People and Place
I have now had a chance to look at the new course notes. The first section is taking portraits of people. As my camera is still away getting repaired (should be back by the end of the month)
I have not had a chance to take any images yet. I decided that I would do a little research into the work of the portrait photographer. I decided to find a well-known image of a model and then look at the photographer.
I decided to choose this image of a model called Natalia Vodianoa, this image was taken in 2003 by Paolo Roversi.
Copyright Paolo Roversi
Mr Roversi has taken some of the most recognisable portraits over a number of years. For over 30 years he has worked from a small studio in Paris. He has worked for Elle, Marie Claire and Depeche Mode. More people became aware of him in 1980 when he worked for Christian Dior.
He is not a fan of fixed studio lighst and has used hand-held torches to produce incredible images.
Mr Paolo Roversi
I found an interesting quote from him:-
“….If I take a picture of this cup, it’s a portrait of this cup; if I take a picture of a teapot it’s a portrait of a teapot…”
The above image of Natalia is one of his most famous images, this is what she looks like now:-
She really is stunning.
After reading about Mr Roversi I saw that there was going to be an exhibition of his work at the Wapping Project Bankside.
I popped along to the exhibition and spent the afternoon looking at some of the images that have made him famous. The image above of Natalia above is not part of the exhibition, but there is another one of her.
There were a lot of black and white images and they were all stunning. You can see why he is demand.
The visit to the gallery was well worth a trip up to London. I realised , as I went home on the train, just how difficult this section of the course will be. Taking good portraits is not as simple as taking a picture of a persons face!