by Irving Penn

Project 6: Save the Children

In this assignment, we had to produce 3 competition prints for the Save the Children competition. The theme of the competition is Universal Education.

Project 6: Save the Children-Image Bank

Abbie Trayler Smith
Abbie Trayler Smith was born in 1977 in England. She taught photography herself and started with photography for the student newspaper. Then she continued to work for the Daily Telegraph. She has visited a lot of third world countries including, Ethiopia, Sudan, Malawi, Iraq and Darfur. She is mostly known for her documentary photographs in these countries. The above pictures are also from one of her documentaries. Since 2006, she is working as a freelance photographer with a wider variety of clients and focuses on her own projects.

As can be seen above, her documentary pictures are very similar to the ones on Save the Children website. They are mostly from third world countries and bring a sense of empathy for the subjects in the photos. Moreover they are mostly in colors and do not have a lot of editings done. However this seems to work the best with documentary pictures as they do not need any extra aids to convey their points. Additional editings will actually distract the viewers.

Karen Leslie

Karen Leslie is an American photographer and she specializes in modern portrait photography sessions of kids, familes and dogs. She is based in Central Florida. She went to college for marketing executive but changed her mind to photography and now she owns a small business, called KarenLeslie Photography.

This photograph is black and white and it arouses the feeling of motherhood. This could relate to the topic "Universal Education" as the baby's sister is teaching the baby something. They seem to be very connected and this brings a sense of family.

Meredith Zinner

Meredith Zinner is an American photographer specializing in infants, toddlers, children and families. She is a professional natural light photographer and is based in New York. During her sessions, she allows the children to show their individuality and characteristics naturally, instead of "preconceived notions or standardized props and set-ups." She also has her own business called, Meredith Zinner Photography.

This picture, on the other hand, does not depict universal education. However the connection between the father and the baby is very well shown. It once again shows the familial sense.

Sarah Lasker

Sarah Lasker is an amateur American photographer, base in Phoenix. She is a registered nurse and takes photographs as her hobby. She has a Flickr account in which she has a lot of followers and she goes as "sarah lasker" on flickr. Her photographs are of a wide variety including still life, portraits etc.

In this picture, the little girl is trying to take a picture of the dog. In the description of this picture, Sarah Lasker made a comment about how she was starting early with photography. Of course this may have been a joke but it could also connect to the education theme.

Project 6: Save the Children-Printing Compositions

This was one of my ideas for the final print; however I did not use this idea as my final print because first of all, it did not look nice to me and secondly, the idea did not come through as well. Even though this was an initial idea, it was very blurry and unfocused because I had to take it in a manual mode due to the close-up.
This is the original copy of my first final print. When I was taking this picture, I tried to use depth of field with the two kids in focus and front, and the teacher and the wall out of focus. Even though the focus worked, the background seemed a bit messy. I also liked this picture, because the two kids are wearing bold colors which help them be in focus.
This is the original copy of my second final print. I used the same technique as the one above when taking this picture. However the problem with this photograph was that the viewer's focus was not on the kids but on the teacher in the back because she's in the center and because of her size. Even though she is not in focus, the viewers immediately look at her before looking at the kids.

This is the original copy of my third final print. I, again, used depth of field in this picture and it seemed interesting to me how there are three subject in this picture. The pencil and the teacher in the back are out of focus, while the boy is in focus. I did not have much problem with this photograph.

This is the original copy of my last final print. This was added the very last minute, and so I am not very fond of this picture. However it diverses from other pictures in that it is of older children and it shows the higher education. Again, I used depth of field.

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This is my first final print. On Photoshop, I cropped the picture smaller to hide the messy background and made it brighter, to bring out the subjects.
This is my second final print. I had to edit a lot with this picture because of the problem that was already mentioned above. I first made this picture black and white and made my two subjects in color to bring them out. Then I blurred the background for more focus on the kids. Even though it kind of looks as if the kids were put in with Photoshop, it was the only way to make them focused.
This is my third final print. As I mentioned above, I did not have much problem with this picture and so, the only editing I made was the brightness. I also had to find out the name of this kid.

This is my last final print. As I mentioned above, it was last minute and so I did not have much time to think of what to edit. I cropped the picture on the right because it was a bit messy and made the girl in the front stand out by using the sharpen tool in Photoshop.

Project 6: Save the Children-Theory Notes

advertising strategies and techniques

Kellogg's: a product

Kellogg's is a company mostly known for producing cereals. Since the Beijing Olympic in 2008, Michael Phelps, the 23-year-old Olympic swimming champion, has made a contract with Kellogg as a corn flakes spokesman. However, after a photo of him smoking a marijuana pipe was exposed on internet, Kellogg's decided not to pursue the new contract with him because "his behavior from the picture was not consistent with the image of Kellogg's." Not only did he get cut, he was also suspended from competition and denied financial support for three months by the national governing body of swimming. Kellogg's demand has not been affected as much since Phelps's picture did not become as controversial as it expected it to. However there are some boycotting actions from drug users against Kellogg's for dropping Phelps.

