Alec Soth Research

Alec Soth is a is a photographer born and based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Soth makes "large-scale American projects", mostly based in the midwestern United States. His photography has a cinematic feel with elements hinting a story behind the image. He has published over twenty-five books including Sleeping by the Mississippi, Niagara and Songbook. Alec Soth has had over fifty solo exhibitions including survey shows organized by Jeu de Paume in Paris and Media Space in London. He has received many fellowships and awards, including the Guggenheim Fellowship in 2013. In 2008, Soth created his own business - Little Brown Mushroom. This is a multi-media enterprise focused on visual storytelling.

This image is from Soth's ' Sleeping by the Mississippi' collection. I like how the whole of this image is red, apart from the woman herself who is dressed in blue and white. The solemn look on her face makes her appear lonely and disheartened. We can assert from the hearts on the wall and the red banner on the window that says 'day' that it is valentines day. This could possibly be the reason why the woman looks so alone. 

This is an image from the 'Songbook' collection. It is intriguing that this image is in black and white as the model appears to be fun and high-spirited. Most images that show the model with this kind of emotion would be in colour to add to the fun and lively elements. However, I like that this image is in black and white as it allows you to solely focus on the model and take in her expression of happiness. As she is wearing a cheerleading costume, when you see her expression you can tell that she is doing something she loves.

This image is from the 'Dog Days, Bogota' series. I find this image to be very captivating as it is so unique. Whilst the image has quite muted and dull colours, the assortment of toys that are hanging from the wall make the image seem strange and makes you wonder why they are hung in this way. The person in the image appears to be sat on a bed with a large pile of blankets next to her. It seems to be the persons bed, which adds to the uniqueness of the image as it means that Alec Soth would have been invited into the persons house to take the image.

Portraiture Part II - Straight Image

Portraiture Part II - Contact Sheet

Portraiture Part II - Work Diary

Today we continued to focus on portraiture photography, but during this lesson we took location photographs. We were tasked with taking photographs with a shallow depth of field. Whilst I liked taking location portraitures, I found it difficult to take images with a very shallow depth of field and used a blur tool in photoshop to create this effect.

I like this picture as I really like the lighting that is coming through the windows, and I like how she is more in focus than the background. I also like that the colours are all complimentary and of the same theme, as the door and her coat are different shades of green.

I didn't like this image as I feel that it isn't a good example of portraiture, as it does not have her face in the picture. Although, I do like how she is almost a silhouette as the light is coming from in front of her.

Progression

If I were to do this shoot again, I would try harder to get a narrower depth of field in my images, as I feel that my technique was the reason I did not manage to get this. I would position the people in my photographs further from the background so that it would be easier to focus on one thing.

Portraiture - Straight Image

Portraiture - Contact Sheet

Portraiture - Work Diary

In today's lesson, we focussed on portraiture photography. We started the lesson by researching different portraiture photographers, learning the different styles that have been used. Then, we worked in the studio on two different backdrops - one to take pictures from the shoulders and above, and one from a mid-shot.

I liked this image that I took as it was completely natural and could portray a mixture of emotions. The way her hands cover her face could show shock/surprise, but you can tell from her eyes that she is smiling and so she also appears to be laughing.

Whilst I do like this image, I do not like that it is posed. When shooting and researching portraiture, I discovered I prefer images that seem natural and show true emotions, rather than posed images. This is why I have included this image as the one I do not like.

Progression

If I am to shoot portraiture again, I would take close up images of faces in order to capture smaller details. I would also try and get more natural images of people, and a wider variety of facial expressions/moods.