Annie Leibovitz x LDC

Shot by Annie Leibovitz in 1997 for Vanity Fair Magazine, the picture captures a young Leonardo DiCaprio, who at the time, was still emerging into the Hollywood Scene, with a white swan around his neck. The image captures a portrait of Leo very well because forst of all, it focuses on the subject only, using a wide aperture that creates a shallow depth of field. This pictures is also shot in black and white, and uses heavy contrast to differientiate between Leo and the Swan; as it can be seen, the Swan with it’s white feathers is wrapped around Leo’s black trutleneck jumper, which creates a heavy contrast. Another great element that was used well in this image is lines; The curvy line created by the swan is a great addition to the image since it presents a symbol of natural calmness and easness of the moment. Curvy lines are very organic, as opposed to ZigZag lines or Diagonal lines, thus suggesting a feeling of comfort and ease. One of the elements, that I think Annie did not use well was composition. Leo and the swan are in the far right of the image, and in doing so, she has left a lot of negative space in the image. I think that Annie could have done a better job at framing the image by having a part of Leo’s face, preferably eyes, meet the intersecting points while using the rule of thirds.

Steve Mccury Dust Storm

Picture taken by Steve Mccury of six women during a dust strom, as the name suggest, in 1983. This image clearly communicate theses details to the audience since it uses a blanced composition to set the scene. The use of the wide angle on Mccury’s camera shows the foreground with the two pots, the midground with the six women, and the background with the trees; all in a vertical frame composition.

The color saturation also communicates a lot of information about the moment the picture is taken in. There is a use of very warm colors that are saturated, which suggest the weather in the picture is also very warm and hot. The colors are very analogus (red and orange).

The foreground of the picture bears a lot of details in the pots and the ground, which makes me wonder about the aperture used in this image. My guess is that it is a very narrow aperture as there is no shallow depth of field and there is a lot of detail and focus on every aspect of the picture.

Edit:

Another aspect of this image that I find amazing is the blending and slightly mixing of colors in the middle of the picture (horizon line) between the ground and the sky; I do also like how that soft blending of light colors is contrasted by high saturated colors form the women’s dresses.

Stanley Kubrick:

Picture taken by Stanely Kubrick when he was 17 (1945). As a director, Kubrick is known for his very detailed cinematography, which always presents elements of symmetry and and persepctive using leading lines.

This image taken earlier in his life, before becoming a director, shows a great example of leading lines in composition through the stairs. The lines created by the sides of the stairs take the viewer’s attention into the girl going down the stairs.

There is another good use of framing and space. The girl is positioned in the center of the background wall, which creates a nice frame for her.

Kubrick also excells at telling a story in this image. The image can easily communicate how a girl is slowly and carefully walking down the stairs, while carying a pile of heavy books.

The only thing I feel I would change about this is the symmetry with a more neutral angle. The angle used by Kubrick is leaning more to a dutch angle style, which could be used to interpret the uneasenss of the woman going down the stairs and afraid of falling. ****However, I would use a more right composition for this.

Eggleston’s Red Ceiling:

Being iconic for his use of high chromatic and saturated hues, William Eggleston took this picture of a light bulb on a red ceiling. In an era when the only photography considered art was black and white photography, Eggleston used colors. At the time, colors were typically used to attract people’s eyes in advertising. Eggleston used striking high chromatic colors to contrast the everyday subjects around him. Objects/subjects that would be described as banal or mundane. In this image, Eggleston captures a light bulb against a ceiling that has a striking red color. The light bulb acts as a mundane everyday object that is captured remarkably and exceptionally. Because of the use of the color red, the scene evokes a feeling of danger and unease. The bald red color always suggests a feeling of danger at the moment, a technique used in many film scenes, such as the nightclub scene in Se7en.

"When you look at the dye, it is like red blood that's wet on the wall.” Eggleston once said of the work. Eggleston’s style transforms mundane subjects by contrasting them with their surroundings. Another aspect I like about this photograph is the use of white lines that highly contrast with the red background.