Monday, February 7, 2011

Blog Prompt #7

Pay close attention to the types and number of photographic portraits you see in one day. Where did you see them? How do you think that the content of the portrait changes based on the context in which you see the image (news, facebook, magazine, advertisement, television, youtube, etc)? In other words, what is the difference between the portraits you see on facebook vs. those on the news? What is the difference between the “viewpoint” of the photographer in each situation? What is the difference between their “intents”?
It is interesting to see the difference between the types of portraits from different sources. Magazine covers are geared towards making the cover model look attractive, so that they can get more people to buy their magazine. The eye is better drawn to the aesthetic appeal, which makes for more sales. Portraits online try to do the same thing. However, they are more often than not are not nearly as successful at doing so. The people online do not have the lighting, makeup, and photography team that the magazines can employ. They make for a more natural look, but do not stack up to the professionals. As far as seeing portraits in the news, they generally go for pictures that show the desired person as clearly as possible. They aren't in fancy posed, and are usually kept simple. That way, their image won't distract too much from the news story and won't sway images.

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