Thursday 17 January 2013

Yousuf Karsh


Book research : Yousuf Karsh, Toronto, printed in Switzerland

I really love this guy’s work, even just looking at the first few pages, I knew that this was some of the best work I had seen, in my opinion. His simple approach that really shows the character of the mode is amazing, for example the picture of Muhammad Ali shows the confidence and arrogance he was famous for, as well as being the best heavy weight boxer of all time.  I think that the lighting helps this as well, in most cases photographers choose a light setup that will emphasize an aspect of the model that the photographer notices, but he pretty much always uses a natural looking light that shows that person in the most honest way.

I think my favourite picture is the one of Michael E. Debakey because the amount detail that he’s captured within his face is amazing. I also like how he’s framed the picture, it’s clear that he’s taken his time leading up to taking the picture because he’s managed to get the writing on his shirt in, his arm is coming into the frame exactly in the middle of the corner, he’s just managed to get the tops of the eye lids framed in his glasses, while still getting the desired angle for the photo. Again its really plain light setup but it looks slightly more intense, the source could even be a surgical light to make it more relevant to the subject.



After doing this research I know now that I should spend more time making my pictures relevant to the person I am shooting and maybe not worry so much on the lighting effects that I could possibly create. 

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