Mapplethorpe Notes

- American photographer
- known for his sometimes controversial large-scale, highly stylised black and white photography
- work included celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-portraits and still-life images of flowers
- Very controversial work 
- Born November 4, 1946
- Died March 9, 1989

Work Diary - Mapplethorpe Studio

Evaluation

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.

 

Straight images - Mapplethorpe Studio

Work Diary - Mapplethorpe Location

Evaluation

I found it quite difficult to take pictures in the style of Mapplethorpe. To start off with I began just taking any portraits, and not thinking about Mapplethorpe's work as I did them. These images were not focused enough on the face but more on the background, which isnt what Mapplethorpe's portraits are like. There was too much empty space in the frame and the face was not shown close up enough. I also found it hard to come up with many different composition ideas, as Mapplethorpe's own are quite unique.

On the other hand, I did end up taking some reasonable images when I went out a second time to shoot.I thought about Mapplethorpe's work and the kind of compositions used in his photography. I made sure the second lot of pictures I took were very focused on the face, with no empty space in the frame. When it came to editing the photos I tried to make some of them look similar to Mapplethope's, and experimented with black and white. This benefitted the result of some of the images as the tones, highlighted and shadows in the face were more emphasised, like in Mapplethorpe's work, but I thought some of them looked better in colour. I am very happy with the straight images from this session and think that some of them are some of my best shots overall.

This was one of the first pictures i had taken. I quite like the picture itself but it does not look Mapplethorpe inspired. There is far too much empty space in the frame and the face is not shown close up enough. Because of this the tones and details in the face are not clear, and my focus lies on the contrast between the two colours of the wall, rather than the facial features. 

This picture looks more Mapplethorpe inspired as it is focused on the face rather than the background. Comparing it to the top picture, there is a lot less empty space in the frame and there facial features can be seen a lot clearer. I am happy with the outcome of this image and think that it does look inspired by Mapplethorpe's portrait composition.

Progression

If I was to go out and shoot Mapplethorpe location again I would probably experiment with a larger variety of unique and abstract compositions, as this is what Mapplethorpe did. I would also try out different props as Mapplethorpe did this in some of his portraits, but also to make a more interesting, creative image.

The picture below is one of Mapplethorpe's photographs. He uses props like this in a lot of his work which adds interest to the image, while also filling the frame. After looking at this I feel that I could have improved my Mapplethorpe photos using props like this, as they can completely change the image but also create an interesting composition and add interest to a plain image.

Straight Images - Mapplethorpe Location

Image Bank - Mapplethorpe Portraits

I realised after looking at some of Mapplethorpe's work that very many of his portraits are black and white, and are taken with simple, plain backgrounds. Although this seems very simple, the black and white effect allow the different tones to be clearly shown in the faces, which creates form. Despite this, some of his portraits like the bottom image include blurring, or props to make them more unique and abstract, which I quite like about his photography. Mapplethorpe focusses a lot on composition, and he explores many different ones in his portraiture.