Research Log

Alexander Khokhlov

http://www.alexanderkhokhlov.com/categories/art-of-face

Alexander Khokhlov works with Veronica Ershova and are a photographing duo world renowned for it’s creative projects. Unconventional ideas and daring approach to common shootings are their calling card. They use makeup of the face of the subject to illustrate a specific theme, colour is very dominant.

Mario Testino

http://www.mariotestino.com

 Many aspects of Mario Testino's work heavily relate to the topic of colour. He mainly focusses on the human body and he is a very prestigious fashion photographer. He includes many vibrant and bright colours by adding specific make up and effects which make the photos stands out significantly.

Annie leibovitz

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/annie-leibovitz/photo-gallery/19/

Annie Leibovitz is a nationwide establish photographer renowned for her portrait work with famous people. Her work contains elements of elegance and class through the use of lighting, angle and different tones. Annie's work is usually quite simplistic but very effective. If I considered attempting to create my on portraits in the future I would make a further, in depth portfolio and analyse her work in order to give me something/someone to aspire to.

Steeve McCurry

http://stevemccurry.com/

The majority of Steven McCurry's photography revolves heavily around colour and ethnicity as most of his work has been taken in the Indian region through travelling, therefore focussing on the formal element of colour. Also most of his work is portraits, which I would like to experiment with in the future. Steve McCurry has been one of the most iconic voices in contemporary photography for more than thirty years, with scores of magazine and book covers, over a dozen books, and countless exhibitions around the world to his name.

Robert Mapplethorpe

http://www.mapplethorpe.org/

Robert Maplethorpe's work focusses heavily on portraiture and his compositions are extremely effective, he always manages to fill the frame effectively. Also the majority of his work is created in black and white and is very tonal. Also many, if not all, of his work is very simplistic and he uses very plain light or dark backgrounds to allow the figures to stand out. His work are very iconic as they explore the society in which he spent his childhood in.

Andrew Mcgibbon

http://www.andrewmcgibbon.co/Portfolios/People/thumbs

Andrew Mcgibbon works in a range of styles and techniques but colour always is presented in a dominant way. He is a photographer and conservationist based in London. He is currently an artist in residence at the Hornsey Town Hall Arts Centre, working on a project called 'Animal Lectures' as well as taking on commercial commissions. He specialises in photographing animals with flash, human and non-human.

Rankin

http://rankin.co.uk/home/#

John Rankin Waddell, also known under his working name Rankin, is a British portrait and fashion photographer. Due to him being a fashion photographer colour is one of his main focusses displayed through the makeup, pros and costumes used. He uses relevant colours in order to create a specific theme, for example the image below is dominated by the colour green and provides a natural/nature effect. This is enhanced by the clothing looking like grass.

Chuck Close

http://www.pacegallery.com/artists/80/chuck-close

Charles Thomas "Chuck" Close is an American painter and photographer who works from his own photographs in order to create his art. Chuck's photography is very interesting to me as he focusses on portraiture in black and white. This is very effective in showing the detail in the face of the subject along side with the formal elements of line, form and shape. The absence of colour in his photography is very intriguing to me as I feel that it is very effective in creating a particular mood. The subjects in the photographs tend to appear very serious and emotionless., enhanced by the black and white effect. Also I like his technique of blurring the whole image apart from the face of the subject. The edges of the model's head is blurred which enhances the detail of the eyes, nose, mouth and in some cases hair.

David LaChapelle

http://www.lachapellestudio.com/portraits/

David LaChapelle is an American commercial photographer, fine-art photographer, music video director, film director, and artist. He is best known for his photography, which often references art history and sometimes conveys social messages. David's colourful demeanour is truly inspiring through his use of costume and props and even backgrounds. His makes his subject appear vibrant and elegant through his colour choice, creating a particular theme. This is something in which i would like to replicate in my own work.

Brian Smith

http://briansmith.com

Brian Smith is an American portrait photographer and photojournalist. He may be known best for portraits of actors, business leaders, politicians, and athletes that are at once stylish and telling. The facial expressions that are used in his work are very influential in terms of the atmosphere created. When photographing in black and white he tends my acquired a more serious facial expression to the subject. Along with the poses and clothes worn a rather smart, clean and formal theme is produced. However, Brian also photographs in colour where the models are usually much more elaborate, expressive and happy where the overall atmosphere is enhanced by the fact that the photo is hot in colour. I feel That Brian's choice of colour/black and white along side with the poses and facial expressions are very inspiring and I would like to attempt to use this technique in my own work.

