Photographers

Robert Mapplethorpe

Robert Mapplethorpe was an american photographer known for his large black and white portraits. he also looked at flowers as well as portraits of people.

when i look at his work you immediately go to the subject as the white stands out dramatically from the black. with the background being so plain and so dark the subject seems to stand out even more.

when i look at the portraits he does of the people i am thinking if he has a hidden meaning behind the photographs. is the audience supposed to decide what kind of person these people are like, their personality? their history? is that suggesting we see people and judge them through their appearance?

the people aren't smiling or posing for the camera necessarily ,they are just standing their showing no emotion. is this important? yes i think so, we are judging them from their appearance not the emotion they show in their faces.

if we look at the flowers he photographs i think he wants us to look at the shape of the flowers as in real life we don't look at them often enough. i think he wants to admire their beauty. even with the dark background and them standing out in the white, they still look quiet and subtle. 

Steven Klein

Steven klien is an american based photographer based in new York  he is known for work in the fashion industry including high profile advertising for Calvin Klein, Alexander McQueen and D&G.

his work therefore includes models and is primarily focused on the composition of his photographs. 

his work can be quite shocking (topleft photo) butthis some how interests me as i would love to know where he got the right ideas from. his work includes alot of women and men collaborations aswell as just focusing on women and their femininity advertising clothes.

i think his work is very sharp. and the colours he uses contrasts alot against each other, using shadows and light to create a dramatic photo. he uses things in the foreground (models) and models in the background to create a more interesting composition and sometimes photographs scenarios to display an act. 

  some of his work can be quite disturbing but i respect him for going all out and photographing this, as if nobody did this , life would be boring and full of no conflict or opinionism.

Cindy Sherman



Cindy Sherman is an american photographer who is best known for her conceptual portraits.
when i see Cindy Shermans work as i have researched her before in A level, i notice this idea of Stereotypes and how women are percieved. here in the top left photo she dresses up herself and coveys the idea that women like to dress up, wear makeup and get fake tans. in the top right photo you see her dressed as a maid doing the washing up, men think women belong in the kitchen.
this makes the audience think is this right? is this what the world really thinks and should they do something to change it.

she uses a variety of compositions to emphaise the point she is trying to make in her photos. she also chooses different colour schemes to do this, sometimes bold and bright colours and sometimes black and white.

i love Cindy Shermans work as I am very passionate on the subject of feminism and how women are treated. and I think she gets the meanings across very well with her interesting ways of showing it.