Portraiture - Irving Penn

Following the list of artists I am researching is Irving Penn. Penn's approach to portraits is quite close up to the subject, some more than others. He was one of the first photographers to use plain white or grey backdrops and used this simple effect brilliantly. In most of his portrait photographs his subject's heads are turned away to the side and he uses the light at the side as well to create shadows. I have choden this image of Nicole Kidman because I like the difference to it compared with other portraits, to me this fits in the category of not so much your typical portrait as like some others this image has a quirkiness to it. In the photo Nicole's hand looks slightly awkward where as Nicole herself appears fairly comfortable and lost in thought facing away from the camera. Penn usually takes his portraits like this with a harsher light than most, angled at the side and with the subject looking away lost in thought which he seems to do to create a bit more of a dramatic effect. Penn presents work which show/ represent that he prefers his subjects to have a pose and and not to be as natural.

A quote by Penn, which I really quite like, - "Sensitive people faced with the prospect of a camera portrait put on a face they think is one they would like to show the world. ...Very often what lies behind the facade is rare and more wonderful than the subject knows or dares to believe." —Irving Penn, 1975.

Photograph taken by Irving Penn and found at the link http://melissapelchatcps.wordpress.com/