Gregory Prescott

http://www.gregoryprescott.net/home

Gregory Prescott is a self-taught photographer . His work consists of an array of photographs of portraits, humans adorned and the human form. I find it interesting to create art using live figures. With my work, he allows everyone to see the true and outstanding beauty of a woman’s curves, the fullness of her lips, the textures of her hair and the grace in the extensions of her arms. He also display the broadness in the man’s back, the signs of struggle in his shoulders and the determination in his eyes. In his photographs the essence, sensuality, strong structure and power of the body with the use of passion is used but without the use of excessive sexuality.

Steve Fitch
http://www.stevefitch.com/western-landmarks/
Steve Fitch's work is very effective with colour. Colour is displayed most obviously at nighttime where who shoots and captures photographs of landmarks. These tend to be motels which have neon signs, advertising there service. Due to the fact that he photographs at night, most of the composition is dark, if not black, which enhances the bright colours of the neon lights.

Will Slater

http://www.willslaterphotography.com

Will slater is a Bristol-based photographer but takes on work all over the UK and has his first international commission in Italy in the coming years. His subject of matter is very diverse as it ranges from travelling in cuba to a wedding in England  However, despite this colour is still shown to be dominant. When shooting in urban locations he choses to place colourful objects in front colourless backgrounds and backdrops which further enhances the colour in the photograph. Also he forms very feminine work due to the colours used, shown through the second picture below.  This technique is very effective and I could attempt to replicate this style in my own work but maybe not with the same subjects in which he uses.

Timothy hogan

http://www.timothy-hogan.com/#!/about

Timothy's work is very influential when it comes to colour as it very dominant in his work. He works worldwide for an array of international luxury brands and advertising agencies in the beauty, fashion, beverage and design industries. He illustrates movement very well in his photography due to the bright colours which form streaks of light through long exposures. Also I feel that he shows depth of field very well, blurring out the background and even sometimes the foreground in order to focus on one specific area of subject in the frame.

Christian Aslund

http://www.christian.se

 Christians photography is very unique as he captures his photographs through travelling. He takes his photos through travelling, illustrating different cultures and the way they live. He also implies issues with society. I feel that the way he shows colour is very effective. He focusses on portraits and also real life situations.

Kait Robinson

http://www.kaitrobinsonphoto.com/book-i

Kait tends to focus on portraiture in his work and uses colour very effectively. For women she photographs in colour and uses very feminine colour schemes with colours such as reds,pinks and also pastels. I like the way that she uses a certain colour scheme throughout the whole image rather just having one colour stand out. However, when she photographs men she tends to photograph them in black and white making them look much more masculine.

Alex lake

http://twoshortdays.com

UK-based photographer Alex Lake shoots internationally and is sought after worldwide for his intimate and iconic photography. I really like the way he uses very low key lighting where a lot of contrast can be seen. Due to the black background and lots of shadows, the colour is enhanced through the contrast and looks more vibrant. 

Iain Crawford

http://www.iaincrawford.com

Iain loves to capture images that have a strong graphic and textural quality, often searching out the graphical symmetry in chaos, while still maintaining the personality and emotion of the subject. His career has lead him to shoot campaigns for many of the world's top brands and receive commissions from a host of top international magazines. He loves the fusion between paint and model. The resulting shapes are as opulent as any piece of bespoke couture. The excitement and anticipation as we waited to see the next piece of unpredictable chaos was electric. There was something magical about how random chance materialised into beautiful images in front of our eyes.

Elizabeth Hoff

http://www.elisabethhoff.com

Elisabeth is a London based fashion, celebrity and beauty photographer working for major advertising and editorial clients in both the UK and abroad. She creates specific moods and schemes through the colours in which she uses. She uses the same colour background, makeup and props and costumes.

Cristina Otero

http://www.cristinaotero.com

Cristina Otero is a Spanish photographer currently living in Madrid. Known for her self-portraits. Being self-taught, Cristina started taking pictures at thirteen, and at fifteen she had her first solo exhibition in the Kir Royal Gallery (Valencia), becoming the youngest Spanish artist to exhibit individiually in a gallery. She collaborates her photography and art very well creating very colourful pieces. However, I feel that her black and white work is equally effective as it enhances the deep, serious and emotional mood.

Nadav Kander
http://www.nadavkander.com/#

Nadav Kander (born December 1, 1961) is a London-based photographer, artist and director, known for his portraiture and landscapes. I would like to research Nadav's work because i feel that he uses colour very effectively in ways that my other photographer do not. Nadav uses lighting very effectively order to introduce colour, assumably he uses gels over his lights in order to project colour instead of plain light. Also I like his style of composition and also would like to attempt the way in which he darkens the areas around the outline of the subject. Allowing them to stand out and also provide a sense of 3D.