john lennon

john lennon
Originally uploaded by doll_visage.

This portrait is informal. It appears he's thinking because he's looking off, away from the camera. It has a nice sense of framing and he's dressed very casual. I like this portrait because as simple as it is it's interesting to look at because you want to know what he's thinking.

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37.(#3) Informal

Favorite-#2 Vanity Fair (August 1991)Vanity Fair’s provocative cover shot of the naked and hugely pregnant Demi Moore (also shot by Annie Leibovitz) projected the actress to even greater heights after the huge success of the movie Ghost the previous year. The cover helped firmly establish Moore as a member of Hollywood’s A-List at the time.

This portrait is very formal even though she is naked. She's wearing a large diamond ring and big fancy earings and she is obviously very strategically posed. The lighting is soft and creates some interesting shadows on her body. She's obvioulsy pregnant and believes her pregnant body to be beautiful which is it. Otherwise i doubt she would've agreed to take this photo.

Cover History

In early years of magazines, they didn't have magazine covers, or what modern day people think a magazine cover should be. They were mostly a title and a table of contents. In later years covers were either drawn on or postered. Illustrators would draw huge posters to be framed and they would be printed on the cover of the magazine and the title usually didn't cover up the image which most of the time had nothing to do with the story inside. Later on poster covers were still being used but soon the magazine started using cover lines to draw in readers. They were have text in these cover lines appealing to the audience that would make the person want to pick it up. So now they were advertising stories on the outside of the magazine and not just relying on the poster cover alone to sell the magazine. Featured on modern day magazines are now photographs of the subjects that are tied to the magazines latest story, aswell and cover lines which are now essential parts of a magazine cover.

My Portrait

I'm still a little unsure on what a want to photograph but i'm pretty sure it's going to be a self portrait. I would probably show me playing my bass or drawing because that's what i like to do. But if i did a portrait of someone else it would probably be my boyfriend playing his guitar but i'm pretty sure i'm doing a picture of me.

Movie Response

The type of lifestyle a war photographer lives seems to be one in solitude and very chaotic. Personaly it's not worth it to me because i don't want that to be my profession and it's scary going into the line of fire and seeing all that anarchy and pain. I couldn't shoot people grieving over loved ones because you have to get close and in their face. He obviuosly thinks it's worth it because that's what he does for a living and that's just what he wants to do.

Nachtwey's subject matter seems to be that of grieving relatives who have recently lost a loved one in battle or by the turmoil of the region.

The Decisive Moment

I picked photo #2. The photo is informal. The man is sitting down not dressed real fancy and he's looking off to the side of the camera, instead of straight at it and it looks like he's thinking. The lighting is soft, no real sharp features and it's kind of dark and he's in a dark suit which makes his head and hands stand out. The man's sitting down and he looks like he's done thinking and he's preparing himself to leave the cafe or restaurant. There wasn't anything interesting in the caption, it just had the date and place.

Portrait intro

1. What is the difference between a Formal, informal, environmental portrait?

In formal portraits, the subject is usually dressed nicely, sometimes very stiff. In informal pictures, the subject is not stiff, dressed casually and sitting or just hanging out. In environmental portraits, the subject is found in their natural environment. They're captured in their everyday lives.

2. What do the eyes tell us?

Eyes can be looking off to the side of a picture which can indicated thinking or intelligence and sometimes they be looking up or around which indicates day dreaming or thinking in a casual manner.

3. What does the background and body position tell us?

Backgrounds, if seen in portraits can tell us where the person is, and what they're like. Body positions can tell us what kind of a portrait is taken and what the person is like. If the position is very stiff, the portrait is probably formal and the subject is of great stature. If the position is loose and casual, the picture is most likely informal and it tells us that the person, though great can enjoy just being like everyone else and hanging out.

4. How does the lighting affect the shot?

Lighting if dark around the person in the portrait can make them stand out, make them look soft or hard. It can show great detail for a dignified picture or show very little and make the picture and subject appear mysterious.