Portraiture

These photographs from a home inspired shoot. After I had visited the Glamour of The Gods- Hollywood Portraits in London’s National Portrait Gallery, I as inspired by photographers such as Cecil Beaton, John Engstead and Fred Parrish to create a portrait using my Grandma, as she is quiet an interesting character and i felt her looks would suit this portrait series. I studied some of Cecil Beaton’s images and felt that one in particular suit my Grandma’s appearance. I think the texture of the fur coat works well within these shots because they create god highlights and shadow effects. I decided to make these images black and white as I wanted to keep them to a certain era around 1920/30’s. I positioned my grandma at interesting angles which captured flecks of her personality and age, such as her hands being a main focal point because of the veins being quiet prominent. I dressed her in dark coloured cloths to contrast the background and the nakedness of her shoulders create a venerability to the photograph. I used props such as glasses of wine, cigarette holders, jewelry and fur coats as they were popular in this era and tied in well with the scene I was creating. The four photographs work well in a series and really conveys the atmosphere I was trying to create.