Artist Research Week 6: Three Point Lighting

Week 6 Three Point Lighting

Artist 1

Annie Leibovitz

Annie Leibovitz, Miley Cyrus, Vanity Fair, 2008

Annie Leibovitz, Adele, Vogue, 2012

Annie Leibovitz, Huge Jackman, Les Miserales Cast Photo, 2012

Annie Leibovitz is an American Portrait Photographer, born in 1949. Leibovitz first began Photography while stationed in the Philippines during the Vietnam War. Her artistic abilities began to show at school and she went on to study painting at the San Fransisco art institute, and continued to practise her camera work while working various jobs. In 1970, she started working  as a photographer for the Rolling Stone Magazine, and within three years was named rolling Stones chief Photographer. By 1983, she had started working for Vanity Fair Magazine. During this time other Artist, notably Richard Avedon and Henry Carter-Bresson, Influenced Leibovitz's Photography. her significant Milestones include, accompanying the Rolling Stones on their tour of America in 1975, Photographing Joan Armatrading over four days of her "To the Limit" album cover in 1978, and her portait of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, which became one of the most famous Rolling Stone's covers, as only hours after Leibovitz Photographed the couple, Lennon was Killed. During the 90's Leibovitz's work began to be exhibited in galleries and museums. In 1991, The national portrait gallery in Washington mounted over 200 colour and black and white photographs, and an accompanying book was published. "Photographs, Annie Leibovitz, 1970-1990". Leibovitz has taken many images of Celebrities and has had the change to photograph British royalty as well, in 2007 she took an official portrait of Queen Elizabeth, and was the first american to be ever asked to do so. between 2009 and 2011, The Smithsonian American Arts Museum exhibited some of her images and in 2012, went on to enquire 64 work for it's permanent collection.  

Top Image (Miley Cyrus), I think this image is also a very notable Image for Annie because of the negative response it got from the public.  I'm pretty sure it was broadcast all over the world due to the fact that Miley at the time was only 15 and was only wearing a sheet to cover herself with. I went online to see how the lighting was done for this shoot, and it looks like they only used one main light which would have been the Key Light behind her. 

Middle Image (Adele), I really like this image I think it's really pretty. They obviously used a back light in this image due to the fact her hair at the top is quite light up and probably a key and fill light as well as her face is lit up. I think they we're use more above as the light seems to be coming from higher up in this image. 

Bottom Image (Huge Jackman), In this image I think they used a Key light of to the right side and a fill light on the other just to soften the shadows a bit. No back lights were used in this image as the back is not lit up.

Artist 2

Yvonne Todd

Yvonne Todd, Creamy Phychology, 2008

Yvonne Todd, Self Portrait. 

Yvone Todd is a New Zealand Photographer, born in 1973. Todd creates images of women as female characters, often as the forgotten and marginalised, sourced from reality, literature, and Todd's imagination.  These portraits are often altered to create unsettling  images filled with empty gazes and poses, big hair and teeth, coupled with skilled post production altering faces just slightly and creating a shinny gloss the covers everything. Todd was trained in  commercial photography before studying at art school and becoming an artist, Todd uses the same techniques required in commercial  Photogenic studio portrait and production shoots. Todd is known for creating images that are a little bit of and not quite right. Todd fascination with artificial studio photography, as well as props, wigs, and false teeth, and post production through photoshop, heightens the cliches used by Todd, through costumes and aspects of performance to create her images.  From 2014-2015, City Gallery Wellington mounted a major survey of Todd's work, which included over 150 pieces. She won the Inaugural Walters prize, which is New Zealand's largest contemporary art prize, in 2002, for her collection of art work Asthma & Eczema.

Top Image (2008), In this image Todd used a back light which I think is angled higher cause the highlighting on the back of the models hair kinda goes from the top to about half way down her hair. A key light at the front which you can see glowing on her night down and a fill light of to the side on the right. 

Bottom Image (Self), In this Image again she used a back light which you can see highlighting her hair and the side of her check. Also a key light of to the side on the left which you can see from the lighting on her clothing and probably a fill like on the right hand side to balance out the shadowing.