I quite enjoyed the Mapplethorpe studio shoot as this was the first time I had tried to take photos in the style of a famous photographer. During the shoot I tried to focus a lot on the composition of the images than I normally would, as a lot Mapplethorpe's photography clearly focuses on composition. I thought about the kind of compositions Mapplethorpe had used in his portrait photography and tried to replicate some of these which resulted in some good images. As well as this I though of some of my own compositions which left me with some very interesting and creative images. When it came to editing I made one or too black and white in order to stick to the typical Mapplethorpe style, but with the others I adjusted the lighting in order to clearly show form and tone, which Mapplethorpe clearly shows in his portraits.
When It came to thinking of my own, unique compositions, I found this slightly difficult as it was hard to think of ones that looked obviously inspired by Mapplethorpe without replicating his own. To overcome this I though of the different compositions and positions of his portrait and edited them slightly to make them my own.
The composition of this image is not very strong. Mapplethorpe's portraits focus on the detail and tones in the face rather than the background, however there is too much empty space in this frame. If i was to shoot this same photo again I would take it as a portrait instead of a landscape, so the face would fit into the frame better and the empty space will be filled. This would also allow us to see the faced closer up, showing the details and tones clearer.
I really like this image, as the tones, highlights and shadows are very clear in the face, which resembles Mapplethorpe's work. The contrast between the person and the background, and that image is taken from the side allows shape to be shown very clearly, which is what I like most about this picture. I think that editing this picture black and white would be very effective as the tones in the face will be emphasised.
Progression
If I was to shoot Mapplethorpe images in the studio again I would try to experiment with more compositions as I found in this shoot they were very limited. I would also try to replicate more of Mapplethorpe's compositions and look as his work in more detail in order to produce images which look more obviously inspired by Mapplethorpe. I would also try to make sure each image focused on the face as much as possible, and try to fit the faces in the frame without empty space in the frame.
The picture below is an example of Mapplethorpe's portrait photography. I really like the composition of this photo, and how it draws us to the face. During my Mapplethorpe shoot I didn't think about positioning the arms in different way like this, but I think it is very effective. Although there is a lot of space in the frame, we are still drawn to the face as it contrasts significantly against the dark background. After looking at this picture I feel inspired to try photographing people in different like Mapplethorpe does to add interest to my photography but also to draw attention to the face like this one.
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