For the actual advertising, Kellogg put in the head shots of Michael Phelps in their products and because it has not been long since they signed the contract, there are no actual commercials with him in them. By putting a picture of him on their products, Kellogg's tried to prove that their products are healthy.

Tag Heuer: a brand

Tag Heuer is a famous brand that produces watches, mobile phone and eyewear. When consumers think of Tag Heuer, they immediately remind themselves of luxury and brand. This is due to the celebrities that it employs for commercials. Some of its spokesmen include Leonardo DiCaprio, Tiger Woods, Maria Sharapova, Shah Rukh Khan and Lewis Hamilton. As can be seen, they are all the bests in their areas and are recognized individuals.

Tiger Woods, a renowned pro golfer, recently went through a scandal of adultery. He apparently cheated on his wife, Elin Nordegren, several times with various women and now, customers do not have a positive view on him anymore. Despite of the fact that customers turned their backs against him, TAG Heuer still supports him. According to the brand, Tiger Woods and the brand has maintained a friendly and productive relationship. Therefore it will continue its contract with Tiger Woods.

SOURCE

Amnesty International:a social, economic or environmental cause

Amnesty International is a non-governmental organization that campaigns for internationally recognized human rights for all. It holds more than 2.2 million members and subscribers in more than 150 countries. Amnesty International in Switzerland published new outdoor campaigns on May 29th created by Walker Werbeagentur Zuerich. In this campaign, the tagline above says "Es gescheint nicht hier aber jetzt." or "Cela existe. Pas ici, mais maintenant." These are German and French translation of "It's not happening here but it's happening now." By using transparent billboards, it allows the viewers to feel as if the scene is happening right beside them. It arouses sympathy from the viewers.

SOURCE

Project 6: Save the Children-Diary Entry

We did not have to use our film cameras for this project, and that fact relieved me, because I am not very efficient with film cameras. Maybe it is because I have a DSLR, but it seems to me that I can work better with digital photography. The photo-taking process was quick and I only had to make 2 visits to the primary school area. The kids seemed enthusiastic and helped us get the pictures that we wanted. I also realized that I highly enjoy taking portraits, instead of still life. I would like to have more experiences with both themes.

Even though I finished taking the pictures early, the editing part was difficult. In one of my favorite pictures, the viewers' focus was distracted to another subject that isn't supposed to be. So I had to try my best to put the focus on the subjects I wanted. I used color, depth of field and many other tools on Photoshop. Lastly, I had an idea of a picture that I really wanted; however when I actually took them, it did not look nice at all. My idea was a kid taking a bite of an apple of knowledge. However when I had two different subjects try this pose, it did not look nice, and so, I dropped this idea.

Project 5: Traditional Regalia

In this project, we have to produce three prints of subjects in traditional regalia:

- one of my own culture and two others of my own choice

- each image must show clearly a traditional regalia

- each image must be a close up shot of section

Project 5: Traditional Regalia-Final Prints

This is my first final print. In this photo, I tried to show a Muslim woman wearing a hijab. All Muslim women are supposed to wear a hijab and so it is very traditional in those countries. The model, unfortunately, is not a Muslim so I couldn't bring that effect. I tried to show the traditional regalia through the model's face. Her gloomy facial expression expresses the lack of freedom that Muslim women feel. In Photoshop, I burned the model's face a bit and erased the model's eye-liner. I also got rid of her spots and made the photograph a bit warmer in tone.

This is my second final print. In this photo, I showed Japan's regalia, the fan. Even though it is a very contemporary fan, it still shows Japan's traditional regalia. The model is also half-Japanese and so, it was better to show this. In Photoshop, I made a halo around the model's head to hide the blurriness and also darkened the model's hair color to make her look more Asian-like. Her gesture is also very traditional. She is holding the fan like how they do it in Japan, and is hiding her face with the fan. Japanese dancers usually hide their face with the fan to give a sense of elegance.

This is my last final print. In this one, I showed my home country, Korea's traditional regalia. Hanbok is the dress that the model is wearing and it is a two-piece. Hanboks are usually very colorful and so it was important that I showed this. This was the only picture that had the full body. Since it shows the full body, I focused on the posture. The model has her hands together in the air and this is the first thing you do before bowing. Koreans bow to the elders to show respect. I did not do much editing to this picture because all I had to do was brighten the areas with shadows.

Project 5: Traditional Regalia-Printing Compositions

This is the original copy of my first final print. I asked Barbara to be the model for this picture and so took these photographs in the media lab. It was quite dark in the room and so, I used ms.dele's flash to make it lighter and less blurry. Because my camera's flash was broken, all the photographs tended to come out blurry. This was the least blurry one out of all and I used photoshop to edit the photographs. I'll explain the editings on the final prints section.

This is the original print for my second final print. As I already told ms.dele, I was not so crazy about this print because of the fan's color. However this is the contemporary version of Japan's traditinal regalia and so, I continued to work with this. Just like the one above, this picture was blurry, and so I tried my best to hide this through Photoshop. There was no extra lightings except the usual lights of the room that the photo was taken in.

