(formal)
Hello Class! Welcome to Intro to Photography (Online), Summer I 2014; here at the Tyler School of Art!
My name is Tamsen Wojtanowski, and I will be your faculty for this course. A little bit about me, I am a working artist who has been making photographs since high school. I received a BS in Cinema and Photography from Ithaca College, and my MFA from the Tyler School of Art. I currently teach photography classes at Temple University, Arcadia University, and Delaware County Community College. I have also taught at The Corcoran College of Art + Design in Washington, DC. When not busy in the classroom, I spend a lot of long hours in the studio, producing my own creative work. You can check out my website here: tamsenwj.com.
I am a member of the artist-run exhibition space, NAPOLEON. We do great stuff! Next time you are in the VOX building for a First Friday, check us out - same building, second floor.
What I love: my two big dogs, my bike, chocolate & coffee (together), and ART.
But enough about me...
Above you see an example of what I would consider more of a "formal" self portrait. You see in the frame, myself, and nothing else. In a formal portrait the audience is left to consider the physical shape of the subject, their personal affects (clothing, jewelry, glasses, etc.), expression/body language, and then the photographic elements of the frame: composition, lighting, focus of the photograph, how it was made.
By looking at the image above, what you might learn about me is that I wear glasses, I have on a black t-shirt, I wear earrings, I have messy hair, I am looking directly at the camera (and out at the audience), and I look pretty sullen/serious/down in the mouth. The image's frame is tight, the camera-subject distance is close. You can only see from the shoulders up. The lighting looks natural and diffused. I assume this because it is a soft light, with soft shadows; making it more mellow than an image made with a strong directional light and hard shadows. The space in the photograph is small, the depth shallow. The subject/focus is the person. It looks as if this image was made with film, due to seeing the dust on the image. It is pretty clear, seems of good quality. This portrait seems very intentional and formal in every way.
In constructive criticism of the image, I would note that the dust is a bit distracting, and there is a bit too much negative space above the head for my liking. I would rather see more of the body, and would encourage the photographer (me), to move the frame down or even to step back and get more of the body. I am interested in seeing more. However, if the photographer intended the focus to be on the subject's facial expression, then I would say get closer, cut out the negative space with even more face! This distance seems unresolved.
From there you would take what you "know" (read: can see) from the image, and attach your own meanings/pre-dispositions/judgements, about who you think I am.
The image below is more of an "environmental" portrait.
(environmental)
In an "environmental" portrait, there are elements other than the subject that tell us more about the subject/situation. You can still pick up on the physical shapes of my body, personal affects, and expression/body language, but now you have a room or environment to investigate as well. In addition to investigating the subject, you will take into consideration those things around the subject, and, as with any photograph, you need to take into consideration those photographic elements: composition, light, and focus.
Here, you have another instance of natural lighting. The light is soft, and there are no harsh shadows. The quality of the photograph isn't very good. It is very grainy. It is a low-res phone photograph. This is a more casual image.
There is the subject, laying in a bed, in a white t-shirt. The subject looks happy. To their right is a large dog. It looks like the subject has a good relationship with this dog; neither the dog nor the subject look on edge, they both seem very relaxed. Given that there are no other subjects or details in this image, I would say this image is all about the subject's relationship with their dog.
(my version of the "duck face")
This is my version of the notorious "duck face". The image quality is poor. I can guess it came from a phone. (It is my phone that took it.) There is almost no information in the image. It is not formal, it is casual. I have on neon sunglasses, it looks sunny. This photograph doesn't really tell anybody anything about me. It is more of a post-it note kind of image ("look at me!" "reminder: buy milk").
These kinds of images are fine for your facebook and tumblr accounts. They have social merit and are an interesting topic to consider when thinking about contemporary trends in photography - but here, we can do better. Also, take note, phone photographs are very limited. They are often highly stylized by the phone's own addition of filters and effects. You will have much more control as the image maker with your camera. Camera-made photographs, over phone-camera-made photographs are highly preferred in this class. It is not a good excuse for poor quality to state it was made using a phone, quality is still your responsibility as the photographer, and poor quality will reflect negatively in your grade. (Just a little disclaimer.)
So, think about your frame. Think about what you want to express, what you want to share about yourself with the class. Is it an overall emotion? A love of a sport or a hobby? The biggest thing is to be honest. Take your self portraits in a space where you can be alone with your camera. Many of our expressions are for other people. They are masks we put on. You'll find when alone with your camera, it is amazing some of the things that can come out; sides of yourself you have felt, but maybe haven't really ever seen before.
And remember: if it's not interesting to you, it won't be interesting to anyone else!
I look forward to meeting all of you and seeing your self portraits!
Happy shooting!
***For some inspiration - check out the moody, abstract, self portraits of Francesca Woodman.
Also, please notice - the tags below and my post title. Both contain my name and the name of the assignment. These layout elements are required.
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