Irving Penn- Portrait Inspiration

 

    When I was deciding what photographer I wanted to use as inspiration for my portraits, I actually based it off of what self-portrait photographer interested me most. I was most interested by the work of photographer, Lee Friedlander, when it came to learning about self-portraits. That being said, when it came to looking for a photographer as inspiration for my portrait photography, I wanted to find a photographer who's work I thought closely resembled that of Lee Friedlander. I decided upon the photographer, Irving Penn. The majority, if not all, of Penn's photographs are in black and white, similar to the work of Friedlander. This black and white look was something I carried into my own portraits. I think utilizing black and white, for Penn's portrait shown above, created a very dramatic effect that would not have been achieved if the images were in color, since it works hand in hand with the variation in lighting in this image. 

   Something I found very special about the work of Friedlander, initially, was the way he created color variation in photos, even though they were entirely black and white, through differences in light.  I loved the inclusion of streaks of light that cut across the images Friedlander created. This was also prevalent in much of Irving Penn's photography. In several of Penn's portrait photographs, there are variations in lighting in different areas of the photograph, whether through shadows or spots being illuminated by artificial or natural light; just like his portrait I focused on here. These differences in light create the illusion of different colors in the photograph, even though it is in black and white. More illuminated areas of the photograph appear more white or light gray, while more shaded areas of the photograph appear black or dark gray. This was a concept I made sure to prioritize in my own photographs, as I tried to incorporate variations in the lighting within all of my portraits to create shadows and areas of luminance. 

    Differences in lighting within portraits also create a more compelling story within them. Shadows and darkness both set a mood for the image. Shadows can create a sense of intensity, mystery, or danger, which I feel is exactly what they did in the Irving Penn portrait I have shown above. The aspect of darkness and shade in the man's portrait create a feeling of eeriness, and even a feeling of evil for the viewer. Without this shaded area being in the photo, it would lack the very uniqueness that drew me to it. In my own portraits, I tried to utilize shadows and darkness, just as Irving Penn does, in order to set a mood for my viewers as well. Since I decided to focus on women in sports for my own portraits, I wanted to use darkness and shadows within my images to create a sense of intensity and competition, rather than the sense of mystery and evil they create in Irving Penn's portrait here. 

One partiuclar component of this particular portrait by Irving Penn, that I feel made it most interesting was the intense eye contact of the subject with the camera. This level focus and intensity from the subject is somewhat intimidating as a viewer, but again, works to generate a sense of emotion and wonder for the viewer. You feel a sense of respect, and even slight fear, towards the subject displaying such power and dominance. This type of eye contact and intense expression that is so powerful here in Irving's photograph, is something I also tried to utilize in my own portraits. Strong eye contact, and an intense stare from my subjects, allowed my models to depict a sense of empowerment, competition, and strength, as women in sports, which is exactly what I wanted my portraits to convey. Without these intense, powerful, stares from my subjects, the images would not be able to convey such power from my female subjects as they did. 

    Irving Penn was the ultimate source of inspiration for my portraits. The stylistic decisions, utilizing lights and shadows of Irving Penn's photography, I feel, are what made his work stand out so much to me. His stylistic decisions, I feel, really enhanced my own portraits as well, as I implemented the same variations in light and shadow. I think without these variations in lighting, and the several other components of inspiration I drew from the work of Irving Penn, my portraits would not have been nearly as interesting or eye-catching. While the majority of my portrait inspiration was drawn from the work of Irving Penn, I can not neglect the significant role Lee Friedlander's self-portraits also played in helping me choose to choose Irving Penn as my portrait inspiration in the first place, since I was so captivated by Friedlander's images, and wanted to find a portrait photographer who's work seemed to be relatively similar and equally as impactful and inspirational.