This is the original copy of my last final print. This was taken at home and I had to fix the lighting so it focused on the subject. However since the lighting was from above, the shadow of the subject's arm was too dark. I also did something to this via Photoshop. The model was my mother, and she did not want me to take any photos with her face in it and so I only took photographs of the clothing.

Project 5: Traditional Regalia-Image Bank

Annie Leibovitz
Annie Leibovitz is an American portrait photographer that is renowned for her works with celebrities. She is one of the most famous photographers in the world. She started her career at the Rolling Stone magazine and her photograph of John Lennon and Yoko Ono was what pulled her into the fame. She has three children and she raises them all by herself.
This photograph is called The Roots, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2000. This is also another type of portrait photograph, but with more people. This also relates to our current project, Traditional Regalia. The subjects in this photograph represent their environment and what they enjoy doing. Even though the postures are not as formal as other photographs, this is a good example of showing one's culture.
William Hogarth
William Hogarth is an English painter and printmaker, born in 1697 and died in 1764. His works ranged from realistic portraits to comic style series of pictures and they were also sometimes satirical as they mocked the politics and customs then. He started off as an engraver, engraving coats of arms, shop bils and etc. Then he started painting and also started painting portraits.
This painting is called Fallstaff Examining His Recruits. I chose this painting on purpose because it looked similar to the one by Annie Leibovitz. The similarities are that there are a lot of people from the same background and it represents the background they come from. The difference in this painting, there are people of high authority recruting people and the house that they are in and their poses all show that this was an important meeting for them. Unfortunately, this painting is not a good example to show traditional regalia.

Cecil Beaton

Cecil Beaton is an English fashion and portrait photographer, born in 1904 and died in 1980. Not only did he take photographs, he also designed costumes and stages for theater. He first attended Harrow but transferred to St.John's College and studied history, art and architecture. In addition he continued with his photography and eventually published one of his photos on Vogue magazine. His photographs are renowned for their elegance, glamour and fashion.

I chose this photograph because it did not only relate to our current project, it was quite different. It does not represent a specific country, but the model's pose and general appearance look like as if she is a queen of a country. Her hands laid together on top of her crossed legs and her facial expression show her elegance.

Mathew Brady

Mathew Brady was an American photographer, born in 1799 and died in 1826. He is known as the "father of photojournalism" and took a lot of photographs of important historical personalities during the 19th century. His parents were Irish immigrants and had to go through the civil war. He took many portrait photographs during the civil war and his photographs were a great help for the historians studying the Civil War.

I chose this photograph because it is a very good example of a regalia photograph. This portrait of Abraham Lincoln represents the United States of America and his posture also shows this. This portrait's black-and-white and overall mood come as very patriotic and serious.
Julia Margaret Cameron

Julia Margaret Cameron was a British photographer, born in 1815 and died in 1879. Just like Mathew Brady, Cameron also took portrait photographs of historical figures in that time period. She started with photography coincidentally and late(when she was 48). Her photographic career only lasted for 11 years; however the photographs that she took during this 11 years had a great impact on modern photography.

I chose this photograph because it is quite different from the others. This portrait is also from a very long time ago, but its overall characteristics are very different from the ones by Mathew Brady. If one did not know when this was taken, he or she may have thought that it was a contemporary portrait.

Project 5: Traditional Regalia-Theory Notes

Physical poses that typically represents importance in classical paintings

In classical paintings, the portraits are mostly either head-shots or a semi-shots. Therefore it is quite difficult to see their poses. However in the portrait of Mona Lisa by Leonardo Da Vinci, the viewers can observe that her legs are together and her hands are laid together on her lap. Moreover in all of these portraits, the subjects' heads are to the side(mostly to the left from the viewer's point of view). They have a poker face with no emotions. These same physical poses show that the society then was very strict and even the arts had to follow the rules.

Physical Poses that typically represents importance in contemporary photographs

In contemporary photographs, poses in portraits have become much more free and the portraits are not restricted to only head shots but also full shots. As can be seen above, various effects are added to the portraits and the subjects are not restricted to only one pose. They can sit down, stand up or jump around. Also their faces show emotions and emotions have become the essence of portraits.

Project 5: Traditional Regalia-Diary Entry

Good
With this project, we did not need to be at the dark room because we only used the digital cameras. This was very comfortable and easier for us because developing and print out the prints take quite a long time and few trials. With digital photographs we did not have to go through any of those. Moreover the process of taking photographs, despite the works, was quite fun as we got to witness other country's cultures and some of their traditional clothings.
Bad
Even though I had fun with taking these photographs, it was quite difficult as I had a problem with my camera. My camera's flash broke and so most of my pictures came out very blurry. I tried my best to hide this via editing on Photoshop but I will have to find a way to stop this as soon as possible. Also I could not find that many people willing to model for my photographs. I was also tired of asking fellow students from my class and if I asked another friend, they weren't very helpful. I hope this works out sooner or later.