portrait inspirations

Bob Gruen

Bob Gruen was born in 1945 and is one of the most well known photographers in the rock and roll scene . He took photos for various artists like John Lennon, Elvis, the Rolling Stones, Madonna, Led Zeppelin, Green Day, the Ramones, Kiss, and Sex Pistols. Bob’s main goal was to get candids behind the scenes and on stage of rock and roll artists. In 1971, he was employed and John Lennon’s personal photographer.

Lighting: the lighting is soft coming from behind Bob and to the left because of the shadow in the right side of his face

Location: this was taken in New York City in front of the buildings

Body position: Bob mostly takes candids of his subjects so I think he let his model pose

Clothes and props: The shirt that John is wearing is what makes this photo so famous and iconic because he is wearing a New York City shirt in New York City

Composition: this photo has a low exposure

I love this photo because I think that Led Zeppelin posing in front of their own private jet is very iconic. I really like the location that Bob chose to shoot at.

I also love this photo because Bob gives you a good candid shot of what the artists do in their free time. It gives you a good look at the subject’s lifestyle to get them in action.

Douglas Kirkland

Douglas was born in Toronto, Canada in 1934. He did photojournalism at Look Magazine and Life Magazine early in his career. He has also worked on the sets of major motion pictures like the Titanic, 2001 A Space Odyssey, and Moulin Rouge. He also wrote essays on the fashion Greece, Lebanon, and Japan while photographing Marilyn Monroe. Douglas has also published many books like An Evening with Marilyn and James Cameron’s Titanic. He works closely with his business partner Francoise Kirkland. Many of his subjects are major icons like Marilyn Monroe, Coco Chanel, and Barbara Streisand. His work won the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American S.O.C., Photographer of the Year from the PMA, a Lucie Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Entertainment Photography from the IPA , The Golden Eye of Russia, and a Life Time Achievement Award from CAPIC.

Lighting: This photo is very bright with light and over exposed

Location: a bed

Camera settings: He probably used a high aperture and a low shutter speed to get the high exposure effect

Body position: Marilyn is on her side laying in the bed hugging a pillow wrapped in the sheets. He either positioned her himself or let him or her own thing.

Clothes and Props: Marilyn is wearing no clothes in the photo which makes the sheets and pillow important because they are keeping her covered.

Composition: There's a lot of contrast in this photo because her skin color stands out heavily against the white sheets.

I really love this picture because Leo is my favorite actor and my biggest celebrity crush.

The contrast in this photo is really amazing. I love how Marilyns skin stands out against the sheets and I think she was a good subject to use.

Jeff Widener

Jeff Widener was born in 1956. Jeff began his interest in photography at the young age of seven. After graduating high school, Jeff pursued a career in photojournalism with the Whittier Daily News in California. Jeff then started to travel covering the most major events to ever happen in history like his famous “Tank Man” photo. This photo was awarded the Pulitzer prize and made one of the top ten most famous photos in history around the world. Jeff has also received the DART award from Columbia University, The National Headliner Award, the Harry Chapman Award, the Best in the Photojournalism Award, The Scoop Award in France, and the Chia Award in Italy.

Lighting: This photo has soft outdoor lighting creating shadows

Location: This photo was taken at Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China.

Camera Settings: This photo was taken far away so the photographer could have zoomed all the way out r gotten a longer lense

Body Position: This is a candid of an event so the photographer never positioned the man

Clothing and Props: The man is wearing a white long sleeved shirt and black pants. The major props in this photo are the tanks and they are the most important in the photo.

Composition: All the tanks are centered in the middle of the photo

I really like this photo because there is so much going on and there are so many subjects. I also like the action that is happening and how it tells a story.

This photo really makes you think about what happened to have the car be crushed by a house. I really love the contrast of the red car because it is the main focus of the photo, so it makes it stand out even more.