Photography is such a beautiful thing, to be able to capture a moment in time with the click of a button. Any special moment, captured in an instant. The evolution of photography is also astounding, from the 1820’s to now – the possibilities for amazing photographs are endless. I’m very fortunate enough to have some great influences in the photography realm within my family and friendship group. My sister-in-law, Josie Withers, is a world renowned editorial photographer who has shot for the likes of Samantha Wills, VMFA, The Olsen Hotel and Laneway Festival.
For me, my favourite style of photography is DoF shots that enable the human eye to see things that we wouldn’t otherwise be focusing on, or that we wouldn’t otherwise have a deep appreciation for. I really love her style as she focuses on the subject of each shot, through strong styles of DoF and ISO.
Having the ability to explore some amazing places, I made it my priority to try different styles of photography and work in a different manner that I’m used to. I love to play around behind the camera and experiment with different styles. We went for a walk to the countryside today to do some shooting, experimenting with new stylistic approaches. The journey to take some unreal photos can be a difficult one, but it is the end result that counts. We were lucky we had a clear day to take some awesome photos, and the sunrise was amazing!
An account that I follow on Instagram @bdorts is really cool as he focuses on some great landscape shots, highlighting the beautiful part of the United States that he lives in. Portland is awesome, but it’s not just Portland that he shoots, but a great spectacle across his worldwide travels. Having never been to Portland, the power of photography has definitely got me hungry to get on a plane and see his awesome city soon!
Portraits have the opportunity to convey a very strong message, whether it be through lighting, shot length or through the modelling style of the subject. I really love Instagram photographer Mickey Mars (@MickeyyyMars) who captures amazing images and tells a particular story through each shot.
This particular portrait really hits home for me as you can see a remarkable amount of pain in the subjects face, through amazing use of lighting here we are able to gain an understanding of the raw emotion that is at the forefront of this image. This image also appeals to me because it is such a close up with a shallow DoF, as we can see everything in the background and foreground is out of focus, but the subject’s face is in perfect camera position. It works as a photograph because it tells a story, which all good images do. We see pain and hurt, but beauty and vulnerability. The unique lighting situation where only parts of her cheekbone and left side of her face is exposed to light offer a unique perspective to a face full of lighting and, adversely, no lighting at all. This photo provokes a raw vulnerability, a dark side to a beautiful girl, it is moody and sombre and offers very little relief from the darker side that this has to offer.
Annie Leibovitz, who has shot several amazing photos in her career for the likes of Caitlyn Jenner, Leonardo DiCaprio and Dakota Fanning is a truly impeccable artist of her field. I love the shot that she did for Angelina Jolie, pictured below for its simplicity yet intricacy and highly interesting shot.
The shot uses great depth of field, highlighting the statues in the foreground, as well as Jolie herself. As well as this, the background of what seems to be an ancient city is left in the unknown and the person studying the photograph has to determine for themselves where they believe Jolie is. Leibovitz is known for her very simple style, as mentioned before, she is most well known to me as the photographer behind Caitlyn Jenner’s famous reveal on the Vanity Fair cover. To most big fans of contemporary photography, this may seem trivial that this is how I know about Leibovitz, but after studying her career for some time I can definitely say that I’m a massive fan. While there is of course some major editing in the aforementioned photo, the style is one I definitely do love!