Malick Sidibe

Malick Sidibe 

Notes from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malick_Sidib%C3%A9

·         Malick Sidibe is an African photographer born in Soloba, 1935

·         Recognised for his black and white pictures of popular culture in the 1960s in Bamako

·         His did a bit of documentary photography in his studio in 1958, he focused on the youth culture of the Malian capital

·         He then turned to studio portraits in 1970

·         His work is now exhibited in Europe (the Cartier Foundation in Paris), the United States and Japan

·         Was later awarded the ICP infinity award for lifetime achievement in 2008.

I really like the work by Malick because it changes my perception of what a portrait is. The only experience of studio portraiture I have is being on the receiving end of the camera while getting my school picture taken, so seeing the crazy backgrounds and the unorthodox poses is a relief because I thought it was going to be a dull period in the course. I particularly like the relaxed style the pictures are taken with, which you can see in the framing of the picture ie there are uneven borders and there are bits creeping into the frame that the photographer would normally try to hide. You can also see that the models are relaxed because they are  happy to do these poses even though they are just ‘guys’ of the street. I think I can learn a lot from his work because he takes his pictures from a range of viewpoints and they all capture the essence of the occasion that they were taken in and the expression of the models.

http://pdnphotooftheday.com/2011/02/8275

I think these two are my favourite pictures because I like how the stripy background defines the edge of the model and gives it a unique look and the plain one puts the focus only on the models. I also like the lighting in the pictures; it’s simple and creates light contrasts in the model’s  faces which makes the picture look natural. I think the background is also lit, but very softly so it doesn’t affect the models.

To take these pictures I think there’s a soft box light almost directly above the model’s head just in front of them so their faces are well lit. This would explain the slight shadow under their chins and the fact that there’s no shadow by their feet and legs. This would also light the background slightly.  

Even though this isn’t studio portraiture, I like it because of how it’s framed, with the guy positioned exactly in the middle, and the people around him are mostly in the frame and in decent focus.

I think this was done by using a flash just to the left of the camera.