Irving Penn

 

Sophia Loren, New York, 1959
Gelatin silver print

(wouldn't let me copy the photo)

        A portrait photographer that I was drawn towards during our class lecture is Irving Penn. From Penn's portraits to his fashion photos, I feel inspired to do a lot of different commercial work such as Penn does. I also see he incorporates specific poses or gestures in this work. In the above photograph, this image was presented during one of our photography lectures. I find this portrait fascinating and in awe on the amount of detail and what this photo makes you think about. I love the way Penn captures the woman's significant facial features. The makeup look that was done to her eyes, makes them pop more in the photo. Also, the mole on her cheek stands out due to the lighting that was placed on her face. Her lips and jawline also give this photograph detail about the woman's face. The woman's face is the focal point of this portrait, which leads mostly everything that the light isn't touching, left out.

        In this portrait, I believe Irving Penn used a strobe light with a cone attachment to it. I'm stating this guess because Penn targeted the lighting directly on the woman's face. Her hair and clothing don't have any lighting which is why they are black. I think this particular lighting is relevant for this portrait. The dramatic lighting makes this woman feel mysterious in some way. Also, it makes the viewer go directly to her eyes and around her face with the strobe light. I don't know if I absolutely love this piece or not. I love the concept and the details of this image. Nonetheless, part of me wants to see her voluminous dark hair in the photo. Also, I wouldn't mind seeing her clothing that she is wearing. I patricianly see a somewhat fuzzy hat or scarf that she is holding. I would love to see what peculiar fluffy thing that she is holding in the photograph. I do love this image and I love the way Irving Penn captured her beauty with a dramatic lighting around her face. Irving Penn's portrait work is breathtaking and special with the creativity he puts into his images.